LiveFreeAndRoam

Firstly, let me start out by shouting... Moose09876; you ROCK! If it weren't for Moose's adventurous troubleshooting methods [], I could not have done this myself. After getting many great tips from Moose, I ordered an IRF740 MOSFET N Channel, just $0.94 (yes 94 cents) , waited 3-weeks for it to be delivered [] , replaced the blown MOSFET, and my Subwoofer is BOOMING again!!! [] [] [H] In case others have the same misfortune and are willing to have a go at fixing it themselves, I've recorded a few pics and tips. Naturally, you undertake this at your own risk. Whilst it worked for me, there's no guarantee it will work for you. Remove bolts holding back plate and carefully remove it The bad MOSFET is shown below Remove cables and then remove power board to work on it. NOTE:Only work on the board when power is disconnected - and be careful not to touch the capacitors; they can store a jolt. You could use a capacitor drain resistor to be sure the capacitors have no stored energy. Remove the MOSFET by first undoing the bolt that holds it to the heat-sink. In my case, I removed the whole heat-sink in case I had to replace both MOSFETS. However, I'd suggest unbolt only the suspected MOSFET and if you have long-nose cutters, cut it's legs. This would only leave the 3-legs, detached from the MOSFET body. Desoldering 3-legs is much easier than trying to desolder the legs with the body still attached. After removing the MOSFET (and desoldering its legs) from the power board, you must test the board to ensure the fault has been isolated. To do this safely: a) Reconnect the red and black mains power connectors on the power board (leave all others disconnected) Bolt the board to its mounting plate and reinstall the mounting plate onto the subwoofer box. Two or three screws should hold it securely enough. c) Insert a fresh slow-blow fuse (1A) d) Ensure the subwoofer's power switch is OFF e) Insert power cord and and switch on at wall f) Turn on the power at subwoofer If the fuse still blows, then you need to keep troubleshooting; e.g. remove the 2nd MOSFET and repeat the steps above. On the other hand, if the fuse does not blow, then you are probably well on your way to repairing your unit. Replace the MOSFET and solder it in place. Retest the board as above. Assuming a successful retest, continue to the next step. For interest-sake, measure the output voltage of the power-module: Reconnect the signal cable and the output power cables. Now retest. This time, your subwoofer should completely power-up. Start rejoicing... you're nearly there. Disconnect power and once again remove the board so you can continue to work on it. Apply non-conductive thermal paste and remember to install the thin plastic insulator between the MOSFET and the heat-sink. Take your time. In this case, I needed to insert the bolt with the bent long-nose pliers. Then carefully hold the nut in place with a pair of straight long-nose pliers. I had just enough room to start rotating the bolt with my fingers, whilst still holding the nut with my pliers. Basically, do whatever works for you. Glue the nuts in place (I used nail polish, but there are probably better glues for this) http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj241/LiveFreeAndRoam/Klipsch/IMG_3017.jpg Reconnect all those cables that you previously removed. Rebolt the board to its mounting plate and reinstall it into the subwoofer. Switch on the power and rejoice!!!! Find your favourite movies/music and enjoy LFaR.

I bought the sub with a bunch of other equipment, so don't have a separate invoice for it. I recall a figure of around AU$900, which was a little discounted from RRP at the time. Yeah, I hear you moose. Spending AU$400 just to fix it, gets a little rediculous, epsecially considering the price of the MOSFETs will be substantially less. I'm travelling soon, so may not get a chance to play with this for a few weeks. A busy week ahead. Cheers, LFaR.

FWIW, I've since found quite a few posts on this topic as well as a fixya thread: http://www.fixya.com/support/t5614956-klipsch_rw_10d_when RW-10D fuse value Dead RW-10D RW-10d won't power on. RW-10D blowing fuses. Has a root-cause been identified? Is one of the components particularly vulnerable? It reminds me of a problem I had with my Onkyo AVR, where a resistor they used was under-rated which caused the LCD display to fail. A new resistor with higher rating fixed that. Could this also be an inappropriately rated component? LFaR.

