CECAA850 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Before you buy a new driver, swap the ones in the cabinet (they're the same). If the noise moves, replace the driver. If the noise stays in the same place, keep looking. While you have the drivers out, do a visual inspection and see if anything looks out of place or feels loose. Pay closer attention to anything on the particular side of the speaker that's giving you trouble. Something may be resonating to certain frequencies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 Good idea. I'll try it tomorrow. It's almost 1 AM here. [:S] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 OK, so I tried pushing the cones in on the RC-7 in a dead-silent room. The one that makes the buzzing sound does have some very faint sound of something when pushing it. The other cone on the RC-7 that does not seem to have an issue does not make that sound. Should I still try swapping the drivers and testing or does this conclude that the driver is the problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I'd still swap them to be sure. There's no down side to doing it and it doesn't cost anything to try. You may discover that it's a tinsel lead or another odd ball issue. Worst case scenario, you buy another driver. Best case scenario, it's fixable with no out of pocket expense. Either way, you know for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 Okay, I was away from home for a few weeks and returned recently. I can't seem to find my screwdrivers so I can't swap the two drivers on the RC-7 just yet. However, I have inquired about getting a replacement driver from my local Klipsch dealer and they are suppose to get back to me soon. If a woofer makes a scraping sound when pushing on it, does that mean that it is definitely blown? I'm asking because the right driver (the one making the buzzing sound) does make a very faint scraping sound when I push on it while the left driver (that appears to be fine) does not. Secondly, is it possible for a blown driver to only show its "problems" at certain frequencies or does a blown driver have problems throughout the frequency range? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmassey Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Yeah that is most definitely blown. Blown speakers can be odd though. One minute they can sound perfect and the next, your ears are bleeding so I'd imagine that there is a possibility that it will only show on some frequencies. I'm not 100% on this though. I just know when I blew my car speakers, they were in and out but when they were in, they still sounded good. I'm surprised they told you to swap out both drivers on the RC-7 though. I would have thought it just would have been one to replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 Yeah that is most definitely blown. Blown speakers can be odd though. One minute they can sound perfect and the next, your ears are bleeding so I'd imagine that there is a possibility that it will only show on some frequencies. I'm not 100% on this though. I just know when I blew my car speakers, they were in and out but when they were in, they still sounded good. I'm surprised they told you to swap out both drivers on the RC-7 though. I would have thought it just would have been one to replace. Thanks. By swap I meant swapping the the left and right drivers on the RC-7 to see if the problem stays with the same driver. I didn't mean replacing both drivers on the RC-7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 By the way, any guesses as to what led the driver to be blown? I've owned these speakers (bought new) since 2004 and have been powering them with my A/V receiver that outputs around 110 watts x 5 the whole time. I've been quite adventurous with the volume control during movies and music (even played some parts of movies above reference level for short periods of time). Was it clipping that damaged the RC-7? The rest of the speakers seem to be fine despite my "abuse." However, I've been told that clipping is only harmful if you clip an amplifier that is more powerful that the power handling capability of the speaker. For example, clipping a 200 watt amplifier with a 100 watt speaker will damage it but clipping a 100 watt amplifier with a 200 watt speaker with not damage it. Any comments/opinions on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmassey Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I believe you can clip and blow a speaker with any amp. The better and more efficient amp you have though, the less chance there is of the amp actually clipping. To take it even further, some of the newer amps even have protections in place to turn them off before it even gets to that. You'd probably blow your ear drums before you blow your speakers just from being too loud. You should also keep in mind that your receiver is likely only putting out 50-60 watts per channel when all channels are being driven. If you have it loud, the receiver will heat up and become even less inefficient, causing it to heat up even more, turning into a vicious cycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 Thanks. Guess I'll wait till I can get separate amplifier before turning up the volume that high again. However, is it possible to blow speakers/drivers by overpowering them (without clipping) just like when you underpower them (with clipping)? What are the symptoms of overpowering a speaker? Secondly, is it safe to say that I blew the driver on the RC-7 because I reached the limits of my A/V receiver rather than the limits of the speaker? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmassey Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 However, is it possible to blow speakers/drivers by overpowering them (without clipping) just like when you underpower them (with clipping)? What are the symptoms of overpowering a speaker? I believe it's possible but I think it would take turning them up quite loud and over an extended amount of time. I'm not sure if the speaker starts to distort when it happens or what, maybe someone that has done this before can let you know. Secondly, is it safe to say that I blew the driver on the RC-7 because I reached the limits of my A/V receiver rather than the limits of the speaker? I would say that was almost certainly your case. When you had it turned way up, did you hear anything that sounded like it could be potentially damaging the speakers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 Secondly, is it safe to say that I blew the driver on the RC-7 because I reached the limits of my A/V receiver rather than the limits of the speaker? I would say that was almost certainly your case. When you had it turned way up, did you hear anything that sounded like it could be potentially damaging the speakers? I don't think I noticed too much other than compression and a harsher/brighter sound. I've noticed that harshness/brightness increases as I increase the volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 Secondly, is it safe to say that I blew the driver on the RC-7 because I reached the limits of my A/V receiver rather than the limits of the speaker? I would say that was almost certainly your case. When you had it turned way up, did you hear anything that sounded like it could be potentially damaging the speakers? I don't think I noticed too much other than compression and a harsher/brighter sound. I've noticed that harshness/brightness increases as I increase the volume. So, is that due to clipping? What, exactly, does clipping sound like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 It is hard to overpower these large Klipsch center speaker even at loud levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted January 6, 2013 Author Share Posted January 6, 2013 Okay, when I e-mailed my local Klipsch dealer, they said that they didn't have the RC-7 driver in stock and would have to check with the factory. Then they got back to me today and said that the supply of this driver is deplete and is no longer in supply. Is this true? What can I do? Should I contact the Parts Department directly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Okay, when I e-mailed my local Klipsch dealer,... Should I contact the Parts Department directly? Klipsch Parts department has an e-mail address and I would forward them your dealer correspondence with a header "Please Help--I love my RC-7!" It probably could hurt to let them know you are a Forum contributor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted January 6, 2013 Author Share Posted January 6, 2013 Okay, when I e-mailed my local Klipsch dealer,... Should I contact the Parts Department directly? Klipsch Parts department has an e-mail address and I would forward them your dealer correspondence with a header "Please Help--I love my RC-7!" It probably could hurt to let them know you are a Forum contributor. Yeah, I did end up e-mailing the Parts Department. However, my e-mail was a little more formal than what you suggested. [:|] [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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