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KLF-20 sibilance and sharpness - would a tweeter diaphragm upgrade maybe help?


adam2434

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16 hours ago, Fish said:

I have to ask WHERE IS Moray ?  He has never missed a chance to say HOW terrible that factory diaphragm is. He hates it with a passion.  I'd say you can't judge it with the original. What about crossover parts ?  Mine sound pretty good, best when hooked to my 9090 or sx980, these speakers pound with old radios with power. With new stuff, even Anthem, Rotel etc...not the same presentation.

Yeah, I've read some of his posts on this stock poly diaphragm and how much he dislikes it.

 

As for the crossovers, I replaced the single electrolytic in the woofer circuit, but left the 3 mylar caps alone in the mid and tweeter circuits.

 

Other than reinforcing the interior cabinet joints with construction adhesive, adding front-to-back bracing, and replacing that capacitor (those 3 things are already completed), that's about as far as I want to take these speakers, other than possibly new tweeter diaphragms.  Really just want to get them physically and electrically sound, and sounding good for when I give them to my son.

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20 minutes ago, adam2434 said:

OK, that's easy enough to try with a vacuum.  Like 24 years of the previous owner's dust in the phase plug.

 

Can those particles cause the tweeter to sound more sibilant and edgy, you think?

Not certain but, they are not welcome there. Others here

can say more but meanwhile would follow the Chiefs recc.

Easy as you say. Just do not damage those parts. Alcohol should work.

You have some decent advice from others here. Elimination should point to the reason .

If all leads to replacing diaphragms...so be it.

One focus at a time.

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Oh, and check both mids also.

Guess both speakers have the problem?

Interesting!

Did you use a paper towel roll to listen to the tweeters in question?

Listen to mids also. Low volume if can. 

Do you use a turntable?

Thanks!

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I don't recall to what extent the room, position and other electronics in the chain have been considered. I never heard the 20's sound as good as in my bedroom, 16x18ft with vaulted ceilings. I always had a sub on the old rf speakers, and several others, jbl etc...in my old bedroom (different house). I only put 20's in the bedroom for temp storage after moving in. But after listening to them one day I told my wife they would have to stay and the rf3 be sold. She was looking forward to rb5's......

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13 minutes ago, billybob said:

Oh, and check both mids also.

Guess both speakers have the problem?

Interesting!

Did you use a paper towel roll to listen to the tweeters in question?

Listen to mids also. Low volume if can. 

Do you use a turntable?

Thanks!

Hi, yes, I have listened to the tweeters and mids with a paper towel roll.

 

I don't necessarily think either speaker has a problem per se.  I really just think they might just emphasize some frequencies that come off as sibilant and a bit harsh to me, compared to other speakers I own.

 

BTW, I've owned and sold-off some other Klipsch models (and other brands too) that I also found to be sibilant and harsh to my ears.  The RP-280F and RB-81 II are 2 examples.

 

But, I don't find the Forte I and RF-7 III I currently own to be sibilant or harsh.

 

Thanks to all for the input.

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On 4/7/2022 at 5:52 PM, Chief bonehead said:

Correct. You have haven’t said either way. But some of the boneheads here just seem to be a little cranky and I can certainly take care of that. You might want to clean the diaphragms. Anything between the diaphragm and phase plug may buzz. 
 

and if you do want to replace the diaphragms, klipsch does offer titanium diaphragms as replacements. 

 

Why are you saying this now?...

We've gone down this road before more than a few times. Has something recently changed? If so, what were those changes that have now been implemented?

 

My concern...

What good is it to say Klipsch has parts or replacements, when there is no effective system actively in place to facilitate that same purchase?

 

My experience...

All of my recent efforts to order replacement Klipsch parts from Klipsch have failed, and so have the efforts of Klipsch dealers who have tried to assist me. I can't even get a return email. Phones are a dead end. Authorized Klipsch Dealers efforts have similarly failed to assist me and even they are often left without answers.

 

I provide real solutions...

Klipsch could make this very simple. Produce a printed parts catalog complete with a 3" X 5" mail-in order post card attached. Yes, I'm serious about that. Alternatively, Klipsch could open a brand new phone-line and email for Klipsch, U.S.A. staffed by Klipsch employee/s willing and able to answer calls and emails immediately. I am talking about limiting this to made in Hope products exclusively, not Voxx products. How's that for an idea?

 

My thoughts...

What is someone like me supposed to do? I would love to take you up on the offer, but you have a company to run, and it's simply not your responsibility to run a parts outlet. I honestly believe you could be a strong voice to advocate for "US" at the next round of budget meetings. 

 

Thank You,

Chris

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Since 2022  ,  things have greatly improved at klipsch for ordering klipsch Parts   , some forum members were taken care off in 1 day  by CS , including the quote and the product shipped in 24-48h

 

Reach out to  klipsch Parts  by email ▶️  https://support.klipsch.com/hc/en-us     support@klipsch.com

 

Fill the form , state what  you want , Customer Service will email you back with the Part availability / price /Inventory, or the answer to your question .

No need to call  in , or wait on the line , Klipsch CS  now handle all Parts  requests  by email , no exceptions  .

 

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I sent an on-line support request last week asking for the K-79-K replacement tweeter diaphragm availability, part number, cost, and material of construction (titanium?) 

 

Have not heard back yet.

 

Off-hand, does anyone know the Klipsch part number for the K-79-K replacement tweeter diaphragm?

