Build new cabinets?

Pablo · February 2006

I have an old pair of KLH speakers and I'm thinking of building new cabinets for them. Since I don't know to much about speaker specs, I just don't know if it's worth the time with them. My plan is to spend almost nothing on it (I'll use some left over MDF and some wood I am re-claiming from the fire wood pile).

These are the specs for them. They are KLH model 1203 (found nothing on the net for them). 12" polymer woofer, 4" hemi-dome mid & 1" soft dome tweeter. Efficiency is 94db & frequency response is 24-22khz +-6bd. The crossover is 900hz & 4000hz.

These were my first "real" speakers (sounded good to me in the store) from about 15 years ago.

This is mostly for a wood working project. My main goal is to make something cool looking. The end result will probably sit down stairs (in a "second" living room), and probably only used a couple of times a year. Is it worth the hasel? (I'm also thinking I can always replace the components in the future if the cabinets come out nice).

Comments would be greatly appreciated.

VR3 · February 2006

This is easy...

Take internal measurements of the pre-existing cabinet and your done.

And ports, etc - measure em.

dorokusai · February 2006

I would part the drivers and forget about nostalgia....but if you want a project, knock yourself out.

If you replace components in the future, keep in mind you'll either be modifying the cabinet, not able to modify the cabinet or be choosing drivers based on your "new" cabinet.

Build it to exact spec's or don't build it at all.

Pablo · March 2006

My concern was that the components are so crapy it's not worth the time to make something nice. Do you think the could be real bad? (I popped them out and there are no markings on them except a model number and "made in tiawan").

I was planning on making it in 2 pieces. One for the woofer, another for mid & high (stacked & attached, but 2 boxes).

Who makes decent compents that are fairly cheap?

dorokusai · March 2006

www.partsexpress.com

burdette · March 2006

A member of this forum was kind enough to give me the drivers for a pair of KLH 8" 3-ways. He only wanted the cabinets. He couldn't give me the crossovers because they were essentially epoxied to the cabinets.

I contacted KLH and got ahold of one of their engineers. He sent me not only the crossover schematic, but also the full set of T/S parameters for the woofer. The mid was sealed, so no need for a design.

I ran the T/S parameters and designed a cabinet that was actually a little different than the KLH cabinet. Both were sealed - the driver was obviously intended for acoustic suspension.

I bought the parts for the crossovers from PE. I wanted to do the entire thing quick and cheap, so I just made MDF cabinets and painted them. I bought a bag of AcoustiStuf from PE and experimented with different amounts of fill.

I ended up with a very nice set of speakers that I eventually gave to my wife's brother and his family, and they use them in their living room.

Your easiest path is recreate exactly the same sized cabinets. If you can get the T/S info, you can redesign. On mine, both the tweeter and the mid were sealed.. no need for an actual 'enclosure'.

I've got a construction pic, but for some reason the system isn't giving me the option of attaching a file.. (?)

Edit: here is a link to a discussion about my project.. thought I'd posted a pic, but can't find it, and still can't post one...

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7543&highlight=burdette+klh

Pablo · March 2006

Thanks for the info guys. The box just seems so cheap that it doesn't look like they spent much time on design. It's only 1/2" particle board with a smiging of fill inside. The box is ported, and nothing is sealed (the box is 31" x 15" x 10"). Maybe I can try KLH to see if they can give me some numbers. One of my goals was to try and reduce the size (I was thinking of facing the woofers to the side and the port in the front? They are to wide).