The Forgotten RB-5's

[duburonf@gmail.com]

Could someone post a copy (PDF) of the original one page RB 5 II Spec sheet?

It appears that Klipsch never kept a copy for their archives that they are willing to post.  Thanks!

Please send it email to (or post a link here)

 

   

Thanks

Fred

[TasDom]

32 minutes ago, duburonf@gmail.com said:

Could someone post a copy (PDF) of the original one page RB 5 II Spec sheet?

It appears that Klipsch never kept a copy for their archives that they are willing to post.  Thanks!

Please send it email to (or post a link here)

 

   

Thanks

Fred

Welcome to the forum...

This site has info on a lot of discontinued styles

https://web.archive.org/web/20120125102930/http://www.klipsch.com/Discontinued-Bookshelf-Speakers?&n=0&va=t

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20120425015803/http://www.klipsch.com/rb-5-ii-bookshelf-speaker#second

 

RB-5 II Bookshelf Speaker

SPECIFICATIONS

• BUILT FROM: 2001
• BUILT UNTIL: 2003
• DIMENSIONS: 17" (43.2cm) x 9" (22.9cm) x 12.2" (30.9cm)
• ENCLOSURE MATERIAL: Medium density fiberboard construction (MDF)
• ENCLOSURE TYPE: Bass reflex via rear-mounted port
• FINISHES: Cherry, Maple or Black Ash wood veneer
• FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 48Hz-20kHz (+-)3dB
• HIGH FREQUENCY HORN: 6" square 90(o) x 60(o) Tractrix(r) Horn
• NOMINAL IMPEDANCE: 8 ohms
• POWER HANDLING: 150 watts maximum continuous (400 watts peak)
• SENSITIVITY: 96dB @ 1watt/1meter
• TWEETER: K-105-K 1" (2.54cm) Titanium dome compression driver
• WEIGHT: 23 lbs. (10.5kg)
• WOOFER: K-1084-S 8" (20.32cm) Cerametallic(r) cone / cast polymer frame

[veloceleste]

.

[duburonf@gmail.com]

I finally landed a set of RB-5s  HOWEVER....

...some heathen... at some point decided to ditch the grills and screw on these ugly acoustically inefficient woofer "waffle" grills ...and on top of that, they did a sloppy job doing it. Rumor has it they came from a recording studio... which might explain the reason behind the modification

The grills should have had spacers under the four hold-down tabs and the screw holes in the MDF should have been predrilled rather than muscled. So on inspection, I found some minor MDF damage where the screws were added.

So all that aside, one of the speakers is not sounding the same as the other. A visual inspection of the drivers and horn do not show anything obvious. I am thinking the crossover may need to be disassembled and recapped. I am not finding any indications anyone has done this before and that there is very little information on this task.

I understand there are two tweeter options out there
The metal diaphragm replacement
https://www.simplyspeakers.com/klipsch-replacement-speaker-diaphragm-k-79-k100ti.html


...and the treated fabric dome diaphragm option
https://www.simplyspeakers.com/klipsch-replacement-speaker-diaphragm-k75-d-417.html
Rumor has it these sound better... Any thoughts?


So here they sit... wanting to be set free from a world behind bars and to sing again.
Looking for a RB-5 crossover schematic on these... anyone?
Suggestions of how best to proceed?

Oh yes... , does anyone have a set of unwanted original RB-5 grills sitting around?

Thanks in advance

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 2, 2021 by duburonf@gmail.com
Photos and text issue

[OO1]

2 hours ago, duburonf@gmail.com said:

I finally landed a set of RB-5s  HOWEVER....

I understand there are two tweeter options out there
The metal diaphragm replacement
https://www.simplyspeakers.com/klipsch-replacement-speaker-diaphragm-k-79-k100ti.html


...and the treated fabric dome diaphragm option
https://www.simplyspeakers.com/klipsch-replacement-speaker-diaphragm-k75-d-417.html
Rumor has it these sound better... Any thoughts?

