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Chorus II project


snooka3000

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This is my first speaker project - I am a complete amateur.  Please bear with me!
 
I recently acquired a pair of Klipsch Chorus II in unknown condition.  Listening at low levels, I can tell there is an issue at higher frequencies.   
 
I ran a frequency sweep at 8k hz.  Here are the results:
 
Left speaker  - tweeter - no sound.  mid-range - no sound.
Right speaker - tweeter - no sound.  mid-range - audible @ 8k hz
 
I pulled the passive driver and all components appear to be original oem components.
 
What should my next step be?  Do I need to replace the diaphragms in the tweeters and mid-range?  Or do I need to find a way to test the crossovers?
 

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

 

Kelly

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Hi snooka, welcome. The first thing I did was to have the crossovers rebuilt.The crossovers are probably original, Second I had to get 2 tweeters.To be honest ,My son DTR20 did all the work. All thats left is to get new cloth for the grills. Now they sound awsome, my son has a pair of cornwalls and think the chorus 2 sounds alot better.

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Yea, recap the crossovers. After that, you can determine if you need to replace the mid-range and tweeter diaphragms. In my chorus ii's and my father's, the mid-range drivers worked, and the tweeters didn't. If you don't know how to do this, contact Bob Crites. His website is www.critesspeakers.com

 

These speakers can be great. It's definitely worth fixing. Also, we like pictures. Post them, and keep us up to date with the project. Feel free to ask more questions. And welcome to the forum.

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Don't repair the crossovers unless you determine something is wrong with them. Why waste the money?

 

Put a voltmeter, set to resistance (ohms) across the terminals of the tweeters and the midrange drivers. Disconnect the wiring first, but pay attention to which wire goes to which terminal.

 

Anyway, if the resistance reading isn't listed on the back of the speaker magnet, figure about 4-8 ohms. Your drivers should measure something similar. If your drivers do measure good, here's the next step.

 

Doesn't matter whether the speaker is connected to the wiring; use clip leads and clip the wires from your volt meter onto the speaker leads going to the driver. Play interstation FM noise if you can, if not-music. Set the voltmeter to A.C. volts. As your source plays AND YOU INCREASE THE VOLUME, you should see the voltage reading rise. If you don't see anything, THEN the crossovers need work.

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you really want to listen to 20 plus year old caps that by today's standards (even if they were brand new) are low quality?

   I would suggest to replace all the caps plastic film and especially the electrolytic caps. Remember that the tweeters in this design cross in at 6KHz. I would recommend a set of Bob's ti tweeter diaphragms and a fresh pair (so they match) of his excellent phenolic mid diaphragms, after which everything will be MUCH better than ever they were new. Buy a set of fresh gaskets for your mid horns and a big roll of fresh adhesive backed closed cell gasket material for woofers mids tweeters passives and terminal cups. Make sure you seal up the cabinet seams so there are no leaks all the seams and any holes where there are grill mount holes.

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I guess it would depend on what you're plans are for the speakers as to what advice to give here. Are you going to be keeping them long term? Are you just trying to get them working so you can sell them? If you plan on keeping them and have the money I'd say follow Moray's advice. If you're not confidant in your soldering skills you can pull your crossovers out and send them to Bob Crites for a re-cap ($135) and they'll be better than new.

 

http://www.critesspeakers.com/

 

 

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9 hours ago, moray james said:

you really want to listen to 20 plus year old caps that by today's standards (even if they were brand new) are low quality?

   I would suggest to replace all the caps plastic film and especially the electrolytic caps. Remember that the tweeters in this design cross in at 6KHz. I would recommend a set of Bob's ti tweeter diaphragms and a fresh pair (so they match) of his excellent phenolic mid diaphragms, after which everything will be MUCH better than ever they were new. Buy a set of fresh gaskets for your mid horns and a big roll of fresh adhesive backed closed cell gasket material for woofers mids tweeters passives and terminal cups. Make sure you seal up the cabinet seams so there are no leaks all the seams and any holes where there are grill mount holes.

