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Speakerlab -k
Speakerlab -k
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Rating
Reviewed by:
KM
(AudioPhile)

Review Date
November 10, 2002

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

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Review 1 of 4

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I GOT MY S-7 WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE TAKING ESL, AND WORKING ANY JOBS I HAD. ONE OF THEM WAS CLEANING UP BAR BASEMENT IN QUEEN ANNE, SEATTLE. THE OWNER SAID TO GET RID OFF EVERYTHING. THIS IS HOW I GOT MY S-7. I FIXED THE TWEETER, AND FOR 8 YEARS I'VE BEEN ENJOYING THEM.

Strengths:
HI OUT. I USE HARMON KARDON AVR75. NO SUBWOOFER NEEDED.

Weaknesses:
HAVENT FOUND YET


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Rating
Reviewed by:
Edward Lewis
(Audiophile)

Review Date
October 8, 2000

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.20 of 5, 5.00 votes

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Review 2 of 4

Price Paid:  $375.00 from previous owner

Summary:
I recently purchased a pair from a local private owner for $375. At the same time an eBay buyer paid $255 for a pair from Michigan. On the same classified section I bought my pair, was offered at $750/pr. These are the typical price ranges for this quality speaker today. Keep in mind that cabinets are only as quality as the craftsman who made them, so never make an offer on them without checking them out fully, first. Also these are 50 in. (H) X 32 in. (W) X 28 in. (D), so furniture movers are required means of shipping properly for you eBay buyers (usually 135 lbs. ea. 270 lbs.!!! per pair.), so local purchase is recommended.
As another reviewer pointed out there are a couple of versions as per drivers, the cabinet plans are all the same so variations incabinets are soley those of the builder. All true Sk's are comprised of either the EV T-35 horn tweeter, EV horn mids, and a EV 15 in. woofer, OR, the Speakerlab WA 4000 horn tweeter, HM 350 horn midrange (alnico magnet), and 15 in. W 1508S woofer driver compliments. Avoid any non-horn mid/tweeter variations as raw drivers could be purchased separately as were the $5 SK cabinet plans(83'). The SK X-overs are quality, as only hand made can be, and were designed and assembled by Speakerlab from 1973 to about 1983, with leftover stock available till about 1988 or so.
With the above driver compliments, X-overs, and a quality built cabinet they truly sound astonishing, and have everyone exclaiming about their quality in all music reproduction. The first driver variation is identical to klipschorns. The second, Speakerlab driver improves on the klipschorns with a wider dispersion tweeter, with 200W power handling and 20+khz range as opposed to the 17.5khz limit of the EV T-35/K 77 K tweeter. The range is not a huge audible difference, as no one has ever complained of the EV T-35/K 77 K having a limited range since these are still some of the best HF drivers still being widely enjoyed today. But, the Speakerlab WA 4000 driver with 90 degrees vertical and 120 degrees horizontal is quite possibly the widest dispersion horn-loaded tweeter, even today and does have improved presence/imaging over the EV T-35/ K 77 K, listen for yourself if you have the opportunity, plus the EV units would be a puddle of aluminum if driven with >100W for extended periods of time, which would rarely occur with the sensitivity rating of either driver compliment. Bass is solid. You really have to experience cornerhorns, the sound will move you unlike any conventionally placed non-horn loaded LF driver. If you have room for BIG speakers and find these, get them if at all possible, and with klipschorns currently going from $1500 used,to $5000 new, you will find that the Speakerlab SK's are quite possibly the best speaker for the price. Keep in mind that "Horn" speakers not only sound best, but are more expensive to build right so manufacturers today do not offer them in any capacity other than limited (klipsch, klipsch heritage series), or extreme high end (Avant Garde's).

Strengths:
Identical to klipschorn cornerhorns. Bright, clean, as excellent a soundstage as the klipschorns. Best price-value ratio than any other audiophile quality loudspeakers. High sensitivity allows use of a wide variety of quality amps from tubes to solid state class A, without requiring high power outputs.

Weaknesses:
Cabinets are only as good as the craftsman who constructed them, as SK's were available in kit form only, prices will vary accordingly. (raw speakers & X-overs alone are pricey.)Size and required corner placement may be viewed as a weakness if placed in smaller rooms.

