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KLH model Six

72.70.129.115
Posted on July 7, 2012 at 14:42:42
Neff


 
Pick up a pair of 1973 KLH model Six for a friend- $100. Good condition cabinets & grills too. I never heard these speakers before. The KLH sounds better than quite a few lower price new speakers. The speakers are very smooth sounding, brings forth enough details & bass is reasonable if not driven too hard. Not for a large yard party, however great for easy listening.

 

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RE: KLH model Six, posted on July 8, 2012 at 00:45:58
Mossback
Audiophile

Posts: 1248
Location: Washington, the State
Joined: November 17, 2001
 I agree with you. I got a pair of KLH-17's at a yard sale today they sound much better than I expected. The seller did not know if they worked or not so the price was right.
Simple two way speakers can be special.

 

RE: KLH model Six, posted on July 9, 2012 at 10:06:34
DavidLD
Audiophile

Posts: 4594
Joined: May 29, 2002
 Henry Kloss was the "K" in KLH.

He had a big hand in designing these...think of them as the Large Advent precursor...After leaving AR with all the experience in 3-way designs, he felt that 2-Way had advantages assuming you had a good mid Tweet design.

 

RE: KLH model Six, posted on July 9, 2012 at 10:59:33
rickl
Audiophile

Posts: 453
Location: Twin Cities
Joined: February 7, 2002
 I picked up a pair at a local thrift store. Stripped off the black paint and stained them. They are in a bedroom with a little 60's Sony receiver. Nice speakers.

For some reason, the large Advents are on the shelf and these are in use.
looking for some jazz and a little libations - js

 

RE: KLH model Six, posted on July 10, 2012 at 10:01:41
Bold Eagle
Audiophile

Posts: 6514
Location: America's Heartland
Joined: May 27, 2001
Contributor
  Since: July 17, 2003
 David,

That comment about the mid-tweeter is really the key. Kloss explained his philosophy in the Advent brochure; and designed his own tweeter to pull off a 1 kHz crossover. The KLH 6 & 17 were both precursors to the Advent; but their tweeters are more conventional and rely on that perforated front plate for dispersion and both use a 1.5 kHz crossover.

Circa 1970 there really were not any tweeters around that could cross over that low (1 kHz) and survive. The Heil AMT could; but that came later and wouldn't fit in a bookshelf cabinet. Later, some others came along that could survive; but most used a higher order crossover to protect the tweeter (third order in the Advent 5002, at 1500 Hz). Hafler used a 1.5" tweeter in the A25 to get enough power handling for a simple high pass filter.

More recently,the Morel MDT 20 and the SEAS 27TBFC/G and 27TDFC work well in a first order 2-way with a 1.5 kHz crossover. I have two systems with 27TBFC/G tweeters and a simple crossover (a 12 uF cap and an L-pad). One uses the SEAS 25F-EW woofer (coated version)in a 38 liter ported cabinet, and the other is a converted New Advent. They sound very much alike with minor differences in the mids and a little difference in the low bass. Both sound very similar to a pair of PSB B15 mini-monitors I have; except for the low bass, of course.

I think Kloss was right about 2 ways, and now I'm on my own 2-way kick. I really like the older woofers that have smooth rolloffs at the top of their range. (Advent, EPI/Epicure, early Genesis, Bose, Bozak, some AR's, some JBL's, Dynaco A25/35 etc.) They work really well with the SEAS tweeters I mentioned above.

Jerry

 

Those plus a Philips receiver ..., posted on July 10, 2012 at 10:48:40
ToddM
Audiophile

Posts: 1328
Location: Atlanta, USA
Joined: May 15, 2001
Contributor
  Since: June 13, 2005
 are an *outstanding* match; I use mine with a 7871, and the sound is very refined with ample extension and non-fatiguing detail on the "Normal" setting (I do switch out with some JBL Lancer 99s for movie nights, etc., since they can better keep up with the soundtrack bass)

They have a very simple crossover, and yours are probably late enough that you can pull the woofer to do the re-cap (earliest versions have the woofers epoxied onto the baffle) - I experimented with using bypass caps, and it was OK, but not hugely different or better

If they have the cloth surrounds (not sure if they ever used foam), you could also see benefit from resealing them with a bit of latex caulk thinned with a little water

Make sure to flip the switches thru all settings a few times - I'm not sure if it's true, but I Once Heard that the switches are silver-plated; regardless, they can accumulate oxidation/crud that can cause dropouts, etc

All of these tips are common to this school of speakers, see Bold Eagle's posts for extensive theory and practice

Congratulations, these are very nice speakers, very handsome when they're all cleaned up and glossy with that nice walnut

 

OT: Philips Receiver, posted on July 23, 2012 at 13:56:01
Brian Levy
Audiophile

Posts: 1703
Location: Toronto
Joined: June 5, 2000
 You have a 7871. I wondered if they were actually poriduced. I've never seen a 787 or 7871 for sale though the Philips lit shows it but not the 797 (actually the 79x) series is not shown. I have a 797, 796 and 785 set of the receivers and love them. Last of the US made receivers other than McIntosh and Magnavox went all out where it counted. I also have the tuner, preamp and power amp from the series. Also, great internal build and parts quality.

You 787 has phono level; controls that the 797 does not have. Other than that the 2 circuit and pcb are the same though the facia, meters and other layout is different to make them seem like 2 different designs.
Don Brian Levy, J.D.
Toronto ON Canada

 

OT: Philips Receiver, posted on July 23, 2012 at 13:56:39
Brian Levy
Audiophile

Posts: 1703
Location: Toronto
Joined: June 5, 2000
 You have a 7871. I wondered if they were actually produced. I've never seen a 787 or 7871 for sale though the Philips lit shows it but not the 797 (actually the 79x) series is not shown. I have a 797, 796 and 785 set of the receivers and love them. Last of the US made receivers other than McIntosh and Magnavox went all out where it counted. I also have the tuner, preamp and power amp from the series. Also, great internal build and parts quality.

You 787 has phono level; controls that the 797 does not have. Other than that the 2 circuit and pcb are the same though the facia, meters and other layout is different to make them seem like 2 different designs.
Don Brian Levy, J.D.
Toronto ON Canada

 

Never seen one again since I got mine, posted on July 24, 2012 at 09:23:37
ToddM
Audiophile

Posts: 1328
Location: Atlanta, USA
Joined: May 15, 2001
Contributor
  Since: June 13, 2005
 I am actually in the process of recapping it section by section (I did the main PS filter caps first, last week did the main amp board caps, next will be the ps regulation and preamp), and the improvement, while subtle, is pushing the edge of what I thought could be had, and not just in this price range (which is absurdly low for what I'm hearing)

The build quality is excellent, and honestly, I've been a little nonplussed the last few years when I hear really high-dollar gear out and about - it all sounds nice, to be sure, but nothing is really *better*

The tuner is fantastic, and yes, I do make good use of the phono controls when switching carts, to set the level for best sound and close matching to line-level inputs

With this receiver, 65 watts (iirc - I never get past ~11 o'clock on the dial at any rate) is plenty to drive all the speakers I like the most, anyway, so it's still the king around my house (crazy tube and DIY stuff downstairs notwithstanding)

I'd almost kill to get my hands on the big preamp and power amp - that would tempt me to get my Janszen speakers out of the crawlspace and finish the repairs to the panels and power supply

Philips got this one right, for sure - if these had caught on, and the line had been managed worth a damn, I wonder what could have been ...

 

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