Just experienced the exact same symptom this past weekend... right before a 21st party [:'(]. Any chance of a picture of what you replaced? I haven't done the research yet, but is there a way to determine a bad mosfet from a good mosfet? Have soldering iron and willing to give it a go before I fork out ~AU$400 for a replacement module. LFaR.

If money were no object, the sky was no limit, and the WAF did not apply, then I wonder what sort of home-theatre I would dream up. It wouldn't be nearly as ostentatious as the Steve Jenkins project, but gee it would be fun putting it all together. I am pretty damn certain that it would include a healthy dose of Klipsch spread around the home-theatre. In my dreams, LFaR.

I just checked on our importers website (http://www.internationaldynamics.com.au), it appears they only import the R-5650-W into Australia, but not the R-5650-S. Can anyone recommend an online store where I could import them myself? Thanks, LFaR.

Thanks again guys! Good ideas and good advice. I'm about 2 months from buying and will test the in-walls, as well as figure out the best way to cut into the wall etc. Luckily, the rear-wall is also an exterior wall, so I won't be too concerned if some sound sneaks out into the yard. Given this is just for surrounds, I doubt my neigbours will care either. It's certainly good fun. Cheers, LFaR.

>I sometimes use my reading glasses...sometimes the spec sheet will be in a larger font and I don't have to. Sometimes I just look at it and read from left to right. Wow, the simplicity of it all. Talk about cutting to the chase! [] LFaR.

I like the idea of installing them in the wall, but had discounted that idea based on some negative articles about in-wall speakers compared to stand-alone speakers. Mostly, the things that warned me away from in-wall speakers was that their performance is highly dependent on the wall cavity, as that becomes the speaker baffle. Maybe there are things I can do to reduce the impact of weird resonances in the wall. Or maybe it's not as serious as some of the articles make it out to be? Routing cables through the wall cavity won't be without its difficulties, but it may be possible, at least for the vertical drop to the floor. Which in-wall speakers were you thinking about? Also, do you feel it is best to keep all the speakers the same size, at 6.5"? Thanks again DrWho. I continue to enjoy your excellent advice. Cheers! LFaR.

Hi, I am trying to decide between the RS-series or RB-series for the rear-wall in a 5.1 setup. Our seating position is flush with the rear wall and 15' from the front wall. I could place the speakers on the rear wall or on stands/side-table. I also have the option of moving the seating position forward by 1' if needed. The room is 15'x30'x8'. From the center of the sitting position, the side-wall is 10' to our left and 20' to our right, so one of the rears will be much closer to the side-wall than the other. The system is driven by an Onkyo 805 (130W/ch). Existing equipment: RB-61, RC-64, RW-10d. My questions: Would you recommend RS or RB speakers for rear-wall in 5.1? Ideally, should they be matched in size with the fronts (6.5") or is smaller better for the rears? Is it better to wall-mount or stand/table-mount the speakers? As always, I appreciate your responses. Good Listening to you, LFaR.

Just back from a 3-day camping trip. Guys, thanks so much for the info. There's been some really interesting discussion and well-made points. To Canadian_Dude: That was an excellent paper. Thanks for the pointer. To damonrpayne: > "How to read a spec sheet", that sounds like an article waiting to be written by some saucy bloggers or writers for Klipsch fan websites. Now I would love to see such an article. I hope an expert is listening. To DrWho: That was aptly put, and especially appreciated knowing more about PWK's point of view. I'll be reading your post a few more times over to digest it all. To michael hurd: Are you any relation to Mark [] (sorry I couldn't resist). Your pointer to the Anatomy of the Power Amplifier is much appreciated. More reading and lots of techonology to digest. I'll likely have more follow up questions too. Cheers! LFaR.

