JKent

Welcome jayrosc! Who knows? Maybe we'll start an EMI following here The only info I've found is the ebay buying guide linked above. The author of that piece said the jacket around the cap is the inductor. Interesting setup. He also wrote that modern solid state amps will destroy the speakers. I doubt it, unless someone is stupid with the volume control. I can say that these do seem to be particularly well-suited to low power tube amplification. As shown above, it works beautifully with the little tube amp in the KLH radio. In fact, I can only turn the volume control up a little bit--about the 8 o'clock position--before it gets way too loud! Nice speakers. -Kent

If you want one that's fully restored send me a PM. -Kent

The "toosie roll" I used isn't a Mohawk but it's virtually the same. Thanks for the Famowood lead. I'd never even heard of it, but just ordered a small can to try it out. btw--if anyone else wants to try it, go to the Walmart site. They have the 1/4 pt can on closeout for under $7 with free shipping. -Kent

Thanks Robert. Wish I could get some other members interested but these aren't New England speakers--they're "Olde England" The effort to repair the water-damaged cabinet is coming out "OK". Not great, Just OK. I tried to fix the badly swollen particle board by jamming some epoxy in and clamping it tightly, but when I removed the clamps the epoxy just split. So the bottom of the cab flares out a bit. I filled gaps and cracks with brown epoxy. Used the "tootsie roll" kind that you knead in your hand. It's good for many spots but not so much for edges. For those I like the more liquid epoxy, tinted with Mixol and poured into a form made with a masking tape dam. I will have to touch up some of the edges using that method. After filing down the epoxy I sanded everything lightly with 220 grit. I'm always afraid of going through the veneer and sure enough, I did in one spot. Touched that up with a brown permanent marker (hope it really is permanent). I cleaned the cabinet with lacquer thinner (I believe they were lacquered) then used Dark Walnut Howard Restore-a-Finish. Of course now I won't be able to lacquer the cabs but I think Minwax Antique Oil (similar to Tung Oil) will give a nice finish. This cabinet is now lighter than the other, with a more pronounced wood grain, so if I decide to re-assemble it (as opposed to just parting out the driver) I'll have to do the same treatment on the other cabinet. Some photos to illustrate what's described above:

Update: Well, the one water-damaged cabinet is proving to be a real challenge. Not sure if I'll ever get it to look acceptable. It's surprising how little info there is on these. Made in England by EMI. EMI speakers were used as studio monitors in Abbey Road. According to the above-cited ebay article these are best paired with vintage Quad tube amps. It goes on to say this regarding the 630: "note the later black capacitor on-board LC x.o. shows it's the 5 watt RMS 630 (10 watt USA) and a red capacitor with a green basket is the 8 watt (16 watt USA) RMS 650. These watt ratings are for tube amplifiers and early Solid State, modern amplifiers are best not connected, as they're too powerful and may easily damage the alloy cone from over excursion, or ruin the speaker." I don't know about that but it got me to wondering about using these with low-powered tube amps. As it so happened, I had just finished re-capping a KLH Model Eight radio and decided to test the EMI with that. Now, I live in the Appalachian Mtns of northern NJ, surrounded by hills that were once mined for iron ore, so reception is abysmal. And, I always take my radios to a pro for alignment and general check-up. Haven't done that yet, so I wasn't expecting much.......... Fired up the Eight and managed to find an NPR jazz station from the Hudson Valley. WOW! I love the Model Eight but this is something else! One piece featured the Hammond B3 organ. Incredible. This weird elliptical coax that looks like something salvaged from the package shelf of your father's Oldsmobile really sings! I love this speaker with tubes! Maybe if I can only save this one it will motivate me to finish restoring a little Grommes mono tube amp that's been collecting dust

btw.... It's been mentioned before but for newbies: KLH at one time considered a marketing slogan "It's not perfect, but it's Kloss." Henry's name was pronounced like "close" (it did not rhyme with Koss, a headphone manufacturer)

Reviving this ancient thread. I came across a pair of EMI 630 speakers and took a chance. Unfortunately, one cabinet is pretty badly damaged, so we'll see... Here is a site in Hong Kong, selling a nice pair of these for HK $12,000 (that's about $1,547 USD). http://www.antiqueaudioshop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=70 Apparently there is some cult following for the elliptical coaxial drivers. This ebay "buying guide" discusses the 630 and the coaxial driver but I find the narrative semi-incoherent http://www.ebay.com/gds/Rare-EMI-speaker-chassis-oval-elliptical-tweeter-B-W-/10000000010079859/g.html Here are some preliminary shots of mine. Heavy walnut-veneered cabs. Metal (!!) grille, single coaxial driver, cheap terminal screws. There is a single capacitor, enclosed in a cloth-sleeved inductor. Not sure how to replace the cap, or what the value is. I'm trying to repair the damaged cabinet but if not successful I'll just try to sell the drivers. More photos to come..... -Kent

Spensar, Live & learn. No--you won't be banned but if you stick around you will definitely be kicking YOURSELF at some point Fellow CSP "veterans", Before we pass judgment, let's give Spensar some credit. He could have bought them just to "flip" and make a fst buck but instead he passed and let someone (we can only hope) who really appreciates them have them to enjoy. larrybody, I don't have HK's picture on the wall but I DO have an illuminated, flashing KLH sign! -Kent

Holy Cow! He got an absolute steal!

