geartech Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 I've had my 5.5 and kv 2 for many years now. Probably the best money I've ever spent in audio equipment. but recently I got the upgrade bug and tried a set of definitive tech 8020 st and was very underwhelmed with their performance to say the least when compared to the KG5.5's for home theater. So i've decide to update what I have and maybe get a different center to replace the KV2. the KV seems to have a problem with one of the drivers and I'm not sure it can be fixed I've seen a few threads on here about upgrades for the 5.5 when I search the net but nothing comes up when I use the forum search here. I plan on doing the Crites tweeters, and getting the parts thu parts-express to build new crossovers. Is there enything else to do the the 5.5's. I haven't seen much about the KV2 other than maybe the Crites tweeter. thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Almost bet you could find a KV 2,3 or sometimes 4 for a replacement on your center. As far as I know, you just covered it all about the 5.5 upgrades,refurb. You could even place a wanted to buy advert(WTB) here in our garage sale section, or the alerts section where some folk search craigslist,e-bay, other and post somnetime super deals. Welcome to the Klipsch forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 (edited) I've had my 5.5 and kv 2 for many years now. Probably the best money I've ever spent in audio equipment. but recently I got the upgrade bug and tried a set of definitive tech 8020 st and was very underwhelmed with their performance to say the least when compared to the KG5.5's for home theater. So i've decide to update what I have and maybe get a different center to replace the KV2. the KV seems to have a problem with one of the drivers and I'm not sure it can be fixed I've seen a few threads on here about upgrades for the 5.5 when I search the net but nothing comes up when I use the forum search here. I plan on doing the Crites tweeters, and getting the parts thu parts-express to build new crossovers. Is there enything else to do the the 5.5's. I haven't seen much about the KV2 other than maybe the Crites tweeter. thanks in advance What modifications you can do will to a large degree depend upon you and the skills/tools that you have. Internal brace work helps a lot so does re damping and re tuning the vents. There are a good number of things that you can do to the woofers and to the horns and the horn driver. All depends if you are comfortable getting inside them and changing them, most people are not. I expect that you don't have any real hands on modifying or you would likely have mentioned that. You don't need to have any experience if you want to experiment but you do need to be able to follow instructions and you do need to be willing to make mistakes and to live with that. That means if you break something while attempting to modify it you either fix it or replace it and carry on. Nobody learns how to do stuff like this without making mistakes and sometimes they cost. So you have to decide if you are willing to play with the part you have to be willing to pay for the part as well if things slide sideways on you. A really good source and amp will also go a long way so you can hear what you are doing. Hope this helps. Best regards and a belated welcome. Moray James. Edited May 3, 2015 by moray james 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twk123 Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Welcome to the forum! Have you tried running your Home Theater with no center (Phantom Center)? If you toe in your speakers just right the center channel info will go through the L/R and be placed directly on the screen. I have this set up with my KG 5.5's and really like how it sounds as its hard to find a good center to keep up with such efficient speakers. It depends on how big your home theater is though and how many seats as the phantom center loses its effectiveness the further away from the middle seating position you get. I have a smaller room and run mine with no center and am blown away all the time on how it can center the voices on my TV. I have mine about 8 ft apart and the point inward to a spot about a foot behind my head in the main listening position. As for upgrades, the Bob Crites titanium tweeters are awesome and he can rebuild our replace your crossovers as well but it sounds like you have a handle on that. I would also check and see if you need to re-glue the front or back panel of the KG 5.5's as they are notorious for coming loose over time. I put some pink fiberglass in mine behind the foam against the back panel and it really seamed to open up the bass but thats just a minor tweak i tried. With the Titanium tweeters and new caps you will be very hard pressed to find a better HT speaker on the market today unless you went with serious heritage or RF-7 ii's. What are you using for surrounds and subwoofer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geartech Posted May 3, 2015 Author Share Posted May 3, 2015 As far as the skill set goes, I've built my own subs and have a full woodworking shop in the garage so there isn't anything that is off limits on the upgrade front. I haven't even thought about running without a center. It's a possiblity. I've already got the 5.5's angled in. That alone really helped the sound stage. The front are rear panels are still secure but I can always address that when I start the re-furb. I actully still have my Klipsch SW10 and a home built 12" sub using a JL audio SW3V3 with a dayton audio 500w parametric EQ amp that I'm finishing up