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Woofer In One Of My LaScalas,...Help Please.


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I have a pair of mint LaSclas and I needless to say I love them.

One of them was putting out so little bass that I began trouble shooting. I have gone through every possibility and now I know that one of the woofers although working, simply does not put out even twenty percent of the sound that the other one does. When I took the cabnet bottom off to check it out I'm fairly sure I was the first one to crack into to cabnet. Just like the rest of both speakers the inside is mint, but still I can say the woofer simply does not work as the woofer in the other speaker.

I understand basic loudspeaker theory but I'm trying to understand what exactly could be wrong with this woofer. Could the voice coil be sub par? I mean if the whole speaker did not work that would give me a logical next direction to go in but since it does in fact work but not even close to what the woofer in my other speaker what could be the issue with this speaker?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Bill Woodward

Portland, OR.

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Hi Bill

I have a couple of sugestions you might try unless you have already done so.

I believe it would help you to first try driving the woofer directly to eliminate any crossover problems. If the woofer performs good with this test then begin looking at any connections to the woofer and in the woofer circuit of the crossover. Also it would help to know which crossover network you are running if it does turn out to be the problem.

The later networks which roll off the woofer at 12db will have a capacitor in parallel with the woofer and if this is of the electrolytic type it could have become leaky causing a reduction of energy to the woofer.

As far as the woofer itself how much resistance does it measure? I believe you should read about 3.2 ohms dc resistance. Also check the soldering on the wires coming from the cone to the hookup terminals of the woofer in case the solder joint has failed. You can also carefully with even pressure try moving the cone of the woofer and listen for any rubbing/scraping sound of the voicecoil as it is moved in and out.

mike1.gif

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The first rule when troubleshooting is always to check the wires first. It's possible you have some oxidation happening on your speaker terminal or something like that. I suppose you could also have a cold solder somewhere in the crossover which has finally reared its ugly head.

It's very rare though for a speaker to partially work. In fact, the only time I've seen it is when the VC was rubbing so hard inside the magnet structure that it had a hard time moving (but this would normally create a nasty grinding sound).

I have also seen factory drivers come out of the shop not fully working. I suppose it's possible that the driver slipped through the QC at klipsch and nobody really noticed because they're supposed to be bass shy anyway 2.gif

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Check the DC resistance of the woofer with an ohm meter. It should be 3.5 ohms ±10%. If it is very high the tinsel leads may need to be replaced, an inexpensive fix.

It the DCR of the woofer is OK then it is in the wires or the network. Use the meter again, should be less than 1 ohm from the input terminals on the crossover to the woofer terminals.

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I appreciate the help, your replys tell me I have trouble shot the issue fairly well right now.

I have AA crossovers in them, (brand new purchased from a guy from Arkansas from this site) but the issue was the same with the speakers original AL crossovers.

The terminals and little connection dohickey thing that takes the wire connection from the inside of the cabinet to the outside of the cabnet has been checked. (although not removed for the check) I looked it over as carefully as possible with a flashlight after disconnecting the wires.

As far as it being some kind or amp or pre amp thing,....trust me, no way. It's been tried with several different pairs.

I have not physically removed the woofer from the cabnet but when I connect wires to it both from iside the cabnet and outside the cabnet, it plays, although again not anything like the other woofer in the other cabinet.

The speaker shows between 3.2 and 3.9 ohms. (on my volt/ohm meter it goes back and forth as it updates but maybe this is because I'm not able to hold the test leads with perfect contact for very long)

I have NOT pushed on the cone with anything but the smallest amount of pressure with my hands.

I will take the cabinet bottom off again to check the soldering as much as I'm able.

I'm just wondering what the defect to this speaker could be. How much does a replacement woofer cost if they are available?

Thanks again, any more suggestions?

Bill Woodward

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Bill, I live in NE Portland, and would be willing to let you borrow a K-33-E to help make sure it is just the woofer. You could keep it for as long as it took to receive a replacement. Email or PM me through this site, and I will respond as quickly as I can.

Chris

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