Coming from someone about to flirt with their first speaker re veneer project I found your video incredibly helpful. Thank you for taking the time to explain your steps and share your experiences, especially the ones that maybe didn't go as well as one could hope. Best speaker refinish video I have come across recently, very nice work!
I was lucky enough to own a pair of Altec-Lansing "Voice of The Theater" speakers, with the 311 horns. They were amazingly accurate, amazingly efficient and amazingly heavy. If you've never heard a speaker using horn technology, you've missed out. I also was lucky enough to own the SpeakerLab version of the Klipchhorn speakers. Those are horn low end, as well as high end. The government used a pair of Klipschhorns to simulate Earthquakes in a lab, as they could take 250 watts but were astonishingly efficient. They used the corner of the room as the last 6 feet of the bass horn and were amazing.
When our ship was in the west pacific,many clubs would have a pair of giant Altecs and they would fill an entire club with loud undistorted sound. Wonderful job!
Great work, Ben! A tip for the veneer glueing process, I've found that the spray on adhesive doesn't hold as strong as a brush on contact cement or using multiple coats of titebond and an iron to cement the layers together. I'm looking forward to seeing part 2! These cabinets turned out great!
Great work and filming. (Part 1) I followed your similar work on the excellent restoration you completed on an original pair of KLH Model 5. I picked up a pair and with the printed circuit crossover. Your guidance on the pair you restored really helped and encouraged me to take on the project. They are sounding excellent and look great!
Really cool to see you tackling this project as I own the same speakers and I haven’t done much to them yet. It could have been cool to apply the same veneer as the top one in the back. I assume you saw the Great Plain Audio blog describing some mods and also the Empirical Audiophile channel documenting his changes. There is also the Chicago Horn Speakers Guys channel planning to cover soon these speakers. It would be cool to hear about a comparison with the Ojas they have at Skyfi Audio. Cheers
Looks like a worthy effort for a restoration. I would consider using a roller tool designed for linoleium and veneer work instead of that metal bar you were using, as you can bare down with a lot of weight when setting the veneer into the glue without worrying about scraping and damaging the veneer. I am thinking it may be a worthwhile effort to add some bracing between the 2 side walls and the back to help break up any audible resonances that the cabinet might generate at higher SPL's. Those will definitely be some "big room" speakers, as the horns tend to project a lot. I know this because I have a pair of vintage A7's for my garage stereo.
A couple of applications of Oxalic acid would probably have got the water stains out. Also consider looking into some tinting sprays for a better colour match after yocur stain. The tops could have done with just a hint more red. Mohawk make some excellent products
Thank you for the recommendations. The tips I get in comments really accelerate the learning process. More stuff for my tool box for the next project. I will look into Mohawk. I also want to pick up some wax sticks from them.
@@FredCDobbs151 are you asking about the riser I will be building for the speaker? It’s just a 1” tall square with miter joints and supports at the corner. I’ll be covering it in part 2 in 2025
Products used in this video can be found HERE: - amzn.to/3ZEVdsR
Coming from someone about to flirt with their first speaker re veneer project I found your video incredibly helpful. Thank you for taking the time to explain your steps and share your experiences, especially the ones that maybe didn't go as well as one could hope. Best speaker refinish video I have come across recently, very nice work!
I was lucky enough to own a pair of Altec-Lansing "Voice of The Theater" speakers, with the 311 horns. They were amazingly accurate, amazingly efficient and amazingly heavy. If you've never heard a speaker using horn technology, you've missed out. I also was lucky enough to own the SpeakerLab version of the Klipchhorn speakers. Those are horn low end, as well as high end. The government used a pair of Klipschhorns to simulate Earthquakes in a lab, as they could take 250 watts but were astonishingly efficient. They used the corner of the room as the last 6 feet of the bass horn and were amazing.
When our ship was in the west pacific,many clubs would have a pair of giant Altecs and they would fill an entire club with loud undistorted sound. Wonderful job!
Great work, Ben! A tip for the veneer glueing process, I've found that the spray on adhesive doesn't hold as strong as a brush on contact cement or using multiple coats of titebond and an iron to cement the layers together. I'm looking forward to seeing part 2! These cabinets turned out great!
Same. I always use two coats of brushed on contact cement and have never had lifting, even years later.
Very cool! I can't wait for the next video
Great work and filming. (Part 1) I followed your similar work on the excellent restoration you completed on an original pair of KLH Model 5. I picked up a pair and with the printed circuit crossover. Your guidance on the pair you restored really helped and encouraged me to take on the project. They are sounding excellent and look great!
So glad to hear this. My primary motivation for the KLH Five series was to encourage others to restore their own sets.
Stunning!
Can’t wait to see what u do with xo!
Excellent work Ben. Can’t wait to see the finished product of these beauties.
Really beautiful job Ben.
Great work! Looking forward to part 2. Thanks 🙏
Beautiful meticulous work. Nicely done!
I am amazed at how closely the new top veneer matches the sides.
@@Secession1900 I was pleasantly surprised…
I worked in a shop that had Altec speakers...while I wasn't the biggest fan of the sound, I always thought their cabinet finishing was top notch.
Really cool to see you tackling this project as I own the same speakers and I haven’t done much to them yet. It could have been cool to apply the same veneer as the top one in the back.
I assume you saw the Great Plain Audio blog describing some mods and also the Empirical Audiophile channel documenting his changes. There is also the Chicago Horn Speakers Guys channel planning to cover soon these speakers.
It would be cool to hear about a comparison with the Ojas they have at Skyfi Audio. Cheers
Excellent work, just right about time since my 846 cabinet has similar damaged but I could not figure How to match the color .
Looks like a worthy effort for a restoration. I would consider using a roller tool designed for linoleium and veneer work instead of that metal bar you were using, as you can bare down with a lot of weight when setting the veneer into the glue without worrying about scraping and damaging the veneer. I am thinking it may be a worthwhile effort to add some bracing between the 2 side walls and the back to help break up any audible resonances that the cabinet might generate at higher SPL's. Those will definitely be some "big room" speakers, as the horns tend to project a lot. I know this because I have a pair of vintage A7's for my garage stereo.
A couple of applications of Oxalic acid would probably have got the water stains out. Also consider looking into some tinting sprays for a better colour match after yocur stain. The tops could have done with just a hint more red. Mohawk make some excellent products
Thank you for the recommendations. The tips I get in comments really accelerate the learning process. More stuff for my tool box for the next project. I will look into Mohawk. I also want to pick up some wax sticks from them.
👍
Oxalic acid for the rings. Will lighten them considerably I would think.
How do you learn to do this … also need speakers rebuilt
Sorry to derail the discussion, but do you have a drawing of your workbench riser you could share? Thx!
@@FredCDobbs151 are you asking about the riser I will be building for the speaker? It’s just a 1” tall square with miter joints and supports at the corner. I’ll be covering it in part 2 in 2025
No, the bench riser for your test gear.
@ ua-cam.com/video/zTvFAmbjLUo/v-deo.htmlsi=vHdjmMQFvcmehB9o
Oxolic acid is good for removing dark water stains.
@@Kobafied thank you for the tip. In will look into this for future projects.
+1 on the OA.
there good speaker the cross is not much good
I dony like thay you talk and talk and talk...
Looks like you are addicted to talk...