I have been thinking about an upgrade, I feel my system may have passed up my speakers if that is possible. Anyway I am thinking about the tweeters and possibly the mid horn as well. Any advice from guys who have done this.

Jay

I was skeptical that the trachorn would make much of a difference. It is, to my ears, a noticeable improvement over the K400 horn. As far as upgrades go, it is still somewhat pricey, IMO. Bang for the buck is a subjective assessment.

I had my tweeter diaphrams replaced and rewired. It was a small improvement but any improvement is great imo. Next I am sending my K55 for new diaphrams. I'll likely try Crites cast frame woofer. Then at some point I am going to have my Khorns reveneered.

I would get Bobs tweets and change to the lower tweet crossover....JMO...but i like mine alot,,,i also got Bobs cast frame woofys

I guess we probably need more information about what specific deficits you are hearing.

Certainly the tweeter is a simple enough upgrade and you may want to flush mount it also (if you have the wood working skills). Depending on the choice, the crossover may need to be altered. Bob Crites can give good advice on this topic.

Dealing with the mid-range will probably have the most profound impact. Usually folks target the mid-horn itself and possibly the mid-driver. This is not as easy to retrofit and could require some wood working skills. It depends what direction you go. Again, this could require altering the crossover. Such an alteration requires some technical knowledge and measurement and should not be "designed by ear". Fortunately, many have already worked out the details for some of the more common substitutes (make sure about this however).

The woofer is sometimes swapped out. I am less enthusiastic about this modification. The cabinets dimensions and geometry are a function of the driver's parameters. So a careful choice is required (many folks have gone astray on this issue). The other issue is that the woofer is not the weak point of a Klipschorn, so it is not the obvious place to start.

IMPORTANTLY:  

If you have not done so already, I would recommend the following things first.

1. Try placing the horns along a different wall (if you have the corners). The short vs long wall placement can have a dramatic impact for a number of reasons (the only cost is potentially having to construct a false corner)

2. Make sure the cabinets are snug in the corners and use pipe foam if necessary (it is a cheap fix).

3. Try moving the listening chair forward or back. If you are at a 45deg angle to the face of the cabinet, the response is much better (again  false corner may be required)

4. Certainly refresh the caps if the originals are in there (again this can be done cheaply and does not require a re-design). While you are at, clean off all the contact surfaces.

My suggestions are easily accomplished and can make a noticeable difference in the sound. They are all too often ignored however, in favor of the more "sexy" solutions. 

I suspect you already knew about these suggestions, however there are other folks who might benefit.

Good Luck,

-Tom

ricktate:

I would get Bobs tweets and change to the lower tweet crossover....JMO...but i like mine alot,,,i also got Bobs cast frame woofys

So what do you think of the woofers as compared to the k33?

The  main reason I am doing so much work to mine is because they were stored on a patio or garage. Lots of bug nests.

I didnt do A-B check when i put them in so cant really say any difference but i did notice differecnce when i put in tweets and lower crossover. I just got the cast woofers cause Bob said he had them made to old specs and i wanted new ones also forum members needed the old ones to bring some Ks back to life.So everyone got what they wanted.i would also replace caps or rebuild your crossover.Rick

When I replaced the old K-77s in my La Scalas with a pair of Bob's CT125s, the improvement in clarity was immediate and obvious.  I'd recommend them to anyone with LS or Khorn or Belle speakers.

ricktate:

I didnt do A-B check when i put them in so cant really say any difference but i did notice differecnce when i put in tweets and lower crossover. I just got the cast woofers cause Bob said he had them made to old specs and i wanted new ones also forum members needed the old ones to bring some Ks back to life.So everyone got what they wanted.i would also replace caps or rebuild your crossover.Rick

The first thing I did after I got the Khorns was to get a pair of A crossovers from Bob. A couple weekends ago I got my tweeter diaphrams replaced and rewired. Next is the mid horn diphrams and wires. Yeah sure the old wire might be fine but it looks terrible.

Hey Tom, I should have mentioned before that I already have the pipe foam and ALK's Universal xovers. I also changed all of the wires, anyway I want to add the backs or false conners. I think this will be a big improvment in sound because of being able to adjust the speakers toe in toe out etc. etc. Do you have any specific advise on which one of these mods creates the most desired results or is this subject to conditions as well?

Jay

 See my Avatar. I had 2 Khorns and a LaScala for 30 years. Exact same setup as PWK in various rooms/homes. Refreshing the Midrange cap on the Khorns was the most significant. Did the same thing to my LaScala. Rebuilt an old 1966 LaScala with used parts, sold the Khorns and added the MWM's. Way more bass impact and difinition. I have never seen more than a 2 Watt peak for each cab on any sane musical content at 80-95 db listening levels.

 I also like Bob's tweeters, but prefer the JBL baby cheek. To each their own, but a LaScala crossed at 150 to an MWM "sub" is unreal for music.

ClaudeJ1:

 See my Avatar. I had 2 Khorns and a LaScala for 30 years. Exact same setup as PWK in various rooms/homes. Refreshing the Midrange cap on the Khorns was the most significant. Did the same thing to my LaScala. Rebuilt an old 1966 LaScala with used parts, sold the Khorns and added the MWM's. Way more bass impact and difinition. I have never seen more than a 2 Watt peak for each cab on any sane musical content at 80-95 db listening levels.

 I also like Bob's tweeters, but prefer the JBL baby cheek. To each their own, but a LaScala crossed at 150 to an MWM "sub" is unreal for music.

What is MWM?

The 68" wide bass horns in his avatar.

http://www.google.com/patents?id=-2s2AAAAEBAJ&dq=Klipsch

ClaudeJ1:

 See my Avatar. I had 2 Khorns and a LaScala for 30 years.

Now I have 3 LaScalas, but since my corners are only 13.3 feet apart, and the fact that I'm using a 5.1 receiver for 2.1 (for music) and 5.1 (for movies), the center LaScala (with Bob Crites Tweeter) only comes on for movies. The R and L channels have baby cheek JBL2404's with the John Warren Xover at 6 Khz. I can tell if they're using Ziljian or Paiste cymbals on Jazz recordings (not really, but you get the idea). It's hard to see in the Avatar, but the tweeters are resting inside the LaScala bass mouth. They are upside down because if puts the K-400 mid-horn exactly ear level when I'm in the listning couch.

Better than Khorns? You bet. Incredible bass detail with ridiculously low distortion and low power consumption. I can hear bass lines like never before. The MWM's are 45 degree horns instead of 90 degrees like the Khorns, so the bass comes right at you (like the LaScala), not shot to either side like the Khorn.  Plus,Like the LaScala, the horn is folded only twice instead of 3 times, so you hear "into" the K-33 driver more. BTW, my MWM's have the same drivers as the LaScalas and Khonr, the K-33's. In MY room the K-43's were overkill (even more efficicient and punchier), but I wanted the LS and MWM's to have all the same drivers for the same sonic signature. So three K-33 woofers per channel in 3 horns, plus midrange and treble horns makes for 10 horns to do Right and Left. Oh, and BTW, all 4 MWMs' sections are drive with the same 0.1 mono signal from the receiver's line level sub out and into their own 100W amplifier, soon to be downsized to 25W because I only use about 2W peaks per bin on the loudest bass stuff, even movies.

Like PWK said, distortion is approxiamately proportional to power. Less power, less distortion. It don't get much better than this setup! 

Claude.... Do you use a sub or just the mwm???

too bad your so far I'd like to hear that setup...