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Tweeter diaphragms  you are showing are  not the right Parts for the RB-5-----you need the K124-K tweeters

[duburonf@gmail.com]

 

4 hours ago, RandyH001 said:

The Tweeter diaphragms  you are showing are  not the right Parts for the RB-5-----you need the K124-K tweeters

Hmmm My sources disagree...

What is your source for this position?

 

I decided to open mine... and here is the picture

Edited November 3, 2021 by duburonf@gmail.com

[jjptkd]

31 minutes ago, duburonf@gmail.com said:

Hmmm My sources disagree...

The RB-5 has a 4 ohm tweeter check them with a meter most replacements available are 8 ohm how much of a difference it actually makes I'm not sure but could potentially throw off the crossover points. 

[jjptkd]

Check out this eBay link diaphragm ohms out at 3.3:

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/384447864549?hash=item5982e0dee5:g:EJIAAOSw1~NhRsxT

 

 

[duburonf@gmail.com]

20 hours ago, jjptkd said:

The RB-5 has a 4 ohm tweeter check them with a meter most replacements available are 8 ohm how much of a difference it actually makes I'm not sure but could potentially throw off the crossover points. 

This eBay item is for a K-124-K.

I have a K-105-K tweeter in my RB-5.

I just buttoned my Tweeter back in the enclosure, I will have to open it back up sometime tomorrow and check it.

 

Yes both replacements are 8 ohm and I am wagering the K-105-K is also 8 ohms.

