Klipsch WF-35 crossover upgrade

[Sx2500831]

I just purchased a pair of Klipsch WF-35's and am reading that a crossover upgrade makes these speakers sound equivelant to a $3,000 pair (I know that might be over the top). I am curious about exactly what components and tolerances I should use to build the crossover? I am also going to replace the 18 gauge wire inside with 12. I also read that just buying a pre-built 2,500hz crossover from PE is not the way to go. I love having my music sound as good as I can so any help would be much appreciated. I guess I'm asking someone who really knows what they are talking about "if you were going to build the crossover for these speakers what would you do?"

Thanks

[moray james]

Sx welcome to the forum. After doing a fair amount of modification work over the years I would not think that huge transformations are not possible but you have to know what you are doing. Buying aftermarket crossovers and dropping them into anything that they were not specificallly designed for is just a fools game. I would advise against retro fitting your speakers with internal 12 gage. This is a recipe for problems of one kind or another and makes very little difference.

You are going to get all kinds of different and or conflicting advive so you are going to have to do some work on this yourself to find out which way you think you want to go. I would suggest that you go over to audio karma dot org and look in the Klipsch Korner for a thread by SET12 on his Forte crossover uopgrade. Very long thread but chock full of excellent information lots to learn there. Basically (and I agree with SET12) inductors will make the biggest single difference in a crossover followed by quality caps.

You also want to ask yourself what you are willing to invest in time and in money. Given that both can be substantial you may want to take a very clse look at what you decide to work on. With horn loaded speakers size is all so how much room do you have and are you prepared to devote to your speakers. Bigger is always going to be better. Very many start small and over the years transition to large. You might want to consider cutting to the chase and modify a big pair of speakers sooner than later. Think Forte ll Cornwall ll or La Scala if you want to get into the 104 db efficiency zone which is a very cool place to be. You need to so some reading in the forum archive and you need to find some speakers to listen to so you can establish what it is you think that you would like to do yourself. Best of luck you came to the right place, everything you need is here. Best regards Moray James.

[Sx2500831]

When I paste this message in from word it adds a whole bunch of junk to the top of the post thats annoying.

I apologize in advance for my audio life story. It just

feels good to share a story about sound with someone that might appreciate it.

It's a story most people don't know.

I appreciate the information. I was hoping to get a clean

cut answer but I do know the complexity of electronics, tolerances and what

not. I did figure that making the internal wires a little bigger would result

in more efficient electrical flow but didn't think it could result in issues.

You live and learn. I still haven't got the speakers yet. They should be here

on 9/10 or 9/11. I am going to use my Pioneer SX-1050 to power them. I also

have an SX-1250 that has a relay that keeps shutting off but that another

story.

The gross thing about my story is that I live in a trailer.

Not the best place to live but its a home and stupid cheap. Mentioning that I

live in a trailer is relevant in that I have a pair of Martin Logan Sequell 2's

that were given to me for nothing. When I first hooked them up I played an Mozart

piano concerto and closed my eyes. It sounded so real that I felt that I could

stick my hand out and pluck one of the strings on the piano. I found that you

just won't get the best out of them unless you have them 2.5 feet from the

wall. I don't have room for that. Also they are too wide to cram in the wall

section with the 50" Plasma TV. I also have a pair of Bose 901's series 1.

They are great in that they never need to be re-foamed because the surrounds

are that tacky tar covered fabric. Those are too wide as well. I just turned 31

and since I was about 12 or so I have always kept my eyes on speakers

everywhere I went. People really respected me and I usually got the speakers

for next to nothing or free. Growing up it was all about the DJ speakers with

the massive woofers. I remember sitting in front of a pair of Cerwin Vega

AT12's and watching my pant legs blow around. For quite a while it was about

having the loudest speakers that sounded good. That all changed for me when I

was about 15. I bought the 901's. For Christmas my parents got me the series V

equalizer and that changed everything. There was nothing like hearing the pads

fluttering on a flute in a classical performance or hearing the drummers seat

squeak in a jazz recording. That opened my eyes to what music really was. Music

went from being something that just wanted to make you move physically to

something that became a beautiful thing. Music was not only something to move

you physically (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Prodigy, Rob Zombie, Beastie Boys,

ect...) but move you emotionally as well (Medeski Martin and Wood, Jimmy Smith,

various classical, Stanton Moore, Charles Earland, ect...). Hearing music the

way its supposed to be heard just makes it so much better. It has been around 6

years or so since I have been blown away by my stereo. The Martin Logan

function test did blow me away but they sit in storage. Limited living space

resulted in the downsizing of speakers and now all I have hooked up are some

infinity bookshelf speakers. I was known as this person that had the best sound

system people had heard to (what I like to think of as) "This old modest

man who does nothing ordinary day to day and even walking into his house you

see nothing special. One day he takes you down into his basement and there sits

a showroom quality BSA Goldstar, Ariel Four Square, and a Vincent Black Knight."

I was once that guy that everyone knew for having something special and over

time it has faded away. I want you to know that it's not the fact that people

knew me for having something nice that I miss. It honestly only comes down to

me missing that pure sound quality that I have been lacking in my life for so

long. I can't wait to hear Medeksi Martin and Wood's song - Kenny from the Shackman

album on my own pair of killer speakers. That song brings tears to my eyes. It

sounds so amazing and visioning John Medeski manipulating the half moon switch to

the Leslie cabinet Mounted on the B3 is such a cool thing. Also listening to

the 1969 recording by Dick Hymen called "The Electric Eclectics of Dick

Hymen" is something cool. The nuances in the Moog Synth are so interesting

to hear. I just miss that great feeling of good sound. You could have the worst

day ever. All you need to do is kick off your shoes, grab a cold beer, close

your eyes and listen to music. That fixes all the problems in the world.

Now I am in a position in which I want ot get rid of the 13

out of 18 pair of speakers that I have gotten over the years. I only want to

keep the 901's, ML Sequell 2's, first generation Paradigm Titan's, Realistic

Mach 1's, and SM 120's.

[derrickdj1]

Just listen to the WF 35's for a month or two and see how well you like them. The passive xo was engineered for that speaker and it is easy make things worse. Changing xo is not always a good thing. A small sub will bring out the bass, if you feel you need more bass. They are some pretty nice speaker especially for music.

[Sx2500831]

I did read that they take up to 200 hrs to burn in. One person in a review stated that they sounded better than the Def Tech 7006's which do sound amazing. I do understand that everybody has different opinions and thats fine. The thing that gets me is that one says that they sounded better than the 7006's and another is stating that the mid's are muddy. So I feel that because the person that said they were nicer than the 7006's heard them in a store means that they were well broke in and maybe most others are stating that they sound muddy in the mid's because they are new out of the box. Do you think that might be a fair auuemption? It just seems like a huge difference in reviews. Thanks for the input. I am going to take your advise and wait it out. If I don't have to spend more oney on them then why?

[Sx2500831]

One other thing I wonder about is what you think about me using my Bose series V equalizer? I have used that equalizer on a few different pairs of speakers and it makes everything its connected to sound so much crisp and clear. It does say not to use it with any other speakers than the Bose 901's but I always assumed that it was a brand thing.

[derrickdj1]

Forget the reviews, most of them are all praise or all gloom on a speaker. The only review that counts in the end is your! Many reviewer's say Klipsch is harsh, or bright, I have not seen that with proper setup. The room and setup play a big part in what you hear along with the other equipment.

[Trey Cannon]

As PWK would say....BS.

[Sx2500831]

BS to what?