K-Horn Tweeters

[gelwin]

I seem to have little or "more like no" tweeter action and wonder if I should suspect the horns or cross overs. Is there a reasonable way to assure that the horns are getting any from thing from the cross over before suspecting they're to blame?

[Jim Cornell]

Sure just hook a speaker up to the tweeter output, if you have any sound your ok, then look into K-77-M diaphrams, youll need new ones!

Jim

[Jim Cornell]

If no sound, look into diaphrams, i forgot to type IF NOT LOL!

[WMcD]

The crossover sends frequencies above 6000 Hz to the tweeter. So the sound from the tweeter or a substitute will be quite tinny.

Let me suggest that you invest in an inexpensive multimeter from Radio Shack. It is a good investment to your tool kit. Learning to use it is worthwhile.

The crossover output to the tweeter is a special case in that the output is coupled to the tweeter through a capacitor. This means you can measure the d.c. resistance of the tweeter at the wires from the crossover to the tweeter without disconnecting anything.

When you investigate the multimeter, you'll find a continuity test. (As the salesman about this.) When the red and black probes are connected together, you get a tone from the meter.

Turn off the amplifier.

You can place the probes across the output wires from the crossover to the tweeter. A good tweeter will trigger the continuity test. Also, you can test on "ohms". It should measure about 6 ohms for a good tweeter. This is the d.c. voice coil resistance.

If bad, there is no continuity, or ohms are infinite or beyond the measurement capability of the meter. Further, in doing this, you may hear a slight click from a good tweeter.

It seems odd that you've blown both tweeters unless the system has really been cranked. Shame on you. Smile.

But if so, it is cheaper by far to have the diphragms replaced. If you find that the little darlings are bad, you can remove them and have the factory repair them. Search the forum on this.

Gil

[Colin]

The high ranges of the audible scale are a tricky proposition. Like the extremes of the low bass, this can be something that we do not hear directly so much as sense or feel. While the human ear can hear down to 20-Hz and up to 20-kHz, at painfully loud volumes, the body apparently can sense as low as 5-Hz and as high as 25-kHz. New disc formats like DVD-A could take advantage of this phenomenon and provide a better and much wider music signal someday.

Although every tweaking audiophile should have a TEST CD and an SPL meter for the essential and informative information that they provide; this inexpensive combination may only be used once or twice. There is an easier way to test the efficacy of your high-range driver: stuff a sock in it!

On any other tweeter, horn or not, covering one tweeter at a time will quickly tell you if one or the other is working or not. On the Khorns, removing the grilles is problematic. Guess we can't clean the diaphragms either - bummer. If there is a way to easily remove the Khorn grilles, that is news to me.

But covering the tweeters with a sock, or other heavy material that you hang over the tweeter (taking care NOT to block the mid-range horn), should let you know what's up. Then you can move on to the more expensive equipment and improvements.