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Kanundrum

Craig B

Craig B

Re:trophile
Would anyone on here care to offer a likely explaination as to why one of my recently acquired Kan 1's Hiquphon tweeters sounds to be down in level by approx 4-6dB relative to the other?

It's so low in level that you'd think it dead, however, with one's ear up close, it sounds to be zinging along quietly in the back row of the orchestra.

I'm left wondering whether there exists a crossover issue, or, has the tweeter somehow losts its mojo via a swollen voice coil or ferrofluid having gummed up? Are these OW-1 ferrofluid damped/cooled?

Shining a light through the grill cloth reveals the dome to be nicely smooth and convex with no shards of metal magnetically stuck round the edge, nor a load of dust in sight.

The original owner may not have noticed as he'd obviously been 'driving' them rather hard with an NAD 3020 since new (hence my thinking 'swollen' VC).

Normally I'd just go ahead a pull the offending part, however, anyone who has done surgery on Kans will know how painful the Kan opener exercise Kan be.

Frankly, if it's not a bad capacitor in the crossover or a ferrofluid cleanout issue, rather than spend good money on fresh OW-1s I'd just as soon ditch these as fixer uppers and hold out for a minty pair in Rosewood.

Any constructive help and/or suggestions and/or Kan puns appreciated.

Craig

P.S. 'Ow kan ye 'av any puddin' if ye kan neigh eat yer meat?'
 
Craig B said:
Normally I'd just go ahead a pull the offending part, however, anyone who has done surgery on Kans will know how painful the Kan opener exercise Kan be.
Click to expand...

I found it possible to get the grills off intact using a 4" wide flat putty knife thingy, they are thin enough to slide between the grill and the cabinet and wide enough to spread the load and not damage the veneer. Just go very slowly and carefully and move around the grill frame a lot.

Tony.
 
Thanks Tony.

Have putty knife thingy in hand, just waiting for the mornings caffeine high to subside before attempting the 'slowly and carefully' bit.

In the meantime, I've decided to thrash the speakers with some electronica in an attempt to determine whether the offending part is sticking due to swollen tweeter syndrome.

It may sound daft, but I'm thinking it will either free up a bit or burn out altogether.

Amazingly, it all sounds quite good in a Kan II-with-the-balance-control-off-centre sort of way.

Craig
 
On to Jazz and Blues now...

Jimmy Smith sure kan kick some arse on that B3!

Still no right arm on the drummer though.

Craig
 
I'm not sure the Kans have OW1s. They are more likely to be an earlier Hiquphon. Not to be confused with the best 19mm tweeter in the world.

James
 
Mystery solved!

I appears that one of the original ScanSpeak D2008 HF units had been replaced with a later Linn branded Hiquphon model.

Looking at the specs, these two HF drivers differ quite dramatically wrt sensitivity - 90dB/1w/1m for the ScanSpeak originals and 87dB/1w/1m for the later Hiquphon sourced replacements.

The extra dB or two of difference that I am hearing beyond the 3dB on paper may be down to Linn having revised the crossover specification to include a resistor in with the tweeter cap to take the D2008 down a notch just shortly before this pair was built.

Said resistor appears to have been dropped (or reduced in value) when the Hiquphon model was fitted as standard.

Craig
 
Kans will have the Hiquphon D20-LP1.

The voice coil tails are soldered to a flexible braid. That joint can fail completely, so I guess it's possible it may also fail partially, leading to a drop in output.
 
.

Said resistor appears to have been dropped when the OW I was fitted as standard.

You should be so lucky......but no.

D20/LP-1: 87 dB, two rings on the faceplate

D20/LP-2: 90 dB, "Linn" on the faceplate
 
Thanks James,

Perhaps you are right.

A Google of 'Linn Hiquphon Tweeters' landed me back here at PFM where similar vintage Isobariks were reported to have 'Type: D20-LP-1' and 'Made with exclusive rights for Linn Products Ltd.' and 'developed and produced by Hiquphon, Denmark' printed on a label on the side.

Craig
 
Rusty,

That does it, I'm going in just a soon as I find my miner's helmet and kan opener!

Craig

P.S. My luck is worse than that...the bloody bright speakers B110 likes to buzz along in time with the lowest bass notes!

P.P.S. If anyone needs my advice on buying used hi-fi, I'll be in the kan.
 
While you're doing Open-Kabinet surgery, you may as well replace the original bipolar elcaps in the XO with something better.

If my Sara's are typical, the values will have drifted alarmingly.
 
Craig

If ya want I will give you a hand. Return the favour so to speak.
Gimme a call, I'm still in Tillsonburg. 688.9077
 
Thanks for the suggestion Rusty.

Would a fresh equivalent type and value from the likes of Bennic be 'something better' enough, or are you suggesting a film type as replacement for the (assumed) electrolytic originals?

Craig
 
Hey Michael,

How are things in the hinterland?

I appreciate the offer but I don't actually care enough about these to need the moral support.

It would be good to see you though. Do you ever venture into the 'big' city anymore?

Craig
 
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