KLH 32 vs KLH 38 and choice of receiver

[joany]

Hi,

Before bidding on ebay, i have to choose between KLH 32 and KLH 38 small speakers : is there a big difference between the two and what would be your choice, according your experience ?

And also, what is the best suited brand receiver for driving the smooth east cost quality of sound of KLH speakers ( i think, in particular, of KLH51 , LUXMAN R820, MARANTZ 2215B...any other brand?).

Thanks if someone could help me to see more clearly in my problems.

Best regards

[Andy]

The model 32 has a 8 inch woofer and is a nice speaker much the same as models 22,24 & 31. I'm almost positive the model 38 has a 10 inch woofer like the model 17 & 20, making it able to produce a bit more bass. It's cabinet should be a little bit bigger then the model 32. Also, I think the 32 and 38 use an odd way of attaching the grill to the cabinet...small pins are stuck into the baffle board around the speakers and the grill is pressed onto these pins. I've found that this method doesn't really work that well...you may have to add a couple srtrips of velcro to secure it.

Receiver choices are an involved and personal kind of thing......a debate can go for a good long while. All the ones you mention are nice receivers in the right power range. The KLH model 51 would be a nice match, also being a KLH.

Any 1970's receiver in the 25-35 watt power range will suit a pair of speakers. Some like to upgrade the receiver they use once they learn a little about them and understand specs. and some of the more complicated funtions the better ones will have.

At the end of the day......my vote goes to the KLH 51 receiver and the model 38 speakers........a nice match from the early 1970s that would look great in any room!

Andy

[boreas]

Hi,

Before bidding on ebay, i have to choose between KLH 32 and KLH 38 small speakers : is there a big difference between the two and what would be your choice, according your experience ?

And also, what is the best suited brand receiver for driving the smooth east cost quality of sound of KLH speakers ( i think, in particular, of KLH51 , LUXMAN R820, MARANTZ 2215B...any other brand?).

Thanks if someone could help me to see more clearly in my problems.

Best regards

As Andy pointed out, the receivers you listed would all be appropriate matches for the Model 32 or 38 but, just to add a little more confusion, there are currently some other speakers offered on eBay that might merit your consideration. They are the Model 22 and 24. These are actually the same speaker with the "24" being the model designation for the system they originally were a part of. These are very nice 2-way speakers with 8" woofers and 3" cone tweeters. They're basically a 2/3 scale Model 6 and sound quite nice.

John

[boreas]

Right now there's 1 pair each of Models 22, 24, 32 & 38 on eBay. All are all on the East Coast so, unless you live particularly close to one seller, the shipping will be similar on any of them.

Of the four pairs listed, the 32s look to be in the best condition and even come in the original carton. The worst would appear to be the 22s. One of the crossover plates is cockeyed so it's either loose or was reinstalled incorrectly. Also the knurled bolts have been replaced with machine screws. The 24s also look quite nice but the 38s seem a bit shabby.

The two nicer pairs, the 32s and 24s, are both offered with a "Buy It Now" price. The 32s are $139.99 and the 24s are $65.00. If it were me, I'd rule out the 22s and 38s and probably go with the 24s solely on the basis of price. Plus, I have experience with the 24s and I like them a lot.

Also, I'm going to tentatively disagree with Andy about the 38s. I think they have 8" and not 10" woofers. Looking at the photos on eBay and trying to scale them with their surroundings and looking at the size of the speaker relative to the size of the badge and thickness of the grille, I think I'm right. Also, they're listed as having 8" drivers in our data base here but there are mistakes in the data base so....

John

[Andy]

We might need further research on the model 38, I did a search on the Speaker Pages and there were two references that the model 38 has 10 inch woofers - one being pulled out of the cabinet and it is described as the same as the model 17 woofer (10 inch).

