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parts express has some good options & good prices for caps & other related parts. unless youre going for absolute top of the line & have the budget, the dayton or solen caps are very nice & doubt you can tell the difference between them & higher priced caps, especially in kg2 speakers or the average system in the average room. if you have basic soldering skills caps are very easy to replace & the brands mentioned are similar in size to factory caps so will fit easily on the boards. ERSE is another company with good quality caps & other parts.

this thread & the statements about cabinet issues is not about the epic series, its about the notorious cabinet failures on the KLF series & some KG series. the majority of epics never had the problems of klf/kg, there may have been some small issues with early epics but i have never heard of it being anything like the klf/kgs. in fact, except for 1 or 2 mentions of epic problems ive never heard of it at all with them, the epics are built better/different than the klfs. i owned a pair of kg 5.5 i bought used back in the 90's, (have owned many other pairs too) & when i auditioned them they sounded great but didnt crank them up at teh sellers house. when i got them home & played some loud bass heavy music in them i instantly heard a loud vibration or rattle sound on bass beats, initially thought it was a bad woofer, so i took them to my local klipsch dealeer for repair expecting to pay for a new woofer or 2, right away the guy said it was the cabinets & they sent them to klipsch for repair, these were out of warranty & i said they were bought used, when they came back a few weeks later they were repaired free of charge & no questions asked. at that time i wasnt aware of the issues but was happy they were repaired. since then i avoid klf & kg like the plague, the kg 5.5 are nice speakers & im sure the klf's are nice too for the right price but, the poor cabinet design is enough of an issue to stay away from them. i prefer heritage & extended heritage models now or the epics which i loved & miss my cf4s. the forte & chorus are very nice speakers & im sure you would like them much better than the klfs.

before & after what? i mentioned i've never used the recones so i can't meaure anything... do you have measurements to indicate they are inferior to OEM? have you heard them to know they sound or perform different? those are the only questions i've asked.. so far the only "answers" have been subjective & unverified opinion, which you are entitled to. i will bow out of this debate, i was only mentioning the re-cone kit as an option to the OP incase he wasn't aware of them. carry on.

measurements of what? not trying to prove you wrong on anytying, just replying to your statement/opinion that SS recone kits are bad for some reason, yet you've never seen or tried them... that sounds like a negative bias, you are telling people not to use them because at some point in time you had a bad experience with a different brand of recones, then you doubted SS statement that they are made to meet or exceed oem specs . same applies to morays mod of the passive, you've never tried it but claim it will cause damage... i dont doubt you had a problem with your passive, but its unclear why & far from a common thing... still waiting for another person to say they ripped a passive soley due to overdriving them or due to adding a couple ounces of weight. so far on here & every other comment i've heard or read in 10+ years about the chorus2 is they love power & they take anything you can throw at them etc etc. i've also owned a few pairs of these over the years & driven them harder than they were designed... the passives & woofers are fine. a friend i sold a pair to drives them with bridged adcom 555's running at 600 watts per channel & plays them louder than i can stand almost daily, still doing fine. i simply mentioned an option for a correct looking & functioning replacement, but like you said, "you are welcome to use whatever you choose in your personal property, don't let me dissuade you." yet your comments are an attempt to dissuade me or anyone reading this thread...

thats fine if you have a bias against SS recones or an over critical opinion of an aftermarket part you've never used, but having a bad experience with aftermarket recone products doesn't mean they are all bad... klipsch used other companies to build these, why can't SS have them made to the same oem standards? just trying to understand your dislike for these. lots of companies out there reproduce things to factory specs or better. i restore older muscle cars & while the china made repro stuff is indeed crap, there are places that use factory molds or materials to reproduce excellent quality parts. you must have been severely over driving them if you actually damaged a passive, or had the bass turned up too high for the speakers capabilities... or they were dry & brittle due to sun damage or age or defective in some way.. or you were wearing ear muffs. LOL. you said you use horn loaded subs & bass extension isn't a concern? that's the first i've ever heard of damage to a chorus/forte passive due to power or volume levels. doesn't mean it cant happen but, i have driven my chorus & fortes to rock concert levels with high power s/s amps countless times over many years of use, to the point your ears hurt & they no longer sounded good & the bass was breaking up... the passives were & still are fine. can't imagine the decibel levels required to damage a passive radiator! regardless, the SS recone kits are more than acceptable replacements for 99% of members here using these in their homes.