ra.ra, Thanks for those pics. I never realized the engraved ones were smaller. My AR TT has an engraved logo with black lettering--I'll have to measure it. briodo, I agree that inefficient acoustic suspension speakers like a lot of power but if I remember correctly, my AR=4x's sounded pretty darn good back in the day when I was using a 17 wpc dynakit tube amp (ST-35). That was a sweet little amp. But again, more power can't hurt. -Kent

Welcome Spensar Pretty sure those are 4x's. There was no number on the grille, just the smaller "AR INC" badge, about 1" aquare. The AR-4x was the bottom of the line, entry-level speaker, but a truly excellent little speaker. I bought mine new in 1969 for $88/pair and still used them until recently (replaced the caps and pots with help from forum members). Here's a pic. -Kent

Welcome KFOM SEE-zek? Hmmmm... Never even thought of that option. Sounds like Skeezix from Gasoline Alley -Kent

Don't know how I missed this thread. I've become a fan of Cizek speakers and have KA-1s in my living room and rec room, and HTAs as rear speakers in the living room. A question for those of you who worked for Roy Cizek: How did he pronounce his name? I've been saying CHI-zek but have heard people say CI-zek (rhymes with physic) and even SIGH-zek. So what's right? I correct people who mispronounce Henry Kloss (it's "close" as in It's not perfect, but it's Kloss) so I want to pronounce Mr. Cizek's name correctly. A belated "welcome" to you new members! -Kent

I still have repro metal labels for AR, KLH, Dynaco, Cizek and original Daka-ware knobs for AR speakers and McIntosh amps. Also now have stainless steel speaker terminal nuts for AR, KLH, Bose and others. Originals were nickel plated over brass. The SS looks authentic, wont tarnish and costs less. $2 each.

I don't think so. I believe the 2 4" drivers are wired in series and put in a bigger, ported box to give the speaker more "oomph." The "crossover" is, I believe, an LCR filter network. KLH used two 3" drivers in series in the early Model Eight radio speaker. Later Eights had just one 4" driver--the same driver used in your Fourteens. The Model Twenty-One radio also used one 4" driver. FYI, that same driver was used as the mid-range in the excellent Five and Twelve speakers. I just looked up your thread on AK (many of us are on both forums) and see you also scored a Twenty-Seven receiver. Nice find! I have one on my shelf, awaiting restoration. -Kent

Any of those you list are fine. So are Dayton. Don't worry about the voltage--anything 100vdc or more is plenty. You could also use Erse PulseX or PEx from erseaudio.com or Carli or Bennic from Madisound. No need to spend a lot of money. Or...if you have a local electronics parts shop ask for a mylar 1.0 microfarad cap. Might be radial instead of axial but it will work. Could look like this: -Kent

That can't be right. Please post a photo.

Hi Pierre and welcome! KLH made a couple of Model Fourteens. I've owned both and I think they were essentially the same except for shape. The Fourteens were flat (ish) and could be hung on a wall. The "B" version you have has the same dimensions in width and height as the Eleven-W, Twenty-One extension speaker and others that were used with compact systems but it's twice as deep. And while those other speakers were acoustic suspension designs the 14 and 14B were ported. The drivers are the same full-range 4" one used (singly) in the late Model Eight, Model Eleven (suitcase) and Eleven-W, Twenty-One radio etc. Nice speakers with lots of sound! Oh, and another difference: Except for the Model 708 all of those variations on the Eleven-W were run flat out with no filter. The Fourteens, as you show, had filter networks. It would be a good idea to replace the caps. Keep us posted! -Kent

Send me a PM through CSP -Kent

Stan makes a good point. If you were on this side of the pond I'd say send them to Bill LeGall. I had a pair of AR 12" woofers that looked awful, with a sloppily glued surround. The solvent-based glue was thick and gloppy. I decided not to tackle them and sent them to Millersound. Bill did his usual outstanding work! -Kent

Oh. Didn't see them in your photos. Probably because the grilles were not on the woofs. Clears up the mystery! I agree with AR-Pro. I have not bi-amped but the 9s are worthy speakers for that approach. I think another way to bi-amp would be to use one amp for the bass and another for the mid/hi. Some people use a big solid state for bass and tubes for the mid/hi. I do not know how you do that, to get the proper levels for both amps but I'm sure there are those here )or on AK) who could advise you on that. The method AR=Pro describes is certainly the easiest. Keep us posted. -Kent

Welcome to the CSP! As Stimpy wrote, Crown XLS amps will give you massive amounts of power at a very reasonable cost. I use an Adcom 555/II for my AR-3a's and that seems to supply enough power but I can understand your wanting more. Stimpy's other recommendations are good too, but remember any vintage amp should be professionally serviced before using. Those are interesting speakers. I've never heard of the AR-9K and could not find anything about them in a Google search. Any other members familiar with these? No side-firing woofers and the front woofer looks like maybe a 10" woofer?

Thanks. That was 8 years ago. I really like them but had no room so I sold them to a friend of a friend who lives in town (at a slight loss I'm sure). He did ask me to replace the cloth so I re-did them in the excellent 18-count linen from 1-2-3 Stitch. Don't have a photo of the speakers with the new cloth but here are the grilles. I suspect the linen is better than the double-layer boucle + black scrim. A couple of years ago the speakers suffered a blown tweeter and a woofer problem. I replaced the tweet and sent it to Bill LeGall for expert repair. Also treated both woofer surrounds with Roy's butyl sealant and added fuses. I see the current owner from time to time and he (and his wife) are still happy with them.

Lookin' good!

Helpful note from Roy: "I've found those KLH 5 (and 23) switches to be troublesome. . . . They need thorough cleaning when they are not damaged beyond repair."