JKent

PM me if you want me to do them. -Kent

Plastikote truck bed liner on: CSW Ensemble (new drivers) Advent 400 AR-94Si CSW Ambiance Advent 400

Coincidentally, I had a conversation with my house painter about an hour ago and he said the new latex house paints will work over vinyl. I'm a bit skeptical but he's the pro. There's also a spray paint designed to be used on vinyl auto upholstery. That could work. My fallback for speaker cabinets is spray-on truck bed liner. Il like the Plastikote brand and have used it on Advent 400 radios, small Minimus 7-style speakers, some Cambridge Soundworks speakers with a Nextel finish that had turned gooey and even some big AR-94s that I pulled the socks off. I may use it on my AR-XA turntable's plinth. -Kent

Fantastic! I bet your $10 speakers will hold their own against new speakers costing 10 or 20 times that! I like Gene's suggestions (and you know I have some repro classic badges). On a side note, I'm new to using shellac. My brother-in-law just made me a very nice walnut base for my AR turntable project and his favorite finish is shellac, so that's what he used. I had to touch up some areas so bought and used some shellc for the first time ever. I may be doing some experimenting with it in the future. Great project! -Kent

Good question! I've adhered to the idea that the coils should be oriented differently whenever I re-arrange a xo (to make room for bigger caps) or build from scratch but it never occurred to me to change a stock layout. Guess it couldn't hurt

I've already said "welcome fellow New Jerseyan" on your KLH thread but will repeat it here: Welcome. As you may have surmised from the other posts, be SURE it's the tweets that are dead. Pots need to be cleaned (or replaced with L-pads) and the caps should probably be replaced. It it IS the tweets I think you have 2 choices: The Hi-Vi tweets with inductors. This is a very good solution and also economical. I use them in my 3a's. Contact CSP member Chris1This1 to have the originals rebuilt. Feedback here is he does an excellent job. I would not look for used originals because these old tweeters are nearing the end of their useful lives. The rebuild option is essentially a new tweeter--new VC and suspension. Kent

Welcome Anthony I would not replace the woofers--the speakers will never be the same. Is it the surrounds that have disintegrated? That's an easy repair. Contact Rick Cobb, ebay seller looneytune2001 for a kit http://stores.ebay.com/looneytune2001 If you don't want to DIY you could send the woofers to Bill LeGall of Millersound in PA for expert repair work http://www.millersound.net/ . Or contact CSP member RoyC--he may be wiling to do the work. -Kent

Is that what's meant by psychoacoustics?

Here's a 91 xo, labeled. Also an "after" pic.

Right. Same cabinet, same tweeter, same crossover, 4 ohm woofer.

OK. This has gone beyond the original question So.... KLH gear I have owned or do own (model numbers were always spelled out but I'll abbreviate with numerals): 5--Great speakers. AR-3a rivals. 12" woofer as closer to 10.5" Two mids were the ubiquitous drivers used in the late Model Eight, also the 13, 14, 15, 19, 21 (all versions) 708, etc. Sold mine when I bought the 3a's but sort of wish I hadn't 8--I restore these as a hobby and have owned close to 100. Have about 20 right now. 11W--OK but unimpressive compact system. Home version of the suitcase system. 11--clever "suitcase stereo". I've owned a few, still have one. Weak point is the Garrard changer (same goes for all KLH compacts). Very lucky college kids had these in the '60s. 12--Great speakers but huge. Same drivers as the Fives but in a bigger box and with a 4-band "contour control" box that could be used with a short cable or a long cable that allowed fine-tuning from your listening position (sort of a wired remote control) edit: The woofers in the 12 are different from those in the 5. 13--odd add-on (seen in my post above) to turn the Model Eight into a compact stereo system, complete with Phono. While the Eight was tube, the Thirteen was solid state. Weird. I've owned about half a dozen. 14--similar to 15 and 19. Used 2 4" drivers from the later Model EIght and subsequently used in MANY KLH speakers. Ported. 14B--a flat 14 that could be hung on a wall 15--same as 14. Used in a compact system I think 16--nice solid state amp 17--nice 2-way 18--the solid state FM tuner. Great tuner in the '60s. I bought one in '69 and still have it 19--like the 14. I think they were part of a system 20--essentially a 4 ohm version of the 17. Part of a compact system 21 Radio--there were FIVE different Model Twenty-One radios: The original, the 21/II, 21-FM, 21-AM/FM and 21-CL clock radio. My tech bought the clock mechanisms by the dozen because they were guaranteed to fail 21 extension speaker--single 4" driver in AS enclosure. Was sold with some compact systems too. 24 came as stand-alone speakers or as part of a compact system (system speakers had RCA jacks). There was also a 24/II with a different crossover. 27--nice solid state receiver with signature vernier tuning dials 33--unique semi-ported design like Dynaco speakers 708--variation on the 21 speaker but with a #-D type grille and a filter network 52 receiver--the KLH 5x receivers were pretty good. I think there was a model that was made in the USA but the 52 was made in Japan 55 receiver--also Japanese There may have been others I've forgotten about.... -Kent

Tom, I look forward to your efforts with great anticipation. My suggestion is that there be a human interest "hook" to attract readers other than old speaker geeks like us. Things like Vilchur's rebuff by established speaker companies, Kloss's pursuit of Vilchur and the disagreements that ultimately led to the break and the formation of KLH, and the broad appeal of these revolutionary new speakers to famous musicians as diverse as Judy Collins, Miles Davis and Herbert von Karajan. I think Robert's suggestion of reflecting the '50s and '60s America is genius. There is great interest now in "mid-century modern" and all things related to design from that time period. And of course the title will have to pique interest. I'll get back to you if I come up with anything brilliant -Kent

