jimjimbo Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Hello all, I'm pretty new to this forum, but have owned Klipsch for quite a while. I have two pairs of KG 5.5's that I would like to fully upgrade. I have already ordered the titanium tweeter diaphragms from Bob Crites, and they should arrive soon. I am also considering new crossovers, but will install the diaphragms first and see how they sound. Unfortunately (and I will freely admit) I am not the greatest DIY guy in the world. Ask me about computers and I'm all over it, but wiring and building is not my forte.... So, what I'm asking for is some advice and hopefully a point to an illustrated, step by step presentation of how to get into, improve, and button up these speakers. I've not even opened them yet, so I don't know what to expect....They have not been stressed at all, and are in quite pristine condition, but while I have a few bucks, I would like to upgrade them for the long haul... Some additional info: I'm going to be using these in a HT/music setup, so I will be purchasing a Yamaha Aventage receiver, as well as an Emotiva XPA-5 amp. Music tastes are classic rock, soul/funk, jazz, Pavarotti and others.... A few questions based on some reading I've done.... 1. Replace the crossovers with Crites? Highly recommended? 2. Shall I install some damping foam inside the cabinets? - How? 3. Do the cabinets need bracing? Is this necessary? 4. Anything else? Again, if someone could point me to a site where I could see some of this, and learn more, that would be awesome. Thanks so much for all of your help. Jim 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Welcome to the Klipsch Forums, Jim. I'll leave it to others to advise. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) Bobs networks are the same circuit as you have now just new capacitors. Bob sells at a fair price but you could install better if you wanted to if you are new to this and a little unsure I would say go with Bob he is the salt of the earth and a great guy to have as a resource. Bobs caps are of very good quality abouty in the middle of what is available prices go up exponentially like a horn after this level of part. You will find foam inside your cabinets and if you want to reach for deeper bass you can stuff your cabinets with similar open cell foan the to 3/4's of the cabinet full and leave the bottom 1/4 where the vents are totally open so it can freely resonate with the vents. After you are used to this you can experiment with increasing the length of your ventss to lower the tuning and so achieve deeper bass extension. You will be looking at increasing the vent length between 2 - 4 inches and inserting simple rolls of paper to test with will work fine just trust your ear as to what sounds best to you. As far as I am concerned every cabinet needs brace work. A reasonable brace is ply wood 3/4" thick and 3" wide brace across the fronet baffle below and above each driver in your case below and above the woofer is fine as the horn parallels the top of the cabinet.. Top sides and back should have one long brace in the centre along the ;long dimension. Leave the bottom as you might want to further upgrade your networks and the bottom will be the only available space for them to sit. You can also use 1x2 which is really 3/4"x1.5" in dimension to tie the braces together side to side and front to back at three or more points. You can get some 1/16" thick dynamat and damp the back side of your horns and the metal basket of the woofers. There is more that you can do but these essentials will cover most of what needs to be done aand bring you a tremendous amount of satisfaction. After that you can do more if you like such as raise the cabinet so thet the centre of the horn is at your seated ear level. Have fun and welcome home. Best regards Moray James. PS: for those who like to think that brace work provides little to no added value in a cabinet like your KG5.5 you might want to look at the retro fit brace job on my Heresy 3 speakers. The boxes are half the size of a KG5.5 box so box resonance in the larger cabinet will be a much bigger issue. The difference between the un braced and the braced cabinet is substantial. I have the H3 about 90% stuffed solid with high density fiberglass. Bass extension is impressive and has to be heard to be believed. Clearly for those who don't think this does not matter they may well have never tried it themselves. Posted also is a brace job with 3/4" ply in a Quartet cabinet. Forte has a single 12" woofer with a rear mounted 12" passive while the Forte ll has a single 12" woofer and a rear mounted 15" passive. http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=438234 http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=372783&page=3&highlight=klf20 Edited February 13, 2014 by moray james Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
001 Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 i have owned a pair of the kg5.5's for a long time, the only issue with them is some cabinets suffered from loose back boards that would vibrate at very high volumes. if yours dont vibrate thats great, IMO they dont need any braceing unless you plan to drive them to extremes. being they are a ported enclosure the braceing isnt needed as much as a sealed cabinet, most the air & bass waves leave through the ports. while you are in there you might want to run a thick bead of PL type glue such as liquid nails, or better yet gorilla glue along the seams. that will ensure the front & back boards dont work their way loose. they already have a decent amount of foam for dampening, maybe add another 2-3ft section but that wont change much of what you hear, i tried many years ago with a big piece of the egg crate acoustic foam... didnt hear any noticeable difference. i also think if the x-overs sound ok, meaning no loss of treble etc, they are probably fine. but if you feel the need simply replace the caps with equal values & a step up in quality available from parts express or many other online sources, or even a local radio shack. but bobs kit is decently priced. the titanium tweeters will make a world of difference over the stock tweeters. but as you know these speakers sound very good in stock form, i feel they are the most underated klipsch speaker there is, new or used. i have fortes also & they sound just about as good besides a fuller warmer mid section, but they have a tad more bass due to the dual 10" woofers. unless you dont like how they sound or there is a problem with something in the x-overs, i think the ti tweet is all thats needed to improve the sound. unless you want to spend hundreds of dollars on each pair, but if you dont like the sound, sell them & spend that money to upgrade to another speaker like a forte or chorus or others in the heritage line. & some guys like the newer gold woofer RF seriers, all are availble for good deals in the used market. hard to beat a paid for set of kg 5.5's IMO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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