 

1 hour ago, jjptkd said:

I guess it would depend on what you're plans are for the speakers as to what advice to give here. Are you going to be keeping them long term? Are you just trying to get them working so you can sell them? If you plan on keeping them and have the money I'd say follow Moray's advice. If you're not confidant in your soldering skills you can pull your crossovers out and send them to Bob Crites for a re-cap ($135) and they'll be better than new.

 

http://www.critesspeakers.com/

 

 

yea ...what they said

 

I would definitely replace the caps....if you don't want to do them ....send them to Bob.

sealing and gaskets are always good.

 

I have 2 pair .....one I actually bought Bobs crossovers....the second I did diaphragms and did caps myself.

The first pair are my Golden pair....sound fricken awesome....the second pair sound great too....but they were $300.00 cheaper to do

Love em both

 

You know what they say.....it depends on what you want to spend.

 

 

George,

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Easiest way to test the mids & tweets is by just hooking the speakers up to a receiver & turning the bass down all the way, then with medium volume stick your ear about 1" away from the tweet, you will hear if its working.  Then same thing for the mid, you can use a piece of cardboard or a magazine etc to cover the driver you are not listening to to help block its sound, but you will definitely hear a working driver. 

 

Next test is with an ohm meter to verify they are within spec, they should not read between 4-8ohms as was mentioned earlier, tweets should be about 8.7ohm & mid about 11.5ohm.  Wires need to be unhooked for the test, you can get to them by either pulling each driver or by pulling the rear passive, make sure you mark what wire goes where.  Unless these were driven very hard the tweets & mids "usually" dont blow, they should be working, but if not you can get replacement diaphrams for pretty cheap & installing them is easy. 

 

As for crossovers, if you can do basic soldering you can replace the caps yourself & do not need to by the expensive caps unless you have the money to burn or feel you need them for some reason like you have super expensive gear.  While I agree that the original caps are getting old & were pretty cheap, if they arent actually "bad" the speakers will sound great, listen to them for awhile before you decide to upgrade.  Good quality caps run a few bucks a piece like daytons or some here like the ERSE brand, my bet is you & most people can not hear any differences between a cap that costs a few bucks vs one that cost $15 or more. 

 

Yes there are better quality caps that have their place, but for speakers that use average gear you simply do not need them, save the money & buy tweets or mid diaphrams if they are needed, if not listen to them as is for awhile & form your own opinion.  Replacing a few caps on speakers like these should not cost a lot & is a relativly simple process, even if you have never soldered before, its a simple task you can learn by watching some youtube videos & practicing on some wire & asking questions here.  Also do a search for replacing caps, there are many threads of people who have done it before.

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Thanks everyone. This is great advice.  

 

To start, I pulled a tweeter.  Meter told me it is blown. Good news is the mid-range tested at 11.4.  The passive woofer on this speaker is punctured.  

 

Tonight I will test the other tweeter and mid-range.  I also want to run a 4khz test tone to make sure the crossovers are performing correctly (advice from Bob Crites). 

 

I plan on patching the woofer with clear RTV silicone.  I anticipate sending the tweeter assemblies to Bob Crites to replace and upgrade the diaphragms.  Possibly also the crossovers to be recapped as well.

 

This will be a fun project!   Any suggestions on the cabinets?  They are in decent shape.  Should I apply any treatment to help them?  They have been stored in a basement for 4-5 years by the previous owner. 

 

Thanks!

 

kelly

Edited by snooka3000
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I would like to keep these speakers for a long time.  This is my 2nd pair of Klipsch, my first being a pair of KP-201 ii that lived their life hanging in a church in Nebraska. 

 

I fell in love with their sound paired with an Adcom GFA 5400, Adcom pre-amp and a M&K MX-70 subwoofer.  

 

I moved that setup to my living room (with HK AVR) and hope the project Chorus II's become my main music speakers in my office (same Adcom gear).  

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For the cabinets, I would buy Howard's restore a finish golden oak, and a bottle of Howard's feed n wax from either home depot or Lowes. Apply the restore a finish with a rag all over the cabinet with the oak veneer, then wipe dry. Let it dry for about an hour then apply the feed n wax liberally. Let the wax sit for about 20 minutes, then wipe the excess off and buff it out. They will look like a million bucks

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9 minutes ago, dtr20 said:

For the cabinets, I would buy Howard's restore a finish golden oak, and a bottle of Howard's feed n wax from either home depot or Lowes. Apply the restore a finish with a rag all over the cabinet with the oak veneer, then wipe dry. Let it dry for about an hour then apply the feed n wax liberally. Let the wax sit for about 20 minutes, then wipe the excess off and buff it out. They will look like a million bucks

Thanks!  Ordered both products from Amazon.  Reviews on both look great!

