EdmundGTP

Ohhh. Yeah, I used some of our local vendors to do the "heavy work". I work as a design engineer for a weapons systems manufacturer, so we have many many local fabrication contacts. We do lots of business with them, so they give us good deals on "personal projects". I was initially considering ordering a set of these (http://www.soundocity.com/products.html), but they're a tad pricey at ~$120 a pair, so I made my own for significantly less.

What would it be for a set in black? Good question. Didn't really think of ever making them to sell and I'm not sure I'd want to. I can tell you that it cost me roughly 75 bucks to have all four feet water-jet cut from 6061-T6 aluminum plate. Took me about 3 hours or so to do the holes, counterbores, and tapped holes on a bridgeport mill since Im no pro. The actual spikes, are the generic 3/8-16NC threaded spikes from partsexpress.com, and they were about 8 bucks a set; 1 set per speaker. Actually getting them black you could either go paint or anodize. I thought about tossing mine in with some other parts that we were sending to get anodized black, but didnt bother to. If you have access to a machine shop, and connections at a lazer cutting or water jetting and finishing shop, they'd probably cost you less than 100 bucks and less than a few hours time to complete a set. I can email a higher resolution PDF file of the part drawing if anyone wants it. I also have it in a 3D solidworks model, as well as DWG and DXF formats at my office.

The repair company is I.A. Electronics. Phone: 1-800-748-0422. Located in Indianapolis Indiana. The repair cost for the amp was very reasonable. $125 flat fee with a $25 up-front payment by check, which I sent along with the amp. The $25 gets deducted from the $125 total once the work is complete. There were no extra fees or costs involved when it had to go back the 2nd time for additional work either; all else I had to cover was shipping to get it there. Turnaround time for the first repair was just a hair over 3 weeks I believe, and the 2nd time the amp was there from early December of '08 until just last week but the only reason the 2nd repairs took so long was that apparently the necessary transistors were on back-order. If my left speaker amp starts acting up, I will definitely go to them for repeat service. Edit: here's their website http://www.iaelectronics.com/home.html

Yeah it's just bare metal against the speakers. The bolts holding them on dont allow the metal move to actually "rub" the surface though. Could put a thin layer of adhesive backed rubber between the metal feet and the speaker though if it becomes necessary, but I suspect it wont be an issue.

Got bored with the lame wooden crossbar feet that came with the KSP-400's and decided to make something a little cooler. In my spare time at work I drew up some feet using Solidworks, and made up a drawing for them. I had one of our local machine shops water jet the feet out of some 0.531" thick 6061-T6 aluminum, and then did the rest of the finish machining by hand on a bridgeport. Bead blasted them, chased the threads, and bingo. [] Some people had asked about feet and spike setups for these speakers in the past so I figured I'd just share what I came up with.

Yeah I actually just got the one back late last week. I installed it and its working perfectly. According to the work order sheets, the first time it went in, they replaced a power supply capacitor (didn't fix the hum) and the 2nd time it went in, they replaced the bridge rectifier. It took exceptionally long to fix the 2nd time because apparently the necessary transistors were on back-order.

Well, got the amp back late last week and its working flawlessly. Big thanks to IA Electronics for that. Looks like I wont need to worry about getting an external amp after all. Time to start saving for the Epik now.

Sell them both and get a 15?

As far as your KSP400s are concerene, any "chuffing" sound you hear is probably an air leak either around the heatsink of the amplifier, control panel, or around the subwoofer itself. Play whatever music it is that creates that sound and listen very closely around those areas and feel for any air moving in and out of the cabinet. Once you locate the leak, remove reseal and replace that particular part. Ive had very good luck resealing around woofers and amplifiers using a product called MD Cord Weatherstrip. It's a pliable putty like cord that you can fashion into any shape and seals very well. As far as missing the ultra deep bass, the Klipsch KSP400s are -3dB at 27 Hz and that's probably the reason right there.

Well.. Here's the deal. Currenty the amp for my right KSP400 is out for repair, and has been there since December. Apparently a transistor is on back order? I dunno. (this reminds me I need to call them back on that) Im starting to figure out options to get these speakers in good working order, in the event that the original amp cannot be fixed. In addition to the subs in the KSP400 towers, I had originally planned to add an additional sub (probably one of the larger Epik Subwoofers) for the extra low frequencies since the KSP400s are 3dB down at 27hz. I was originally considering using plate amps for them and using the high level speaker leads for the signal, and then using my receivers sub pre amp to run the Epik. Now Im thinking it might be a better Idea to split the reciever's sub output; one line going to a Crown or Samson then feeding the subs in the towers, and the other line going to the Epik (down the road). The tower subs would be crossed over at 80 hz and the Epic at 40 hz most likely.

Crown xTi looks like it might not be a bad route to pursu. Does anyone know if any stand alone sub amps would accept high level inputs?

Just some general questions for the sub gurus here. I'm wondering why standalone sub amps are consistently more expensive than plate amps with smiliar power out put? Obviously there's probably a little more involved with the actual construction of the unit, but what beyond that? So, along the same lines, I'm kind of looking for suggestions for standalone sub amps in the 200-300 watt range and coincidentally in a smiliar 200-300 dollar price range and of course cheaper is better. I'm almost thinking my most cost effective way to go will be to buy a pair of plate amps and make some sort of standalone mounting fixture for them. Any other ideas/input? Thanks in advance!

Doesn't mean much so far. My job isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and our business is actually still increasing; pretty sure Im up for a raise soon. The house I purchased this past fall might have taken a marginal hit value-wise but not enough to cause me worry. I have a few dollars in a mutual fund that Im sure has dropped a bit, but not enough to matter at this point. I actually forgot I had it until now. No 401K yet. I'll actually be starting that up very shortly, and start investing while the market's low. Couple friends of mine are getting hit by the present economy, but I think damn near everybody could say that.

