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Chorus ii - Replacing passive radiator


Monkeybuddy

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7 minutes ago, DrWho said:

Saweet!

 

You should let your parts team know that....otherwise I wouldn't have cut my Chorus II cabinets apart. Although I am enjoying my 2-way setup quite a bit.

 

Unfortunately I didn't grab photos of the ports....just myself covered in the sawdust from all my free-hand routing, haha.

 

 

 

19095482_10108127521967640_3984141379737179111_o.jpg

 

What did you use for a horn and crossover?

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17 hours ago, Chief bonehead said:

You don't need the parameters. All you need is me saying that the drone in the III will work in the ii. That's all. 

Now that qualifies as a good samaritan deed for 2018, Roy, many thanks!

 

 I'm pretty sure this was your design to start with (based on year of manufacture and the timeline of your employment). This is really good info, as I have Chorus II's (although all my drivers and passives are in perfect shape).

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14 hours ago, Monkeybuddy said:

 

 

The confidence in his reply alone sold me, but that is very reassuring to know - thank you.

 

I'm going to call to see how much they are.  Im guessing $100+ for each, not sure if they have a recone kit.  I may end up getting the Simply Speakers Recone Kit at $40/ea, removing the magnet and reconing both.  But perhaps there is something to be said about using Klipsch parts vs 3rd party?

 

Don't "cheap out" to the wrong part. I wouldn't do that even if it were free. I have Chrorus II's and the passive is a critical component. As critical as the room and the space to the front wall. You already have THE answer from the Chief himself, so stop fishing for amateur advice.

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4 hours ago, jjptkd said:

 

I guess it would really depend on what the future plan is with these speakers. If there is ever a possibility that these might go up for sale any time in the future $200 in passives could really add to the value of these speakers, turning a $200 pair into a $600+ pair

 

so it would be money well spent plus they would sound as intended from Klipsch. I could see using the block off plates as a temp solution but I would keep an eye out for the real thing or just bite the bullet and buy new from Klipsch, these are an investment and should be treated as such my .02 anyway.

All true and your numbers are right on the money.  That's a very good perspective.  :emotion-21:

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22 minutes ago, ClaudeJ1 said:

You already have THE answer from the Chief himself, so stop fishing for amateur advice.

To be clear the question was asked for specs on the Ch3 passive, wondering if it would work in the Ch2.  Chief Bonehead responded saying "don't worry about it" because he said the passive from the Ch3 will WORK as a replacement for the Ch2 from an audio quality perspective.  It is not a drop-in replacement because the Ch3 unit is larger, some work is involved to bugger out the Ch2 cutout to make it fit.  Not everyone has the tools, skills or desire to do that.

 

The OP is not "fishing" for amateur opinions, he is exploring the various options for repairing his speakers.  I think the Klipsch collective has done its usual fine job of offering options, from the least expensive to the most expensive, from OEM used parts, to new OEM, to repair, to third party parts, to DIY solutions. 

 

There is no "one size fits all" solution when it comes to 20 year-old broken speakers.

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2 minutes ago, wvu80 said:

To be clear the question was asked for specs on the Ch3 passive, wondering if it would work in the Ch2.  Chief Bonehead responded saying "don't worry about it" because he said the passive from the Ch3 will WORK as a replacement for the Ch2 from an audio quality perspective.  It is not a drop-in replacement because the Ch3 unit is larger, some work is involved to bugger out the Ch2 cutout to make it fit.  Not everyone has the tools, skills or desire to do that.

 

The OP is not "fishing" for amateur opinions, he is exploring the various options for repairing his speakers.  I think the Klipsch collective has done its usual fine job of offering options, from the least expensive to the most expensive, from OEM used parts, to new OEM, to repair, to third party parts, to DIY solutions. 

 

There is no "one size fits all" solution when it comes to 20 year-old broken speakers.

Good points. But one would think that a minor adaptation of a device with the CORRECT MASS and COMPLIANCE, as specified by the engineer who has the most intimate product knowledge today AND 20 years ago would be the peak solution to the issue and not some proposed hacks.

 

I did some engineering work on adapting a 12" passive radiator (3 different ones, including Klipsch)  in a Jubilee Bass bin, using a pair of Golden Jubilees as reference (only 2 pairs in existence)  and could make no measureable or audible improvements over the original. While doing this in a horn is much more difficult than a simple box, like a Chorus II, there are more ways to get it wrong than right.

 

While I can understand the spirit of your defense here, as one with decades of experience in this area, I stand by the Chief brief and succinct input on the matter as the very best solution offered by anyone else here.

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18 hours ago, Chief bonehead said:
19 hours ago, DrWho said:

I would sooner use the KD-15 passive from the Forte III, but I think the risk is a design that is tuned too low and too narrow. Do you think you could get Klipsch to share the T/S parameters of the KD-15? Without that, we can't know how well it'd work in the Chorus II cabinet.

You don't need the parameters. All you need is me saying that the drone in the III will work in the ii. That's all. 

 

Chief Bonehead didn't say "use this and nothing else."  He said "the drone in the III will work in the ii."  Roy is offering an expert opinion on the audio compatibility of a non-OEM part on a 20 year-old speaker, but that's not the point.  My "defense" is about options, not one-size-fits-all answers and about a person's right to seek information on all options. 

 

If you need a starter for your 20 year-old Ford truck, do you think the Ford Service Writer is going to sell you a new $500 OEM Ford part, or send you to NAPA for a $100 aftermarket re-manufactured unit? Or to the junkyard to pick up a used part for $30? 

 

People should not be shamed for seeking out options from "amateurs."

