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Chorus ii - Replacing passive radiator


Monkeybuddy

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I picked up a pair of chorus ii's and didn't realize until later, that the magnet on the back of the passive radiator was missing from one of the speakers.  During the demo, I noticed muddy bass and it sounded like the tweeters were weak - figured new crossovers and tweeter diaphragm would resolve these issues.  Ordered parts from crites. Then took it apart and noticed the missing magnet...

 

I tried googling what what I thought were part numbers and keyword combos - no joy.  Going to see if klipsch support can help, but wanted to see if anyone here had any insight.  Would be much appreciated as I can't help but feel bummed about my purchase :(

 

attaching pics of the two, side by side, and the label on the magnet.

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

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Those are not passive radiators, those are woofers each from the front of the speaker.  Woofers have magnets, passive's don't.  Your woofer is toast, you need another one.

 

Here is a picture of a Chorus II passive radiator which is in the back of the speaker.

sd315-pr_photo_1_2.jpg

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I take it that both "radiators" shown in your post are from the same cabinet.  If that is the case, it appears that someone has replaced the passive radiator with a woofer that had the magnet removed.  If so, you need to get a proper passive radiator.

 

I'd open the other cabinet to see what's inside for comparison.

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That's the wrong woofer for a Chorus II cabinet as well, looks like someone pulled a fast one on you and you have every right to be pissed! Hopefully the cabinets are nice and you got them for a good price, replacement parts can be found Klipsch started making the passives again for the forte III so they might sell you a pair. If I were you I'd pull both cabinets completely apart and inspect all the drivers to make sure they are correct. 

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49 minutes ago, jjptkd said:

That's the wrong woofer for a Chorus II cabinet as well, looks like someone pulled a fast one on you and you have every right to be pissed! Hopefully the cabinets are nice and you got them for a good price, replacement parts can be found Klipsch started making the passives again for the forte III so they might sell you a pair. If I were you I'd pull both cabinets completely apart and inspect all the drivers to make sure they are correct. 

Might want to look at the crossovers while your in there.

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7 hours ago, wvu80 said:

Those are not passive radiators, those are woofers each from the front of the speaker.  Woofers have magnets, passive's don't.  Your woofer is toast, you need another one.

 

Here is a picture of a Chorus II passive radiator which is in the back of the speaker.

sd315-pr_photo_1_2.jpg

 

Please excuse me if I use the wrong terms - i dont mind corrections at all, as I'm still a novice and learning hifi.   

 

The pics i took of the "radiator"/woofer, were removed from the Rear of the speaker.  Im a little confused as well as it looks like there are power leads on them.  Perhaps someone plugged them in an attempt to patch it up for sale?

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5 hours ago, DizRotus said:

I take it that both "radiators" shown in your post are from the same cabinet.  If that is the case, it appears that someone has replaced the passive radiator with a woofer that had the magnet removed.  If so, you need to get a proper passive radiator.

 

I'd open the other cabinet to see what's inside for comparison.

 

I think you are right - It looks as though someone replaced the radiator with a woofer. 

 

The pics are from both "radiators", removed.

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4 hours ago, jjptkd said:

That's the wrong woofer for a Chorus II cabinet as well, looks like someone pulled a fast one on you and you have every right to be pissed! Hopefully the cabinets are nice and you got them for a good price, replacement parts can be found Klipsch started making the passives again for the forte III so they might sell you a pair. If I were you I'd pull both cabinets completely apart and inspect all the drivers to make sure they are correct. 

 

The cabinents are rough - chips and scratches.  Enough to the point where I'd consider reapplying veneer as another project.  I paid 300. At this point not sure how good of a deal that was...

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30 minutes ago, Monkeybuddy said:

 

I think you are right - It looks as though someone replaced the radiator with a woofer. 

 

The pics are from both "radiators", removed.

So both of those woofers in the picture are from the rear of your cabinets? There shouldn't be any magnets, wire leads or voice-coils on passives. If you have the correct woofers in the front than $300 doesn't sound like a bad deal as the pair of k-48's (proper Chorus active woofers) should be worth that by themselves.

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15 minutes ago, adam2434 said:

Is that a melted coil on each crossover?

 

If so, wow, never seen that!

 

DC from a bad amp perhaps?

I was trying to figure that out, think your right melted inductors. Ya wow! Have you checked the mid and tweeters yet?

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1 minute ago, Ljk said:

I was trying to figure that out, think your right melted inductors. Ya wow! Have you checked the mid and tweeters yet?

 

From the demo, i knew something was wrong with the tweeters.  Once i got a chance to open it up, i tested the tweeters with a multimeter and got a null reading.  I assumed they were dead.  Replaced them with ti diaphragms from Crites.   That was when i removed the "passive radiator"..

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42 minutes ago, jjptkd said:

So both of those woofers in the picture are from the rear of your cabinets? There shouldn't be any magnets, wire leads or voice-coils on passives. If you have the correct woofers in the front than $300 doesn't sound like a bad deal as the pair of k-48's (proper Chorus active woofers) should be worth that by themselves.

 

That is correct - Both of those woofers in the pic were removed from the rear of the speaker.  I believe the real woofers are in tact, but will have to wait to get home to verify.

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20 minutes ago, Monkeybuddy said:

 

From the demo, i knew something was wrong with the tweeters.  Once i got a chance to open it up, i tested the tweeters with a multimeter and got a null reading.  I assumed they were dead.  Replaced them with ti diaphragms from Crites.   That was when i removed the "passive radiator"..

You should like the ti upgrade, I did! I would check the mids with a meter also for peace of mind. Please post what you found out about the radiator, I think I might have one going bad

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1 hour ago, Monkeybuddy said:

Please excuse me if I use the wrong terms - i dont mind corrections at all, as I'm still a novice and learning hifi.   

 

The pics i took of the "radiator"/woofer, were removed from the Rear of the speaker.  Im a little confused as well as it looks like there are power leads on them.  Perhaps someone plugged them in an attempt to patch it up for sale?

You are fine, and you did use the right term as you took those drivers from where the passive radiators are located.  I just couldn't believe my eyes that somebody stuck blown woofers in where the passive radiators should have been.

 

As you correctly noted, there should not have been magnets or power leads on them.  I think your theory is correct that somebody absolutely stuck those things in there just to patch them for a sale.

 

At the price you paid you are still OK in terms of overall value, it's just a shame you weren't properly informed by the Seller.

 

https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/52391-missing-klipsch-chorus-ii-woofer/

 

 

 

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Let us know if you find a source for replacement passive radiators. Does Klipsch parts still have them?

 

I ended up replacing my passive radiators with a standard port. Turns out you can cut a piece of wood to fit where the original speaker sat, and then cut a hole in it to achieve the same tuning. I wanna say (edit) 3" diameter with a 3/4" piece of MDF? I can measure for anyone wanting to do this themselves. Port velocity is a bit high, but I don't generally listen very loud. You could always go to a larger port if you really wanted to though.

 

It was free for me to install the wooden plate. I think a pair of passive radiators would be about $150 if you could find a suitable replacement. I remember hearing at one point that Klipsch didn't have replacement parts, but maybe they do now. There are some other companies doing passive radiators that could probably drop-in.

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UPDATE:

 

Spoke with a Klipsch representative who informed me they no longer carry this part/ KD-16.  He recommended a place called Simply Speakers, but it doesnt seem that they have the whole assembly - just a recone kit.  

 

I guess I'll be posting a "WTB" ad here soon...  Not sure if finding another drop-in 15" passive radiator is plausible.

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