WannabeAudiophile Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Hello, I recently picked up a pair of chorus1's and was wondering if there is any modifications i can do to them to make them sound any better. The tweeter on one of them is most likely about to go because you can hear the difference between the two. I was wondering which tweeter would best replace it and also if anybody has any opinion on putting ports in them, Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 You can get replacement titanium tweeter diaphragms from BEC. They are a pretty significant upgrade over the original phenolic diaphragms. Were they mine I would also look in to refreshing the crossover capacitors. Those are available as a "kit" from BEC. If you're not comfortable with soldering you can either send your existing crossovers for rebuild or buy completely new ones. Are you sure about them not having ports? According to the Klipsch site the "original" Chorus are ported. The Chorus IIs don't appear to be ported and I think they have a passive radiator in the back. If yours have passive radiators don't even consider porting them. You'll do MUCH more harm than good. I've not owned a pair of Klipsch Chorus but I have had a couple of their "siblings". A pair of Forte's and a pair of Quartets. Both of the pairs that I had benefitted greatly from a crossover refresh and titanium diaphragms for the tweeters. Almost forgot... Welcome the forum!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I have not owned a pair of Chorus speakers but I was under the impression they came with vents about 4.5" long. There was a mod for this extending the vents to about 6.5" long. I searched for a while but could not find any specific posts. Perhaps someone who remembes the title of one of those posts will chime in. As mentioned new Titanium tweeter diaphragms are money well spent as are new caps for the crossover. You can also consider buying new Titanium mid diaphragms from Klipsch. They cost more than the tweeter diaphragms but I find them well worth the money. You can also brace and stiffen the cabinet which will help tighten up the bass.Note that you will have to add internal damping to account for the volume of your added braces. You can also experiment with damping the back sides of the horns with materials such as Dynamat or Rope Caulk, here you will find some debate with members both for and against so you will have to decide for yourself. Perhaps some Chorus owners who have done these mods will comment. Welcome to the forum and to the world of Klipsch. Best regards Moray James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 The early Chorus had no tubes, just holes in the cabinet. Later versions may have a short duct. With the Chorus I would suggest adding a couple of port tubes to the holes in the front, bring the total depth up to about 7". The bass will sound quite a bit better (more like the Chorus II). http://community.klipsch.com/forums/p/142037/1447726.aspx " The cabinets are tuned to around 50hz @ -3db. With the help of some fellow AKers, I cut some tubes to fit the ports and dropped the cabinet tuning to around 35hz. The modification is totally reversible. The new tuning is very close to what I want." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannabeAudiophile Posted June 10, 2011 Author Share Posted June 10, 2011 My Chrous's dont have ports and my dad has a pair of Chorus II's that have a much better low end sound to them, I am going to try the ports and see if it helps. As for the tweeters, I am going to wait untill the one fails and then replace both of them. Is that a good idea or will the failure cause any other damage the the mid or the subwoofer, Thanks for all info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 You should be well pleased with the ports. Re the tweeters you can wait but you will only be wishing you had not waited when you do hear the Ti diaphragms, same goes for the mid diaphragms. Just do them and be amazed right now. Best regards Moray James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Chi-town Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 I completely agree with Moray. Although I own forte II, I have done the following upgrades to them since I purchased new in 1992. 1) Bob Crites new networks 2) Bob Crites titanium diaphragms for the tweeters 3) Klipsch K53 TI drivers which include the titanium diaphragms for the mids or squawker. If you decide to order from Klipsch order the complete driver and diaphragm for both speakers. The cost is only $2.00 more than just the diaphragms themselves. I performed the upgrades in a phased approach with the networks first, then the new diaphragms about a month later. The sound is simply amazing at this point. Each of the 3 upgrades was like lifting a veil off the speaker. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kernel Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Moray, you called it. I have some Chorus I's from '88. Been saving up for the big B.C. upgrades, stumbled upon this post and thought hmmm cheap experiment. I walked over to our shipping dept., grabbed a 4" mailing tube, measured the OD. Wouldn't you know it... exactly what I needed. I cut two down to 7" in length, wedged them into the ports of one of the speakers and put in a song with some pretty heavy bass. It took all of about 3 seconds to confirm significantly more bass coming from the speaker with the modified ports. Now, is 7" the ideal length and is a mailing tube the ideal material to use? I don't know, but it was affordable and it works! Spread the word. Kernel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Since I have not done the port mod I cannot comment on what length will be bes but you are in the ball park as far as I know and yes the cardboard tube is fine for the job. You could play with different lengths shifting an inch at a time and fine tunning with a half inch when you are close to best performance. Why not stiffenup your cabinet with some .75 inch strapping front to back side to side and then tie the strapping together where possible don`t forget the top of the cabinet. Not a lot of material but it will really tighten up the cabinet. Best regards Moray James. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kernel Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Moray, you lost me. Are you saying taking the banding (nylon or steel) used for securing loads on pallets and strapping the speaker cabinet? That would certainly tighten up all the joints but how would that stiffen up the sides where it would most likely flex? These cabinets are pretty beefy. If they are flexing, I can't feel it. There isn't a whole lot of vibration felt at all. Maybe my 40 wpc NAD just isn't breathing the fire that these speakers can handle, but it is F'in loud and not lacking in the bass department either... especially now with the added port tubes. I am all ears though. I am not interested in drilling holes in the cabinets or anything because I like the stock look they have now. This recent modification is about the best bang for the buck (pen intended) I could imagine. I've had every guy at the office come in to hear the difference between the two speakers. We have all been astonished in the difference. Now I am installing them into the other speaker and never looking back. JWK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Sorry if the term I used was unfamiliar to you but no I was referring to.75 inch square pine or fir strapping. When I was talking about tieing them together I was meaning that you would glue the strapping used from front to back to the pieces used from side to side. This results in a big improvement in overal cabinet stiffness for a very small amount of cavity loss. This will not be as stiff as larger ply braces but is much easier to implement and is far less expensive to do. You can take a look at two different cabinets which I recently worked on to get a better idea of what I did. See the attached link. I hope this helps to clairify the issue. Feel free to ask any questions you may still have. Best regards Moray James. http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=372783 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.