Ive been working out with Custom2's for the past week and a half. They seem to be holding up just fine. Then again I don't sweat a ton either. Only thing Ive noticed is that a bit of sweat getting on the ear gel makes it tough to keep a good seal for a long time. You'll have to "re-seat" them now and then during your workout.

I have a couple of surefire lights and they are pretty sweet. I got an A2 Aviator and M6 Guardian for free at work. Good thing, because I think the retail on them is $200 and $400 respectively. They are amazingly bright. Many times brighter than any size mag light or simiar D Cell light Ive ever used. The M6 with 500 lumen lamp is simply mind-numbingly bright, painful and disorienting, especially if you get flashed when your eyes are dark-adjusted. I use a G2 Nitrolon with LED lamp as a weapon light on my AR-15 and it is also an awesome light. Do surefire lights kick ***? Definitely! Would I have a hard time justifying the price if I actually had to pay for one? Definitely! http://www.surefire.com/A2-Aviator http://www.surefire.com/M6-Guardian http://www.surefire.com/G2-Led

Received these in the mail the other day and have been enjoying them immensely! These are the best source of quality sound that I have until the amp to my right KSP-400 gets fixed. Been using them at the gym and at work. There was a learning curve to getting the ear-gels and the seals just right but after you figure it out, it's cake! Super phones! Thanks Brad

I'm currently waiting for one of my KSP-400 amps to come back from repair. When I spoke with Klipsch Tech Support they instructed me to send the unit to IA Electronics in Indianapolis, so there it sits, for now. Did you actually send your amps directly to Klipsch? Richard, I'm very curious on exactly what you did to re-wire the speakers and bypass the internal crossover. I'm not sure what exactly you mean by "mild thump" but is that coming from the subs or is that coming from the mid/high range portion of the KSP's. If it turns out that I can't get one of my amplifiers repaired, I'll be toying with various options for bypassing the KSP 400's internal amplifier. I actually made a post about this in the Mods/Updates section, but apparently there wasnt enough traffic over there to get a response. http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/111984.aspx

So as of right now, the electronic guts of my right side KSP-400 is on it's way back to an electronics repair facility to eliminate the dreaded hum/buzz. I think it's safe to say that I've read just about every single thread on these forums regarding this problem, and have tried every single DIY Fix that has been mentioned. All to no avail. When the issue first came up, I contacted Klipsch Tech Support to get some more information on possible fixes. Obviously we're way past the time when replacement parts for this speaker were readily available. And they had mentioned that they now farm out a significant portion of their electronics repair work to a repair company, and suggested that I contact them for a repair estimate. Which I did. I sent them the unit about a month ago with a detailed description of the issue. The unit returned with an invoice stating that a transformer capacitor was replaced. Hooked the unit back up. Hum was still there. So today I called them back and they said to ship it back so they could take a look at it. As of now it's on its way back. So now I have to ask myself. What happens if they cant fix the problem? I'd love to be able to keep and continue to use these speakers because frankly, they kick ***. I love them. So I wonder what the possibility is that these could be converted to Non-Powered towers, and if so has anyone here attempted it? Obviously the midranges and horns can be driven directly without the subwoofer portion even being powered. Can anybody tell me what the impedence ratings for the midranges and horns are, and in what specific configuration they're wired? And also what is the impedence value for the subwoofer itself? If I can find that information, I'd like to at least try bypassing the sub amp all together, perhaps tapping off one of the main speaker input binding posts to in effect bi/tri/whatever-wire the system, and running an in-line 80 hz low pass crossover directly to the sub. Obviously a more complex fix could be better such as a custom designed passive crossover. Any input on that would be appreciated as well. But, how horrible could it really sound? What would be the harm in trying? These are awesome speakers, and it would be a total shame to see the lower half of them go to waste. Thanks in advance guys! -Ed

BigStewMan, I don't think it's an issue of the machine corrupting candidates with good intentions as much as it's an issue of candidates who really have self-serving interests and intentions, saying whatever needs to be said or portraying whatever image needs to be portrayed, in order to get elected.

My GF was watchign them when I walked into her apt. Me: You're seriously going to watch this? Her: Yeah its the VMA's! Me: What are you 14??

That last one at the bottom?? Sure looks familiar to me.. And I havent even been around here that long.

In wall wiring??

Im not gonna lie... Id probably buy one.

If you can find a copy, get The Boston Rally Bass Collection. Its a 3 CD set, that was released by Boston Acoustics about 8 years ago. It really has some amazingly well recorded songs and insanely deep bass tracks for system evaluation. Once in a while a copy or two will show up on Amazon. Other albums that I use for setup/eval. Diana Krall - Girl in the Other Room Tord Gustavsen Trio - The Ground Collective Soul - Self Titled Jeff Buckley - Grace (previously mentioned but I felt the need to 2nd it) Dave Matthews Band - Crash (rest of the album, not just the song) Blues Traveler - Four the Guitar Music for Small Rooms compilations are good as well. And if I feel like seriously pushing the volume and finding out the ultimate level of sonic destruction that a speaker/system is capable of, I throw in the album World Coming Down by Type O Negative.

Ahh, that is a good idea; to check all the fasteners. When I initially hooked them up they had a bit of the infamous ground loop hum, but that was an obvious easy fix. I think I read something somewhere about opening up the back panel and zip-tieing some wires out of the way of some other ones? Though I'm guessing that's something that wouldnt be necessary if they speakers are otherwise performing perfectly. On a sidenote: does anyone know roughly how many sets of these speakers were made between 97 and 99?