I never had the Twelves set up in a real listening room, so I sold them to a neighbor and he's very happy with them. The contour boxes had to be recapped but after that they sounded like big, accurate speakers. Basically KLH Fives in bigger boxes, so better bass. The Fives will hold their own against the AR-3a but don't demand the high prices. The Twelves can be true bargains because of the low WAF. I bought mine for $100 with a Model Eighteen tuner thrown in. I rebuilt the boxes, refinished the cabs and sold them for $200. The neighbor has a big living room so they work well for him. And they will FILL a big room. I subsequently rebuilt contour boxes for several people. Here's a before & after shot. I also replace the resistors in KLH Twelves and Fives because the originals are only 5W and I've come across some burned ones.

Nice! You've got 3 of the best there. I've never heard the Nines or the Twenty-Eights but I'm sure I'd like them. Both too big for my room thought. Of those I've owned, my faves were the Model Twelve, followed by the Model Five. I'm also kind of a fanatic about the KLH Model Eight radio.

The Eighteen can be used without a pre-amp, which is what I did when I was a poor college student in '69. There are 2 sets of RCA output jacks: Fixed and Volume controlled. My first stereo was the Eighteen, a Dynakit ST-35 power amp and a pair of headphones. The volume controlled outputs were intended to be connected to KLH phonographs (model Eleven, Eleven-W or Fifteen). The manual states "When properly connected to your KLH phonograph, the Model Eighteen's volume level will be governed by its own Volume control as well as the phonograph's." Apparently this was to avoid big differences in volume between phono and Tuner.

Thanks Skinnidog and welcome! I, too, am a KLH fan. I "had" a Model Sixteen and sometimes regret having sold it but I had no need for it and it would have been a "display" piece. Better that it went to someone who will use it. I did keep the Model Eighteen that I bought new in 1969. Just as an aside--any Model Sixteen should be checked by a qualified tech and will almost certainly need a bunch of new capacitors, as mine did. If I were to get one today I'd do a full re-cap, then have a tech check it over. Nice low-power amp. -Kent

IMHO the Seventeen speaker would be a better match for the Sixteen & Eighteen. Kent

Thank you! That's the size of the black-on-silver ones I have.

Hi Briant* and a belated welcome! I do not believe yours are any kind of "prototype" as was suggested on the other forum. What what I can gather, mainly from this site http://cizekspeaker.weebly.com/ there were 3 Cizek companies. I gather Mr. Cizek was a better audio engineer than businessman and he may have been a couple of steps ahead of bill collectors. I don't know. Cizek Enterprises came first. That was the Bloomington site. Your speakers are rare and, I would think collectible early speakers. Next was Cizek Audio Systems in MA, making the famous Model 1, Sound windows, KA-1 and others. Finally came the oddly named High Tech Aspirin in Torrence, CA In my home theater I use a pair of beautiful KA-1s as the front speakers and a pair of nice flat High Tech Aspirins in the rear. Both were made of solid wood. The KA-1s are rare Hawaiian koa and the HTAs are solid oak. I think Mr. Cizek, although blind, appreciated the beauty of solid wood. In that respect the Sound Windows are a little disappointing because they were wood-grained urethane plastic. Would you do me the favor of measuring the badges on yours and telling me the color scheme and material? They look like black on gold. I have some reproductions of the HTA badges that look virtually identical but they are silver. I also have reproductions of the Cizek Audio Systems badges, which were quite different. Thanks, Kent

I have some original Daka-Ware knobs that are identical to those used on the AR-3a and 5. Send me a PM if interested. -Kent

I still have most of the reproduction badges pictured in previous posts. Also thumb nuts for speakers and genuine Daka-Ware knobs for AR speakers and amps. -Kent

Another follow-up. I now have all the 400 series: 400, 410M, 420S and 450S. I just finished re-foaming the rest of the speakers. Did not bother with new capacitors this time. The surrounds are from Speakerworks, their part # SWK525. Also used some dust caps I had on hand--think they're 1-3/4" but not sure and the grilles are back on. Speaking of which, the hardest parts of the job are: Removing the gasket without damaging it and Re-installing the metal grille. It's held in place by a rubber spline, like a screen and the rubber is tough to push down into the groove. I removed the old surround then cleaned up the metal frame and the edge of the cone with a piece of Scotch Brite and lacquer thinner. I removed the old dust cap and used shims. Had planned to hinge it back but it's soft and it seemed a new cap would be better. So here are some pics. The 400, which ad a single 5.25" driver (some had Phillips whizzer-cone drivers), the 410M with one 402 speaker, a 420S with two 402s and a 450S with two 402s. The 420 and 450 are actually mini receivers, with inputs for Aux and Phono. The mono 400 and 410 have Aux inputs. The 402 speakers are nice little 2-ways with good crossovers (see above). The metal screen grilles are not as transparent as they appear in the flash photos. -Kent

Welcome. Probably a good idea to let people know where you are, in case they want to drive over and pick up the really heavy tape deck. -Kent

credit where credit is due: That's Roy's photo, I just use it a lot Roy's advice to me was to only use the resistor on the mid. Those old tweeters are getting tired and their output is diminished. As an aside--I don't regret putting the Hi-Vi tweets in my 3a's. Modern design, ferrofluid protection and they can be turned down as needed.

A little surprising because I'd have bet money the Callins PVC caps would be way off and the metal cans (Sprague??) would be OK. Guess we were right to replace 'em all.