1965 KLH Model Twenty Speakers

[Nebulous]

Went to my favorite barber shop to get scalped and saw these by the rear doorway and asked my friend and barber Jake about them. As he's wrapping paper towel around my neck to secure the cape, he says:" Oh those? They're yours, get them outta here"

So after the buzz cut I picked up one and noticed right away it weighed about 40 pounds. Bring them home and do a little research. Come to find out these KLH Model Twentys are the 4 Ohm version of the Model Seventeen 8 Ohm. These were made in 1965

From the looks of them, I'd say 8.9 out of a 10. A few tiny scuffs which will be easy to refinish. Haven't connected them yet to hear how they sound. This is going to be a fun project. Will mate them with the JVC system I just worked on.

Gotta luv freebies

 

[Flamethrower1972]

Tell us how it sounds when you got it setup.

 

[Nebulous]

Ok, so I took the grills off. They came off easily enough. I had to use a plastic butterknife so's as not to damage any wood and with a little force, the 59 year old velcro gave up and let go. No damage to the grills or the wood's outer edge *Whew!*

Both woofer driver and midrange/tweeter are in flawless physical condition. Besides the tiny bit of dust, they look like they just rolled off the assembly line. Even had the last inspector's seal of approval! What I love is the rich aged smell of the wood. Like if the speakers spent their entire life in grandpa's music room.

After a little dusting, hooked them up to the Marantz PM500DC amp. They sound fantastic. For being a 2-way setup, the bass is full, warm and carries a clean punch. Mids and highs are equally as nice. The "High frequency level" switch in the back was set to normal. Will test for lower & higher and will report back with changes.


Both grills are intact but tiny bit dirty. I can always replace the cloth with new originals. Both were missing the KLH badges that are normally found at the bottom left corner.

Not too shabby for 59 year old speakers. Gotta dig the RCA connector, huh?

 

[Nebulous]

Found the grill cloth and the badges.