More to come tomorrow...

~~~~~~

NOV 3rd - Update

Tweeter on both speakers measured 3.1 ohms (DCR)

 

Edited November 3, 2021 by duburonf@gmail.com

[jjptkd]

38 minutes ago, duburonf@gmail.com said:

This eBay item is for a K-124-K.

I have a K-105-K tweeter in my RB-5.

I just buttoned my Tweeter back in the enclosure, I will have to open it back up sometime tomorrow and check it.

 

Yes both replacements are 8 ohm and I am wagering the K-105-K is also 8 ohms.

More to come tomorrow.

 

How much is your wager? I've owned several pairs of the these 

[amped]

"So all that aside, one of the speakers is not sounding the same as the other. A visual inspection of the drivers and horn do not show anything obvious. I am thinking the crossover may need to be disassembled and recapped. I am not finding any indications anyone has done this before and that there is very little information on this task."

 

I recapped my RB-5 Mahogany(s) about two years ago. I got the parts from Crites and a schematic was included. They don't list this speaker on the site but I asked and sent them the ser #'s and xover pics. I didn't mess with the diaphragms. I have more pics of the before /after, etc but not tonight- LMK

I honestly couldn't say if I noticed an improvement but I figured they were old enough so it couldn't hurt. Also they're not in an ideal location so this may be part of the sound issue. Sorry about your grills. As for your sound-  check and tighten all the internal spade connectors.

 

 

Edited November 29, 2021 by amped
spelling; added photos

[OO1]

2 hours ago, duburonf@gmail.com said:

This eBay item is for a K-124-K.

I have a K-105-K tweeter in my RB-5.

I just buttoned my Tweeter back in the enclosure, I will have to open it back up sometime tomorrow and check it.

 

Yes both replacements are 8 ohm and I am wagering the K-105-K is also 8 ohms.

More to come tomorrow.

 

 

 

there are 2 versions of the Klipsch RB-5  --------RB-5 and RB-5 II  

 

the tweeter / horn assembly..... ,Klipsch  Replacement Part # 129094 ,K-124-K /4 Ohms -

-in some speakers ,  the tweeters are tagged K-105-K  rather than K-124-K , which references the tweeter only apart from the horn, but the tweeter is not sold separately  from the horn -

 

-   so whether you see the  K-105-K or K-124-K  , the tweeters on both tags are identical / 4 Ohms -

[OO1]

1 hour ago, jjptkd said:

How much is your wager? I've owned several pairs of the these 

Yes ---4 Ohms ,

[duburonf@gmail.com]

Not saying your wrong here...

Every data sheet I can find on the RB-5 and RB-5II refer to the tweeter being a K-105-K.  So naturally after opening my RB-5 up and finding a K-105-K inside I am assuming the RB-5 at least, did in fact, use the ones labeled as K-105-K.

21 hours ago, RandyH001 said:

The Tweeter diaphragms  you are showing are  not the right Parts for the RB-5-----you need the K124-K tweeters

So for now let's just focus on the other aspect of a tweeter's condition... We need to keep in mind that static resistance check with a DC Voltage (or the "DC Resistance" (DCR)) is not a complete picture of the Tweeters condition

The two SS replacement parts I listed as being 8 ohms (this is NOT a static DCR reading), but rather the manufacturer's listed "nominal impedance value" of 8 ohms which is the average ohm reading when an analog sinewave (or AC signal) is applied to the tweeters inputs. This dynamic resistance reading of a tweeter will change from 8 ohms according to the audio frequencies applied to the tweeter.  Both of these SS replacement tweeters have a DCR value assigned of 6 to 6.5 ohms

I am beginning to think... assuming a new tweeter starts out its life with a DCR reading of over 6 ohms, that DCR below a reading of 3.5 ohms might just be a good indication of why after 20-plus years some tweeters might not sound as dynamic as they were when new.

 

A discussion with Michael Crites today left me much more aware of what these static DCR readings can indicate.

[jjptkd]

1 hour ago, duburonf@gmail.com said:

Not saying your wrong here...

Every data sheet I can find on the RB-5 and RB-5II refer to the tweeter being a K-105-K.  So naturally after opening my RB-5 up and finding a K-105-K inside I am assuming the RB-5 at least, did in fact, use the ones labeled as K-105-K.

I'm not sure about the specific part number what I am telling you is that every RF-3 / RF-5 RB-5 RB-5 II that I have had (and I've had several of each) all of the tweeters measured out at under 4 ohms. Now every set of older Klipsch speakers I have owned with the k-75 / 79 variant of tweeter (and I have owned many more times of these types of speakers over the years) all of those tweeters measured under 8 ohms, clearly different diaphragm impedances. 

 

I don't know how much of a difference that would actually make if you used the 8 ohm version instead of the 4 ohm version if SimplySpeaker recommends it then it must be OK as they sell a ton of Klipsch parts.  I really don't know what else to do except to buy used if you want an exact replacement, that is what I have done in the past. Either way, good luck to you, the RB-5's are great speakers and I'm sure you'll get it all worked out soon enough!

[duburonf@gmail.com]

2 hours ago, jjptkd said:

I don't know how much of a difference that would actually make if you used the 8 ohm version instead of the 4 ohm version

