Forte II problem....(gotta love them cats)

[mrsoundman]

My wonderful cats decided to sharpen there claws on the passive radiators on my forte II's. They sliced right through the middle cone on the passives. Does this seriously affect the playability of the speakers? There is no material missing, just when u push on the clawed spot can u tell its cut right through.

[J.4knee]

You need to replace them. Call Klipsch

[boomac]

They can be glued. I've heard of people doing this and they claimed satisfaction. I had a small tear in one of my passive radiators and after consulting with several knowledgable people, I decided to replace. It was about $65 and I did the work. I've heard you can even do better by going through Klipsch as J.4knee mentioned.

[Number 9]

I emailed Klipsch and they don't carry replacements. They suggested reconing.

[boomac]

I bet these guys could send you a new one. Tell them Scott from Hartland referred you.

http://www.audioventures.com/

[formica]

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On 6/10/2004 12:32:14 AM Number 9 wrote:

I emailed Klipsch and they don't carry replacements. They suggested reconing.

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Actually since it's only the dust cover (the little convex dome in the middle, right?), there is no magnet structure behind it. In this case, foreign dust entering the driver won't have a huge effect on it's durability... but you may hear a slight flutter when the pressure builds up inside and tries to escape.

If it really is only the dust cap, you can have it inexpensively replaced (a full recone is not required) or attempt it yourself. Check out steps 5 and 10 on the Foam Surround Replacement Guide while the caps run under 3$ each at Dust caps at Parts Express.

It's not a big deal in anycase... got to luv em cats...

Rob

[WMcD]

Soundman,

If you are saying only the bozo nose (convex circular center) section is sliced, you might be okay. You're okay as long as there is not an air leak.

To check for an air leak, spread your fingers and push gently in on the front woofer about an eighth inch. If there is no air leak, the back passive will move out the same distance. And when you release pressure, it will move back to normal.

If there is a leak, and I was in your situation, I'd make a patch out of some paper product like the more rugged paper towels (there is a cellulose layer), and glue it in place with superglue. Placing it face down and using paper clips as non stick tools may help.

I did this once very long ago on an inexpensive speaker with tissue paper and Duco cement. It worked okay.

In any event, it is low cost, and you've lost nothing by the attempt.

Best,

Gil

[colterphoto1]

Try clear finger nail polish to mend the tear. Used to use in on PA woofers. It doesn't weigh much and will keep the tear from increasing in size, letting dust into the voice coil, etc.

If you prefer, reconing is much less expensive than buying a new unit. If I read correctly, this is a passive radiator, so there isn't even a voice coil, the cone basically just adds mass to the port area.

Michael

[kenratboy]

I have a frisky kitty cat - and 2, JBL 2226J woofers sitting right where he can kill them

Maybe I need to do something - like sell them!!!

[Cal Blacksmith]

Another source for parts and services is Orange county speaker repair.

http://www.speakerrepair.com/

They have the stuff to fix just about any speaker. They just re-fomed the suspension on a pair of 8" drivers for me and the job was EXCELENT!

As to mending a tear in a cone, I have used paper and cone glue, the stuff that is used to re-foam the suspension of a speaker to mend a large tear in my JBL 4312s. The cone developed a crack that went from nearly the coils (not quite into the coil) to the suspension folds. I took a sheet of paper from my printer, tore it to size (this is better than cutting as the edges tend to fuzz rather than a clean hard edge) coated the back of the cone with glue, and a thick coat on the paper as well, stuck them together and did the same on the front of the speaker. The result was very serviceable and they have been pushed to their limits without any ill affects. It helps that the cone of that speaker is white! I also coated the rest of the cone with a layer of glue to give some strength to the paper which had started to dry out after what, 25 years?

I also did a repair like this to a Heresy driver. I bought the speakers on Ebay and the driver of one of them had a small puncture in it. I repaired it from the rear and used a little glue on the front and it is as good as new.

[colterphoto1]

it's an easy fix! From one soundman (yes, ex PA and lighting guy) to another- clear fingernail polish! (use clear so you don't get funny looks when someone looks in your tool box)

It's what we used to use on PA woofers that didn't have industrial grilles and occasionally got a cigarette or screwdriver pushed through them (hey, it's a rough crowd, ok?)

Just flatten out the torn material and apply a coat of fingernail polish. Let it dry a few hours and paint another coat on. If the tear/rip isn't on the dust cap side, you can remove the driver and seal the tear from the back side as well. This is light weight, pretty permanent, keeps the tear from spreading, is cheap and easy to do.

WARNING: If you remove the driver from the cabinet, be REALLY careful with your screwdriver that it doesn't slip and cause another hole in the woofer!

Hope this Helps,

Michael