stpete cooling

This is the component side of the 2020-current replacement available for the ceramic BASH HC1011 (as well as the rarer HC1010 and HC1012) boards.

I realize this is a very old thread, but since mid 2020 there is a non-ceramic replacement option for the troublesome ceramic BASH HC1011 boards. I've had great results with hundreds of the new boards (most people find them on ebay). An engineer in Washington helped me produce a non-ceramic replacement that avoids the intermittent connections that develop on the brittle ceramic boards after thousands of heat cycles. Ceramic would have originally been chosen to handle high temperatures, but in the ProMedia 4.1 and 5.1, the ceramic boards do not actually get hot enough to need ceramic. Ironically, a daughter board in the 5.1 actually does get hot enough to char, but that was not made using ceramic boards. (That daughterboard problem is alleviated with another new board the engineer also helped me develop, plus the mounting of a silent fan to move air in the tight confines of that board's location).

The static is not from the line filter board. Static typically is from noise generated on the AC-DC converter board. To remove the line filter board, though, you need to desolder all four pins. The only times that board is removed is if the thermal fuse for the transformer blows, or to replace the metal oxide varistor (MOV). The relay can be replaced without removing this board.

That is a 100,000 ohm resistor. It is likely fine. I've replaced over 1,000 of these, as part of every repair I do. I upgrade them to 2 watt, but I recall well under .5% of panels actually having that resistor fail. More often the 205,000 ohm resistor (1/8 watt) by the transistor on that board will rise in value and fail, or there will be charring between the two 470 ohm resistors at the bottom of that daughter board. That charring eventually burns out a nearby IRF740 MOSFET (power transistor) and a 22 ohm and/or a 390 ohm resistor on the daughter board. It has been years since I logged in to this forum. Glad my notes from years ago still are helpful.

The fact that the hum does not go away when the cables are unplugged serves to verify that the problem is not in the signal source (e.g., sound card) nor input cables. The capacitors nearly always take care of the hum issue. Once I've installed 105 deg. Celsius rated capacitors, I have not had that hum return. It may help that my panels also have a fan moving air inside the sub enclosure, evening out the temperature and removing heat more quickly from the two heat sinks near those capacitors. 100 mFd refers to microFarads, same as uF, just as mmfd used to be micro-microfarads, and now is referred to as picofarads. (the F was sometimes capitalized in honor of Faraday, for whom the Farad unit was named). Once the weak spots have been addressed, I've seen these systems perform well for years.

There is a 4.7 ohm resistor on the panel that sometimes overheats and burns out. It is in series for a power supply circuit. If it fails, though, there could be another problem causing that failure in the power supply (such as an IC preamplifier on the panel). There is a demand for 4.1 controls on eBay, if you end up parting out your system. I think it can be repaired, though.

Sorry to hear of these frustrating experiences. If you do decide to get rid of your system, I would be interested in buying it in non-working condition. I've repaired hundreds of these, and have had great results. I believe cooling the ProMedia 5.1 amplifier's power supply (AC-DC converter) is key, and have seen the stark difference between ProMedia 5.1 circuits that had been cooled for the past few years, and those that had no airflow with sections sitting at 180+ degrees F (think "well-done steak"). It is not in the spirit of this forum to advertise here, (and I'm plenty busy already doing repairs--keeping my turn around time to 1 week is important to me), so I am just noting if you no longer want your panel or entire system, I'd offer to buy it (salvage and improve it), than rather than let it be trashed/destroyed.

Sorry, I only checked the forum a few times a year, and just spotted your post. The problem you describe is frequently from one of three causes: a 2N5551 transistor (more likely on the older THX panels, but at 8 years, your Ultra is getting in range for this transistor to fail), a 22 volt zener diode near it, or the BASH HC1011 chip for the satellite section. I've seen this problem many times. The first two components sit on a board that gets quite hot, and I've seen the diode, transistor and some capacitors fail from that heat. That's one reason why moving air past that board to bring the temperatures down has been effective (eliminating charring, arcing and shorting at the other end of that AC-DC converter is the other reason to install a fan for airflow). The panel should be repairable.

If the system does not hum when the input cables are removed from the back of the panel, it is likely that one of two 35v 100mFd capacitors on the main board have dried out. Whenever I repair these panels now, I always upgrade those two capacitors to 105 deg. Celsius rated versions (even on boards that are not yet humming). I believe one of two other places doing repairs is now doing the same. Much rarer is that one of the nearby 16v 100mFd capacitors has dried out. All four sit next to a heat sink that is always quite warm.

