Promedia 5.1 Ultra static hiss through satellite speakers

[Firehawk_1066]

Hello everyone and thank you in advance for ANY advice, it is greatly appreciated.

I purchased my unit in August of 2004. About two weeks ago I started to get a static hiss sound through the satellite speakers. I contacted Klipsch for repairs but unfortunately as many of you know they no longer service this unit. Reading on the Klipsch forums I learned that the two 100mFd 35 volt 85°c capacitors on the main board next to a pair of small, black heat sinks often go bad. I replaced these with 100mFd 35 volt 105°c capacitors but this did not eliminate the static hiss I am getting from my satellites.

I did some process of elimination/troubleshooting and here is what I found:

1-It is definitely not my sound card; the static is heard even when disconnected from the sound card

2-The sound in intermittent, sometimes I turn on the unit and hear the static immediately and after some use the static hiss is no longer audible. Other times I can turn it on and hear no static at all but after some use I start to hear the static again. It seems totally random when the static is heard.

3-The static is not audible through head phones plugged into the headphone jack in the controller.

4-The static gets louder when I turn up the volume on the control box.

So from all of this information can anyone give me any ideas or point me in A direction? Luckily I work with a Electrical Engineer who can help me out but since Klipsch doesn't provide the PCB schematics so finding the problem is a bit more difficult.

thank you again for any advise or help

[Davemd11]

This forum usually stays very quiet. If you have someone that can test it for you, here are some schematics.

Here: http://www.thompdale.com/bash_amplifier/5-1/5-1_bash_amp.htm

and Here: http://www.thompdale.com/bash_amplifier/HC1010_HC1011/HC1010_HC1011.htm

Hope this helps and good luck. I love mine and although they give me issues every now and then, I'll keep them until they crumble.

~Dave

[Davemd11]

Also, I believe stpeteshepherd does repairs and makes a cooling kit for these speakers to prevent overheating issues. You can probably contact him through this forum or his Ebay page. here is the upgrade/cooling kit he makes : http://www.ebay.com/itm/330635798052#ht_2586wt_1396

[GoneTomorrow]

Mine had the same issues (non-ultra ProMedia 5.1 speakers which I bought at launch in '02). Elliot-tronics fixed my amp (some controversy about him, but he did right by me) and they've sounded better than knew since (repaired 2 years ago). I'll keep rockin' my set until they fall apart as well.

[Firehawk_1066]

Thanks Davemd11,

I contacted him and although he is not taking orders for the rest of the year at least I know where I can go in January and in the mean time he gave me a few pointers of certain capacitors and zeners to try to replace.

thanks again

Happy Holdays

[drcigg]

I had something similar but mine was more of muffled sound then hiss.

I replaced all 3 tall caps to the left of the transformer. I think they were 1000uf. Then I replaced all 4 transistors next to it. D510, etc...

Problem went away. Also be sure to check the board for burnt components especially near the transformer and on the mini board to the right of the transformer. Most of my components were burnt on that board. I literally have replaced about 30 different components because they were burnt or looked burnt.

[K.C. Cool]

Hey there! I know this is an 11 year old post, but my 5.1 Ultras have developed this same issue, except the static does NOT increase or decrease if I change the volume.

 

I've had this set since  the early 2000's but previously, I have changed the BASH chip (twice over time!) and changed out the capacitors about 8 years ago. Not sure what to target here with this specific problem.

[K.C. Cool]

Hey again all, I pulled apart the amp again and tried taking a closer look at the AC/DC converter and noticed some components that look a bit toasty.

 

https://imgur.com/a/BUo3bmG

 

I tried resoldering everything that looked like it might have come desoldered, but I don't really see much of an improvement in static. Does anyone know which bits of circuitry I should replace here? And if so, is there an easy way to identify what I need to purchase?

[K.C. Cool]

Hey all, I just wanted to follow up. A big thanks goes to @stpeteshepherd for pinpointing my issue with the capacitors on the AC-CD Converter daughter board, as I did fix my intermittent hissing issue! More details below...

