Murf

Thanks for the offer Xman. I will let you know if I need the antenna after I get the tuner back in a week or so. I can't believe what a difference it makes to listen to music on these Klipsch speakers. The great thing is that you can pick up this top of the line equipment for nothing right now because everyone is converting to home theater units. I piced up these Klipsch KG-4.2 speakers. Harmon/Kardon KH 6600 amplifier (pre-Korea 90 watts/channel) with a tuner and a Sony CD player for $325 off of Craigslist. Easily over $2,000 worth of equipment if bought new. Are these people crazy? Looks like I will have another $75 into it with the tuner repair, but still a total steal. Ain't Austin great! Murf

I took the tuner in today and it did reproduce the problem in the shop. The tuner is faulty and will likely need a new circuit that controls the gain. The signal was evidnetly being driven wide open causing the distortion. There is no explanantion for the day and night problem. I will let you guys know if we solve that issue. Being a novice at all this, I am incredibly impressed with the expertise provided by this forum. You guys are great and if nothing else you have completely educated me on antenna issues and FM reception problems. Thanks... Murf

What a great article! So is it correct that this works basically like a drum with a a beater and resonant head? The bottom head resonates when you strike the top head. The tuning of the resonant head slightly lower than the top head creates a tone that lowers as it disentegrates. Conversely, a resonant head that is tuned slightly higher than the beater head has a tone that goes higher as it didentegrates. Murf

---------------- On 8/12/2005 4:54:36 PM dbflash wrote: Murf, My guess is you will not have this problem in the fall,winter and spring. 2 things could be causing this: leaves on trees and hot summer time temperatures. that is why it sounds better at night, lower humidity and temperatures. The attached may also answer some of your questions. http://www.fanfare.com/rfms-bk.html Danny ---------------- Great site Danny! I appreciate all of the advice and information from everybody. One last thing that I plan to do is have a local stero shop take a look at the tuner. He says that it is possible that a circuit my be faulty. This seems like something I should do before I invest in a serious antenna. Just for grins I attached long wires attached to a dipole antenna to the FM antenna connectors and listened while I walked around the room trying different locations. I also took the antenna out into the yard. Neiter improved the signal clarity and there was not one sweet spot. This was true and consistent for different channels. So It is possible that the tuner is faulty. Murf

My 4.2s are also the olied oak cabinet. Beautiful finish and great sound. The passive and active speaker is new to me. I am convinced that the passive and active speaker allow for pressure to equalize between the two speakers. This would allow for the woofer to be played at high volume without blowing the speaker and would probably also buffer the sound of the speaker creating a richer and more natural sound. Of course this could be complete BS! Thanks for the feedback. Murf

This is a most excellent description of the problem. I guess that this new tuner receiver is both more sensitive and more amplified than the small low wattage system that I have been listening to for the past few years. That may explain the fact that I hear the distortion more now than before. It is looking more and more like I need to put an antenna on the roof if I am to solve this problem, or just stop listening to radio during the day!

---------------- On 8/11/2005 11:42:55 PM William F. Gil McDermott wrote: I don't know if it will help in the short run. But tell us all here about your situation. It might be worth it in the long run. I see you're in Austin. Are you close to the transmitters. Is this a matter of a favorite station, or all. Is it close or far. Do you have a clear shot at the transmitter. Best, Gil ---------------- I am about 12 miles NNE from the transmitter towers for most of the stations that I listen to. I am probably below the ekevation of the towers but I can't see them from my location. I am in a valley and there is a watershed divide or ridge between me and the towers that probably would block andy attempt at a straight shot. I would probably have to go 100' high to have any chance of that. I tried the paperclip idea but alas no improvement. I am listening to my favorite station as we speak. It is slightly fuzzy but strong. This station actually broadcast from Bastrop which is about 30 miles to the east, but I can't hear any real difference between this station and the others that are transmitting about 12 miles NNE of here. My music preferences are eclectic so I tend to skip around the dial. Thanks for your feedback. Murf

What the heck does a passive speaker do? If I had to guess I would say that since these speakers aren't vented that the passive speaker is there to equalize the pressure as the active woofer moves in and out. But does the passive speaker actually produce any sound? Murf

Thanks Gil. I will try the paperclip and let you know if it helps. I have already tried moving the antenna around the room but it didn't work and my wife made it obvious that I was crazy if I thought I was going to put that ugly antenna anywhere that it could be seen. I hadn't thought of multipath but now that you mention it I have noticed that the tuner is landing one decimal over from the actual station in seek mode. I appreciate your suggestions. This thing is driving me crazy! Murf

I have recently ditched my old all-in-one bookshelf system for a Harmon/Kardon amp with Klipsch KG 4.2 speakers and Harmon/Kardon TU-211 tuner. The problem is my FM reception is lousy during the day, especially for low frequencies, but around midnight the signal comes in loud and clear. The amp is fine because the sound is fantastic for CDs and digital audio input. I have eliminated the possibility of interference by trial and error. I have tried plugging the tuner into the accessory terminals with no improvement. I am using a wire dipole wall mounted antenna. I get a strong signal that pegs the LED lights, in fact the stronger the signal the worse the distortion. Unfortunately, moving the unit to another location is not an option. The bookshelf radio never had this problem. I have talked to local so-called experts and they have no explanation. Does anybody have any experience with this problem and any suggestions on how to correct it? Many thanks - this is a great forum! MURF

I have the option of purchasing either a Denon PM880R or a Harmon/Kardon HK6600 amplifier to go with my Klipsch HK 4.2 speakers. These are all around 1992 vintage. I am tempted to go with the Harmon/Kardon over the Denon. Whay say ye?

Thanks for the advice. I thought about trying to repair it but I hadn't thought of using a lightweight material. Perhaps a piece of silk or mesh might work. Your help is much appreciated!

I recently aquired a used set of KG 4.2 speakers. The middle speaker has a 6" tear at the outer edge of the cone of the middle 10" speaker. I am not sure which speaker this is because the KG 4.2 has both an active 10" woofer and a passive 10" radiator. What is the arrangement of the speakers in the cabinet? How important is it that I repair this speaker (I can't hear any distortion) and what are my options?