Mr2die4 Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Iv'e been driving these beaties for years now and have developed arattle in one of the cabinets. Has anyone here had similar problemswith their cabinets. I was thinking of removing the drivers andinsulation and laying some fiberglass on the seams from the inside. Ifigure that would stiffen them right up. Any audiphiles out thereplease dont hold back if you think is a crazy idea and would kill myspeaks. I understand that placing too much overlap on the cabinet woldcut down on the reverberations they produce, but Iv'e got to get rid ofthis rattle. Yes, this is a repeat post from the home theater section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idahodewitt Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 I had a similar problem with a pair of Tangent 500s. I took out the speakers and batting and then pushed out on the sides to verify that they were loose. Yep, it was obvious......at least two of the four corners were unglued and were rattling when the speakers played. I then used Elmers polyurethane glue (like Gorilla Glue) and glued two corners together at a time while the speakers were laying on their sides. I'd glue one front corner and one back corner (obviously the bottom corners) let it set overnight, then flip it over on the other side and glue the other front & back corner the next day. Once the glue was all cured up I also installed some cross-braces using the poly glue. I cut them for a tight fit and only used glue......no nails or screws. I also glued and stapled carpet pad to the inside walls & braces. This worked out very well to deaden the cabinets and they sound great when played. The guy I sold them to still compliments me on their sound. The carpet pad is your call, but glueing the corners will stop the cabinet from rattling for sure. You could also make some 90 degree wedges and glue them in the corners when you're glueing the corners together for extra bracing (I did that too). Those are some ideas you can try out if you'd like. They worked for me. Regards, Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr2die4 Posted December 16, 2008 Author Share Posted December 16, 2008 When I opened them up i pushed on the back wall of the cabinet and it just fell out of the speaker. The glue thefactory used is pretty slickstuff so I scrapped it all off. I am rebuilding them now, expect to post the pictures of it later today or tomorrow. I decided to take your advice and reglue them, and add some batting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNRabbit Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 I had a similar problem with my KLF-10s; the soundboard in front began to separate & took it apart to find the glue joints looked like something a teenager would do (!)... I used Gorilla glue (it's awesome) and clamped them together for a couple of days....all better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr2die4 Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share Posted December 18, 2008 So, I finished the rebuild, but the computer that reads my SD card is broken. I have to wait for the parts to come it before I can upload pictures. SHould be next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr2die4 Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 So, here we go. I got the computer to work and I'm posting the results from my KG 5.5 rebuild. Here I have taken the speakers apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr2die4 Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 Inside the cabinet Apllying a bit of pressure to the back of the cabinet. Notice the gap. A bit more pressure and the back of thecabinet fell right out. I guess this is where my rattle was coming from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr2die4 Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 I used a sharp chisel to scrape the old glue from the cabinet im preparation for my own glue. The factory glue was the consistency of hot glue and had considerable "give" to it. Here the glue has been removed and the rough wood is showing. After this step I took the cabinet outside and used en electric sander to further remove the glue from the wood frame. I went through a few pieces of sand paper as the glue just stuck in the grit. I was careful to clean the interior of the cabinet with denatured alcohol after the sanding process to remove as much dust as possible. Also, before replacing the back of the cabinet into the frame I scuffed the laminate with heavy grit sandpaper to give the glue something to grip on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr2die4 Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 My man George at Ace told me the best stuff he had was the Gorilla Wood glue. I filled the gap (much larger without the thick original glue) with this stuff. I found these clamps and strapped them on nice and hard. The towel is on there because the orange clamp was raw metal, and its keeping the cabinet from being scratched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr2die4 Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 Inside the cabinet I used tight fitting peices of some cheap quarter round trim from Home Depot. The drying process for this step took quite a while. I let them sit for five hours before I moved on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr2die4 Posted December 23, 2008 Author Share Posted December 23, 2008 The last thing I did was add some carpet padding the interior. I cut it to fit the cabinet well, and used a spray adhesive to hold it on. I rpelaced the original grey padding as well. Back together again and they sound great. Im going to give them another week before I really crank em up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNRabbit Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Nice job! Gorilla glue is some tough-@$$ stuff....it'll NEVER let go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idahodewitt Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Glad to see it worked out for you. They should sound great and never give you a rattling problem again. Larry D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chacodude Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 Never had a cabinet rattle (bought mine new), but had a woofer to develop a rattle. Turned out to be the damper had not been glued 360 degrees in mfg. process. It never ratteled under warranty so I just bought a new one and been going since. Definitely want to rebuild my crossovers though! Glad this worked for you. Thanks for the pics, it's great to see the inside out. Going to help me when I do those XO's! Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automojo Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Nice job on the cabinet repair. Haven't tried the dampening materials, as I have been happy with the way they sound. I bought my new in 1996, one speaker had a rattle right out of the box, broken woofer screw. When I took it back, the salesmen claimed I had been messing with them-I told him he had to either fix them, or replace them, or I would give Klipsch a call, he replaced it. Since then, I have had no issues with them, no rattleing etc, just great sound. I drove them for years with a H/K PA2400,(170 wpc-100 amp current) which is a perfect match, lots of low end drive, and a sweet warm top end. I now use a H/K Signature 1.5 @ 200 wpc 130+ amps of current, and the sound even better. I think H/K amps are a excellent match for this speaker, brings out the high and mid details, without being harsh. Most Klipsch speakers well easily indentify weak links in your componet chain- something to think about before attempting mods-other than repairs of course. When I first got them, I had a Carver M-400, decent bass, but boy couldn't have been a worse match-sounded awful in the mids and highs. Just goes to show you equipment matching is more important than upgrading. I figure in another 10 years I will look at the crossovers, from what I see, they should be more than adequate componet quality wise. You have to be careful about substituting componets, as you make have a change for the worse. When Paul Klipsch was building speakers, he liked using plywood, because it resonated well with his drivers, ala KlipschHorn, Bella, something to think about. I really haven't noticed any resonace problems with my KG 5.5's, I'm sure the probably have resonace, but if so it doesn't seem to have a negative impact on the sound IMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.