bobdit Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Hi, I have a pair of rf-82 bought brandnew. I notice that with some music I can hear scratchy/distorted vocal coming out of the horn, even at medium volume (-25db). I am sure it is not my amp clipping because I have an XPA-5 driving them and I am not driving them at very loud level either. These distorted sound come from a range of sources, iTunes, cd, dvds and FLAC files, you name it, but only on some songs. I called Klipsch and they said that if the tweeter was bad it would just die, like a fuse. Is that right? Could it be that the recording is clipped from the recording? How would I go about determining what is wrong here? I listen to the same songs on my laptop and I can not hear any distortion though. Thanks, B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted June 4, 2012 Moderators Share Posted June 4, 2012 Welcome I'm not positive but I think a tweeter either works or doesn't. You said XPA-5 but what is used for a pre-amp or is it a receiver ? Is it both speakers or just one ? If it's both speakers I would think something in the equipment chain is causing the problem, a wire with a bad connection. Is there any way to try something else to eliminate one part at a time. They may sound ok on the computer because it's speaker is not nearly as revealing as the RF-82, the better the speaker the more you hear problems with recordings. Just guessing here but others here will help figure this out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivanhurd Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 I would start with checking all the connections. Then try a different channel from your xpa-5 to see if it's the speaker or maybe the amp channel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzannucci Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 If it is only one side, switch the wires between the right and left speaker and see if it is the source. If it is both speakers, I would look at the source and the overall wiring. Tweeters can get nasty but to be 100% sure you would have to switch the tweeters between speakers to verify a tweeter or crossover problem. If it followed the tweeter, disassemble it, realign the diaphragm, and try it again. If it is still there replace the tweeter/diaphragm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdit Posted June 5, 2012 Author Share Posted June 5, 2012 Thanks all for your suggestions. I am using a Denon 4311 as pre-amp. I tried using 2 different ports on the amp, still the same problem on the same songs. I did swap the wires between speakers and yes, the same thing happens to the other speaker, so I cut a new wire, same problem. Those tests probably ruled out the tweeter as the problem. It can not be the amp or the receiver either since I got the same problem with my previous receiver (denon 991). It now looks a lot like the songs are distorted when recorded. Is there a way to confirm if a certain song is badly recorded causing distortion? Also, if the song is clipped when recorded, will listening to them cause damages to the tweeters? Thanks again, appreciate all the help. B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted June 5, 2012 Moderators Share Posted June 5, 2012 still the same problem on the same songs If that's the case I would think it's the recording, there is no telling if it's the way it was recorded or the way the computer recorded it. I would think it could be a problem for the speaker if you play it loud, is there any way to try to record that song again since you like it ? I have a couple of old CD's I made a copy of and on a couple of the songs the computer did add a problem like a skip really quick here and there. If you ever have a problem with a single song or even just part of a song even on a new Cd or DVD it's probably the recording, if it's a system problem it will not just be on one or two songs. Computers mess up like that pretty easily and the same goes for when a new Cd is made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted June 5, 2012 Moderators Share Posted June 5, 2012 Is there a way to confirm if a certain song is badly recorded causing distortion? You just did. Two different receivers, new wire, different connections on the receiver, switch wires between speakers.......................... I think you got it covered. [] Why do you trust the recording so much and your equipment so little ? MANY recording are not so great, some terrible, this happens way more than system problems. Just being one song or one part of a CD is enough to say bad recording most of the time. This is a big complaint, there are little or no standards for making Cd's, compression, loudness, and a few other things over used causes bad results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivanhurd Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Sounds weird to me. When you switched the left and right speakers, did the distortion come out of the opposite speaker or did it still come out of the same speaker? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshjp Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 bobdit- Tell me the song that you are haveing problems with, and what time within the song it happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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