Similar Products Used:
Klipsch La Scala, Belle, klipschorn, Chorus, Forte, Cornwall's


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Rating
Reviewed by:
Keith Wiebe
(Audio Enthusiast)

Review Date
January 15, 2000

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

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Review 3 of 4

Summary:
I made these speakers from Speakerlab plans about 14 yrs ago and have been very pleased with them. I used an Eminence 15inch woofer, 6.5 inch magnesium framed midrange, Electovoice T-35 tweeter. I used the plans for the bass unit and made an separate box for the midrange and tweeter. It has the most fantastic sound I can imagine. The only weakness is I need to boost the lows (30hz range) about 12 db and reduce the 125 hz range about 4 db for it to sound less boxy. The bass really rocks with these settings! Without eq the bass drops below about 45 hz and has a pronounced bump in the higher bass. I noticed that Speakerlab still has plans available. They were tough to build but will be a lifetime investment. I recently replaced my Yamaha M-70 200 watt amp with a Yamaha 5130 reciever and have been very pleased so far. I use some homemade 4.5 inch fullranges for the back surround sound and needed to boost the rears by 10 db (limit of reciever) to achieve a balanced sound. One simply doesn't need 200 watt\channel with these speakers. 20 watts will blow one away.

Strengths:
extreme efficiency, loud, clean, awesome

Weaknesses:
weak bass without a 10 band eq.

Similar Products Used:
various homemade speakers


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Rating
Reviewed by:
scotty
(Audio Enthusiast)

Review Date
December 23, 1999

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

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Review 4 of 4

Summary:
I would like to comment on two different versions of this speaker, one from the 70's and one from the 80's. The 70's version was basically a clone of the fine Klipschorn speaker. It had a EV horn tweeter and a midrange driver with a large horn attached to make up the top unit. The bottom unit (15" woofer) was a complex folded horn which housed the woofer. This speaker was offered by Speakerlab from blueprints only (for the enclosure)to totally finished. Since I enjoyed woodworking I decided to buy the speaker kit with blueprints. After about 2 weeks they were completed and well worth the effort. I have never had the chance to hear a Klipschorn speaker but if they sound better than a Speakerlab K they must be unbelievable!. First of all if you like your music at "live concert" volume levels than these are the speakers for you. I have never heard a speaker that can reproduce the feeling of a "live" performance as well as these speakers. I remember going to a Doobie Brothers concert in 1977 only to be more impressed listening to "Tak'n it to the Streets" album when I got home!. The efficiency of these speakers is amazing, at the time I was driving a pair of these speakers with a 30 watt per channel Yamaha receiver and may ears could not take much over the 12 o'clock position on the volume control. I once used these speakers at my brothers wedding reception for the dance music and had no trouble filling the 10,000 square foot room with chest pounding disco (it was 1980).
Now for the 80's version. Speakerlab redesigned the "K" in the 80's to be more pleasing to the eye and a bit smaller so I decided to sell my old ones to a friend of mine. I bought the blueprints and speaker kit just like I did on my first pair. The 80's version was a big change from the original "K" speaker. It was no longer a two piece speaker,(top and bottom units), all the speakers were housed in the same oak enclosure (much more attractive than the original) and broke itself from the Klipschorn clone look. The tweeter was the same EV horn but the biggest difference was the removal of the large midrange horn and replacing it with there own 7" cone midrange. The 15" woofer basically remained the same folded horn design. These speakers had the same efficiency and high volume levels as the original. The cone midrange driver is know match for the original
midrange horn driver but they are still better sounding at higher volume than any other speakers I have heard other than the original "k" design. I don't know if these speakers are even offered by Speakerlab today but if you ever come across a pair of these speakers for sale and have the room for them it would be well worth the money. These speakers sold back in 1984 for $2,000 for a totally finished pair. I am presently using these speakers for my front channels in my home theater system (no need for a subwoofer). The only problem I had using these speakers in my home theater was the high efficiency of these speakers. MY front channels seemed to overwelm the rear and center channels. To remedy this problem I installed an inline volume control to both front channels so could control the front volume output seperately. This fixed the problem and now my home theater system sounds better than anything I have heard, even movie theaters!.
The bottom line is that if you like the "Klipschorn" sound then these speakers are for you.

Strengths:
Low power requirement. Incredible sound especially at high volume

Weaknesses:
Very big and must be placed in corners of the room


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