KLH Model 5 review and measurements by Erins Audio Corner

[thewas]

Written review isn't online yet, so for now just a screenshot from the video of the spinorama:

 

[LTig]

Seems like just putting 3 drivers into a box doesn't guarantee a decent spinorama.

 

[digitalfrost]

I get where he's coming from but I couldn't bring myself to spend 3k on a speaker with measurement data like that.

 

[dougi]

I'm glad the Lintons were out first, which is what I have. What were his overall conclusions though?

 

[thewas]

By the way in USA the pair price of those and the Lintons is not as distant ($2000 vs $1500) while here in Europe it costs 3 times more (3000€ vs 1000€ street prices).

 

[phoenixdogfan]

I bought a pair of LS3/5a's way back in 1977 because I wanted something better than KLH Model 17s, my very first speakers.

 

[Ricardojoa]

Both linton and klh5 have directivity error in the midrange. Is this usual with 3 ways designs?

 

[mhardy6647]

I bought a pair of LS3/5a's way back in 1977 because I wanted something better than KLH Model 17s, my very first speakers.

That was quite a jump -- in price if nothing else!
The KLH 17 and its kin weren't bad loudspeakers for their time (1960s). The parade had largely passed by Henry's original two-way monkey coffins by the second half of the 'seventies, though (from my perspective).
Don't tell anyone, but I still wouldn't mind having a pair of LS3/5a spec loudspeakers (vintage or modern).

As a not-altogether offtopic aside: Rather inexplicably, I have accumulated a collection of KLH Sixes, although most of the other Kloss-era KLHs that had accreted here have, umm, disaggregated.



While I am wasting bandwidth in this thread, here's an action photo of a pair of the original KLH Fives in action. The dual midranges attract a fair amount of scorn, but I still rather like these. I don't have a pair, though. These were just visiting.



I would like to hear a pair of the new KLH 5s -- yes, even after seeing the FR data above.

 

[LTig]

Both linton and klh5 have directivity error in the midrange. Is this usual with 3 ways designs?

Maybe with old designs. More modern designs like K&H O300D, O410 and O500C (20 years ago) or their successors Neumann KH310 and KH420 don't suffer from this.

 

[thewas]

Written review is now online https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/klh_model_5/

Parting / Random Thoughts​

As stated in the Foreword, this written review is purposely a cliff’s notes version. For details about the performance (objectively and subjectively) please watch the YouTube video. But a couple quick notes based on my listening and what I see in the data:

• Hi with grille. Something missing in the midrange. Data shows a dip in the lower midrange/midbass transition.
• “Hi” setting is too midrange (upper and lower) heavy. I prefer the mid and low setting. But the beauty is you can set it up either way.
• While the manual discusses the applicability of the HI/MID/LO settings being for different room types (“live”, “dead”), keep in mind that you can also use these settings as somewhat of a reverse boundary compensation setting. For example, if you need to place the speakers near a wall, odds are you’ll find the “HI” setting works better than “LO”.
• I still feel like even in Lo that the midrange around 800Hz is a bit much. In evaluating the data I see there is some minor resonance that shows up in the impedance at about 900Hz and I wonder if that is what I was hearing.
• As for grill on versus off, I found grill on helps attenuate the highs and provides a more balanced sound in any configuration.
• At higher volume there is a standout between 2-4 kHz. The frequency response doesn’t show anything that is concrete for this. At best, there does seem to be a mild flattening of the response in this region before falling off above this region. However, I also see the harmonic distortion data indicates a rise around 2kHz. Truthfully, I’d be surprised if that was what I was hearing. But there is no way for me to say that it wasn’t. Or maybe I just didn’t hear what I think I heard… can’t rule that out. Subjective evaluations are tricky things.
• The bass isn’t as punchy as I’d prefer. This might be perfect for some (depending on room size or tastes) but I’d like a bit more (3dB) to get more kick drum bump at 50Hz. Either that, or use EQ to bring up 100-120Hz. When looking at the data I do see that there is some baffle step loss below 200Hz and my assumption is what I heard was the lack of midbass relative to midrange.
• It is worth noting though that my room is reasonably “dead” and I still prefer LO mode.
• On-axis doesn’t work well for me. I prefer slightly angled out. 10-20 degrees seemed to sound best to me.
• Width is really good and there seems to be good depth of soundstage on these. Interesting thing is that with panned sounds they sound deeper at the edges. I’d be pressed to say why this is but I do see that the data shows the horizontal radiation is wider between 1.5kHz to 5kHz. Maybe the panned sounds are in this region?
• Imaging is not precise as you would get with a narrower radiation pattern, but I can live with that.

I initially did not like these speakers. The manual indicated that the HI setting would work best for me since I have a pretty “dead” room. In application, though, the HI setting was too midrange heavy. After playing around with the different settings and aiming I found that the LO setting was best for my situation. I believe the reason for this is because my speakers are placed pretty far away from the walls (3 feet from the sidewalls and the front wall). Looking at the response data, the baffle step creates an imbalance between midbass and midrange (around 200-400Hz) in all (3) settings but the HI setting is the worst offender. When LO/MID are used the baffle step is made less noticeable so that when pulled further out in the room - and thus having less bass reinforcement from the walls - the bass is more in line with the midrange. The LO/MID/HI adjustability might make this the safest option for a passive speaker in this style to go with, even though I personally still prefer the Wharfedale Linton myself.

 

[Soniclife]

Both linton and klh5 have directivity error in the midrange. Is this usual with 3 ways designs?

I think it's usual with most speakers, but a 3 way should be better behaved than a 2 way that has the same displacement.

 

[Ricardojoa]

I think it's usual with most speakers, but a 3 way should be better behaved than a 2 way that has the same displacement.

If you noticed, between 700hz-1khz the dispersion gets narrow, compare to above 1khz.

 

[aschen]

erin always has great tshirts

 

[hex168]

I think it's usual with most speakers, but a 3 way should be better behaved than a 2 way that has the same displacement.

Where the directivity error is matters. When the radiation pattern of a tweeter in a two-way broadens toward the lower end of its response , the increased off-axis energy can be annoying, particularly if the on-axis response is flat. The same effect at the lower end of a midrange is, subjectively, less bothersome. Just my observation; I won't speculate as to why.

 

[rollmottle]

Written review isn't online yet, so for now just a screenshot from the video of the spinorama:

View attachment 220455

I see he's succumbed to "Youtube guy" thumbnail syndrome...

 

[muad]

I see he's succumbed to "Youtube guy" thumbnail syndrome...

I think hes making fun of it? That's the way I prefer to view it

I don't think he could post some of his thumbnails without having a chuckle.

 

[Soniclife]

If you noticed, between 700hz-1khz the dispersion gets narrow, compare to above 1khz.

I wasn't implying this was well behaved, just that 3 way designs should be better than 2 way, as the designer is free to choose a midrange driver size that avoids the problem without it impacting LF displacement.

 

[Soniclife]

The same effect at the lower end of a midrange is, subjectively, less bothersome. Just my observation; I won't speculate as to why.

Below the transition frequency?

 

[ta240]

I think hes making fun of it? That's the way I prefer to view it

I don't think he could post some of his thumbnails without having a chuckle.

Both mocking and benefiting from it at the same time. Sometimes you have to play their game and it is a weird weird world in there.

 

[muad]

Both mocking and benefiting from it at the same time. Sometimes you have to play their game and it is a weird weird world in there.

It's funny because he looks more like an aerospace engineer trying to YouTube, rather than a YouTuber trying his hand at audio engineering