I’ve just swapped out the Kelidhs on my system just to change things round a bit. I know the Kelidhs are getting a bit ancient nowadays but I’ve always liked them. Mine are pretty much mint and it got me thinking it might be a side project to do some meaningful upgrades to them. I don’t think the drivers are particularly worn out but they cannot still be at their best and it would be a gradual degradation and therefore unnoticeable over time.
Are there any established and recommended upgrades to the drivers and crossovers I could try? I’m good with a soldering iron but less confident in cabinet modifications, but wouldn’t rule that out. Are there any drive units I could easily swap in and out to replace the existing drivers. Seem to recall somebody on here had done something similar.
We had my wife’s Keilidh’s serviced (Crossovers only) some years ago by Steve at Wilmslow Audio. They sounded superb for a while, until our Grandson escaped his minders (Grandma & his Dad) one afternoon and pushed his fingers through all of the drivers
We looked into replacing them, but decided the characteristics of the Keilidh sound would be lost so replaced them.
She now runs a lovely pair of Ninka’s
At an absolute minimum I’ll be recapping the crossover. If I do put in new drivers (and I’d rather not modify the cabinets so a direct replacement would be best) then I still have the original drivers if I don’t like the new sound, once I’ve given them time to settle in properly of course.
Hiquophon tweeters and Monacor drivers plus the crossover service kits are all available from Willys Hi-Fi. Can’t post a link but he’s easy to find and happy to offer advice. Everything is a direct replacement. Just need soldering.
I did this upgrade a couple of years ago and it transformed the Keilidhs. I doubt you’ll be disappointed. The Monacors have huge magnets compared to the originals and sound very fast and smooth. The Hiquophons are some of the best tweeters I’ve heard.
Also, they were powered by a pair of 135s effortlessly.
Ah yes. It was you that I remember that had done the tweaks. Were the new drivers a straight replacement or did you need to modify the cabinets. I’d like the option of putting the speakers back to original if possible, in case I don’t like the changes. I know it’s not always easy to describe changes but what was the most notable differences you found? Do you have the part numbers of the drive units you put in them? What changes did you need to make to the crossovers?
I’ve found the site. There were only a couple of options for the Hiquophon (OW1 and OW2) but loads for the Monacors. Looks like it’ll cost me ~£400-450 all in so that’s pretty reasonable to give them a new lease of life. Did you need to make any more changes? eg. Did you need to remove or replace any of the sound deadening material or did you add any bracing etc.
Here in Asgaard we have one pair of Rosenut (1997) and another of black ash (1999). Both sets sound wonderful with original passive crossovers, drivers and kustone bases . The only mods are some Russ Andrews jumpers. The Ovators were the first speakers truly able to surpass them. If they ain’t broke…
The surrounds on early woofers don’t degrade but later ones do.
The ideal tweeter is the final gen Linn tweeter which was used in the Ninka and Katan - i.e. an evolution of the one in your Keilidhs so voiced for that speaker.
If you search for Keilidh on the website you will find the tweeters, recap kit and drivers specifically recommended for the Keilidhs. Everything is a direct replacement, no modifications. The speakers could easily be returned to stock but why bother?
I didn’t go down this route as it feels more like “Modding” the Keilidhs rather than upgrading. For me the signature sound comes more from the speaker enclosure rather than the drivers so I left that as is. Upgrading the drivers and recapping for me gave me me more of what I love about the Keilidhs.
FYI, upgrading stopped me replacing them with Kudos 606s. The only reason that I am moving them on now is that I’ve replaced my whole system with a streaming pre/active speakers system. I’d have kept them even if I’d started moving to a 500 system.
Perhaps I should have said that later versions are more ‘prone’ to aging issues. A Hi-Fi friend of mine buys and sells them (often as complete systems with active LK amps which he services) and has seen dozens through his door. They are a wonderful speaker in some ways.
I’d describe them as mint and they don’t even have holes in their socks Do you think I’d see a benefit in the meantime just re-capping the crossover. I still think I should explore the Hiquophon which I guess would mean re-capping the crossover for a second time. The Hiquophon are currently out of stock but due in in a few weeks apparently. How easily available are the last of the Linn tweeters and would they require a tweak to the crossover too?
You’d have to buy a pair of Katans or Ninkas and take out the tweeters from them, unless someone has already done this and is selling the tweeters alone. At least with Hiquphon you know they will be perfect. They do sound very good but are not a perfect swap in terms of voicing, so it depends how close to original you want them to sound.
I’ve sent away three pairs of Linn speakers for refurbishment, including new caps - two were very light touch. The risk is that the speakers will come back sounding less tuneful and engaging (due to component selection), albeit clearer and more refined. I’m sure you will get a benefit in terms of clarity but I’ve always found the speaker less engaging afterwards. In the case of my AV 5140s, they are still enjoyable enough and I currently use them in the office.
There is also someone on the Lejonklou forum who got his Keilidhs serviced and shared ‘before’ and ‘after’ phone clips. They did sound better, but a bit less engaging.
The other option is going active with Linn amps but then the amps and active cards need servicing and you’re back to the same problem.
I think your project is worth doing though as they don’t make speakers like this any more. Bass is superb and I think they are as musically coherent as Kans in some ways - a real achievement.
I agree. Of all the speakers I’ve had over the years the Keilidhs are the ones that are keepers. To me they are one of the absolute bargains on the second hand hifi market as you can pick up a cosmetically excellent pair for ~£400. I do have Linn amplification but that’s currently boxed up and I’m using my Naim amps. Linn speakers of this vintage just seem to work very well with Naim amplification; moreso than more recent Linn speakers.
Totally agree that Keilidhs sound better balanced on Naim amps, both vintage and current (XS3). They help mitigate the ‘shut in’ sound whereas Linn amps seem to make it worse.
I also have a late serial pair of Kabers which are much brighter and open sounding than Keilidhs and these match perfectly with Kairn / Klout. I would imagine this pair sound too thin / bright with Naim. However, an early pair of Kabers worked quite well with my bolt down 12/160 but I wasn’t very impressed by that version - it’s a speaker that improved a lot in its lifetime.
You only need to do this once. It’s a service, not a tweak. Whether you use the specified Linn, Hiquophon or even Scanspeak tweeters, the crossover specs are the same. You don’t even need to recap the crossovers but it makes sense due to their age.
Do you think I’d see a benefit in the meantime just re-capping the crossover. I still think I should explore the Hiquophon which I guess would mean re-capping the crossover for a second time. The Hiquophon are currently out of stock but due in in a few weeks apparently. How easily available are the last of the Linn tweeters and would they require a tweak to the crossover too?