rogerwilco82 Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Hi, I own a pair of RF-82 speakers and wondering if it is possible to replace the tweeter with the one from the larger RFs. Anyone tried it yet? I guess it would be worth a try. I found the RF-82 tweeter on ebay for sale but not the one for the larger RFs. Does somebody got the Klipsch Part Number? My next step would be to contact the Klipsch support. But I wanted to try the forum first. If anyone got some hints for RF tuning: You're welcome Regards from Germany Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerwilco82 Posted February 20, 2009 Author Share Posted February 20, 2009 Nobody got an advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juicyjjj Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 bump i would like to know as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuyOtherSoundEquipment Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 There are many, many reasons why this "modification" wouln't work the way you want it to. Simply put, the parts for the two speakers are not interchangeable. The engineers at Klipsch put many hours into making the specific parts for each speaker, and they aren't meant to be substituted for one another. Upgrading the crossovers may be possible, but with new speakers it shouldn't really be necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerwilco82 Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 There are many, many reasons why this "modification" wouln't work the way you want it to. Are you sure? Klipsch uses the same horn driver for: RF-52, 62, 82, RB-51,61,81. They all got different crossovers in it. Also compare it to the center RC-62 f.e.. This speaker is so different to the RF-82 but the use the same horn driver. It is not true that the speakers are THAT specific. They all use nearly the same components. Klipsch speakers are pretty simple. Just look inside. The only thing i expect to be the problem is maybe a difference in the volume. Maybe the new driver in louder? Don't know. But thats the reason i'm asking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 different motors behind those 'similar' horns. you'll throw the frequency response out of balance unless you change the network too and most of us do not have the engineering know-how nor the test equipment for doing this properly. I'd advise strongly against this type of modification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerwilco82 Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 different motors behind those 'similar' horns. What do you mean with 'motors' ? The horn consits of two parts. The plastic front, building the horn shape, an the horn driver (which i would name as 'motor'). BOTH, the plastic front AND the horn driver are f.e. the same in RB-61, RF-62, RF-82 (its the K-152-N Tweeter). The crossover for RF-62 is 1800Hz. For RB-61 and RF-82 its 2000Hz. So the crossover is different. The Point is, that i can't believe you would trow the frequency responce out of balance. Since when I would'nt change the crossover, the new tweeter would get the signal the old tweeter got before. Then there are two possibilities: 1. The new tweeter is doing everything better (best case), 2. The tweeter got another impendance, and you need another resistor in the crossover. The reason why i believe it is so simple is easy. Look inside the Klipsch speaker. there are no filters or anything. its a simple crossover. after seeing this and if you look on the large reference programm, the are only a few horn drivers unsed. In so many different speakers with different crossovers. all that makes me believe it is possible. Actually the RC-64 is pretty similar to the RF-82. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesV Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I say go for it and then let us know how it works out for you. James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerwilco82 Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 I say go for it and then let us know how it works out for you. James I guess I will do that. Does somebody got the part number of the larger tweeter? I haven't found it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David H Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 What do you mean with 'motors' ? The horn consits of two parts. The plastic front, building the horn shape, an the horn driver (which i would name as 'motor'). BOTH, the plastic front AND the horn driver are f.e. the same in RB-61, RF-62, RF-82 (its the K-152-N Tweeter). A motor is a device that converts electrical energy into mechanical motion, therefore Colter is correct calling a horn driver a motor. The plastic in front of the drivers is called a Horn Lens. Changing a horn lens can effert response just as easily as changing the motors. Crossover may need to adjusted as well. By all means go for it and let us know the resuilts. Try not to butcher the box while you experiment. The Cornscala is a Hybrid of the Cornwall and the LaScala and is my favorite to date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 EDIT: Your question was is it worth the Mod. The straight answer is NO . In America, the expression is..........if it isn't broke, don't fix it........... Good Luck though.............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerwilco82 Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 You also might want to check with Klipsch about Voiding your Warranty.............. http://www.klipsch.com/support/warranty-policies/details/consumer-and-commercial.aspx If I may, I think if you want the sound of the RF 83's just sell your RF 82's and buy the RF 83's.................JMHO. Thats not interesting. Sure I loose the warranty...that's no surprise. And yes. I also could by a pair of RF-63. BUT: A pair of RF-82 is around 900$, a pair of RF-63 is 1650$ (prices in Germany). A pair of new horn drivers is with 100$ including shipping pretty cheap. That why I would try the mod. And if i keep the original horn drivers i also don't loose the warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Be my guest. Not to flame, but odds are that you will convince yourself that this modification is an 'upgrade' because you spent time and money on it. Beranek's Law It has beenremarked that if one selects his own components, builds his own enclosure, andis convinced he has made a wise choice of design, then his own loudspeakersounds better to him than does anyone else's loudspeaker. In this case, the frequencyresponse of the loudspeaker seems to play only a minor part in forming aperson's opinion. L.L. Beranek,Acoustics (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1954), p.208. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 "And if i keep the original horn drivers i also don't loose (sic) the warranty" You will now, Klipsch knows that you modified their loudspeakers. This would be against warranty policy. Parts dept generally only sells replacement parts, not hobbyist parts for experimentation. You will not be making RF63's out of RF82's by changing the horn driver (motor), there is a LOT more to it than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 165017002000are the crossover points for the three speakers you mentioned. They're different, aren't they? Chances are they they play at different volumes or efficiencies also Both these factors would necessitate a change in the crossover network, despite it being 'simple' by your definition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Have you looked at the front bezel of your RF82 loudspeakers? The horn is an integral molded part of the bezel. Therefore it cannot be swapped between speakers as all three have different widths and heights. In other words, they physically cannot be swapped. Also the horn driver that provides the sound to the horn is 1.25" diameter on the RFx3 models and 1" on the RFx2 models. You will not be physically able to change the horn drivers between the two series. Won't fit. No how, no way. Please enjoy your speakers as they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Are you sure? Klipsch uses the same horn driver for: RF-52, 62, 82, RB-51,61,81. They all got different crossovers in it. Also compare it to the center RC-62 f.e.. This speaker is so different to the RF-82 but the use the same horn driver. It is not true that the speakers are THAT specific. They all use nearly the same components. Klipsch speakers are pretty simple. Just look inside. The only thing i expect to be the problem is maybe a difference in the volume. Maybe the new driver in louder? Don't know. But thats the reason i'm asking. These statements are very untrue. While all the speakers mentioned may have similar looking horns and drivers, are you absolutely certain that the driver is exactly the same? Frequently the magnet size is different which affects the loudness level of the tweeter. This is true on Heritage tweeters K75, K76, K79 for instance. They LOOK the same but the magnet is very different varying from 4.6 to over 6 ounces. The speakers might very well be that specific. But if you're smarter than the Klipsch engineers and have an anechoic chamber and test gear to verify your results, go right ahead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerwilco82 Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 Yes. I'm certain that the drivers for the RF-62, RF-82 and RC-62 are the same. They all got the same part nr. Sure the crossovers are different. But thats only a result of the bass drivers that are used. I totally agree that the RF-63 got another crossover freq. that the RF-82. But the point is that there are no things like filters in the klipsch network. I totally agree that Klipsch put much afford in the speakers to design them. Firt of all the bass reflex design, the shape and of course the design if the components. the bass drivers and the tweeters. But when you take a closer look, then you will realise that for example the network is no "magical" part as you may describe it. its just a crossover network with some resistors. When you now realise that the horn driver of the above mentioned speakers are equal, then you realise that the choosen crossover depends on the bass drivers and the case volume. I would not say that i'm smarter that the Klipsch engineers. But I'm smart enough to understand how a speaker really works when I look inside and use my multimeter. One of you guys above postet some informations from the "Cornscala" and when i look at bob's page i see hundrets of parts for the hersey series. So why you don't believe it's also possible with the reference line? f.e.: a klipsch retailer in germany modded a RC-5 horndriver into a RC-7 speaker to meet the needs of the customer, owning a pair of RF-5 speakers. The result was a perfect matching center channel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerwilco82 Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 Have you looked at the front bezel of your RF82 loudspeakers? The horn is an integral molded part of the bezel. Therefore it cannot be swapped between speakers as all three have different widths and heights. In other words, they physically cannot be swapped. That is not true. The horn driver is mounted on the horn lense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 'bezel' is the front panel of the speaker. What I'm referring to is that you cannot detach the horn lense from the front panel of the loudspeaker. yes you can detach the driver/motor from the horn lense but the RFx3 is a different size throat (the narrow part of the horn where it attaches) so they are not physically compatible. The earlier series Reference had detachable horn lens. In other words if you have an RB3, you can remove the horn lens/driver combo, rotate it 90 degrees and reinstall it (in case you wanted to put the speaker sideways on the bookshelf for instance). This cannot be accomplished with later series Reference. This photo is of the RF82, if you detach the horn lense, you have to pull the entire facade (face, or front) off the speaker, this would not allow this horn to be exchanged with others in the series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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