Short in La Scala

[TheToolman]

I found a La Scala (black) for $200.00. The seller was upfront with me and said the horn is working, but the bottom only fires sometimes. Does this sound like a simple short or something more?

Thanks for any input.

[WMcD]

For the sake of accuracy, it is an intermittent "open". Rather than a short.

It is not possible to tell where that problem is located. It could be at the screw down terminals of the crossover, or the connection to the woofer inside the lower bin. Those can be fixed with some simple checking and snugging up the connections.

Another possibility is that the woofer driver voice coil has become intermittent. Replacements are about $100. This problem is more likely if the unit has been abused in a bar or band or P.A. setting.

I'd say the price is fair particularly if the unit is not beat up otherwise. You might dicker down a little bit. Or pay the man, take the speaker . . . and run like heck.

Gil

[Guest " "]

Problem could be as simple as corrosion on the woofer connection terminals to a stuck/rubbing voice coil. If you are handy with a multimeter you could zero in on the issue pretty quickly.

[TheToolman]

Thanks for the quick reply. You guys are great. I've enjoyed this forum for awhile, but never joined. I grew up 30 miles from Hope so I've always been a Klipsch fan, but never had the pleasure of owning any.

I just have a pair of KG 3.5s now, but I'm always watching for a good deal so I can upgrade.

I really appreciate the advice...I'll probably go for this one.

[IndyKlipschFan]

For 200 I would grab it and run! Is this for a sigle or a pair?? Either way, grab it.. Not like your gonna have trouble finding a k 33 woofer too?

[Oblio]

If it were near me I'd be on my way to pick it up right now, could at least use it for a center and when I get a matched set I'd sell it.

[Wrinkles]

Toolman,

Wherever there is metal to metal contact on a voltage signal transfer connection, you can have a resistance buildup between the two metals causing a high resistance buildup or an open audio signal path. FIrst thing I would do would be to loosen the terminals screws at the terminal block one at a time. If they are rusty looking you may want to clean them with alcohol or a wire brush. Retighten snug tight. IF this did not fix the situation, then I would remove each wire from the speaker driver one at a time and clean it in a similar way. Reconnect it ensuring the connection is snug or tight. One wire at a time prevents miswiring. Often, speaker problems are only the wire connections. Sometimes the drivers are hosed from being over driven or from foam rot. Since your woofer fires only sometmes I would suspect termination problems only.

$200 is a good deal.

Wrinkles

[TheToolman]

Thanks again for the advice. I have a message in to him now. Hopefully he will call me back and I can pick it up today. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[TheToolman]

Well, the good news is I got it..the bad news is both the woofer and tweeter are not working. There is a very faint sound coming out of the woofer, but nothing from the tweeter. I pulled the woofer and everything "looks" to be in good shape.

I've cleaned and checked all of the connections, but no change.

[Groomlakearea51]

Well you can contact Bob Crites (BEC) and get a CT-125 tweeter, a CW-1526 (I recall?) woofer and unless something is completely fried in the crossover (unlikely...), you should be in business for less than $200. Your total investment is still less than $400, so you are still fairly well ahead of the game. Just a thought.