Take any spec sheet, and there are some things I understand, some I think I understand and others I don't have a clue about. As I read each spec, I like to ask myself two questions, "So what?" and "What does this mean to the end-user?" Maybe some knowledgeable folk can fill in the blanks and correct me where I'm off-target? (Apologies up front, as this post is a little on the long side. Don't feel you should reply to all the points. Any contributions are appreciated.) Take the RF-62 as an example. I've bulleted each spec below and given my brief interpreration of that spec. If I'm off-base, please don't hesitate to set me straight. FREQUENCY RESPONSE 38Hz-23kHz ± 3dB Frequency response describes the operating range of the speaker, and that it is flat (± 3dB) within that range. However, knowing how flat would presumably be helpful. Also, the slope of the roll-off may be of interest when fine-tuning crossovers (I think). Why not publish the curves, e.g. look at the curves in this HT-Labs review? BTW, I've always felt that ± 3dB is a huge range. That's up to 6dB delta, which is very signifcant change in volume and also the power variation (4x) to drive it. Does anyone ever publish ± 1dB figures? POWER HANDLING 125W RMS / 500W Peak Presumably the higer these figures, the better? I've read that this may help you select minimum power of the amplifier. One article suggested it should be at least 3dB more than the Amp's output. Other's suggest that if you never drive your amplifier to its clipping point, then this figure is not relevant. I found this site to be interesting reading. SENSITIVITY 97dB @ 2.83V / 1m This is possibly the most important specification and describes the efficiency of the speakers. The larger the better and the horn-tweeter largely contributes to Klipsch's high sensitivity. A speaker with sensitivity of 97dB requires half the power compared to a driving a speaker with 94dB sensitivity. This also gives the amplifier greater dynamic range as it more easily copes with sudden volume changes - e.g. an explosion. Knowing this helps to size the power-rating of the amplifier. Is there anything else I should know about this? NOMINAL IMPEDANCE 8 ohms compatible I believe impedance varies over the frequency range and that it can drop quite low (maybe in the 3 ohm range) at certain frequencies. Some amplifiers are not able to drive very low ohmage equipment. So what does "Nominal Impedance" mean to the end-user? Can any amplifier rated for 8 ohms drive this speaker - if not what should I look for in amplifier specs? Why not publish the curves of how ohmage varies with frequency? HIGH FREQUENCY DRIVERS 1" (2.54cm) Titanium diaphragm compression driver mated to 90°x 60° square Tractrix® Horn I have lots of questions on this one spec. This describes some characteristics of the tweeter. Though I don't understand the signifcance of it being Titanium. Is a compression driver better than a non-compression driver? What is a compression driver? The horn is square, but what is 90°x 60°. What is Tactrix (apart from being registered to Klipsch)? HIGH FREQUENCY CROSSOVER 1800Hz I think that this means that the internal (comb?) filter will send frequencies lower than 1800Hz to the woofers and higher than 1800Hz go to the tweeter. What does it mean to the end-user if the crossover point is higer or lower? LOW FREQUENCY DRIVERS Dual 6.5" (16.5cm) Cerametallic cone woofers This describes some charactersitics of the woofer. What is "Cerametallic"? I presume this has something to do with the stiffness and assists with clarity? The cone woofer is common enough. What other type of woofer is there? ENCLOSURE TYPE Bass-reflex via dual rear-firing ports I believe reflex means that when the driver pulls, that air is also expelled from the ports, and this somehow helps to improve the bass-response in both volume and frequency response? I think reflex systems are tuned, so that the response especially affects certain frequencies. What does it mean to the end-user if the enclosure is sealed, as is the case for the RC-64? Thanks for your patience! LFaR.

Thanks jamesV. The rears would go on the 30' wall. The couch is currently up against that wall, so the primary listening position is on the same wall where the speakers would be fixed or possibly sit on side-tables or stands. The rears would be approx 13' from the fronts. Hey, I especially agree that spending other peoples money is much more fun [;-)] I'm glad to know you would go with the RF-62 option, and I will definitely give them a sound test (I just won't tell my wife about my intentions []). Cheers, LFaR.