@jason str thanks for the info, i dont doubt you have far more speaker building & tuning knowledge than me. however, saying the SS recone kits are "bad" or people shouldn't use them is your opinion, especially if you've never seen or tried them. klipsch had most of their drivers (& passives) made by other companies, theres a good chance SS uses the same company or materials for their cones, or very similar. passives aren't really a critical part in that a very similar material/design wouldn't work as good as oem... afterall, the new rubber surrounds klipsch says are "ok" to use in forte & chorus 2's are different than the originals in the cone & surround materials, so how is that any different than the possibility SS materials are different? the passive design in general may have its limits & the chorus 2 passive ideally should have been bigger, but for the intended purpose & output level they are fine for 99.9% of home use, these aren't pro speakers being constantly driven to their absolute peaks. i have never heard of a passive failing due to over extension, as in physically ripping the surrounds off the cone or tearing the spider assembly etc, like DAVE A mentioned, damage is usually due to cats or rips/holes from other objects. im sure the SS recones for passives or the actual drivers are perfectly fine to use in these speakers & have no audible difference or loss vs oem. epsecially if there isnt a correct looking replacement available or a replacement at all, which was the case untill just recently when klipsch came out with the forte 3 passive.

again, can you elaborate on that? not trying to argue, just saying what i was told & what the description states... "All recone kits are designed to meet or exceed the original specifications." are they lying? & why is the chorus2 passive a weak spot? it's a passive woofer designed & tuned to the specs of the speaker by klipsch engineers & im sure function perfectly fine for the intended purpose. so what is the "difference" in the recone kits you speak of? im sure many others here would like to know that... ive read quite a few members here & on other forums used SS recone kits & were happy with them, never heard a complaint or mention of a problem. if they are the same thickness & material as originals, which SS says they are & are tuned with the correct amount of weight, (or more according to morey james) they should work perfectly fine & are a cheaper correct looking alternative to the new rubber surround style sold by klipsch.

these aren't just any old recone kit... have you seen the recone kits for klipsch speakers from simply speakers? they look identical to the accordian surround cones used in these models of speakers. i spoke to a guy at SS a couple years ago about them & was told they are identical to the originals & wont have any working or cosmetic issues. just mentioning it as an option. https://www.simplyspeakers.com/klipsch-speaker-passive-radiator-recone-kit-rk-klpkd15.html

curious, can you elaborate on that? is there a reason reconing is bad?

the new passives will work but wont look right. you can have your original passives reconed by simply speakers with the correct accordian surrounds for less than buying new ones or buy the kit & do it yourself. used ones pop up on ebay from time to time too.

shouldn't this be in the alerts section?

i recall seeing a pair of oak raw for sale on here awhile ago... special order for a klipsch family member or somthing like that, were new in the box.

like you mentioned in your other thread, i would consider the chorus ii for an improvement over the fortes & still fit nicely in those corners... or as mentioned you could try stuffing a lascala in there or a cornwall, or look into some of the slimmer models like epic cf3/4, klf 20/30, kg 5.5 or the reference line with gold woofers if you plan to watch movies. but IMO the best upgrade for the money is the chorus 2. the other big models like lascala & k-horn will cost 2-3 times as much.

$1000 may be a little on the high side for chorus ii especially if they are missing the grilles. but they have seemed to have gone up in price recently, so if they are in excellent condition with no damage or issues & you really want them & they are hard to find in your area then a couple hundred dollars more than average may be worth it. i recently sold a almost mint pair of oiled oak for $900 & they sold in a couple days, sold another pair just as nice to a friend for $750. a member here keeps track of resale prices & has recorded many chorus ii sales down around $700-$800. anything is worth what a buyer is willing to pay. they would be a step up from the fortes for filling a bigger room, they handle more power & will play louder than fortes, but on paper the fortes go lower for bass, but not louder. as for upgrades, most people like the ti tweets, some say they are too bright. the caps can easily be upgraded if needed/wanted with many other brands of caps that will fit on the stock boards better than the big sonicaps & are much better priced... the grilles may be hard to come by, ive never really seen just the grilles for chorus for sale but i'm sure they are out there, & you could probably make the frames & buy the fabric if needed. if you like them & they are in good shape grab them, or hold out for another pair to pop up, can't imagine there hasnt been a pair of them within 5 hours of you in 3 years, maybe your timing for looking is bad? best of luck in your search!

