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What's so special about the Model Eight speaker?


JKent

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I just bought a Model Eight radio and I'm very eager to get it all nicely restored. The speaker does not look like it comes apart easily, so I may leave it as is, but I notce a sticker on the radio that says something like "Warning! Use only with KLH Model Eight Speaker!"

Isn't this just an 8 ohm A.S. suspension speaker similar to the one used with the later Model 21?

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You can of course use another speaker with the Model Eight receiver, but that label was put on the receiver because Henry Kloss went to great lengths to match it with the best speaker he could build. The Model Eight receiver had a contoured output curve to match exactly the low frequency requirements of the speaker so the output curve remains flat far below it's normal roll-off point. The speaker had an unprecedended maximum cone excursion of 3/8 of an inch and the highest ratio of magnet power to one weight ever ever embodied in a speaker. I think it's one of the best small drivers ever made.

Depending on the serial number of your speaker, it with have one driver or two. At about serial number 7,000 KLH went from two drivers down to only one. At about serial number 7,800 they changed to a plywood cabinet from one made of solid walnut.

Yes, the driver in the Model eight is the same as the one used in the Model Twenty One radio, Models four, Five, Eleven, Fourteen, Nineteen and Twelve loudspeakers.

You can remove the driver by removing the grill cloth, then simply unscrew the 4 mounting screws. It's hard to get the grill cloth to look original again once you've done this, so if the speaker is working well, it may be best to leave it as is.

Also of interest, The Model Eight, as far as I know, is the only tube table radio to use the acoustic suspension technology. All that being said....it's no wonder this radio stands alone in the World of vintage hifi.

Andy

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Hi Andy;

Is this driver the mids used in the Twelves and Five's and fullrange driver used in smaller enclosure systems?

Do you know if the drivers were also made with closed back frames rather than just the open rear frames I have only seen so far?

Do you know if there was different impedances used with this particular driver?

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Hi Vern,

From all I've read and heard from collectors, it is the same as the mid-range driver seen in the Model five, Twelve and smaller system speakers.

I've only seen open rear examples, 8 ohm.

I hope to find 4 of these drivers to restore a Baruch-Lang corner speaker made by Kloss in 1952, (Kloss Industies). This was his first production speaker.

Andy

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>Depending on the serial number of your speaker, it with have

>one driver or two. At about serial number 7,000 KLH went from

>two drivers down to only one. At about serial number 7,800

>they changed to a plywood cabinet from one made of solid

>walnut.

Thanks for all the info Andy. Mine is SN 1713. Must be an oldie! I can feel the cutouts for the 2 drivers behind the grille cloth. So are those the same drivers used in the later Model Eights and in the Model 21 transistor radio? I have a couple 21s and of course they sound great!

Kent

PS I'm told this is the 7.5 speaker (?)

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Same driver. KLH went to the single driver Model Eight speaker about mid way through production, which would have been early 1963.

Collectors seem to be paying a bit more for the earlier Model Eight with double drivers and Solid walnut cabinet.

Andy

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>Collectors seem to be paying a bit more for the earlier Model

>Eight with double drivers and Solid walnut cabinet.

Wow! Cool!

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