I think I smoked my Heresy II's

[Everyman]

I have 2 pairs of speakers, Canton CT1000's and Klipsch Heresy II's.

I've been running both off two separate amps for awhile with my

Counterpoint Preamp and Surround Sound Processor. I just bought a

Counterpoint 5.1 Tube preamp. When I hooked it up, I got this really

loud and nasty screatch and then I quickly powered down. When I

restarted the system, I noticed the Heresy speakers sounded seriously

degraded. Luckily the Tube preamp only had outputs for a single amp, so

the amp going to my Canton's wasn't connected, and therefore my

Canton's were saved.

My question is, can these horn tweeters get damaged, or is it more

likely the crossover that gets damaged. It sounds like the midrange

horn and or the highrange horn aren't working correctly.

What should I look into first? Can the crossovers be fixed and or the horns?

Thanks

Eric

I can send pictures and more info about the exact speakers later. The

speakers say Klipsch 1985 on the rear, and have the wicker front screen.

[D-MAN]

It is unlikely that the crossover would have problems before the tweeters frying.

However, if you have midrange problems also, then I have one question:

How much wattage does the amp put out?

DM

[WMcD]

There is a good chance that you are correct. The voice coils in the tweeter are the most delicate; the midrange are the next most delicate. Woofers come next. Then the crossovers.

I advise using a paper towel roller as an improvised stethoscope to give a closer listen. But keep the drive levels low. Depending on the nature of the crossover, it might present a bad load to your amp after the drivers have blown.

I've taken apart some speakers similar to yours, but not the same. Others can advise you better. I think you'll find the back is sealed. The horn units can be removed from the front. I'm not sure about the grill.

You'll have to replace the diaphragms in the mid and tweeters. I believe they are held together with some small bolts. The electical connections are automotive type pull off and push on.

Each diaphragm - voice coil costs about $40. You can call 1-800-KLIPSCH to check on availability.

People here can give you more, further, advice than I can.

Best,

Gil

[PrestonTom]

Eric,

Sorry to hear about the bad news. However, just about everything can always be fixed. I certainly agree with DM & Gil about the most likely problems.

At the risk of sounding like a jerk, it is always a good idea to put an in-line fuse on your speaker cable. Thes are fairly cheap (20mm ones from Radio Shack are fine). What you have gone through is one of my worst fears when using older electronics or having someone bump into a volume knob etc.

There are some naysayers who will recite the usual cable voodoo about the sound degradation that supposedly occurs when the electrons are forced to transverse 20 mm length of thin copper. But that is nonsense. The actual surface contact between mechanical connections between components or within a component are comparably small. The electrons do not know and I won't even mention how small the gauge is on a voice coil winding.

Again, I am sorry to hear about the bad news. Statistically, it is most likely a diaphragm in the tweeter that was blown. That can be replaced and is not too costly. However, I certainly recommend to you and to others to install an in-line fuse on your speaker cable. Accidents do happpen.

Good Luck,

-Tom

[Duke Spinner]

I think i just smoked my heresy II.

were they .......Harsh ...........?????

BWAAAAAAHAHAHA.....................[]

[Marvel]

The grill should be held on with Velcro and comes off easily. The

drivers come out the front, and remove pretty easily as well. The

corssover is mounted on the speaker terminal cup on the back, and you

would be able to see it if you pulled the woofer out.

If you pull any wires off the individual drivers, label with tape so you know where they go.

Bruce

[Everyman]

There is a pair of 1987 Heresy II's on Ebay. The speakers are 8 ohms,

mine are 4 ohms (1985). I thought later model speakers went to 4 ohms?

Maybe mine aren't 1985, I can double check. My question is, what makes

them 4 ohms or 8 ohms, the drivers, or the crossovers? I was thinking

of buying these speakers, and just using the drivers, and or crossovers

to repair my speakers.

[Everyman]

I'm using 2 Hafler DH-200 amps. I think they each put out 100 watts per channel @ 8 ohms.

[Everyman]

I took apart the speakers, the diaphragms needed to be unscrewed from

the plastic horns. I know diaphragms can be had from Klipsch, I will

probably buy new ones. I hope the new ones are as good quality as my

original ones.

[Marvel]

The voice coil on the individual drivers are what determines the

impedance. My HIIs are 8 ohms as a system. I haven't even checked the

individual drivers. Different values between the tweeter, mid and

woofer can be accomodated for in the crossover design, i.e., you could

have an 8 ohm woofer, 16 ohm mid and 8 ohm tweer. The final cabinet

could be 8 ohms.

The replacement parts from Klipsch are fine. You can also order so

parts from Bob Crites, here on the forum. I'm not sure what he has for

the Heresys.

Bruce

[J.4knee]

I think i just smoked my heresy II.

were they .......Harsh ...........?????

BWAAAAAAHAHAHA.....................[]

[] LOL

[Everyman]

Here are the parts removed from one of my speakers. I assume the magnet

doesn't go bad, so it must be the coils. These don't seem like they

would be very expensive. Should I contact Klipsch, or is there

someone else who has them?

[Marvel]

If you have a digital multimeter, you can check the resistance on the

diaphragms. If they are smoked, they would be open, or have an infinite

resistance. They could have melted and shorted, making the value lower

than what they should be.

Klipsch has the parts about as cheap/low caost as anyone else. Bob Crites may have those (BEC on the forum)

Bruce

[michael hurd]

Klipsch, if you live in the u.s. 1-800-klipsch ( number works in Canada as well )

If you live in Canada, the place to contact would be Micron Electronics in Missisauga, Ontario. They are authorized distributors for parts in Canada.

2180 Dunwin Dr # 6

Mississauga, ON L5L 5M8

Phone: (905) 828-1662

Fax: (905) 828-4949

For all other countries, contact your local dealer / rep for info.

[Everyman]

11.6 ohms on the mid, 8.2 ohms on the tweeter. Those seem like good values.

Maybe it is the crossover.

[michael hurd]

Sounds like you have fine diaphragms there, maybe the crossovers are pooched. The inductors will likely be fine, but the capacitors may be cooked.

[michael hurd]

Here is the schematic for the crossover, looks like (3) 1.5 uf capacitors per crossover, along with a 68 uf capacitor. Hopefully the autotransformer is fine, maybe Bob Crites or someone else can give you info on how to test it.

[michael hurd]

If you know which end of the soldering iron to hold on to, you could replace these components yourself, rather than the entire crossover. You have a VOM, so you are able to test the woofer to make sure that it is fine, and also the resistance on the auto transformer.

[colterphoto1]

If you know which end of the soldering iron to hold on to, you could replace these components yourself, rather than the entire crossover. You have a VOM, so you are able to test the woofer to make sure that it is fine, and also the resistance on the auto transformer.

HEY, you're using my joke!

Michael

[Everyman]

The other mid and tweeter had the same impedance as the first set. The

transformer has three legs on it, all on the same side; facing the

caps/coils. The impedance on all three legs was as follows:

white wire lead to black wire lead .4 ohms

white wire lead to capacitor lead .6 ohms

black wire lead to capacitor lead .9 ohms

I'm really not interested in resoldering this stuff, even though I have

soldered hundreds of times. I'm gonna just send the cross-overs to Bob

Crites, and let him sort it out.

I've got a car that needs an oil change and other projects, this one

can be out sourced. I'd rather freeze my *** off and do an oil change

than play with this cross-over in my warm home.

By the way, I'm an RF Systems Engineer, I just hate dealing with

component level stuff. The systems I work with never get troubleshot to

component level.

Thanks for your help.