quartets dont use 15" passives, they are 12", same as the forte 1. as for the dust caps, you dont need to cut the old ones out, you can just glue new correct size ones over the tops, can barely see a little higher edge around the cap if you really look for it, once installed you cant really tell. makes it a lot easier than trying to remove the old caps, which will still leave the glued down edge of the old cap, so in the end its basically the same thing as just glueing over the old cap. simply speakers sells dust caps that are identical to the klipsch caps. im just now seeing this thread... thats unfortunate that the veeneer lifted from the stripper, i would have suggested against using a stripper on thin veneer like this for this reason. if you want to try & save the lifted areas you can try getting some wood glue in there & glue it down, then paint them black with the duplicolor paint shown above. also the amount of paint used on these speakers would have shown the majority of the wood grain just like from the factory. if you brushed on some thick enamel it would have hidden most of it but still shown the grain. a couple light to medium coats of a spray on paint is all thats needed. i would test the tweeters to verify they work, you can do this easily by just playing some music through the speakers & putting your hand or a piece of cardboard over the mid & putting your ear to the tweet, if its playing sound smoothly with no crackling or strange sounds its most likely fine. or test with a ohms meter to verify its within spec, i forget what they should be but i recall mine tested right around 8.7 ohms. as for the caps, you can just replace the caps on the board if you have basic soldering skills, dont need to buy complete x-overs. also dont need to buy expensive brand caps, any decent cap for a couple bucks a piece will sound excellent & 99% of people cant tell the diffence between a dayton or solen cap vs a sonicap etc. the improvement in sound is mainly from replacing the old CHEAP caps klipsch used with new better quality poly caps. also thing to consider is if you're doing this yourself, the sonicaps are HUGE & make it difficult to position on the stock boards, yes it can be done with some creativity & adding lengths to the leads on the caps, but the smaller dayton type caps are about the same size as the stock caps & fit right into place. best of luck on the restoration!

thanks for the info. my wires still look & feel good... the caps still sound good as well, im sure an upgrade would benefit them but for now they will stay in stock form.

can you elaborate on why the wire needs to be replaced? i have the ak3 with monster cable, i have seen pics of the cable turning green etc but does that actually affect the sound? my monster cables are not green like ive seen & the insulation is not sticky. if its shows none of those signs does it still need replaced? also, can you explain "what they would have to do" to replace the caps in the ak-3 x-overs? isnt it just soldering in new caps like any other x-over? just curious fi something more is involved. thanks.

grille is still available...

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i agree they are bass heavy speakers... but for many owners that is a benefit! im in the rock category of music genre & they will definitley "rock" with some decent power. the price point of KG's made them a mid level speaker for klipsch & far from top of the line, so im not surprised they were lacking in refinement or critical listening for classical etc.

first ive heard of the epics having cabinet issues, not like that means they didnt have some issues. but sounds like yours were a build defect & a rare occurance, epsecially compared to the klf & some kg's which were notorious for poor build/glue issues. my cf-4's were built like a tank & the seems were very well glued, same with cf-3 a firend had. in general the epics are nowhere near as prone to cabinet issues as the klf's.

agreed the kg 5.5 is an under rated speaker & can be had on the used market for $250-$400. its the same basic speaker as the klf 10 & the klf 20 is just a 3 way version of it. the 2 10" woofers have excellent bass, they cant be beat for the price. ive had quite a few pairs of them & forte 1/2 & chorus 2... the kgs aren't as good in the mid range but do go lower & have a more subwoofer type bass. another option close in size to the kg & klf & not mentioned yet is the epic series, cf-3 & cf-4. dual 10" or dual 12's & IMO are as good or better than the klf & dont have the cabinet issues. also you can use a sub for your music system, just dont turn it on when listening to background music etc, save it for more serious listening... subs are a big improvement on music too, adds a whole nother octave to the music.

great price for a great sub! actually this wouldnt be too expensive to ship if you have a box & some packing for it. if i was closer i would be there to pick it up... if you will consider shipping send me a message & i can check on the rate.

many modern digital avr's will do this if driven too hard. they have a protection circuitry in them that will shut off the receiver if it gets too hot or too much of a load is on the amp. i can make my onkyo 105wpc avr shut off on extreme loud listening sessions pushing efficient klipsch speakers or other brands not as efficient. if you dont find any stray wires touching it could just be that youre asking for more than the receiver can provide without triping the protection circuitry. or it could have a problem, if its new maybe return it or exchange it for another one or better model/brand.

thanks.