justnuts4music Posted May 6, 2004 Share Posted May 6, 2004 Hello all, I have a question on the differences between a K-25-K woofer and a KP-28-E woofer. Three days ago I called and talked to tech support about a woofer that was emitting a scratching sound.( Found to be the coil dragging on the pole piece.) I was told there are no longer K-25-K woofers available but have a better woofer, the KP-28-E. I asked the differences and was told that while the speaker will take a while to break in, I should not notice a difference. This is fine. Was also told that the woofer has a higher power capacity and has a larger magnet structure. Sounded great...I ordered two, to keep both speakers matching. They arrived today and noticed that the magnets appear much smaller. I weighed them and found a 1.5 pound difference. They sound fine. Will be better once broke in. But am wondering if they will last. The frames are the same. There are no longer rubber surrounds, but rather look like the radiators with a rib type surround. Are these O.K.? Are the magnets better now? Should I just recone the orginals and write off the KP-29-E? Can not find another speaker that uses this type. Thanks for any input. I just want to keep these wonderful speakers the way they always were. They sounded great when I purchased them new and still love em. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted May 6, 2004 Share Posted May 6, 2004 I can't speak to the sonic differences between the two models of woofers but can comment on the surrounds. Historically pleated surrounds have proven far more durable that the foam or rubber surrounds. I can't comment on the durability of the newest moulded surrounds but I would advise you to stick with the new woofers so long as you like the way they sound. That way someone else can do the agonising over the choice 50 years from now. I have never heard of a high quality woofer with a pleated surround suffering from rot but have certinly heard of and seen many instances of expensive woofers and a couple of midrange drivers which have failed because of rotted surrounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerohm Posted May 7, 2004 Share Posted May 7, 2004 The only problem with reconing is finding a replacement voice coil with the same characteristics as the original. You are in, if kits are still available from Klipsch (doubtful). Otherwise you are at the mercy of the shop doing the work and the KP-28-E might be a better way to go. On the other hand, exactly how did diagnosis what was wrong with the K-25-Ks? I know that adhesive (used to secure the vent screen?) can break loose and bounce around (vibrate) under the dust cap (this HAS happened to me and a couple other Forte II owners). You can identify this situation by holding the dustcap towards the floor and shaking the driver. If you hear something bouncing against the dustcap, this if most likely the case. Also, if you position the dustcap towards the ceiling and play the woofer, it should sound completely normal. If this is your problem, it is just a matter of cutting off the old dust cap (leaving 1/4" or so around the perimeter), shaking out the debris, and gluing a new dust cap on. Just out of curiosity, what did the pair of KP-28-E set you back? Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justnuts4music Posted May 7, 2004 Author Share Posted May 7, 2004 Hello, I found the coil to be rubbing on the pole by cutting the dust cap off as described in a past post. I thought the problem might have been dried glue bouncing around, but found long drag marks on the aluminum tube that the coil is wound to. I figured this happened when I over threw the woofers while playing a Mannhiem Steamroller CD this past Christmas. (There is a passage that jumps out with a huge Kettle Drum and was using an Adcom 5500 Amp and have since went to Audio Research tubes.) I only heard the problem while certain tones were reproduced. The KP-28-E's go for $127.01 apiece. I have the feeling that these new woofers are not of the quality as the K-25-K. Just to lift one up is a difference. And no foam backing gasket is included. This is the one between the woofer and the encloser. Tech support gave me a name and e-mail for a guy who is supposed to do nice recone jobs. I think I will give him a try and just keep these reconed K-25-K's on hand if a problem comes up. Are these KP-28-E's a real recent model? Cannot find any info on them. Thanks for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerohm Posted May 8, 2004 Share Posted May 8, 2004 ---------------- On 5/7/2004 7:41:58 PM justnuts4music wrote: I found the coil to be rubbing on the pole by cutting the dust cap off as described in a past post. ... long drag marks on the aluminum tube that the coil is wound to. ... Are these KP-28-E's a real recent model? Cannot find any info on them. ---------------- Well I guess they really do need to be reconed ! I don't know much about the KP-28-E. I was told that they were substituting the K-28-EP (I 'assume' they are the same as the KP-28-E) for the K-25-K and that they are used in the (P)rofessional Klipsch line (so you may want to look under that section). They also said they had a higher power handling capability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops Posted May 8, 2004 Share Posted May 8, 2004 You gotta watch out for those stinking Kettle Drums. They'll getcha every time! Honestly though, I over threw my old 15" sub one time while listening to something with those Kettle Drums in it. It sounded good until I heard the voice coil slamming into the backplate. It sounded like someone taking a plastic cup and slamming it on a table real hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
consistent Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 I had a similar problem with glue coming unstuck in the woofer surrounds on a pair of Forte II's. The dealer did not believe me until I found a tech to prove otherwise. The final response came with a pair of factory reconditioned woofers (the factory knew of certain problems)with a big red R on the back of the magnet. All at no cost as were still under warranty. Maybe a few dealers might have some old stock floating around? As an example,I hit a dealer 2 months ago to see if they could come up with a replacement coil for a 1982 pair of Sound Dynamic horn tweeters. They went looking out back, dusted off a few things and found and old pair (nos). They still charged me a 'new price'(I had sucker written all over my face). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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