Rare KLH Factory Defect Found

[Guest matty g]

A few years ago I picked up a single Model Twenty speaker system from the curb. When I hooked it up, it sounded horrible - kind of raspy, hushed, dull and not at all like the typical "blown tweeter" sound that we all know too well. I didn't have time to look at it and the cabinet was in very bad shape, so up in the attic it went.

I just took it down from the attic last night to part it out and found the cause for the odd sound. The tweeter was actually wired in series with the woofer and the crossover had never been wired in at all! The accoustic seal on this unit had never been disturbed, the wiring was all tied together and bundled as from the factory and the original tape, insulation and backing screen were all in place. Not only that, the magnet on the woofer had two and a half rows of staples stuck to it (the little ones they use to hold the x-over and grill fabric in place).

It appears that the crossover had the old "Synchro" brand wax 2 lead cap mounted on it AND a "Richy" single lead (which was what the Twenty systems used) mounted on the cabinet back, but the outgoing lead on the Richy was missing. I guess someone just left it there and confused the black lead going to the woofer with the blue lead that was supposed to go to the tweeter. Perhaps the cabinet spent some time opened up in the factory, which would account for the rows of staples getting stuck to the woofer magnet. It would also seem that someone accidently put a Model Six crossover in there, as the larger wax and oil "Synchro" cap is used in that model.

What I can't understand is how someone who spent all that money on a Model Twenty phono system could have let that slide. How could the tweeter not have burned out years ago? Perhaps KLH sent them a new unit and didn't take the defective one back. That would account for the fact that only one speaker was at the curb. Must have been someones first day!

Matt