Also, there are two different types of model 24's - 1st one came with the 24 phono system and has RCA connectors. The 2nd type is labeled model 24 series II and it has screw terminal connectors. If your buying a receiver with the screw terminal connectors, I wouldn't get a speaker with an RCA type. An adapter could be used, but I like matches when hooking up audio components.

I recommend not rushing into buying......lots of KLH speakers are always comming up on Ebay, get a good buy on a good pair.

I wasn't going to further expand your choices, but I must mention my favorite 2-way KLH speaker and the best 2-way they offered - the model 23. It's a bigger speaker with the same woofer and cabinet size as the model 5, they weigh a good 40 lbs. each. It has very robust bass and can handle quite a lot of power. I have four of them hooked up to a Dynaco 4-dimensional amplifier and the sound is pretty fantastic.

Andy

[JKent]

I have four of them hooked up to a Dynaco 4-dimensional amplifier and the sound is pretty fantastic.

Which brings up another possibility. If you go with a 1970s Model 5x KLH receiver, many of them had built-in 4-channel (dynaquad?), so you could use 2 pair of KLH speakers and you would not have to make a choice! I had a Model 55A, which was 4-channel. Here is some info I copied from somewhere:

Models 50 through 57 were introduced about 1972. The Model 57 was quadraphonic and pricey. All these KLH's are nice performers and durable. The receiver market was flooded in the early 1970's - some really nice example were comming from Japan. The Model Fifty-Five/A was made in Japan for KLH.

And although it would be really cool to have an all-KLH system, I'd like to plug my current receiver; the Sylvania RQ-3748. I found the following info at vintagesylvania.net : "The RQ-3748 was released in 1973 and is the top of the line model for the RQ-3700 series of quadraphonic receivers. It is rated at 50 watts per channel RMS or 125 watts per channel RMS when Bridged, both with less than 0.5% THD."

This thing weighs almost 40 pounds! It was made right here in Batavia, NY at a time when most "American" companies, including KLH, had their receivers built in Japan (high quality, but far from New England). And the Syl used real walnut veneer at a time when the Japanese-built receivers were clad in awful vinyl "wood grain." Prior to this, I had a Syl CR2743. Also very nice, Phase Q4, 4-Channel Matrix. I paid $11 + S/H for one in excellent condition!

They are real sleepers--who would ever think of buying a classic Syl? I got the 3748 for $75 + S/H. A steal! Check out this thread:

http://www.monsteraudio.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=328

Mine needs a new light bulb for the meter, and if I ever feel brave I may recap it, but for now I'm just enjoying it. It has replaced the AR integrated amp in my "vintage" setup, driving AR2ax main speakers, KLH Model Twelve + Microstatic supertweeter remotes, and an assortment of temporary speakers to audition.

But I digress....

Good luck!

Kent

[boreas]

Also, there are two different types of model 24's - 1st one came with the 24 phono system and has RCA connectors. The 2nd type is labeled model 24 series II and it has screw terminal connectors. If your buying a receiver with the screw terminal connectors, I wouldn't get a speaker with an RCA type. An adapter could be used, but I like matches when hooking up audio components.

OOPS! It looks like I may have to disagree with Andy again. I have a set of Model Twenty-Fours right here. They are not the Series II and they have not RCAs but screw binding posts.

I was doing some reading today - I think in an old AudioKarma thread - in which the Series II was discussed. The writer maintained that the Series II was the one with RCAs.

That strikes me as counter-intuitive since the Series II would presumably be an upgrade of the original - and in my humble opinion - RCAs are no kind of upgrade. Yet here I am in possession of a very nice pair of Twenty-Fours that don't have RCAs so it seems that the AK thread had good information.

John

[Andy]

John, I'm sure you are right about the 24's since you have a pair in front of you and indeed I see that the 24's now on ebay have screw terminals. It's odd because my 24's have an RCA connector and the serious II version I had a couple of years ago had screw terminals ? ? Could be a change over during the production run like the model 14 which started out with both an RCA plug and screw terminals, and later versions had only the screw terminals. KLH made a variety of changes to their speakers in the course of production,....I've noted changes in models 2, 6, 8, 13, 14.

