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Horn Distortion


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Well I just got done replacing the diaphragm in my tweeter and to my shock and horror I discover the distortion I am hearing is not from the tweeter at all. It`s from the horn. I hear it only at mid volume it seems. Piano pieces are very distorted in particular on a Horowitz CD I have. . Man oh man. I wish I had taken the tweeter out first before I went to all this trouble. The diaphragm replacement went over without a hitch though2.gif. What is my next step.

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I rechecked polarity. That`s not it. I have a switch on my amp that will reverse the sound out of the speakers. The right speaker still distorts when reversed. I can play my Rush CD at any volume I want. Sounds great. But on my Horowitz CD the piano is muddy. The sound you would get when dust starts accumulating on your needle. Thats the best description I can give ya.

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well if one CD sounds good and another doesn't it's probably not the speaker. Unless the speaker is haunted or inhabited by gremlins but don't go there! No I shouldn't say that, clean the binding posts, how many years of dust and oxidation are on them? 10,15,20 YEARS? Seriously Klipsch are so sensitive they show up any upstream problems that you may not to have been able to hear on other speakers. So if some CDs sound good the horn is not going to break/heal itself spontaneously. How about other sources, FM, phono, DVD? Does the same channel sound good/bad?

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Well when I switched the speaker connections from speaker A to speaker B the distortion was still in the right channel. I don`t mean to say that it`s just in one recording either. Jazz and classical CD`s are the worst. Maybe the frequency is wider in those. I can`t really detect it in other sources. That does`nt mean it is`nt there though. I need to figure this out soon. Other wise I`m just about ready to burn down the house and start all over.9.gif

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Well if it is not detectable with other sources borrow another CD player and try it. Can you tune in a good NPR, public radio, jazz, or classic music station clear? try that. Why is the speaker going to respond to different sources differently except to difference in sources!

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I was referring to sources as different music. I mean, if you have a tweeter problem you would want to play something with strings and cymbals, not a lot of bass. That`s what I mean. The radio is bad here in the valley. Wish I could get NPR. I`ve got an old amp and CD player in my garage. Between today and tomorrow I`m bringing it in and hooking it all up. This will tell us everything we need to know. Something is fishy about this whole deal and I know you can see that.

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Yeah you need to switch the wires left to right not just flip a switch andDOUBLE check the wires to make sure the +/- is right. Speakers do not heal themselves, the sourcce is probably the culprit

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I`m playing Coltrane`s Soultrane on vinyl right now. It`s sounds OK but, I don`t know. There is a difference in the two speakers even after I switch channels. By the way, this switch I have on the Onkyo is a neat feature. I am also able to play the right or left channel out of both speakers, and I can switch to mono. I know, so what. But over the years I have found it at some point very useful.

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Okay lets go back to the beginning.

What sort of speaker. The Cornwalls in your list?

What was it that made you replace the diaphragm in the tweeter. Was it non functional?

The distortion is coming from the horn? Which horn? The midrange?

Scratchy distorted sound could be from a partially distroyed driver, perhaps the midrange driver. If the tweeter, is it the same tweeter?

It can also arise from a poor connection at the driver or connection to the cross over.

Are you confident that the connections to the crossover are correct? You didn't switch mid and tweeter?

I'm certain it stings to have me raise some of these questions. Still, please give us the big picture.

Best,

Gil

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also when we talk about changing polarity, we are talking about to that driver only, the one you fixed, not the whole speaker (like with the switch on the onkyo), swap the wires on that driver only and see what happens...or did I read correctly that it makes the same bad sound through the right side spekaer with EITHER of the speaker pair connected to the right? if that is case it is not your driver, it could be your amp or source...keep feeding us info...tony

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When you use the switch on the amp to reverse the speakers, you are most likely changing it at the preamp level. The speaker is still being driven by the same output amp. If you don.t move the wires on the amp, you won't know.

Trust me, I've got an old JVC that has all the same features, plus it came with the schematic for it. It has come in very handy over the last 30 years.