You missed the point of my last post...

a VOM meter puts DC across the K-105-K tweeters and give you a DCR reading of 3.1 to 3.3 ohms. The SS Tweeters give you a DCR reading 6 ohms and 6.5 ohms. The 8 ohms spec is what the manufacturers tend to list the nominal impedance which is the average ohm reading when a signal is present to the tweeter.

You slap a a VOM meter on a new SS tweeter and it will give you a DCR reading of roughly 5 ohms according to the guys at Simply Speakers. 

That is still an a difference of 2 ohms. 

Being  curious by nature...I have procured a spare K-105-K off eBay this evening and plan to order the replacement SS Part Number: D-417 to try it out in my lab to see what the differences might be.

More to come...

[jjptkd]

8 hours ago, duburonf@gmail.com said:

You missed the point of my last post...

a VOM meter puts DC across the K-105-K tweeters and give you a DCR reading of 3.1 to 3.3 ohms. The SS Tweeters give you a DCR reading 6 ohms and 6.5 ohms. The 8 ohms spec is what the manufacturers tend to list the nominal impedance which is the average ohm reading when a signal is present to the tweeter.

You slap a a VOM meter on a new SS tweeter and it will give you a DCR reading of roughly 5 ohms according to the guys at Simply Speakers. 

That is still an a difference of 2 ohms. 

Being  curious by nature...I have procured a spare K-105-K off eBay this evening and plan to order the replacement SS Part Number: D-417 to try it out in my lab to see what the differences might be.

More to come...

 

So it sounds as though SS may have had a custom "one size fits all" diaphragm solution made for both versions..?

 

My point has been that there are clearly two different versions put out by Klipsch; 4 & 8 ohms-- it has been a bit troubling to some that the only replacements available appear to be the 8 ohm version.

 

I appreciate you digging in and getting to the bottom of this issue as this does come come time to time and I don't think there has ever been a straight answer.

[duburonf@gmail.com]

56 minutes ago, jjptkd said:

My point has been that there are clearly two different versions put out by Klipsch; 4 & 8 ohms

THIRD TIME...

Depends on how the results are posted... The manufacturers tend to list the nominal impedance which is the average ohm reading when a signal is present to the tweeter which is "DESIGNED" to be 8 OHMS!  If you slap a VOM on it and check the STATIC RESISTANCE (DCR VALUE) you will not get 8 ohms... but something else.  The Crossover is designed to work in harmony for the desired sound based on the speaker components (drivers, tweeters, ports, enclosure volume,...) to make it all work.

The trick is what type of impedance value are they posting for our consumption... Is it DCR or nominal (average)???

I consider this 4 ohm vs 8 ohm issue closed for now.... I am sure that someone with a additional audio engineering will step in and at some point add additional info to this discussion. such as the Thiele/Small parameters 

[jjptkd]

2 hours ago, duburonf@gmail.com said:

THIRD TIME...

 

 No need to get upset here, this is clearly some kind of misunderstanding and I'm just trying to clear things up.

 

I get that the "measured" ohm rating is different than the "stated" ohm rating and what I'm telling you is that across the Klipsch speaker models there is two versions of this diaphragm; one with a "stated" ohm rating of 8 ohms which typically measures around 6.8 ohms and another with a "stated" rating of 4 ohms, which measures at 3.3 or so. The ones that measure lower are not worn versions of the same diaphragm they are different from the factory--  

[Vital]

On 5/31/2021 at 11:17 AM, veloceleste said:

On a quest to simplify and down-size my system without giving up quality, I have been searching for an efficient bookshelf/monitor speaker to use with my Quicksilver integrated. RB75 and RB5 were on the list. I have RP160M and although I like them and have been using them in a second system, they don’t have as full a sound  as I am looking for. Luckily, I bought a pair of RB5 locally that are in excellent condition.  After several days of listening and dialing them in, I didn’t think they would replace my main system speakers and was ready to make them my second system speaker, replacing the RP160M. The one variable I didn’t adjust, (but knew it would be a factor) when dialing them in was speaker stand height. Initially I placed them on the only stands I had, a pair of 20” stands. I was able to find a nice pair of 26” stands to replace the 20” stands and getting the tweeter to ear height made a tremendous difference. Tonal balance improved immensely, and the sound became more cohesive and natural. I will have to do more critical listening to determine if these are my next main system speaker, but I have to say the RB5 are very, very good. In MY room and set-up I prefer them over the Forte III and Chorus II I previously owned. In my opinion the RB5 image better, are better balanced overall and more natural sounding. I’m down to two other speakers I would like to audition to find my possible end game speaker, RB75’s or Reference 3A de capo.

I had RB-5's, RB-5 ll's and RB-75's at the same time. For me, I preferred the RB-5's and RB-5 ll's. YMMV of course but the RB-5 was smoother and better balanced IMO. I'd like to find another pair actually.