jaustin Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 I have a pair of Klipschorns with K55M drivers and really like them. Is there anyone who knows where I could either get the original diaphragms or better yet new K55Ms for back up? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 Diaphram's yes, drivers no. New cost on a K-55M from Klipsch would cost you around $370 apiece (if they were available), a little pricey for a driver that you will likely never blow. They only offer the K-55X to my knowledge, and it is the same as the original single phase plug spring terminal K-55V. Contact Bob Crites here on the forum he may have a couple of K-55M's available for sale, I know he has the diaphrams for sure which is really all you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 You can't get new ones. Bob Crites probably has the diaphragms. bobcrites@mac.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 This would be an intresting update. A few months ago Bob said that the diaphrams for the K-55-M were not available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 To the best of my knowledge, there is no replacement diaphragm available for the K-55M. Now having said that, I can take a new K-55V diaphragm and an old K-55M diaphragm and make a K-55M diaphragm out of the two. Bob Crites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardhead Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Bob-- If you don't mind, can you explain how to change a new K-55-V diaphragm and an old K-55-M diaphragm into a K-55-M diaphragm? By "a new K-55-V diaphragm" I'm assuming you're referring to the diaphragm for an PD-5VH, right? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Ok, the difference between the diaphragm for a K-55V (or PD-5VH) and the K-55M is that EV made their diaphragm diameter 0.010 inches smaller than the diaphragm for the K-55V. I expect it was probably done so that EV would get to sell those diaphragms. Too bad they then quit making them. Anyway, the diaphragm for the K-55V will not fit into the groove in the front of the K-55M. Also, if you had a K-55M diaphragm and tried to use it in a K-55V, it would be loose enough that you might get a voice coil rub. Now, looking at the picture below, you can see the thick plastic gasket that is glued to the diaphragm. As a quick mention, the actual diaphragm is very thin. You take your old K-55M diaphragm and very carefully remove the plastic gasket from it. You also remove the plastic gasket from the new K-55V diaphragm. I use a thin knife blade to do this being very careful to not slip an ruin the voice coil. Also you have to be very careful around the lead wires that come out from the coil and are held in place by the gasket you are removing. Then you place the old gasket on the new diaphragm. Allow the diaphragm to stick out the approximately 0.005 inches all the way around evenly. You should now be able to pop the new diaphragm/old gasket combination into place. Bob Crites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Bob, Isn't it true that the K-55-m does not have the guide pins that the PD5HV has, which means you would need to do a percise job of positioning the diaphram on the k-55-m, and maybe even use paper-type glue stick to keep the diaphram in temporary position until you closed the two halves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whamo Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Cool! Thanx for sharing that you do some good work. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 There is nothing to glue. The diaphragm fits very snugly into the groove in the front of the driver. The machined groove does the centering. You just gently put the two halfs back together and line up the screw holes. The diaphragm really just has to end up being centered. You may be thinking about the K-77M. Sometimes on those the groove is not deep enough to hold the diaphragm and gasket and you need to put a bit of glue on them to hold them long enough to put the driver back together. Bob Crites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 To the best of my knowledge, there is no replacement diaphragm available for the K-55M. Now having said that, I can take a new K-55V diaphragm and an old K-55M diaphragm and make a K-55M diaphragm out of the two. Bob Crites I checked with parts today- that is correct Bob, there are no replacement diaphrams for the K55M driver. What we have in stock is K55X, which retrofits any K55V models. (has your business been on the increase lately? []) Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satyr Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 I just saw last week on ebay some K-55-M drivers with two phase soldered plugs and listed as new/unused. They were going for $200 each at a "buy-it-now" price and the seller had nine of them. I had considered buying them, but after reading up here on forums I concluded that the dent in my wallet would weigh more on my mind and distract me from any marginal increased listening pleasures. Bottom line: finding them is hit and miss with private sellers. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 edit Bob Crites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ki Choi Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Hi Bob: Is there a simple way of checking the health of the diaphrams in K-55Vs without measurement instruments? Can I play set of test tones and listen for distortions, perhaps? I have a set in my Khorns and a set of spares that were made in ~'76. Thanks, Ki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Hi Bob: Is there a simple way of checking the health of the diaphrams in K-55Vs without measurement instruments? Can I play set of test tones and listen for distortions, perhaps? I have a set in my Khorns and a set of spares that were made in ~'76. Thanks, Ki Ki, Not really any good way without a spectrum analyzer. Generally, if they are working they are good, but I have seen a few K-55s that had low output below 1 khz. Replacing the diaphragms fixed the problem on those. Bob Crites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 I can take a new K-55V diaphragm and an old K-55M diaphragm and make a K-55M diaphragm out of the two. I think I'm just going to start calling you Mr. Wizard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardhead Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Hi Bob: Is there a simple way of checking the health of the diaphrams in K-55Vs without measurement instruments? Can I play set of test tones and listen for distortions, perhaps? I have a set in my Khorns and a set of spares that were made in ~'76. Thanks, Ki Ki, Not really any good way without a spectrum analyzer. Generally, if they are working they are good, but I have seen a few K-55s that had low output below 1 khz. Replacing the diaphragms fixed the problem on those. Bob Crites Bob-- I can't help wondering if there might be some way you could smell the diaphragms and tell if they're good or not the way you can smell capacitors. It's worth a try; a bad one might smell burnt. Thanks for the explanation and the picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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