The hum is almost certainly from one of two 100mFd 35 volt capacitors on the main board next to a pair of small, black heat sinks. You have to be careful removing the old capacitor that you don't damage the leads--they are a bit difficult to access with a soldering pencil. I always replace these as part of every repair--the hum is so common on older panels. I recommend using 105 degree Celsius capacitors, in place of the original 85 degree rating. I also bend into a "Z" (offset) the lead that will be closer to the heat sink so that the capacitor is mounted as far from the heat sink as possible. The control boxes on eBay vary widely in price. One sold for $82 plus shipping this week; another sold for $24 something and shipping.

Sorry I did not check back sooner, and was not clearer. If someone had started troubleshooting further and had new questions as they went, I was offering to help from my experience. I have repaired panels for others, but I am not sure Klipsch or forum readers want either a private person (e.g., me) or a business to be seen as soliciting. If you wish to contact me via email or private message, that may be the best method for repair options outside the forum.

I could tell someone had worked on it because there is a small yellow piece of insulation (not original) at the bottom of the board. That is an area where the heat is the worst, and arcing eventually develops. Perhaps someone previously repaired that section.The daughterboard does need to be removed in order to replace more than the top part or two. A desoldering gun (like Hakko's 808?) or heating all pins simultaneously with a bar of solder-soaked braided wire can accomplish the removal. Based on that board's color, I'd replace all but the the HT-60 diac, the transistor, the 1.00 k 1% resistor and the two 1N3070 diodes (replacing the other 15 parts). Be careful with that board, the traces are very thin and easily damaged. When reinserting the board, be sure all 8 pins are back in circuit. If I can help, let me know.

The problem is not with that section. Your photo shows the standard, correct connections. However, the photo does show that someone worked on the daughterboard next to those circles, and that board is prone to fail from heat. It was originally bright green. You could have a main relay problem, but as part of any repair I would go through and replace and upgrade the wattage of the 470 ohm (2, to 1 watt), plus the following 1% precision resistors: 205,000 ohm, 392 ohm (2) and 22 ohm (2) (to 1/4 watt). The precision resistors are prone to fail or change values, causing problems. Without seeing the panel, though, there is no way to be certain what the cause is.

I've seen hissing happen from capacitors drying on the power supply, or one of the BASH chips failing, or arcing on the power supply's daughterboard due to charring from longterm operation at high temperatures. Humidity will make a difference on the arcing (making it intermittent with the humidity in the room). Those are the most common I've found. There could be a few other causes. Of those causes mentioned above, I've generally been able to repair them, and get rid of the drying and charring problems. There really are few options that give the nice sound and power of the ProMedia 5.1. If I can be of further help, let me know.

Sorry to hear of your problem. The 5.1 speakers are designed for up to 60 watts rms (though I'd feel more comfortable limiting them to 40 watts rms, like on the RSX-3s, which are heavier). I've found Harman Kardon makes some nice receivers, more accurately rated than other common brands when they list their output power. You will have difficulty, though, finding a receiver that includes a subwoofer amplifier. The ProMedia 5.1 subwoofer has a higher impedance than is typical for subwoofers, which will not hurt an amplifier, but means an amplifier rated at 4 ohms will need to have a higher wattage to drive a higher impedance like the ProMedia 5.1's. (Sub amp in the Ultra has a 170 watt rating (each driver was rated for 100 watts). Something like a Sub-10 subwoofer would work to replace your sub, set for frequencies up to 116 Hz. I've had good success with the ProMedia amplifiers once I've upgraded some weak components and added cooling. (I've made hundreds of internal cooling kits since October 2005). At some point all electronics will die, of course, but it seems that once the internal hot spots are eliminated, the system's reliability falls in line with other electronics. It will also be hard to beat the compact size of the ProMedia 5.1 amplifier package when you try to locate a beefy receiver like an HK. I have not found a plate amplifier that exactly matches the ProMedia 5.1 sub's plate dimensions.

The best scenario would be that a power spike has triggered the panel's safety device (a metal oxide varistor, or MOV) to absorb the spike, shorting out and blowing the fuse. It is a yellow or blue disk next to the fuse, and would likely be charred. If a fuse blows as soon as the panel is plugged in, then that is likely the problem. Or you can use an ohmmeter to check if there is a short across the terminals of the MOV. The MOV is available at Radio Shack, as is the five amp slow blow fuse. If the panel does not blow the fuse as soon as it is plugged in (or smarter, if you have been able to rule out a shorted MOV by measuring a high resistance across its terminals), then do not try to turn on the panel. You will only blow the replacement fuse, and possibly cause further sputtering of hot metal from the power supply (shorted MOSFET or blown bridge rectifier are almost certainly the problem). I'll contact you privately about further repair options. Your panel is very likely worth repairing.

