001 Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 hi. just bought a pair of 1995 vintage k-horns in oiled walnut. they are in excellent shape overall & bought from the original owner. BUT, i seem to have an issue now that they are home & hooked up. at mid-higher volume levels i am getting a crackling from one of the mids, like its partially blown. i listened to them briefly to make sure all drivers worked & they sounded fine but when i turn them up a little, which i didnt do when auditioning them i get the fart/crackle noise. this is the k55m driver with ak-3 crossovers. can anyone tell me what my options are to fix this? does klipsch sell new diaphrams for the k55-m midhorn, or do i have to find a used one. what about crites mids? any info would be much apreciated. also as a side note, the driver threads onto the horn & it was a little loose compared to the other one, i gently tightened it down but it still makes the noise. only at higher volume levels but nothing extreme, pushing maybe 5-7 watts per the level meters on my onkyo m-504. far from pushing them. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 (edited) here http://www.critesspeakers.com/ bob will fix you right up. Edited January 30, 2014 by Budman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungkiman Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Try cleaning and tightening the crossover connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
001 Posted January 30, 2014 Author Share Posted January 30, 2014 i just checked crites site & doesnt look like the k55-m diaphrams are available, have to modify a k55-v one. which i will do if needed. will look for a used one too... anyone happen to have a single or pair of k55-m diaphrams? munkiman: no connections to tighten on these... all connections are soldered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungkiman Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Did not know that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolz Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Klipschfancf4, Give Mike or Bob Crites a call at 479.967.1542. It looks like they have what you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricktate Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I do not think it is bad,,,tighten all the screws on crossover...then tighten all the screws on the driver that hold it together. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
001 Posted January 30, 2014 Author Share Posted January 30, 2014 yes, apparently the ak-3 x-overs have all soldered connections, same at the mid & tweets. just emailed bob & he said the k55-v diaphram will work with a minor mod to make it fit so thats good news.... however the even better news is that i think i just figured out the problem. the wires that hook the tops to the main connectors on the lowers came loose. the stock banana style push in connectors seem to have lost their "springy-ness" & almost fall out of the connector. so after some bass heavy mid volume playing, the neg terminal pushes out making poor connection & that created the crackling noise. kind of like if you barely get the speaker wire connected on a normal type speaker hook up. once i pushed them back in the noise is gone... for a few minutes untill it pushes itself back out. i may try to expand the prongs on the connector or just cut em off & use bare wire. very relieved it wasnt a blown mid driver... they arent cheap. so i will do some listening & evaluating on them & im sure i will have many more questions in the near future. thanks for the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricktate Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Also it could need new rubber gasket where it screws into horn ...I got some O rings and put a drop of crazy glue to hold them on driver then dabbed a little Vaseline for lube the put them back in much better then old gasket type I think. Old gasket blocks some of the horn. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
001 Posted January 30, 2014 Author Share Posted January 30, 2014 i was thinking about that, seen new gaskets on bob's site for very cheap. might look into them down the road. fingers crossed for now that the loose wire was the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 (edited) Cut off the banana plugs that link the top with the bottom, replace with spades or pins. Common problem with Klipschorn 'cackle' on models with newer than AA crossovers. K55M back cover may need regluing, that is more of a 'buzz' or 'Vttt' type sound. Edited January 30, 2014 by djk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 K55M back cover may need regluing, that is more of a 'buzz' or 'Vttt' type sound. ...along with a very harsh midrange presentation.For those unfamiliar with horns it's not like a leaking rear chamber cover simply does so, without any consequence. They are pneumatic devices. Like a flute or a sax, covering or un-covering a hole will change the tuning big time. When the K55M rear cover seal breaks loose, and / or the driver o-ring is leaking because it's hard as a rock, the entire assembly will sound like sh*t. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
001 Posted January 31, 2014 Author Share Posted January 31, 2014 (edited) K55M back cover may need regluing, that is more of a 'buzz' or 'Vttt' type sound....along with a very harsh midrange presentation.For those unfamiliar with horns it's not like a leaking rear chamber cover simply does so, without any consequence. They are pneumatic devices. Like a flute or a sax, covering or un-covering a hole will change the tuning big time. When the K55M rear cover seal breaks loose, and / or the driver o-ring is leaking because it's hard as a rock, the entire assembly will sound like sh*t. whats the easiest way to improve the mid horn for this model? i do notice a slight "harshness" that im not used to, my fortes are smooth as silk compared to these. i figured it was mainly due to the k-horns size in my small basement, they are right in your face when seated on the couch. the back cover is good, not loose. if the rear magnet is/was a little loose does that mean the o-ring is probably bad? will replaceing that make a difference in the sound? i was able to turn the magnet on one of them, it was much looser than the other one. noticed this on my old epic cf-4's too. snugged it up & had no issues. Edited January 31, 2014 by klipschfancf4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 my applogies for stating the obvious.....but...make sure they are connected corrcectly...there are some differences in model years in terms how the top and bottom half connect to each other and your amp. so yes...I can hook them up wrong and get crackling noises before blowing the mid drivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
001 Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 my applogies for stating the obvious.....but...make sure they are connected corrcectly...there are some differences in model years in terms how the top and bottom half connect to each other and your amp. so yes...I can hook them up wrong and get crackling noises before blowing the mid drivers. i appreciate that but pretty sure they are a straight forward hook up. pos to pos & neg to neg.... the main wires from the amp goes to the bottom 2 terminals & the tops wires go to the top 2 terminals. am i missing anything with that?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 "the tops wires go to the top 2 terminals. am i missing anything with that??" Have you replace the banana plugs on the top wires with something better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
001 Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 (edited) "the tops wires go to the top 2 terminals. am i missing anything with that??" Have you replace the banana plugs on the top wires with something better? no, not as of yet, i was able to expand the prongs on the plugs a bit & that made for a tighter fit, seems ok for now but i have not really pushed them yet. my zero dollar fix is to just cut them off & connnect the bare wire to the screw in terminals on the bass bin, have done that for years on all my other speakers with no issues at all. i'm not a big fan of the pin type ends & bare wire seems to get a good solid connection when crushed by the screw in terminals. 99.9% sure the noise i mentioned at first was due to the banana plugs coming out & barely making a connection. that initial noise is gone as long as the plugs stay pushed in. Edited February 1, 2014 by klipschfancf4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Good job, easy fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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