Model 17 Prototype??

[Guest riveraudio]

I have a 17 with a tweeter that no one seems to know about any ideas? Sorry for the large pic.

Thank you

Tom

[JKent]

Check this thread

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=205379

that tweeter is apparently from a later "Seventeen" that had a different woofer, different tweeter and woodgrain vinyl on the cabinets. Don't know why they called it a Seventeen

[Guest riveraudio]

Check this thread

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=205379

that tweeter is apparently from a later "Seventeen" that had a different woofer, different tweeter and woodgrain vinyl on the cabinets. Don't know why they called it a Seventeen

[/quote

That is fantastic information. All along I thought I had a special trial version before they actually decided on the correct tweeter. They are also numbered 1 and 2 on the baffles but must have been an owner at some point. So, I have a pair that doesn't quite match, but oddly enough the supposed newer 17 has a real wood enclosure too. There may be some chance that this was a project pair that was caught right in the middle of the crossover. I haven't tested the woofer and tweeter yet, but they do sound quite similar. Thank you so much. Great forum.

[JKent]

If they sound good, enjoy them! Nice to have the real wood. One thing you "might" consider is re-capping. The black and red PVC caps in those are failure prone and long past their prime. There are threads here on recapping the 17s (and 20s, which are the same but have 4 ohm woofers). Here is one:

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Boar...?showtopic=5587

Now if you get REALLY ambitious you could also replace the small tweeter with the earlier type. The 17 and 20 used identical tweets and they are often found on ebay.

Good luck!

Kent

[Andy]

That's quite a conversion of a 17 in that link ! Question for Tom; Does your model 17 have a serial number on it's back plate ?

My guess is that speaker dates to about 1972-73. KLH had introduced a new speaker with a 10 inch woofer in 1970...the model 33 (vented enclosure), and later, the model 38 which was the familiar acoustic suspension design and had drivers that looked very much the same as the earlier model 17.

By the early 70s, loudspeaker competition was intense and more models were coming from Japan..... the market was flooded. KLH started various cost cutting measures - vinyl, thinner cabinets, etc. If you ever find a model 56 (also a 10 inch woofer as in the 17), you'll see clearly the result of cost cutting. The speaker sounded decent, but looked and felt like a dime a dozen Sears speaker.....the KLH glory years were over by '75.

Speaking of prototypes......I'm still kicking myself for not buying what surely was a prototype KLH that showed up 30 miles from my house on an ebay auction about 3 years ago (not even 15 miles from Cambridge, MA - home of KLH) It was an early 1960's speaker - 10 inch woofer and an electrostatic panel 6" x 6" mounted in a large cabinet much like the model 7. It had KLH electrostatic info on a back panel label. What was I thinking not to buy this bit of history...went for about $70. !

Arthor Janszen was a four member of KLH in addition to Kloss, Lowe & Hofmann. It was Janszen who developed the famous model 9 in 1962

Andy

[JKent]

That's quite a conversion of a 17 in that link ! Question for Tom; Does your model 17 have a serial number on it's back plate ?

My guess is that speaker dates to about 1972-73. KLH had introduced a new speaker with a 10 inch woofer in 1970...the model 33 (vented enclosure), and later, the model 38 which was the familiar acoustic suspension design and had drivers that looked very much the same as the earlier model 17.

By the early 70s, loudspeaker competition was intense and more models were coming from Japan..... the market was flooded. KLH started various cost cutting measures - vinyl, thinner cabinets, etc. If you ever find a model 56 (also a 10 inch woofer as in the 17), you'll see clearly the result of cost cutting. The speaker sounded decent, but looked and felt like a dime a dozen Sears speaker.....the KLH glory years were over by '75.

Speaking of prototypes......I'm still kicking myself for not buying what surely was a prototype KLH that showed up 30 miles from my house on an ebay auction about 3 years ago (not even 15 miles from Cambridge, MA - home of KLH) It was an early 1960's speaker - 10 inch woofer and an electrostatic panel 6" x 6" mounted in a large cabinet much like the model 7. It had KLH electrostatic info on a back panel label. What was I thinking not to buy this bit of history...went for about $70. !

Arthor Janszen was a four member of KLH in addition to Kloss, Lowe & Hofmann. It was Janszen who developed the famous model 9 in 1962

Andy

Hi Andy

Good to hear from you. You're the resident KLH historian! Your mention of Janszen reminds me--I have a pair of JZ400 speakers to refurb. Real nice, but conventional tweeters.

The similarities of so many of the KLH models makes one wonder why both of those speakers were labeled the 17. OTOH, KLH had FIVE different radios, all called the Model Twenty One

And speaking of radios (this is really tangential) Can you tell me at about what SN the Model Eight one-driver in laminate cabinet started?

Kent

[Andy]

Hi Andy

Good to hear from you. You're the resident KLH historian! Your mention of Janszen reminds me--I have a pair of JZ400 speakers to refurb. Real nice, but conventional tweeters.

The similarities of so many of the KLH models makes one wonder why both of those speakers were labeled the 17. OTOH, KLH had FIVE different radios, all called the Model Twenty One

And speaking of radios (this is really tangential) Can you tell me at about what SN the Model Eight one-driver in laminate cabinet started?

Kent

Hi Kent, In logging model eight serial numbers, I've found the following........at right about serial number 7,000 KLH went to a single driver, but cabinets remained solid walnut until serial number 7800 - so from number 7800 onward, they were single driver & laminate. This makes the solid walnut single driver model eight speaker the hardest to find with only about 800 having been produced (#7000 to # 7800).

I give numbers 7000 and 7800 as my best guess from looking at the data I compiled, plus observing the production change to the speakers. I have seen about 25 different speakers in this whole range, say #6800 to #8000, and fell pretty confident I'm within 50-75 units of when the actual changes happened.

Sometimes I think I'm a bit nuts having done all the logging of info and changes of the speakers. But what the heck... Love those model eights !

Andy

[Guest riveraudio]

If they sound good, enjoy them! Nice to have the real wood. One thing you "might" consider is re-capping. The black and red PVC caps in those are failure prone and long past their prime. There are threads here on recapping the 17s (and 20s, which are the same but have 4 ohm woofers). Here is one:

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Boar...?showtopic=5587

Now if you get REALLY ambitious you could also replace the small tweeter with the earlier type. The 17 and 20 used identical tweets and they are often found on ebay.

Good luck!

Kent

[Guest riveraudio]

If they sound good, enjoy them! Nice to have the real wood. One thing you "might" consider is re-capping. The black and red PVC caps in those are failure prone and long past their prime. There are threads here on recapping the 17s (and 20s, which are the same but have 4 ohm woofers). Here is one:

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Boar...?showtopic=5587

Now if you get REALLY ambitious you could also replace the small tweeter with the earlier type. The 17 and 20 used identical tweets and they are often found on ebay.

Good luck!

Kent

I'll get the ser #'s and more pics to you guys by the end of the weekend. Thanks for all your help. I may not recap these as they don't match. If I match them then it may be worth it. I wonder if the crossover is the same since the drivers both changed?