I have seen some other Klipsch speakers lose the woofer when one of the wires for a choke did not properly pass through the circuit board. A resulting slight bend in the wire meant only the tip of the wire made contact.When the speaker was jarred, the connection broke, though the wire still seemed to be in place. I think I've also seen a poor solder connection where one of the heavier components connected to the circuit board in the crossover.

I haven't checked Klipsch's forums much in the past couple of years, but was checking the forum on another topic, so I stopped back at the 5.1 section to see if I can help. There is no one simple fix, though there are steps that can be taken to prolong system life before failure. I've had great success with hundreds of panels after modifications I've been doing since October 2005. Unfortunately, almost no one will be reading a forum or looking anywhere else about their 5.1 system when their system is still working fine. Looking back over just the past few months, I've repaired dozens of these panels (and far more over the past 4+ years). There is no one typical problem anymore with these panels. I have a log book that tracks a couple dozen possible problems and the symptoms that go with them. In 2005, the repair was typically fast and easy (defective FR104 diode and 4.7 ohm resistor open). I always added cooling to the power supply, though, because the daughterboard can reach 185 degrees Fahrenheit after 20 minutes without loud volume and with the board still sitting in open air. After many hours at that temperature, those boards char and can even start arcing between two 470 ohm resistors. Relocating the resistors to the back of the daughterboard, as one oft-mentioned tech does, helps, but without some air movement the 205,000 1/8 watt resistor rises in value and the board fails, or the 4 zener diodes on the board fail, or one of the 22 ohm or 392 ohm 1% tolerance resistors fail and cause the IRF740 MOSFETs to fail. Sometimes that blows the fuse. When I repair a panel now, I always upgrade the 22 mFd and 47 mFd capacitors on the power supply (6, to 105 degree Celsius), replace and mount for better airflow both the 22V zener diode and 2N5551 transistor, as well as still upgrade the 4.7 ohm resistor (to 3 watt) and FR104 diode (10 parts on the power supply board). I remove the daughter board to upgrade 8 to 20 parts, depending on its condition. I don't consider a repair complete until I install a fan (started with dual 40mm in 2005, now using a single 92mm 9dB fan) over the two heat sinks on the power supply. That fan reduces temperatures from over 185 degrees in places to a peak of 110 deg. (with an average of 100 degrees). I checked panel last month that had had my fans for a few years, and the daughterboard was still a bright green and the components in great shape, rather than the dark brown I typically see. As far as what can cause a problem other than the dozen or more parts mentioned above on the power supply, sometimes the bridge rectifier fails, a power spike zaps the MOV or blows the thermal fuse in the standby transformer. The sockets in the connecting cables between boards can get loose or can break. The power relay can fail, or the BASH HC1011 chip(s), or the 100 mFd capacitors on the main board dry out and a hum begins. I've listed many of the symptoms and parts needed as tips within my cooling kit listing that I make available from time to time on eBay. (I'm glad I have none listed there currently, so there is no confusion that I'm trying to sell anything--just here today to clear up some misinformation). A generous man has made a helpful schematic diagram available online since the spring of 2009. I'm not advertising here. I'm too busy as it is. I just want people to realize the Klipsch amplifiers after several years inside an enclosure will show signs of heat fatigue. The best thing a person can do is lower the temperature inside their sub enclosure. Don't drill holes in the enclosure, though, since it is acoustically tuned. (The fan changes the internal volume of the sub about 1%--not affecting the acoustic performance). Moving air inside the enclosure evens out the temperatures to about 95 to 105 degrees, and brings that heat more efficiently to the back panel, where it is safely radiated or convected into the room. I hope some of my experience shared here is helpful. Depending on what site you find searching the internet, it is easy to think that just wiggling one part or replacing a fuse will be the fix for everyone. If an owner decides to replace and upgrade the 25 or so parts that I've mentioned above, be careful with the thin copper traces. [Observe correct polarity on diodes, elect. caps and transistors, of course]. Leaving just one trace open will cause the panel to stop working. The traces get brittle on the boards that have gotten darker with heat. As far as Klipsch's responses: Klipsch made replacement panels available for $60 shipped for several years -- a bargain. (Too bad they did not improve the heat removal from the power supply and the durability of the BASH HC1011 chips). Then panel prices went to $120, and now Klipsch has no more panels. They ran out of controllers several months ago (were $33.39 for years). Prices for controllers vary on eBay, recently spiking to $73, but normally at $40 or less.