Yep, turf-wars get no respect from me either. BD and HD-DVD will be here for a long time yet, thanks largely to the PS3 and XBox (IMHO). Here are some other interesting bookmarks (I kinda like the 1st one below 'cause it's apparently live sales data from one vendor): http://www.dvdempire.com/Content/Features/hidef_wars.asp http://www.engadget.com/2005/09/19/blu-ray-vs-hd-dvd-state-of-the-s-union-s-division/ http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9740033-1.html Though, before getting overly excited about higher def video, I feel there is still more fundamental issues to resolve. E.g. I have a PS3 and have enjoyed several BluRay movies, WOW - truly breathtaking! But, and this is a big BUT in my opinion; the PS3 seems to be incapable of displaying the movies Original Aspect Ratio (OAR), eg the OAR might be 2.40:1, but the PS3 zooms it to a fullscreen 16:9 image. Some forums suggest that you can view the OAR via component outputs. In my case, I'm using HDMI to a 1080p LCD, (via an Onkyo 805). No matter what I do, I cannot view the movie in its OAR, as it was intended. This is true for DVD as well as BD. Bottom line, I still prefer to watch my DVDs on my old player so I can enjoy the image as the director originally intended it to be. Unfortunatley, I don't have anywhere else to play my BD (other than the PS3). As much as I enjoy the high-def, I peg the OAR at a higher priority. LFaR.

First, my current equipment: Refernce IV RB61 (LR), RC64 ©, RW-10d (Sub), driven by Onkyo 805 AVR. Soon, I will be buying the rear surrounds and will be glad to hear your opinions. The salesman has recommended RB-51. Later I learned about the RS52 and wondered what benefits (if any) that would provide over the bookshelf speakers. The spec sheets are too close for me to tell (http://www.klipsch.com/media/products/cut-sheets/RS-52NEW.pdf, http://www.klipsch.com/media/products/cut-sheets/RB-51.pdf. Naturally, I will be doing some of my own sound testing, but having more info before the sound-test will serve me well. I'm not wanting to confuse the main topic of this thread (RS-52 or RB-51), but I feel I have to mention other choices I'm considering... I'm also left wondering if RB61 for surrounds would provide a better match or would that be overdoing it? Is there any concern with matching 5.25" surrounds with the 6.5" fronts? Another option I'm considering (budget permitting) is RF-62 for front LR and moving my RB-61 into rear surrounds. Thanks for any thoughts. Regards, LFaR. PS: In case it helps, room dimensions are (WxLxH) 15'x30'x8' (or 4.5x9.0x2.4m); the HT viewing axis is parallel to the short wall (if that makes sense).

The support team replied to me (see below). Basically, there is no support for the IR Sensor. Still, they sent me what they do have - a sign of good support! These control codes are in a binary format. Presumably, if you have a programmable remote, then you would upload these codes to that remote. I don't have any of them, so it's not useful for me. The Klipsch Subwoofer codes they sent me (and do not support) are for: Universal Remote Philips Pronto RTI UEI and Harmony remotes (see attachment below) If you have one of the above mentioned remotes, then you might have some success. I'm still doubting that it will be very practical, given the sensor is on the rear of the subwoofer. Naturally, contact Klipsch support if you want the codes (i.e. not me [H] ) LFaR. --- email response from the Klipsch Support Team --- from support <support@klipsch.com> hide details 1:43 am (5 hours ago) to LFaR date Sep 25, 2007 1:43 AM subject RE: IR Sensor Codes for RW-10d This is all of the codes we have. The documentation was printed before the product was finalized. These codes are not supposed to be supported, and there arent very many of them Also, just so you know, Harmony has codes of their own on their website. Even though we technically are not supporting the infra-red features of the subs, well try and help you out as much as we have the ability to, so call us if you need to. When replying, please include all the text in this email. Klipsch - Technical Support Klipsch Audio Technologies 1-800-554-7724 ----- attachement ----- UEI and Harmony remotes<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> UEI manufactures remotes http://www.uei.com Under products you should notice One-For-All, Kameleon and Nevo. The code that should work for these is 1991 for the IR Reference subs Please note, this should be for all UEI remotes, but not sure when our codes will be incorporated across the board. The Logitech Harmony remotes now have the codes on their web site, www.logitech.com, For use with the Harmony remotes

In addition to the suggestions in the previous posts, I have one other point for you to consider. When you adjusted the S2 from your Denon, did you calibrate using the reciever's test tone and a sound pressure meter? If not, then I recommend the investment in the sound meter is worth its weight in gold. I used Audyssey MultiEQ XT for the initial calibration. This does quite a good job, and quickly gets each speaker close to calibration. However after further calibrating each speaker with the sound pressure meter, it made a signficant difference. Mostly each speaker needed between 3-6dB adjustments. LFaR.

