I think my Forte Crossover is blown

[Forte4Life]

Howdy!

Wow- so many things have changed since I bought my Forte's new in 1987...this website...a PILGRIMAGE to Klipsch?! I tried to visit the factory in Hope when I was passing thru in 2002....was told they didn't give tours anymore. Man was I bummed! I didn't know they were in Indy now.

Like you all, I couldn't imagine life without my Klipsch's. They've seen many phases of my life, and they have faithfully maintained the rhythm throughout! And like many of you, my wife thinks I love them and my cars more than her!!

Now to business: I need your tech advice, if you please:

My system:

Klipsch Forte's

Denon Power Amp POA-2400

Denon Pre-Amp DAP-2500

Monster connections all around. Double....triple checked those, they're good.

Problem: Right speaker: only tweeter produces sound. Midrange and woofer are silent..no hiss, no noise...nada.

Question: is the crossover (or some other component inside the cabinet) fried?

If yes, then:

1. What's the best way to get at it...remove woofer or passive radiator?

1a. Do I need to solder it, or are there connectors?

2. Where do I get a replacement?

3. If replacement not available from Klipsch, what specs should I look for if I need to get an "aftermarket" crossover?

3a. Should I replace crossover in both speakers to maintain symmetry?

Here's what I've done:

4. Checked all connections- they're good.

5. Connected cd player direct to POA-2400 and Forte's...same problem...Right speaker tweeter only.

6. Swapped Left - Right and Right - Left speaker cables on POA-2400...same problem...Right speaker tweeter only.

7. Connected a spare Denon POA-800 amp direct to cd player and Forte's...same problem...Right speaker tweeter only.

8. Connected spare Denon POA-800 amp direct to cd player and Bose AM-5's...NO problem. Did same w/ main amp, POA-2400...NO problems.

Therefore, I KNOW the problem is with my right speaker. The midrange and woofer do not fire, only the tweeter.

9. Where do I go from here?

Thanks very much for your assistance...what a great exchange of ideas by folks passionate about their music and their systems!

-Mark

[mark1101]

Have you looked inside at the physical connections? If everything looks OK the next step would be swapping the crossovers to see if the good speaker can be affected like the bad one. Then you'll know. You might just have a wire or two come loose and fall off.

[Forte4Life]

Mark1101-

Thanks for your reply. No, I haven't opened anything up yet. On the Forte's, would it be better to remove the passive or the woofer to get access?

Thanks,

Mark

[dtel]

Let me tell you what happened to me on 2 Forte ll's. Mid range not working on both and the bass driver very scratchy sounding, I also thought the crossover was bad .

I removed the terminal cup to look at the crossover's and they looked fine, I then removed the passive radiator on one to see if a wire came loose.

They were all hooked up, I was not happy to see that. As a last chance attempt I unplugged one wire at a time on the bass speaker, nothing, I wiggled the wire a little after it was back on and it worked ? I next tried it on the mid driver and it also worked ? Even though the wires were connected and tight they were not making good contact ? I used a little piece of sandpaper and just ran it across the little male part of the connectors, plugged them back in and it worked fine .

They were on really tight, you would think it would have to make contact ? It worked on 2 speakers, there must have some sort of film or something that can cause a bad connection ? There was no build up of anything like when you see a very old connection corroded, they were clean looking ?

It's worth a shot, it worked for me, just be very careful removing the passive !

[WMcD]

Mark and Dtel gave you pretty much the same advice that I would.

My remarks:

It is usually the tweeter which gets fried by too much level. Of course there are situations where someone turns up the bass knob, puts on the loudness, and then cranks the volume. Hey, it has been known to happen. Not that you would do it, I know.

I believe that the crossover components on the Forte and similar Klipsch speaker are on the back of the terminal cup. So you should first take that out, carefully. Make notes on which wire goes to which connection. You can attach a flag of masking tape to wires to label them.

Checking the push on connectors is a good idea. When I have to clean such things (the blade), I use a pencil eraser rather than even the finest sandpaper. The push on side might need a little scrunch down with pliers if, and only if, they are physically loose.

If that doesn't work you'll have to get to the back of the mid and woofer. It might be better to take out the passive in back to gain access, first. The alternative is to take out the woofer and mid from the front.

If re-securing the push on connections does not help, I suggest you test the woofer and mid with an ohm meter (multi-meter). RS has some cheap multimeters which is all you need. This is the most basic tool for making tests on electrical equipment. It is worthwhile learning how to use one.

I took a tweeter out and apart on my e-Bay Quartets to replace the diaphragm. It is not difficult.

There is a potential problem with getting the drivers back into place. The baffle boards in many speakers are made of MFD (or like that) fiberboard. It is a bit crumbly and the "threads" made by the screws biting into it on the first installation get weak.

I use clear nail polish to reinforce them (the interior edges of the hole) before reinserting the screw. Two or three coats can't hurt. Then be careful about overtightening. You can crack the flange of the mid horn.

Other have suggested putting toothpick in there and breaking off the excess. I use that as a second resort.

Please let us know how this works out.

BTW, there are occasional questions about such procedures. I wanted to complete the project and did not make up a little tutorial with pictures. If you can do something like that, others might well benefit.

Best,

Gil

[Forte4Life]

dtel-

Thanks very much for getting me 'on point'. I'll try your suggestions tomorrow in the daylight!

Cheers,

Mark

[Forte4Life]

Gil-

Excellent info. From the replies I have received, I have enough to get started on a solution, and I have an idea what to look for once inside the cabinet.

I like your suggestion about using nail polish to strengthen the holes in the MDF.

This will be one of my projects for tomorrow.

Thanks very much,

Cheers,

Mark

[colterphoto1]

Good advice Dtel. Although they are frequently blamed, the crossover network failing is rarely the problem in an inop speaker situation. More than likely it is a blown driver, or as in this case, bad connections.