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You can use some 0000 very fine steel wool while applying the restore a finish to basically wet-sand the cabinets. This can take out light scratches, water rings, etc. Just read the instructions on the back of the container/bottle when you get it. Good luck. We want more pictures! 

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18 hours ago, snooka3000 said:

Thanks everyone. This is great advice.  

 

To start, I pulled a tweeter.  Meter told me it is blown. Good news is the mid-range tested at 11.4.  The passive woofer on this speaker is punctured.  

 

Tonight I will test the other tweeter and mid-range.  I also want to run a 4khz test tone to make sure the crossovers are performing correctly (advice from Bob Crites). 

 

I plan on patching the woofer with clear RTV silicone.  I anticipate sending the tweeter assemblies to Bob Crites to replace and upgrade the diaphragms.  Possibly also the crossovers to be recapped as well.

 

This will be a fun project!   Any suggestions on the cabinets?  They are in decent shape.  Should I apply any treatment to help them?  They have been stored in a basement for 4-5 years by the previous owner. 

 

Thanks!

 

kelly

 

Nothing wrong with sending the tweeters & x-overs in for service, but if you can pull the tweet & test it with a meter you can probably replace the diaphram too.  It is really just a matter of removing a few nuts, lifting out the old diaphram & placing the new one in its place.  Very basic procedure that doesnt require paying someone to do it plus shipping both ways.  But if you aren't comfortable doing it then the service is worth the cost.  You can also find used tweeters & stock diaphrams for very cheap if you dont want to update the diaphrams just yet.  The chorus & forte in stock form are great speakers!

 

Same for x-overs, if you can solder at all or learn how to, you can save a lot of $$ by doing it yourself.  The caps I mentioned above are physically the same size as the originals & are very easy to replace, the caps bob sells are almost double the size of the originals & can take a little creativity to place them right.  Soldering small leads on a printed circuit board is the easiest soldering there is, takes very little heat to remove them & very little heat/solder to reinstall them.  Soldering thick wires or soldering in heat sensative areas take a little more skill & experience, but a couple caps on a board is very basic... but as stated above, if you are just not comfortable doing it then paying for the service is best.  

 

Depending on how big the rip is in the passive, it may be better to fix it from the back side.  If the original material will lay back down & fill the rip, it's best to use some thin paper & white elmers type glue, a coffee filter or even a cigarette rolling paper works great, it will look better than glossy messy RTV silicone.  Also if they are too far gone or you dont want to try the repair yourself, you can send the passive to simply speakers for a recone, they use the correct looking accordian surround, runs about $50-60 each.  

 

As suggested, howards restore a finish is good stuff & will make them look very nice.  The feed & wax is an option too but I like to just a furniture oil for maintnance, like lemon oil.  After the howards restore, just apply a light coat of oil 1 or 2 times a year.  Your speakers look very nice & you will love the chorus 2, aside from the big heritage models the chorus 2 are one of the best speakers klipsch made.  Give them some good power & they will impress you, they love high power solid state amps & really come to life above the average 75-100 watts, but are so efficient they will sound great with quality lower wattage amps too. 

 

Post some pics after you treat the wood & fix the passive (or before)  

 

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Thanks for the advice.  Agree on the diaphragm install.  Bob was kind enough to send me the install instructions and it looks relatively simple.  My plan is to send my crossovers in to be upgraded.  

 

Today i I am doing my first solder work.  The Chrous seller threw in a M&K mx-200.  Needs new rca inputs and the pots need to be cleaned.  Hopefully that does the trick and I'll have a working sub (and KLF-C7 that was thrown in as well). 

 

Here are are pictures of the passive.  

 

Thanks!

IMG_3506.JPG

IMG_3507.JPG

IMG_3508.JPG

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