Some distortion on Klipsch RB-51 II

[rjmartin]

I'm looking for some help. I'm new to the forums here and am relatively ignorant when it concerns to audio quality.

 

My system right now is an Onkyo TX-8050n. I have this connected to a set of Klipsch RB-51 IIs, a pair Bose 301 Series IV, and a Klipsch R-10SWi. The Onkyo is being fed by a Yamaha CDC-645 CD player, a Technics SL-D303 turntable, and a Chromecast audio, among some other items. I use the Chromecast audio quite a bit with an analog connection (therefore relying on the Chromecast's DAC). 

 

I've been noticing that when I play the opening track "I was Glad," of Harry Christophers and the Sixteen's album A New Heaven, that I have distortion when the sopranos hit high notes. I listen to a lot of sacred and classical choral music, and there are other times where there is clipping and distortion, usually when the sopranos are belting out some high notes. I don't notice the distortion so much with orchestral music. At first I wondered if this was a Chromecast issue, but I tried the same CD this morning, and the distortion seemed to be even worse! The distortion is (it appears to me) in one of the Klipsch bookshelf speakers. Also, that same bookshelf speaker has a very small dent in the copper speaker (the woofer, right? -- see the photo).

 

What do you think the problem is? Do I need to do something with the tweeter? Do I need to replace the speaker/woofer? Is the problem with my receiver/amplifier?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

 

[51coronet]

Crossover capacitor is my guess.  I doubt very much that dimple will cause a measureable amount of distortion that your ears can hear.  With a little bit of know how you can pull the crossover out and measure the caps with a meter that has the function on it.  Cheap internal Electronics from china is what you are dealing with.....  Depending on how many are in there it may be worth just replacing them all with better quality audio caps.  Depending on the uF rating (microfarad) the price changes.  They are pretty cheap and easy to replace on most crossovers.  This is where I would start, provided everything inside looks good like tightness, wires, connections, etc.

 

You are also describing distortion at higher frequency which would be handled by the smaller tweater not the woofer you have pictured.  

 

Hope this helps get it fixed. 

[rjmartin]

Thanks a lot for the reply.

 

If I may follow-up (and please pardon my ignorance), are you referring to the crossover capacitors in the speaker itself or the receiver?

 

Also, I assume that soldering is going to be involved if I replace it?

 

Thanks again.

[51coronet]

yes inside the speaker.  These are refered to as passive crossovers.  They are set it and forget it type.  There is another type called active crossovers that are usually external, plug in, and have ways to adjust crossover points such as dials. 

 

Most likely some solder work will be in order if you go this route.  You may also be able to find a good used or new crossover for that speaker online.  Ebay, Amazon etc may have a new replacement that is more along the lines of plug and play or minimal solder work.  One other thing you may want to try is a different channel on your amp just to be sure its isolated to the speaker itself.  Use the other speakers wires to be sure the problem follows the speaker.  Do the easy stuff first as a rule in order to isolate the problem.