Marvel

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Yes, the speaker in question is an`85 Cornwall. And it is the midrange horn. Why did I think it was the tweeter? Well, I`ll tell you, when you put your ear down there next to the speaker, it really is hard to discern where the distortion is coming from. But after I replaced the diaphragm and still had the same problem, I took the tweeter back out and laid it on top of the speaker cabinet. It was only then that I could truly separate the two. I have read on this forum that even when the tweeter is not working the Cornwall still sounds pretty good. That big horn covers alot of range so I`m sorry to say, being new to the Cornwall, I got fooled. And that`s the part that stings. If I had just taken the tweeter out first and listen to the speaker I would have known the diaphragm was fine. And believe it or not, I even checked the resistance on the tweeter before I changed it out. It baffled me that nothing tested wrong here. I got a 6 ohm reading. But I thought that maybe it was rubbing against the magnet or something. Oh well, I found out I can change a diaphragm and I can`t solder worth a crap. I think for sure I have a problem with my midrange horn or my crossover. And speaking of the crossover, everything looks nice and clean on the inside, no corrosion. I just finished testing it through my old Marantz 2225 and a Kenwood CD player. I got the exact same distortion. Before I hooked up the Marantz I connected the Kenwood to the Onkyo. Same problem. I used a different cable between the CD and amp. Same problem. I`ve used different speaker wire. Same problem. But remember, not everything I play causes this distorted sound I`m hearing. I think because only a certain frequency causes it to rear it`s ugly head. Ponder all of this too long, and it`ll make your head spin. So......what do you all think now?

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Okay, I think we've got a suspected cranky midrange driver. Perhaps the diaphragm developed a problem.

Try swapping midrange drivers. They screw off and on. See if the problem follows the driver.

Make sure to make note of which wire is connected to what.

Don't kick yourself around the corner too much. The tweeter handles from 6000 Hz up to 15,000 Hz. It is the highest octave of human hearing. As you say, sometime it is difficult to tell when it is not working, or working.

Best,

Gil

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Gil, you are the man. I got up at 4:15am today and switched the the squawkers out in the cornwalls. These Cornwalls are painless in taking the back off and switching the drivers. What a well thought out design. Anyway, after making the switch, the distortion moved to the other speaker. God I am so happy to finally figure this out! Thanks for the help. And thanks to everyone with your input. I appreciate it. 1.gif

Anyway, I need a squawker for a `85 Cornwall. The ink is smudged on the back of the driver so it is hard to see the numbers. K57-K is what I found in the archives. That is sort of what it looks like on the back of the driver. Anyone got an extra that they would be willing to sell? I already checked ebay. Perhaps Simplyspeakers in Florida has replacements? Or Klipsch?

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I'm glad the problem was identified. That is more than half the battle.

You should call 1-800-KLIPSCH and ask for the parts/service department. Tell them what you've determined. Have the serial number at hand.

They might give you some options. Buy a new driver, send the driver to them and let them replace the diaphragm, sell you a new diaphragm for you to install, or give you another source for any of the above.

Gil

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OK William F. Gil McDermott. That`s what I`ll do. Thanks alot for the help. You are what these threads are all about. With a name like that, I feel like I`m corresponding with a millionaire or something. Not that I don`t have a million dollars, which I do but the lottery has not told me about it yet, but...thanks again. 12.gif

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Thanks for the kind remarks.

However, you're reading some things incorrectly; and they have not been well described.

The switching of the drivers is just what any tech would do.

People generally have a clever handle or avitar. My thought is to go the other way. Make it more to myself.

My maternal grandfather was William Gilroy. In the tradition of the time when I was born, I was named for him, and inhererted his nick name, too.

There is no royalty. William Gilroy, from what I can tell, kept up a family business at Coney Island with some entertaining game store. He also worked at Luna Park as an electrician. This was during the depression. He must have been, to others, the Irisher electrcian.

There are some family papers which suggest I resemble him. I like that.

Gil

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