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KG 5.5 sounding "flat"


mmcarbo

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I've had a set of 5.5's for about 18 years. Now using them with a Yamaha receiver and they don't have the bass punch I remember from years past. I have tried room calibration and bypassing the AVR EQ. There isn't any more wow factor listening to music. Is it time to finally replace these beasts?

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The room hasn't changed. I honestly don't remember too much about the sound before the Yamaha, other than I hadn't been happy with it for a while. Using Pure Direct mode with the Yamaha results in a dreadful, flat tone. Using some enhancements, but bypassing the EQ is better, but still not what I remember. Bass response seems to be nowhere near where it should be.

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Room calibration is probably at fault. See what it sounds like with room calibration off.

Room calibration can be a good thing, and it can be a bad thing. I would suggest using it for movies, and disable it for music if you lack the punch at certain frequencies you used to have.

What YPAO does is equalize and flatten your curves for the measured listening positions. It messes with all the room modes, and changes the feel. I can't go into detail cause I have to head to church right now, but I really think its the room calibration.

Best of luck.

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Where would I find replacement crossovers other than through Klipsch, if available?

You would want them recapped as in capacitors. We have 2 members here who do this as a business.

Do you have another receiver you could check the speakers out with?

Just got my 5.5's this year and am exploring them myself.

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OP mentioned in his post that he had tried room calibration off, and still the same.

He said he bypassed the AVR EQ. Not the same thing, unless I misunderstood. YPAO is MUCH more than an EQ, as you probably know. Turning off YPAO is how you bypass.

Edited by mustang guy
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Make sure the polarity is correct/consistent. Don't want to sound basic here but it would be good to double check before jumping in with upgrades.

In the past I hooked up my Chorus IIs out of phase and the result was very weak bass.

Edited by Rivernuggets
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I agree. There have been quite a few recent questions about the same speaker in particular in sorts of ways to narrow the issue down if you do a search for kg 5.5 the results will pop up on here on the forum. Those 5.5's should be putting out great sound regardless. My suspicion would lead towards installing some new caps and updating your networks yet again there are several possibilities that would be taken off the list of issues first...then again its likely been 20 years since your crossovers have been touched unless you have had work or done work to them...?

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I would definitely do like Rivernuggets said and check the polarity. If not I think Mustang Guy is correct about the calibration.

My 5.5's may have lost some of their sparkle due to aging crossovers but they are still an in your face speaker. Flat would be the last word I would use to describe them.

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Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll mess with the YPAO and try them with a different AVR. One quick thing I did check was polarity, which was ok,

A different receiver, any receiver almost should tell you something. How old is your Yamaha?

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just curious but how would changing the capacitors have anything to do with the lack of bass he's experiencing? arent the caps for the mid/tweet drivers only?

You bring up a valid point. I have a Yamaha AVR, getting quite old but, still does the job. OP surely has checked tone bypass and is only driving the 2 fronts for 2 channel, am assuming. There is also a bass extension on mine. Plenty of bass to feed the Chorus, with 80wpc+ fronts. Easy thing to check with any receiver. Not the best mix though, IMLO...Older AVR and 2 channel.

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pull the drivers and take a rubber mallet and whack around the inside edge of the baffles both front and rear to see if they are secure. If they are loose they will be leaking air and that will throw them off big time. While this is a common issue with KLF series I have not seen it with KG series but it sounds like everything else is ok so you have to check the unchecked. The KG5.5 should hit like a frickin jack hammer when plied with a little solid power. Something has to be very wrong because this is what the 5.5 is known for. good luck best regards Moray James.

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moray: these are ported speakers with a huge 4" hole in the front, loose baffle boards wont leak any air, 99.9% of the air movement will come out that big port. & if by chance a microscopic amount of air did happen to "leak" out a baffle board seam, it wouldn't kill the bass like the OP is saying. dont mean to argue but i doubt a loose baffle board is causing this issue. & if they were that loose, he would hear severe vibration & rattling. & some of the kg's did have the bad glue issue that caused loose baffles... i had a pair that had to be sent in to klipsch for warranty repair... however, as bad as the rattle was.... it did NOT effect the bass output at all, just made a bad vibration up loud.

mustang: the kg5.5's are not rear passive speakers, they are dual active front firing woofers.

he's either got a blown/bad woofer(s) or a major placement issue, or there is something wrong with the settings on the receiver. aside from the normal bass controls or EQ settings, check that the sub is turned "off" in the settings. many current receivers default to sub on which cuts bass to the front mains & sends it to the LFE output for a sub. a 6month old yamaha avr should have plenty of power to make the 5.5's have the excellent bass they are known for.

either that or his memory of what they used to sound like is off. :unsure:

Edited by klipschfancf4
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I've had a set of 5.5's for about 18 years. Now using them with a Yamaha receiver and they don't have the bass punch I remember from years past.

More than likely you're noticing the difference in an old high current vintage style receiver and a wimpey (in compaison) power supply in an avr. What did you use in the past to power them?

Edited by CECAA850
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