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TLC for Klipsch Chorus II (mid 1990s)


gabuchan2

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Hi All,

 

I am new to this forum and new to vintage Klipsch speakers, so be kind!

 

I recently purchased a pair of Klipsch Chorus II from the mid 1990s in nice condition to go with my refurbished Pioneer SX-1250. I have a feeling the Chorus crossovers need some TLC (the mid bass and bass sound a little muddy at times), and I wonder if this community has anyone in Southern California they'd recommend for this type of work on vintage speakers? Any suggestions/recommendations are greatly welcome.

 

Thanks,

Gabe

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Do both speakers sound the same (muddy, etc)? The crossovers probably need to have the capacitors replaced. If you can solder, you can buy the caps and do it yourself. If not, you can send out the crossovers to have the caps replaced. Look into Crites Speakers for crossover service. You could buy just caps from them, you can contact JEM Performance Audio for Klipsch approved caps, or you can buy whatever brand you want from places like Parts Express. Good luck, stick around, post pictures, ask questions, etc

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Thanks for the quick replies. Appreciate the feedback!

 

@dtr20 The two speakers do sound a bit different. The "left" sounds full range, while the "right" sounds like it is missing parts of the mid bass/lower bass. Originally, the "right" speaker sounded like it was missing the high end too, but I opened it up, removed the tweeter, and reattached the speaker cables similar to the other speaker and that seemed to fix the high end. Could probably benefit from new diaphragms.

 

@absolve2525 The speakers are currently a good 2 feet from the back wall in a very open room with high ceilings. The mid range sounds detailed, but the bass--while pronounced--is kind of murky/muddy. Compared to my non-vintage system (Hegel H360 amp w/ Vandersteen Treo speakers), you can some of the details are missing from the recordings. (I almost exclusively listen to vinyl. Have a vintage Realistic LAB-400 turntable with MM cartridge and a newer SOTA Sapphire w/ Dynavector MC cartridge.)

 

I really like the rich sound from the Klipsch, but I do think the crossovers need some TLC. I've looked into Bob Crites, and this seems like the way to go. I'd rather replace the faulty caps than replace the entire crossover, but I'm not handy enough to do the soldering myself.  If there are any Klipsch heads out here in SoCal/Central Coast, would be interested to touch base.

 

Also, any leads on where to get good replacement grills or grill fabric? The fabric on mine is acceptable (all original w/ badges), but would could look better.

 

Thanks!

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6 hours ago, gabuchan2 said:

Hi All,

 

I am new to this forum and new to vintage Klipsch speakers, so be kind!

 

I recently purchased a pair of Klipsch Chorus II from the mid 1990s in nice condition to go with my refurbished Pioneer SX-1250. I have a feeling the Chorus crossovers need some TLC (the mid bass and bass sound a little muddy at times), and I wonder if this community has anyone in Southern California they'd recommend for this type of work on vintage speakers? Any suggestions/recommendations are greatly welcome.

 

Thanks,

Gabe

@JEM Performance is the klipsch crossover repair center , they can sell you a kit of new klipsch capacitors which you can solder yourself or you can hire anyone with basic soldering skills  to do it , as well they can do the work for you if you ship   the networks 

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8 hours ago, gabuchan2 said:

Thanks for the quick replies. Appreciate the feedback!

 

@absolve2525 The speakers are currently a good 2 feet from the back wall in a very open room with high ceilings. The mid range sounds detailed, but the bass--while pronounced--is kind of murky/muddy. 

 

I really like the rich sound from the Klipsch, but I do think the crossovers need some TLC. I've looked into Bob Crites, and this seems like the way to go. I'd rather replace the faulty caps than replace the entire crossover, but I'm not handy enough to do the soldering myself.  If there are any Klipsch heads out here in SoCal/Central Coast, would be interested to touch base.

 

Also, any leads on where to get good replacement grills or grill fabric? The fabric on mine is acceptable (all original w/ badges), but would could look better.

 

Thanks!

 

I'd experiment with placement a bit more 2ft from the back wall may be too far out especially if not in corners or near side walls. My typical starting point for Chorus II's is about 8 inches from the back wall and 18 inches from the side walls. 

 

Crites is a great resource he sells caps / rebuild kits and speaker fabric among other things speaker related. 

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You might check the passive radiator and woofer to make sure they are in good shape, I've seen a few with small punctures in the passive. If any of the drivers have been taken out (damaged screws would be a clue) they may not have a good seal. Definitely play with positioning, if you want to rule out the room/positioning you could switch the speakers to check if it's the room or the speaker.

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Air leaks can throw off the sound.

Get yourself a 20-25 Hz frequency playing loud enough to get the woofer moving a bit 1/8 " is plenty.

Get a small vacuum or air line 3/16" or so a few ft long or better and with one end to your ear fish for leaks front and back. 

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Thanks all. I'll take a closer look at the passive and woofer. Close inspection shows no signs of puncture to the naked eye, and everything seems to be in good condition.

 

As far as I can tell, these speakers had never been opened (no signs of wear on screws, and all seals in place). They were just likely in storage for 10-20 years.

 

 

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Welcome to the Klipsch club! I’ve done the capacitors on my older speakers, I think the change is well worth the trouble. You could buy the capacitors from crites and have any repair shop do the work. It sounds like you could pull the crossovers your self to save the trouble of hauling the entire speaker around.

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There is one capacitor in the woofer circuit that is not critical, the earlier crossovers types like the AA never even had one there and people love those crossovers. I highly doubt it is a capacitor problem to be honest. The type there when fail usually dry up and kinda stop working which don't cause much trouble like the symptoms you describe, unless they short but that would be extremely rare in this application. You can even take that capacitor out of the circuit as a troubleshooting step to see if it is causing problems but I doubt you will notice much. Should be the one marked 68uF and it looks different from the others as it is an electrolytic type.

 

Does the bass sound bad at all volumes or only at high volumes? Is it all bass or just some bass notes set off bad sound?

Edited by captainbeefheart
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