Need help restoring KLH towers

[Rudy2]

Hello,
I am a newbie so hope this isn't an old topic. I would like to restore my old KLH tower speakers. They are called "Research Ten" model. The 12" woofers are disintegrating and the domed mid-range are sometimes crackly. They used to be excellent sounding so I think it is worth the effort. Where can I find replacement speakers that are affordable and at least equal in performance to the originals? I can send pics if anyone would like to see what I am dealing with. Thanks in advance.

Randy

[This Guy]

First take out the drivers and see if it has any specs on it. You want to know the sensitivity. Give me a price range to work with as well. I find it very unlikely KLH will have replacement parts for these speakers if they are old. Cause the KLH twenty years ago is almost a completely different company today. A great site for replacements is partsexpress.com which is the site I will look for drivers for you. If you have the phone number for KLH, i guess it wouldn't hurt to call and ask them.

-Joey

[poneal]

I agree with ThisGuy. If you want to match the sound closely to what it was before you need to get the specs. Another option is to take out the drivers and send them in for refoaming and testing. There was a post some time ago about a person who has done the refoam and testing and was very pleased with the results. I think madison sound does refoaming.

[Rudy2]

First take out the drivers and see if it has any specs on it. You want to know the sensitivity. Give me a price range to work with as well. I find it very unlikely KLH will have replacement parts for these speakers if they are old. Cause the KLH twenty years ago is almost a completely different company today. A great site for replacements is partsexpress.com which is the site I will look for drivers for you. If you have the phone number for KLH, i guess it wouldn't hurt to call and ask them.

-Joey

The woofers have no identification or specs on them at all. Zero. They feature a large spider and a big cube magnet in a steel box. They measure 7.1ohms, appear to have a 2" voice coil, have a heavy paper cone with black tar stuff painted on, and (used to) have a foam surround. That's about it for specs. I was thinking of maybe a PYLE PRO PYM1255 12" DRIVER as a replacement? I was hoping to keep each speaker under $70 or so. What do you think would be a good replacement?

BTY, the other speakers in the cab are two small domed mid range, one domed tweeter, and two foil super tweeters.

Thanks.

Randy

[This Guy]

Alright just give me the volume in cubic feet the woofer is in so I can find one with good bass response in that box. So you need two woofers and two midranges and you dont want to pay over $70 for each of them. If I understand you right you have plenty of money to get these sounding pretty good.

-joey

[Rudy2]

The space inside the tower is shared by all speakers. There is a 1-5/8" cylindrical port. If you ignore the fiberglass insulation the volume of the cabinet is 2.77 cu/ft. If you take the 1" insulation into consideration the volume would be 1.8 cu/ft.

I want to replace the woofers for now and spend some time with de-ox on the connectors and pots for the other speakers before I decide what to do there. They may be okay. Do that and replace some of the wiring. The wire size is very small and seems inadequate for the woofers especially. What is a good AWG size for internal wiring? Thanks again.

Randy

[This Guy]

This is the best I could find for your box. http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...D=118363&DID=7 It should have an F3 of around 57 hz and it will go pretty loud, probably the same efficiency of what was already in there. Now this woofer can't handle a lot of power in the bass region, so be smart with the volume control if you're giving it a lot of power.. Oh and around 16 gauge is good for internal wiring, you;d even be fine with 18. Also, plug the port in the enclosure so you make it a sealed cabinet, cause this speaker doesn't want to be tuned to that specific port. Good luck.

-Joey

[Geoffcin]

Hello,
I am a newbie so hope this isn't an old topic. I would like to restore my old KLH tower speakers. They are called "Research Ten" model. The 12" woofers are disintegrating and the domed mid-range are sometimes crackly. They used to be excellent sounding so I think it is worth the effort. Where can I find replacement speakers that are affordable and at least equal in performance to the originals? I can send pics if anyone would like to see what I am dealing with. Thanks in advance.

Randy

Hi Randy, there's a guy in New Hampshire that can help you. His company is;

http://www.humanspeakers.com/

He's very reasonable, and is a magician at refurbishing speakers.

[Swerd]

Hello,
I am a newbie so hope this isn't an old topic. I would like to restore my old KLH tower speakers. They are called "Research Ten" model. The 12" woofers are disintegrating and the domed mid-range are sometimes crackly. They used to be excellent sounding so I think it is worth the effort. Where can I find replacement speakers that are affordable and at least equal in performance to the originals? I can send pics if anyone would like to see what I am dealing with. Thanks in advance.

Why not try contacting KLH? http://www.klhaudio.com/