I'm still kicking myself for not buying what looked to be a KLH prototype speaker a couple of years ago. Cabinet like the model 7 with large woofer and an electrostatic panel above the woofer. It looked like it dated to the early 60's. Author Janszen was considered a fourth partner at KLH and he did the famious model 9 in 1962.

The only thing that's an absolute is........they're all good loudspeakers if it's labeled KLH!

Andy

[boreas]

Could be a change over during the production run like the model 14 which started out with both an RCA plug and screw terminals, and later versions had only the screw terminals.

I'm still kicking myself for not buying what looked to be a KLH prototype speaker a couple of years ago. Cabinet like the model 7 with large woofer and an electrostatic panel above the woofer.

The only thing that's an absolute is........they're all good loudspeakers if it's labeled KLH!

Andy

Andy, a change of connectors mid-production seems the best explanation to fit all we know about the Twenty-Fours. I'm just glad that my pair have screw connectors.

Those "hybrid" prototypes you spotted would have been really interesting. Still, they probably sounded terrible so you're lucky to have dodged that particular bullet.

But seriously, I have to agree with your last comment. KLH never made a bad speaker.

John

[dick]

I wasn't going to further expand your choices, but I must mention my favorite 2-way KLH speaker and the best 2-way they offered - the model 23. It's a bigger speaker with the same woofer and cabinet size as the model 5, they weigh a good 40 lbs. each. It has very robust bass

Andy

Being a new owner of a set of KLH23s, I can confirm Andy's choice as right on. I set the KLH23s next to our AR-3a's with each set on the amplifier's A/B speaker switch. The ARs won out by several noses at the finish line, but the KLH23s were very very very (!!) close to the esteemed AR-3a's. I was/am impressed.

[boreas]

I contacted the eBay seller who is listing the Model Thirty-Eights and asked him to tell me the sizes of the speakers and the dimensions of the cabinet. Here's what he replied:

"Model 38 is a bookshelf- 21 1/2" x 12" x 8 1/2" with a 10 woofer & 3 in tweeter. Thanx for your interest"

That makes them close to the Thirties (22 1/2" X 12 3/4" X 7 7/8") in cabinet size with the same speakers, maybe the exact same speakers since both the Thirties and Thirty-Eights have that "tic-tac-toe" pattern on the woofer cone. Both the Thirties and Thirty-Eights have that nearly flush front baffle. The major difference would appear to be that the Thirties have RCAs and the Thirty-Eights have screw binding posts.

The Thirty-Eight is also fairly close to the Seventeens in cabinet volume and speaker size & type.

So, Andy, my apologies. You were spot on!

John

[HarryM]

I found this old thread while looking for info on klh 38's.Just picked up a pair today and had a few question that I hope someone can help me with.First I'll say this,I can confirm the speaker sizes and cab size from the last post but will add my pair have screw binding post and a single rca.My serial #'s are 02871 and 02872.The woofers also have inverted surrounds with the tic tac toe pattern.Now the question,should these cab's be air tight like AR speakers.Mine are not,so I'm not sure if I should hook them up yet or if I have some work to do first.Anything anybody can tell me is helpful.I'm new to KLH but I have a few pairs of AR's that I have done work on including replacing surrounds and reconing some 10" and replacing caps.Doing the work isn't the problem,I'm just not sure what to look for.Thanks

[HarryM]

So I pulled the woofers and recapped them,a single 4uf cap.My first impression is these speakers are not lacking at all.It's not a thundering huge bass but it's all there.I have only tried them at mid volume because I still don't know if they should be sealed.I resealed when I put the woofers back in but the surround on the woofer seems to be a fabric and the dust caps are the same type of fabric.I think I'm going to contact John at MSound to see what he knows.Thanks.