now. Rear surrounds are some polk Tsx110 that I picked up recently. The Definitive tech 8020's are going back today and I'll use that money to get a RP-450c center and maybe some new rear surrounds. Are there any threads to look for on the KG5.5 upgrades. I'm more than likely going to strip the cabinates and refinish them black to match the rest of the HT and do the rest of the updates then. Are there any caps to stay away from when doing the crossovers? Parts express seems to have a pretty good selection, almost too many. I'm also going to do the inductors, Can the both be replaced with air core units or is there a reason for the iron core unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twk123 Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 (edited) As far as the skill set goes, I've built my own subs and have a full woodworking shop in the garage so there isn't anything that is off limits on the upgrade front. There are others here that know more about the technical aspects of crossovers than me who can prob help out with that. Based on what you said here I really think you need to build one or two of these: https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/155619-next-up-lil-wrecker/ CECAA850 is a member here that builds some of these subs and he has a bunch of tips etc. If you have the space they look pretty awesome. Edited May 3, 2015 by twk123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geartech Posted May 3, 2015 Author Share Posted May 3, 2015 Thats a really nice sub, I've built something close before, An isobaric enclosure. Can't get away with that in the house. My wife would kill me. Maybe in my old HT room where I had a false wall that housed the TV and subs behind it along with the audio componets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geartech Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 (edited) Ok. I'm going to break down and do what I should have done to begin with, Mod the KG5.5's I have with new crossovers, New tweeters from Crites, Caulk the horn ( still haven't found any info on this yet but I know it has to be out there) Ordering a Klipsch RP-450c and a pair of RS-42 II surrounds. Once I hook up the new sub and put the Klipsch sw10 sub somewhere to help with nodes this should take care of my upgrade bug. Anything I'm missing. Should I change the values of anything in the crossovers? Edited May 4, 2015 by geartech Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geartech Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 Called Bob today and got the tweeters and crossovers ordered. waiting for my credit to show back up for the def-techs I returned so I can order my new surrounds and center Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geartech Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 Went ahead and ordered a new center and surrounds from Klipsch, Got a RP-450c center and a pair of RP 240s for surrounds. Can't wait to get the stuff from Bob to start updating the KG5.5s Got my box of dynamat and some felt to put on the horns , a sheet of 3/4 mdf to make braces out of. Anything I'm forgetting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geartech Posted May 7, 2015 Author Share Posted May 7, 2015 Big day today, All my Crites parts will be here and the new center and surrounds will be here. Looks like a busy weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geartech Posted May 7, 2015 Author Share Posted May 7, 2015 Got all the Crites stuff here, All I can say is he does really nice work. If they sound half as good as it looks then its money well spent. The RP450c and RP240s got here also. They also are beautiful. Can't wait to get it set up. I should have known better than to stray from Klipsch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geartech Posted May 16, 2015 Author Share Posted May 16, 2015 Got the Crites tweeters in my 5.5 s. All I can say is WOW. I did the tweeters, Cleaned the sharp edges from the horns and put dynamat on the horn to dampen it. I had to make a gasket to put between the tweeter and the horn wave guide to keep it from toucing the diaphragm. I'm hearing things in the audio that I never knew were there. The sound stage is so much more transparent and defined. I didn't know what I was missing. I still have the crossovers to put in and change out the dampning material in the cabinets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjptkd Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Congrats! Would really like to hear your impressions after all is said and done. I've thought about ordering the same rear surround speakers for my bedroom theater but contemplating the RS-42 II as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geartech Posted May 17, 2015 Author Share Posted May 17, 2015 I should have the center and side surrounds up today, Just the improvement from the tweeters and crossovers are substantial. those 2 things along with an updated AVR were money well spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geartech Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 the new center channel brought the whole thing together. along with the tweeters and crossovers in the KG5.5's I didn't relize what I was missing in the sound stage. Added my Klipsch SW10 back into the system also and went back thu the standing wave calibration with 4 measure points and that made a HUGE improvement in the bass. Now to get rid of the entertainment center and put the flat screen on the wall and put a projector up for movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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