KLH Model Five Hi-Fi Speaker Stand Stand

KLH Model Five 5° Slant Riser Base — The Factory-Original Stand, Available Separately

The KLH Model Five 5° Slant Riser Base is the steel plinth that gives the Model Five its distinctive floating stance. It is the same base that comes in the box with the speaker, offered here as an individual item for owners who need a replacement, who bought a pair second-hand without the original stands, or who want to put the same base under a different cabinet. Measuring 203 mm high, 336 mm wide and 276 mm deep, it is welded from 14-gauge steel and finished in black powder coat. The base is sold as a single piece, so a stereo pair requires two.

Why the 5-Degree Slant Matters

The Model Five is a three-way acoustic-suspension floorstander with a large woofer low in the cabinet and the tweeter well below typical standing height. Sitting the speaker flat on the floor points the driver axis at the listener's waist. The riser lifts the cabinet by roughly 20 cm and rotates it 5 degrees upward, so the treble and midrange arrive at ear level from a normal seated position. The angle is smaller than the Model Three's 8 degrees for a simple reason: a floorstander starts much higher, so it needs less correction to reach the same listening axis.

Construction & Materials — Welded 14-Gauge Powder-Coated Steel

The Model Five is a heavy speaker, and the base underneath it has to be genuinely rigid rather than merely decorative. KLH uses heavy-gauge welded steel so the plinth carries the cabinet without flexing and does not add resonance of its own. Decoupling the wooden cabinet from the floor through a stiff steel platform also reduces how much low-frequency energy is transmitted straight into the floor structure.

• Material: 14-gauge steel — heavy-gauge sheet, chosen for rigidity under a large floorstanding cabinet
• Construction: Heavy-duty welded frame — no bolted joints that can loosen or rattle
• Finish: Black powder coat — hard-wearing matte surface that recedes visually beneath the wood veneer

Dimensions & Compatibility

The 336 mm width matches the Model Five's cabinet footprint, so the speaker sits squarely on the plinth with the front edge flush. Because it is an open platform rather than a fixed cradle, the base can also be used under other floorstanding or large bookshelf speakers of similar width — owners of vintage sealed-box speakers frequently use it for exactly that.

• Dimensions: 203 mm H x 336 mm W x 276 mm D — matched to the Model Five footprint
• Slant angle: 5 degrees upward — fixed, non-adjustable
• Designed for: KLH Model Five floorstanding speaker — also usable under other cabinets of comparable size
• Quantity: Sold as a single unit — two pieces are required for a stereo pair

Setup Notes — Getting the Most From the Riser

Fitting the base is straightforward: the speaker simply sits on the plinth, with the cabinet's rear edge raised and the baffle tilted back. What matters more is where the resulting assembly ends up in the room, because a sealed-cabinet speaker responds strongly to the boundaries around it.

• Listening axis: Sit so the tweeter is at or just below ear height — the 5° tilt handles the remaining offset
• Wall distance: Experiment with 20–60 cm from the rear wall — closer placement adds bass weight, further back opens up the soundstage
• Floor: Solid, level surface — on thick carpet, check that the plinth sits flat and does not rock

Who Is This Riser Base For

This item exists mainly for two groups. The first is Model Five owners who have lost or damaged an original base, or who picked up a used pair without the stands — this is the factory part, not an approximation. The second is listeners with other large sealed-box speakers, including vintage models from the same acoustic-suspension era, who want a solid steel plinth that lifts and angles the cabinet without looking like an aftermarket accessory. In both cases, remember to order two pieces for a stereo pair.

KLH and the Acoustic-Suspension Legacy

KLH was founded in the 1950s by Henry Kloss, who pioneered the acoustic-suspension loudspeaker and, with it, the idea that a sealed cabinet could deliver linear, accurate bass. The modern Model Five revives that thinking with a three-way sealed design, real-wood veneer and a three-position acoustic balance control. The slant riser base is an integral part of that package — not an add-on, but the way KLH intended the speaker to stand.