 

With this kit being close to the cost of a mail-in repair ($130-$150 depending if you go with the kit or repair), you kind of need to weigh your own cost / benefit / abilities with a system this old. I reached out to @stpeteshepherd and decided to buy his 5.1 Ultra repair kit with a fan. My reasoning for going this route is: I have a beginner's ability to desolder / solder and have repaired this system before thanks to forum members like yourself sharing information. @stpeteshepherd has reengineered 3 components (BASH chips and AC-CD Converter Daughter board) to be cooler and longer lasting which is a godsend for a system this old with faulty parts. I also wanted a kit that had everything I needed to fix my current issue and future issues with this system without guessing, along with instructions. With that in mind, If I knew exactly what to replace, I could have bought some of the components that fixed my specific issue for less than $20, but I will inevitably have to replace/fix something in the future as these systems are prone to breaking due to heat issues.

 

Something keep in mind that as time goes on: less and less people have these systems and Klipsch Promedia electrical enthusiast may not be selling / repairing these forever, so I figured buying now is an investment in the future of these 501 Ultras 😃.

At first I sought out to do a full repair and replace everything in the kit, so I tackled the two 16v 100 uF and two 35v 100 uF capacitors at the upper right corner of the panel near the pair of small black heat sinks in the picture attached. Years ago I replaced the 35v 100 uF capacitors due to a bass hum, but I decided to replaced these with the new ones in the kit since they were and upgrade / a higher temp rating. Doing so, I accidentally pulled out a copper trace from the board because I didn't fully desolder. Stpteshepherd even warned me of this in the instructions 🤦🏼‍♂️. Re-attaching a trace is currently outside of my electrical wheelhouse, so I thought I ruined my system.  I attempted to solder the capacitor back anyways on the top and bottom of the board and it seems to be working fine, but I'm not sure if this is a permanent fix or not.

Due to this FUBAR, I decided to focus on what I believed my main problem was: The AC-DC converter board with the three 22uf 50v capacitors, 2N5551 transistor, and Zener diode on the AC-DC converter board (picture attached). I wanted to focus on this area first as this was the only area where the bottom of the board was charred. After replacing these 5 components and starting the system up again, it stopped buzzing and hissing. Once again, silence! Huzza!

Pro tips: When removing the AC-DC board, use needle nosed pliers to grab the plastic mounts under the board and unscrew the screws holding those in place on the outside of the panel. I tried to press the plastic prongs in, but the plastic is so old the prongs broke off 😑. All in all, if you are having this problem and stumble upon this forum post, doing this repair is pretty easy and even a beginner with a solder sucker and a soldering iron can pull this off.

@stpeteshepherd also gave instructions in the kit to replace many more commonly failed components and an internal fan kit to keep everything cool. Since my previous repairs are currently holding up (for now...), I didn't attempt to replace anything else in fear of causing more damage than good. I'm sure something will fail down the road, but I have the parts and instructions to tackle them when they come at me 😃.

It's crazy to think about keeping these nearly 20 year old speakers going, but they still sound great and are fairly simple to repair. I hope this helps someone in the future!

[theplummer]

Mine finally crapped out recently.  I decided it's better to send my amp to @stpeteshepherd as he's obviously got an expertise on these things.  It's well worth the $$.  

My only issue is, I'm sick & tired of having to get off the couch & walk across the living room, every time Prime changes to a new video.  They have a terrible time keeping their volume levels stable from show to show.

 

I wish these things had come with a remote...LOL 

 

Shepherd says that the old Klipch DD-5.1 controllers will work in this situation, but none of them ever seem to have a power supply or remote that comes with them.  

 

This guy made a blog on how to adapt a Arduino to the existing controller & make it have a remote.  

https://christopherzurcher.blogspot.com/2012/05/klipsch-promedia-51-volume-control-pod.html

 

There are a few affordable options on Amazon as replacement pre amps too.  

 

If yo can ever snag one of these, they are great,  even though you have to do a bit of marrying the old technology to new.

 

I use a HDMI ARC audio extractor, to a digital surround sound decoder.  

 

I'd really like to see Klipsch re-introduce such a system, as they are still fantastic, but just need a bit of updating.  The quality & sound are incredible, for such a compact little system.