Doesn't it ever! This is a technology rich area for knowledge hungry consumers. I love it! [] As a starting point, try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_amplifier. Cheers, LFaR.

I recently went down this road too. After many listening demos, we had setteled on the RB-61 (LR), RC-62 ©, RB-51 (RS), RW-10d (sub). I asked, (a question you should never ask a salesman :-), "if there is one speaker you would upgrade, which would it be". Can you guess what he said? He took us (my daughter was with me to test her style of music) back into the sound room where he was able to switch between the RC-62 and RC-64 whilst a soundtrack from Moulin Rouge was playing. The difference was astonishing! When the switch from RC-64 to the RC-62 occurred it seemed as though half the sound picked up and left the room in protest. We switched back and forth just to check my ears weren't playing tricks (but it wasn't just my ears that felt the difference either - something to do with physical perception of the sound - if you get what I mean). The difference was so staggering, I put the RB-51 on hold (till after XMAS) and swapped the RC-62 for the RC-64. I agree wholeheartedly with the place to spend your money is the center channel. Go with the RC-52 without hesitation. Now that my front-stage is in place, I am also toying with the RF-62 and moving the RB-61 into surrounds (though that seems a tad wasteful for the RB-61). Maybe later again, I'll move the RB-61 into Zone-2 and buy the RB-51 for rears. Maybe later again again, the sub will become more substantial too. It's an exciting journey. LFaR.

Thanks Bill and Gil. I've sent email to the support team. I wonder why all the secrecy? After I hear back from them, is there any reason why I shouldn't publish these codes to the forum? LFaR.

Not such a big deal. You shouldn't feel compelled to upgrade just for HDMI. Waiting for a better reason to upgrade will mean you also get the next level of technology. I would be more inclined to upgrade only if you want better audio or video processing. From the purist point of view... HDMI presents a digital signal from end to end, which implies no degradation in signal quality at the terminating points, since there is no digital-to-analog conversion required. Using component cables requires digital-analog conversion and this has the potential to introduce some detectable flaws in the signal. Whether or not you can perceive these flaws is debatable. Other features of HDMI are well described at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hdmi. Many new receivers are available with HDMI 1.3a (e.g. Onkyo and soon Denon). Having this capability in your receiver is more about future-proofing than being able to benefit from the 1.3a features today. Still, future-proofing purchases of expensive equipment is a wise consideration. BTW, component cabling is also quite suited to delivering 1080p images. Better performance because it's pure digital. More convenient and much neater because it's one cable for audio and video. HDMI cables are shockingly expensive compared with similar quality component cables. I am a believer of upgrading in portions. Whilst your happy with your receiver, and upgraditis has not overcome you, then stick with it. Maybe you will prefer a reciever with improved audio DACs or video DSP. That would be my trigger for upgrading. Regards, LFaR.

Hi, Can someone describe the practicalities of the infrared sensor on the rear of my subwoofer? I have an RW-10d, though I believe the sensor exists on other subs also. The user manual states: "The IR codes for this subwoofer can be obtained by visiting www.klipsch.com." I have searched the site and forums, but cannot find any IR codes. I need these if I'm to have a chance of trying it out. I presume I will be able to enter the code into my Onkyo learning remote. It seems a little unbelievable that Onkyo have dedicated a code to Klipsch subs, but I'm willing to go with it for now. Of course, having an IR sensor on the rear of the subwoofer seems less than practical. Is it expecting to receive the signal by reflecting it from the wall? Does this really work? I'm left thinking that since we are paying for the IR Sensor, it would be nice to try it out. Is anyone using this sensor? Cheers, LFaR.