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21 hours ago, Chief bonehead said:

You don't need the parameters. All you need is me saying that the drone in the III will work in the ii. That's all. 

Just to clarify, does this mean that the Forte III drone will work in the Forte II, Chorus II, or both?

 

The Forte III and Forte II drone have the same KD-15 part number.

 

The Chorus II drone is KD-16, so not sure what the difference is. 

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3 hours ago, adam2434 said:

Just to clarify, does this mean that the Forte III drone will work in the Forte II, Chorus II, or both?

 

The Forte III and Forte II drone have the same KD-15 part number.

 

The Chorus II drone is KD-16, so not sure what the difference is. 

 

With the different numbers wonder if chorus II's have to be replaced in pairs?

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19 hours ago, SWL said:

Someone else here did this to Chorus ll's besides Dr. Who..... can't think of his name. He had Chorus ll's and LaScala's that he fixed up.....did a nice job, too.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 

I would guess you are thinking of Matthews. Redid several LSs usually with cane grills added. He did rebuild a set of Chorus with ports but they were Chorus 1's.

I wouldn't go against Chief Bonehead but if you are trying to get by on the cheap, you could try cutting two 3" ports into a round piece of plywood and cover the back hole left by the passive removal. Not much of an investment, might work. Not a sure how the rear firing port would sound compared to the front firing ones, Matthews sounded very nice.

 

port.jpg.184337885f086d9e32e20ec2e5e4f5d9.jpg

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My intent with these was to hopefully restore them to sound they way they designed.  That said, before i got too carried away,  I wanted to ensure that they were in good enough condition to warrant spending more for repairs.  I still need to check out the other drivers, but if all else is well, then I will probably try to be patient and wait to find one on ebay or I'll end up going the forte iii way.  Until then, I might experiment with the rear ports as a temporary solution - if they sound good, then im probably going to be more patient in my search for the passives.

 

I took a chance with this purchase, and with little prior audio experience, i was not fully aware of its condition when i bought them.  Im hoping to get them back to sounding right and being able to enjoy them for quite a while.  It has been a learning experience and I am thankful for all of the feedback I have received. 

 

I'll provide an update once I get a chance to spend time with these, this weekend.

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10 hours ago, wvu80 said:

 

Chief Bonehead didn't say "use this and nothing else."  He said "the drone in the III will work in the ii."  Roy is offering an expert opinion on the audio compatibility of a non-OEM part on a 20 year-old speaker, but that's not the point.  My "defense" is about options, not one-size-fits-all answers and about a person's right to seek information on all options. 

 

If you need a starter for your 20 year-old Ford truck, do you think the Ford Service Writer is going to sell you a new $500 OEM Ford part, or send you to NAPA for a $100 aftermarket re-manufactured unit? Or to the junkyard to pick up a used part for $30? 

 

People should not be shamed for seeking out options from "amateurs."

Either way, I do agree that it's nice to have viable choices at various price points, as you pointed out so well. So we shall see what the OP ends up doing.

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17 hours ago, Monkeybuddy said:

My intent with these was to hopefully restore them to sound they way they designed.  That said, before i got too carried away,  I wanted to ensure that they were in good enough condition to warrant spending more for repairs.  I still need to check out the other drivers, but if all else is well, then I will probably try to be patient and wait to find one on ebay or I'll end up going the forte iii way.  Until then, I might experiment with the rear ports as a temporary solution - if they sound good, then im probably going to be more patient in my search for the passives.

 

I took a chance with this purchase, and with little prior audio experience, i was not fully aware of its condition when i bought them.  Im hoping to get them back to sounding right and being able to enjoy them for quite a while.  It has been a learning experience and I am thankful for all of the feedback I have received. 

 

I'll provide an update once I get a chance to spend time with these, this weekend.

E pluribus unum opinion: at a lousy $300 (after 20 Plus years of inflation) bucks for a speaker that sold for almost $2,000 (with sales tax) when new, I don't think you took too much of a chance. You have the opportunity to clean up and upgrade one of the best speakers that Klipsch ever made in the realm of Bass Reflex Boxes with horns. Go forth and conquer!!

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Installed new crossovers and ti diaphragms and tested the sound using the woofers that came with it, just for kicks, in the passive radiator spot.  Sound is better, but those woofers hamper the bass significantly.  

 

Spoke with Klipsch Parts Dept. - Total for 2 new passives (KD-15 / #1063995) was $90, including S&H/tax.   

 

Considering the price for a quantity of 2: 

SS Recone kit - $90 (incl S&H)

Matierials for Porting - $40 (not incl time and travel)

 

...thats a no brainer.  I'll update once i receive and replace them.

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20 minutes ago, Monkeybuddy said:

Spoke with Klipsch Parts Dept. - Total for 2 new passives (KD-15 / #1063995) was $90, including S&H/tax.   

 

 

Damn that is a good price, might have to order a set myself. Sounds like you're well on your way to a nice pair of old Klipsches! 

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9 hours ago, Monkeybuddy said:

Installed new crossovers and ti diaphragms and tested the sound using the woofers that came with it, just for kicks, in the passive radiator spot.  Sound is better, but those woofers hamper the bass significantly.  

 

Spoke with Klipsch Parts Dept. - Total for 2 new passives (KD-15 / #1063995) was $90, including S&H/tax.   

 

Considering the price for a quantity of 2: 

SS Recone kit - $90 (incl S&H)

Matierials for Porting - $40 (not incl time and travel)

 

...thats a no brainer.  I'll update once i receive and replace them.

Great deal! Please post pics when you get them. I'm curious if they have the PWK logo from the forte III passives.

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