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Repair Question - Forte Passive Radiator Repair


jfjacques

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Greetings - I am now a "Two Pair of Klipsch" house having had my KG5.5s for many years recently acqiured a pair of oiled walnut Forte (1)'s. I am in the process of refurbishing the cabinets and they are looking great, grilles are in great shape - and all of the drivers look and seem to function great, with the exception of one of the passive radiators has some cracking and one spot where there is a split right through the surround - i've googled and read about people using RTV silicone and other things to repair - one friend suggested liquid electrical tape - wondering if this is a common issue and what others may have done! 

 

Thanks! James

 

 

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I'd keep an eye out on eBay for a new (used) replacement single or pair, they come up for sale quite often. Another option would be to send it to simplyspeakers, I believe they can re-cone it for you for relatively cheap but I'd probably have both done at the same time. As far as repair goes, I've used shoegoo to get me by and it has worked surprisingly well. Anyway, congrats on the new speakers and good luck with the repair!

 

 

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I have used a small amount of toilet paper, just slightly larger than the tear. Put some clear fingernail polish down first. Cover around the hole, then lay the paper over. Let dry. Repeat the process as many times nesessary as to achieve the stiffness you desire. You can usually tap around the cone area, to see if it sounds good and uniform.

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But if the surround is failing, that is a different matter. Yes. Simply Speakers would be your best bet, if you want to keep them original. Or there are plenty of videos on YouTube on how to refoam yourself. Since you're not dealing with voice coils and the like, maybe a DIY job.

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  • 9 months later...

If the surround is damaged, but the cone is fine, how would one know whether the new surround has the proper compliance as designed?

 

If a speaker is re-coned (new cone) AND new surround are used, the surround compliance and cone weight/stiffness come into question.

 

Do these speaker repair companies use OEM parts, or do you just get what they have that fits physically?

 

 

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4 hours ago, adam2434 said:

Do these speaker repair companies use OEM parts, or do you just get what they have that fits physically?

I was told Klipsch does now sell replacements, cost, I have no idea. If it's not deteriorating but just a little tear I would repair it and move on. If it is deteriorating this is not normal for them, wonder if it's a replacement ?

 

It's easy and cheap to replace the surrounds, they sell kits online to diy, you just need to know the size. If I can do it anyone can, I had some Advents that would crumble every few years, did it twice and got rid of them, it was cheap like $12- $15 a pair. One thing I am not sure about is it's a passive radiator not a driver. So when refoaming a driver you put shims supplied with the kit in the center to align the cone before gluing the new surround. Does a passive even have that slot to put the shim since it is not a driver just the cone ?

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42 minutes ago, dtel said:

I was told Klipsch does now sell replacements, cost, I have no idea. If it's not deteriorating but just a little tear I would repair it and move on. If it is deteriorating this is not normal for them, wonder if it's a replacement ?

 

It's easy and cheap to replace the surrounds, they sell kits online to diy, you just need to know the size. If I can do it anyone can, I had some Advents that would crumble every few years, did it twice and got rid of them, it was cheap like $12- $15 a pair. One thing I am not sure about is it's a passive radiator not a driver. So when refoaming a driver you put shims supplied with the kit in the center to align the cone before gluing the new surround. Does a passive even have that slot to put the shim since it is not a driver just the cone ?

You shim it to align the voice coil, cos VC rub is well, bad.

Passive Radiator has no VC so no rub, it can be glued on crooked and wont matter much. If you glue it on crooked enough to see, you need to re do it. That's all.

Cool.

Srinath.

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The rest of the surround is fine, correct?  I would use an adhesive that is flexible like VLP.

https://plastidip.com/our-products/vinyl-leather-repair-vlp/

 

Reinforcement is good, but a nicely trimmed piece of silk or nylon (you know some ladies, right) with VLP will be stronger.  One layer dome as hogwylde describes will be enough for a surround.  VLP lasted over a year on my convertible top. 

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5 hours ago, dtel said:

I was told Klipsch does now sell replacements, cost, I have no idea. If it's not deteriorating but just a little tear I would repair it and move on. If it is deteriorating this is not normal for them, wonder if it's a replacement ?

 

It's easy and cheap to replace the surrounds, they sell kits online to diy, you just need to know the size. If I can do it anyone can, I had some Advents that would crumble every few years, did it twice and got rid of them, it was cheap like $12- $15 a pair. One thing I am not sure about is it's a passive radiator not a driver. So when refoaming a driver you put shims supplied with the kit in the center to align the cone before gluing the new surround. Does a passive even have that slot to put the shim since it is not a driver just the cone ?

 

I've re-foamed woofer surrounds on some AR and Boston speakers.  Getting the "right" replacement surrounds is critical for achieving stock woofer performance.  I think this would be true for re-coning too, for woofers and PRs.

 

So, I'm wondering if the surround and cone replacements done by these companies result in stock performance, using surrounds and cones that match the Klipsch factory specs.  

 

I do not have any woofers or PRs in need of repair, but am curious about the parts used and resulting performance achieved by the companies that provide these services.

 

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9 hours ago, Srinath said:

You shim it to align the voice coil, cos VC rub is well, bad.

Yes and the little shims make that easy, I was surprised how easy refoaming really was.

 

9 hours ago, Srinath said:

Passive Radiator has no VC so no rub, it can be glued on crooked and wont matter much. If you glue it on crooked enough to see, you need to re do it. That's all.

Cool.

Srinath.

That's the part I didn't know about, I have only done speakers no passives, I thought the whole driver part was gone just couldn't remember. Thanks

3 pair of forte's and I have always worried about the passives more than the drivers, didn't think you could get replacements, but no problems so far.

 

4 hours ago, adam2434 said:

I've re-foamed woofer surrounds on some AR and Boston speakers.  Getting the "right" replacement surrounds is critical for achieving stock woofer performance.  

 I would have been thinking when I refoamed the Advents twice I should have used something besides foam, and just took a chance on it being the same.

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With a passive push comes to shove you could take a mylar sheet (aka - a 5l wine bag) and stretch it across the frame. In fact if it has a basket - well you don't even need it. Ignore it, and use a ring of wood or something that allows you to put on the mylar like a drum skin.

That may actually improve the bass - or might not.

Cool.

Srinath.

 

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5 hours ago, dtel said:

Yes and the little shims make that easy, I was surprised how easy refoaming really was.

 

That's the part I didn't know about, I have only done speakers no passives, I thought the whole driver part was gone just couldn't remember. Thanks

3 pair of forte's and I have always worried about the passives more than the drivers, didn't think you could get replacements, but no problems so far.

 

 I would have been thinking when I refoamed the Advents twice I should have used something besides foam, and just took a chance on it being the same.

 

I have aligned them with the shims, and also with a battery and also with just mechanically pushing them around. I prefer to not remove the dust cap, however I have had a woofer that was dragging after a battery alignment. That I had to redo with the shims.

The Foam of today may have less or more compliance than the foam from the 70's, you could never know. Generally Putting in a rubber surround in place of the foam actually gets you more SPL and does not cost you much in terms of accuracy/tightness. IMHO, that always helps because usually the tweeters make more SPL and are padded down, but not enough IMHO.

Anyway, I'd stay away from an accordion cloth surround when a woofer had foam, but IMHO rubber vs foam are interchangeable.

Cool.

Srinath.

 

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Honestly I hope I never have to do another one, it was easy but it seems only certain type rot away, I want to avoid them if possible. I had thought about coating the foam with something but was afraid it might just melt away, that would suck. I gave them to a son, in law, they are his problem now, if he even still has them.

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