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17 hours ago, adam2434 said:

 Klipsch part number for the K-79-K replacement tweeter diaphragm?

Adam . klipsch  K-79  Ti Diaphragm part # 127123

 

Take care , And tx for your patience

 

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11 hours ago, 314carpenter said:

 

Why are you saying this now?...

We've gone down this road before more than a few times. Has something recently changed? If so, what were those changes that have now been implemented?

 

My concern...

What good is it to say Klipsch has parts or replacements, when there is no effective system actively in place to facilitate that same purchase?

 

My experience...

All of my recent efforts to order replacement Klipsch parts from Klipsch have failed, and so have the efforts of Klipsch dealers who have tried to assist me. I can't even get a return email. Phones are a dead end. Authorized Klipsch Dealers efforts have similarly failed to assist me and even they are often left without answers.

 

I provide real solutions...

Klipsch could make this very simple. Produce a printed parts catalog complete with a 3" X 5" mail-in order post card attached. Yes, I'm serious about that. Alternatively, Klipsch could open a brand new phone-line and email for Klipsch, U.S.A. staffed by Klipsch employee/s willing and able to answer calls and emails immediately. I am talking about limiting this to made in Hope products exclusively, not Voxx products. How's that for an idea?

 

My thoughts...

What is someone like me supposed to do? I would love to take you up on the offer, but you have a company to run, and it's simply not your responsibility to run a parts outlet. I honestly believe you could be a strong voice to advocate for "US" at the next round of budget meetings. 

 

Thank You,

Chris

 bet elon musk would fix all that real quick... ;)  (reference to the if elon musk purchased klipsch thread)

 

just buy the crites titanium diaphragms, they answer the phone in a few rings or reply to emails in a few hours & will usually ship the part the same or next day.   i gave up on klipsch "CS" long ago. 

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14 hours ago, 314carpenter said:

 

Why are you saying this now?...

We've gone down this road before more than a few times. Has something recently changed? If so, what were those changes that have now been implemented?

 

My concern...

What good is it to say Klipsch has parts or replacements, when there is no effective system actively in place to facilitate that same purchase?

 

My experience...

All of my recent efforts to order replacement Klipsch parts from Klipsch have failed, and so have the efforts of Klipsch dealers who have tried to assist me. I can't even get a return email. Phones are a dead end. Authorized Klipsch Dealers efforts have similarly failed to assist me and even they are often left without answers.

 

I provide real solutions...

Klipsch could make this very simple. Produce a printed parts catalog complete with a 3" X 5" mail-in order post card attached. Yes, I'm serious about that. Alternatively, Klipsch could open a brand new phone-line and email for Klipsch, U.S.A. staffed by Klipsch employee/s willing and able to answer calls and emails immediately. I am talking about limiting this to made in Hope products exclusively, not Voxx products. How's that for an idea?

 

My thoughts...

What is someone like me supposed to do? I would love to take you up on the offer, but you have a company to run, and it's simply not your responsibility to run a parts outlet. I honestly believe you could be a strong voice to advocate for "US" at the next round of budget meetings. 

 

Thank You,

Chris

Just wondering what level of "cranky" one has to be to get a response, in real world terms, from a Klipsch Employee in any department that cares?

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I am not in any way trying to make my next statements as a definite answer to your problem, only another thing to look into.

 

It looks like you have multiple amplifiers, have you tried different amplifiers to see if the problem changes?

 

I only say this because given a specific amplifier and changing the loads (different speakers) you inherently are also changing the way the amplifier behaves. Far too many companies do not test their amplifiers with reactive loads before hitting the market which is funny because we use these amplifiers to drive reactive loads. A reactive load can and will change the phase margin of the amplifier giving rise to stability problems, this doesn't always mean it will oscillate, it just means you may push the amp into a region that high frequency content can show overshoot and ringing which can sound like what you are experiencing.

 

I recommend trying a different amp or if you are a tinkerer it might be easier to just take 100nF cap and 10 ohm resistor in series and twist them in circuit across the speaker +/- connections to see if the sound improves instead of having to disconnect and swap a bunch of gear in and out.

 

 

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Picked up a pair of klf-30's that had been stored for a good number of years. After a few weeks of playing the highs were way too harsh. So all xover caps were replaced and that took care of the problem.

 

Shortly after that I put in Crites Ti's as well as cleaning out/replaced the old ferro fluid with a kit from PE. This calmed/smoothed things out even further and have stayed with this setup for the last 4 years or so.

 

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9 minutes ago, Alexander said:

Picked up a pair of klf-30's that had been stored for a good number of years. ...put in Crites Ti's as well as cleaning out/replaced the old ferro fluid with a kit.

 

Wasn't aware my speakers needed an oil change. At what intervals should I change the fluid? I have like 40 speakers. How long would that take?

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8 hours ago, 314carpenter said:

Wasn't aware my speakers needed an oil change. At what intervals should I change the fluid? I have like 40 speakers. How long would that take?

 

5,000 miles or around every 20 years, which ever comes first :) I found a metric crescent wrench speeds up the job nicely  :)

 

 

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Well, it's been a week and I have not heard anything from Klipsch CS on the availability and price for a K-79-K tweeter Ti diaphragm. 

 

Called the 800 number and the voice directs you to create an on-line ticket (which I did a week ago), then the call terminates with no option to talk to anyone.

 

That is pretty sad.

 

Does Klipsch basically not have customer support/service any longer?

 

 

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