Has anybody got pictures or a web-site to show how to replace KLH model 17's speaker capacitors, or could just explain how to do it! I have an old pair of 17's KLH speakers from 1969, they sound a little off like me! thanks Bill...

How do they sound "off"?
Could be rotted surrounds.

If you're puzzling over how to get inside the box: the answer is remove the woofer. And when you reinstall the woofer, be sure to get a good seal between the woofer rim and the cabinet.

--Chuck

Crossover caps are probably gone. use 1 mf 50 volt Non polarized. Surrounds can be replaced . get a kit on eBAY, surrounds pls glue proably less than $20 delivered or haggle.

Thanks for the info. everyone! Thanks Bill

Many of the early KLH speakers, in addition to needing replacement caps in the crossover, use cloth surrounds. This may apply to the 17's.

Unfortunately, over time the porosity of the cloth surrounds increases, so that you have an air leak! This compromises the bass response. I didn't realize this until Jordan Pier came to work at my store five years ago. He showed me how the bass response had become poor on several KLH speakers that came in for repair. His cure was to get a fresh container of rubber cement and very carefully coat the cloth surrounds with a very thin and even coat of the cement. Voila! The bass response was significantly improved.

There you go.

Fred
owner
Classic Audio Repair

Fred, I've used Permatex "flowable" windshield sealant on surrounds, and even to coat accordian paper surrounds.
It's great, apply a bead around the surround, then use a small soft brush to spread the sealer, working some onto the cone as well.
Leave the speaker sit about 2 hours facing upright and voila.. nice.

Seal the surrounds with rubber cement is a great idea! thank you I'll try it! Bill

I use Elmers white glue for speaker repair. its flexible, drys clear and water soluble until dry. mends tears easily

Tube Amp,

At my repair shop, we use a special speaker glue supplied by a chemical company in Arizona. It dries like medium-hard rubber. This suppleness is crucial because speaker cones flex during operation. My experience has been that Elmers white glue is too hard and brittle. If applied to the cone, it can mess with the harmonics that the speaker generates, and in a bad way. It can also generate parasitics.

I do use Elmers glue for one speaker application. When a grille is too thin to staple replacement grille-cloth to, I use a series of plastic clamps and Elmers Glue-All as the adhesive. I just did this on the top panels for a pair of Bose 601's.

The reason that rubber cement is used on KLH surrounds is to compensate for their increased porosity (and the air leak this creates) without destroying the compliance of the surround.

Fred
Owner
Classic Audio Repair

Please don't do this. Elmers does NOT stay flexible. In fact, it not only gets hard, but BRITTLE once it dries.

Been there, done that, won't do it again...

Rubber cement, thinned, applied in a very thin layer, should work OK. I work in a reconing shop, so we have a special compound for these fabric surrounds, but rubber cement is probably one of the better off-the-shelf remedies for this problem. A lot better than plastic tool dip, Elmers glue, "liquid rubber", or myriad other things I've seen people screw up speaker surrounds with...

Regards,
Gordon.

Gordon, what is the specific chemical that you use on the cloth surrounds?

Fred
owner
Classic Audio Repair

Here's how you do it.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=102176

Latex caulk is good, probably as good as rubber cement.

Working with fiberglass acoustical damping material without wearing a small mask to keep the friable fiberglass particulates away from your lungs is very dangerous. Gloves are not enough.

Fred
owner
Classic Audio Repair