This will be too late for the initial request, but for those who read this later: Strip about 4 inches of insulation off a longer length of 18 or 16-gauge stranded copper wire. twist the wire so it stays together as a single strand. Bend the bare section of wire in half and lay it so that half runs right against each side of the row of HC1011 pins on the bottom of the board. You might use a knife blade perpendicular to the strip to hold the wire in place as you then tin the wire with solder. Keep adding solder along the full length until the pins of the HC1011 chip are touching molten solder, and with a rag gently pull the HC1011 chip free. If there is any resistance, stop and be sure every pin is contacting molten solder. Don't use more than a 60-watt iron so that you don't overheat the board. Then use a desoldering tool (vacuum) to remove the solder from each socket. The new chip will easily drop in place, and the through-the-board sockets will still be in place.

In the past day I tried unplugging for hours. I tried leaving the system on for hours. I was thinking I would soon have to send the panel to Klipsch for $120 repair (though I was first going to recheck the cable between the LCD control panel and the amplifier for a loose connection-it was snug when I put the amp in months ago, and the amp failed while sitting idle--not suggestive of vibration induced failure), but a few minutes ago, for no explicable reason (if you don't count two prayers) the sub began working! The sudden return of low volume bass had me look over, and I saw the display had the proper volume setting. In a few seconds the display returned to its proper, dimmed state. When the amp was malfunctioning, the backlight had stayed on continuously. All I can conclude for others with this problem is two solutions short of shipping for repair, one of which is patience while leaving the power on.

I had the same problem with an RW-12d I bought non-working on eBay. After unplugging it a couple of times, the system powered up properly and operated fine for a few months. Now the problem returned today. If your system is new or under warranty, you will want to send the ampilfier in; if not, there seems to be a small chance that the system can reset itself.

Up until a few months ago, Klipsch was doing repairs for $60, so the price really jumped recently. The good news is that if there is a significant problem with the board, you will get a brand new board for that price. Before you permanently install the new board, I suggest you let the panel operate for 15 minutes, then observe the temperature of the power supply heat sinks and a neighboring resistor or two. Be careful, since those heat sinks carry high voltage! But when you see the temperatures (a little IR thermometer is handy), you might see an advantage in removing some of that heat more quickly from those surfaces/components. There is a hobbyist who works on these and professes no harm is done by the heat, but I've seen older boards have sections so charred that the board began to conduct electricity and arc. At the least, I would encourage owners to not leave their 5.1 Promedia systems turned on when not in use. The Ultra particulary draws about 20 watts or more at idle, and that heat needs to be removed by the back panel. You may contact me if you want more info on ideas how to help a great system last longer. I've been busy in recent months, and have not been at the forum since early summer. I apologize that my email link was outdated.

The red does go to the wider (3/16") terminal. On the older THX panels the terminals are the same width, and for this application it really would not matter. It is AC, not DC, and you do not have to worry about keeping in phase, as you would when hooking up two satellite speakers facing the same direction. As far as I understand it, when placing a sub in the corner of the room, small adjustments in positioning will help adjust the phase of the sub to match with the sound from the satellite speakers. That last sentence I am not as sure about, though.

Switch the front and rear input cables to verify if the problem moves to the front (if so, then you have a cable or sound card problem). If the problem is in the sub, there is a small chance that a one of a pair of voltage-dividing resistors has burned out. The resistors are at the top of the individual amplifier boards for each channel, and are located between the red and black power input connectors. More likely is that one of the power MOSFET output transistors has failed. They are very difficult to access. In that case a $60 repair/replacement through Klipsch is a better option. If you decide to not do the repair, you still can enjoy it as a 4.1 system. If an amplifier channel board has shorted, though, it will put a heavy load on the power supply, and you will want to disconnect the power from that channel.

I've enjoyed using a pair of RSX-4s with my Ultra. The RSX line has the advantage of a heavier, more rigid cabinet, which should provide more accurate reproduction at higher volumes. (I have not considered the Ultra or THX 5.1 speakers to be rattling or noticeably weak, though.) Since the 5.1 Promedia is designed with about a 120 Hz crossover, going to a 5 1/4 or 6 /12 midrange will not have the same advantage as a system where you can adjust the the crossover frequency to send signals to the satellites below 120 Hz. Going to an RSX-5 would probably be a waste, and the RSX-3 (from the iFi) would also be a nice match for the Promedia 5.1. One factor not mentioned other than impedance (8 ohm not drawing as much power as the designed 6 ohm), is the speaker efficiency--Promedia vs. RSX. I'd also recommend upgrading the speaker wire from 18 to 16 gauge, if you are using higher volumes. You don't have to get exotic insulation or special weaves; the biggest advantage is more copper allows lower resistance for more accurate reproduction at volume. I'd say the improvements are nothing major; Klipsch's 5.1 THX and Ultra satellites are already better than any other computer speakers I've seen.