Audiopie Model Five Review
The Correct Interpretation of KLH “Model Five” Vintage Speaker
There are many paths to the pursuit of audio, so it’s natural for each user to go their own way. From an empirical point of view, I personally tend to pursue modern interpretations of the high end, but on the other hand, I don’t mind the vintage sound where the palate is attractive. The charm of a well-made vintage is that it naturally conveys the taste of the music and the sound is very deliciously clear, but in fact, this feeling is limited to what it can convey in writing and seems difficult to feel unless you have really heard of it.
When made and combined, the other sounds that have been heard so far may not have been stuck in the box, but the vintage, which seems to have been where the familiarity of the music that has been heard since childhood has come so far, certainly has an aspect to it, such as the feeling of a mossy clam-boiled auk-kuk that he encountered when he returned home after a long life abroad.
I know the charm of such a vintage, but I don’t really have my feet dipped into the vintage side. Once it’s literally vintage, it doesn’t have any new products, so there’s no formal market, and the expertise in that part remains a relatively low-key area that can’t be easily reached. Of course, there are a number of limitations that make any of the existing makers try to recreate the vintage, but there are a number of limitations, such as the fact that with real vintage, most of them are very expensive, and space (most vintages take up a lot of space) is required to go hand in hand with the pursuit of the traditional path.
But it’s not that there aren’t entirely any alternatives. The aforementioned traditional vintage is a consultative concept within the audio world, and audio that is not much different in essence (and therefore relatively accessible) from the more recent modern speakers is also old and clearly different from the speakers of the fortress, so it is understood as vintage in a broad sense, and these objects are relatively not difficult to access. Just as Levi’s, a traditional denim brand, will create a vintage line through its own label, LVC. In some cases, it can be reinterpreted and made entirely new. JBL’s L100, which we introduced the other day, and the KLH Model 5, which we will introduce today, are speakers in that area.
Due to their large size, there is still a need for some space, but these products are bound to be easier to access because you can buy new products that have a stable supply
Traditional speaker with patterned wood finish
In fact, I knew very little about KLH other than being introduced to an acquaintance I had known for a long time. After listening to this man who has been around for decades with an infinite interest in the AR and KLH’s structure (usually called enclosed) air suspension and pulp woofers, which are now referred to as the company that made the legendary masterpiece, and who had been tracking it for decades, I learned that KLH was a company that had a lot to do with AR and clipsh, and the interest was amplified when I thought that Model 5 might be a reproduction of a very old speaker that I had made in a really long time.
The real thing of Model 5 is in the form of an all-shaft speaker that we saw before, to be precise, as a child. It’s huge, but it’s just the look of a crate of shorter length than Fort Tolboy. The 10-inch pulp cones of the 3-way unit, proudly embedded in a spacious, large beple, are also reminiscent of childhood speakers.
Of course, a little more If you watch Model 5, you’ll see more than just the old all-axle crate. Once you reach the old-fashioned speaker grille, which looks like linen material, it’s so different that it goes beyond the all-axle crates of your childhood and even the AR crates that existed before that. In addition, the enclosure has a clearly more high-end (which probably only applied to expensive objects back then) pattern rather than the full-shaft speakers of childhood. The patterned wood finish has a strong presence in the real world, and even if it’s only the JBL L100, it’s a sheet paper finish, and the finish is more advanced in the Model 5.
Various advantages that enhance commodity:
In addition, Model 5 is supported by a separate steel stand, contrary to childhood memory. Most of the all-axle crates did not have this type of steel stand, but the fact is that this type of crate requires a separate stand to listen properly, and the JBL L100 with a similar concept also supports steel stands, although they are sold separately. Surprisingly, the standard stand looks much better in paint and robustness than that of the JBL L100, so by this point you don’t need to get a separate stand for sound quality.
The sleekly woven rear of Model 5’s patterned finish features a simple but tightly single-wiring binding post. I like the material of the binding post and the L100 in terms of being single. As I always mention, my personal preference is the single wiring side, which eliminates the need for further consideration rather than a double. Fortunately, the binding post is in its current format, unlike its appearance, so fortunately it supports hard wiring, horseshoe and bananas.
Unusually, Model 5 supports a switch on the back that allows for a slight adjustment of the frequency, with the HI being the default setting and the MID being shaved by -1.5dB above 400Hz to help with slightly more live playback, while the LO shaves around -3.0dB above 400Hz to aid even more live playback. The audio room is currently dead, so I put it in the default setting, HI, but this part seems to be something that can be changed to the user’s liking and catch the sound. A quality steel stand is provided as a standard so you don’t have to pay extra for it.
Panoramic relaxing sound:
The first thing I felt about Model 5 was the sloppiness. I expected, but again, the low range from the woofer of the large caliber is natural. This part is similar to the L100. You can taste the same naïve, comfortable, musical reproduction as the older full-length speakers that have played limited music for decades in an old record store (as many of you know, the level of music playback in these speakers is often musical enough to obscure any audio).
This kind of slowly disarming the listener like a snow melt in the spring breeze is by no means an easy thing to obtain, but with these retro-designed speakers, that part is very easily reproduced, and Model 5 is no exception. If there’s a difference from the L100, the L100 tends to have a greater emphasis on cleanliness, while the Model 5 feels a little softer, softer, and more warmth-emphasized.
My personal preference is for cleanliness, but Model 5 isn’t in the realm of discomfort at all, either. Rather, the ability to draw beautifully is more of a side to this.
The strength of Model 5 is that the liberation from the aforementioned boxes is very easy. The part where it really dismantles without a single clump, creating the feeling of the music in the air as it once did, is truly outstanding. The feeling of that dismantling that we heard the other day in a very expensive horn speaker that recreated the vintage is also conveyed in Model 5.
To force you to take an example, is it more like apple juice than rice flour? This part, which would probably have been derived from the air suspension, appears to be far above the L100, a bass reflex format. What’s more, the Model 5 has a price tag of about half the price tag compared to the L100 and comes standard with a stand, so you don’t have to spend extra money. Considering this, Model 5 is definitely something that will stimulate the desire to buy.
Another advantage I’ve noticed from listening to Model 5 consistently for a long time is the absence of fatigue from its naturalness. There is no lumped together, so there is no forced regeneration, so there is no burden at all even if you listen for a long time. In a way, it’s all in the same vein, but I think the part about not being burdened with watching for a long time has significant merit to be treated separately. Of course, this is not to say that this reproduction is universally perfect.
Some users will want a darker, straighter, sharper, cooler reproduction, and certainly, some will seek to create a more dense stage. However, the speaker is not very expensive to the point of price, so even if it is a 2nd or 3rd choice, it is relatively unburdensome. If you can only care about the space, you’ll get a sound that you won’t be able to easily obtain with a new product with a stand. The rear has a simple but tight single wiring binding post.
Conclusion:
As I said earlier, there are many paths to the pursuit of audio, and there will be as much sacrifice and reward as there are for each path you choose. If the playback that Model 5 implements, that is, an audio file that has long pursued the advantages of Model 5, this speaker will be a ray of light, and even if you think of other playback as ideal, if it is not too burdensome, it is worth keeping it aside for a long time.
Model 5 has enough materials to be a partner in a good audio life that will keep you from missing out on for a long time. Listening to music on Model 5 makes me want this speaker to become so popular that it can be seen everywhere.
Contact
Co., Ltd. Daung
02-597-4100
http://daawoong.com
KLH Model 5
₩ 3,100,000
audiopie
audio webzine, music webzine
www.audiopie.co.kr