Klipsch Made in China

[Groomlakearea51]

If only the workers controlled the means of production.... What ever happened to Karl Marx, et.al.?[]

[Trey Cannon]

I like it when manufacturers label or identify the product so you know exactly what you are buying, when you buy it. When I buy another set of Klipsch, whatever model it may be, I would only want to buy American made. Years ago, when Fender began making guitars in Mexico and Japan, they were clear which was which and you could buy an American, Japanese or Mexican made Strat. Prices varied, as you expect they would. I am certain Klipsch have all the best intentions in the world, but I still want to know whose job I am helping to keep when I spend that kind of money. I don't mean executives, I mean regular people on the assembly lines doing the work.

ALL of our product states were it is built on the outside of the box.

Some things are built in China and put together in Hope.

80% or more of the parts in ALL speakers on the US market are made in China.

[Amy]

Keep politics out, please.

[Trey Cannon]

Thoppa,The tweeter must have passed QC to get out of the plant, but I would have thought that 1mm would be a problem. As for the port, I do not understand what is wrong. The port is not glued into the cabinet. You could get it out to the point of the inside flair. However, the flair on each end is glued.You could break the glue joint if need be, and then put it back using super glue.There will be a small "lip" at each end of the port, where the flairs attach. This will create a small amount of turbulence, but the "distortion" is within tolerance.

[thoppa]

Thoppa,The tweeter must have passed QC to get out of the plant, but I would have thought that 1mm would be a problem. As for the port, I do not understand what is wrong. The port is not glued into the cabinet. You could get it out to the point of the inside flair. However, the flair on each end is glued.You could break the glue joint if need be, and then put it back using super glue.There will be a small "lip" at each end of the port, where the flairs attach. This will create a small amount of turbulence, but the "distortion" is within tolerance.

Hi Trey,

To explain the tweeter - the tweeter's plastic surround has a circular indented channel that is obviously designed to mate with the projected circular riser on the horn. But the projected riser doesn't quite match the indent so they can't sit flush. It just takes a little work with a needle file to remove excess material on the riser so they sit sweetly together. However, I still think this is minor because the three screws that hold the tweeter surround to the horn force the tweeter surround to bend a little so the titanium face of the tweeter still fits almost perpendicular to the horn as it should.

The bass tubes won't budge from the cabinet - I don't want to force them and risk cabinet damage I can't repair. Each tube is made of three sections which slot together to make the whole. They fit together leaving two minor lips that, as you say, are not a problem. However, one of the tubes has not been fitted together properly and there is not a lip but a channel which is about a cm wide. This is between the inner most section and middle section of the tube. I can loosen the innermost section it but so far I haven't managed to get it to slot sweetly onto the middle section so it fits flush with just a minor lip.

Do these parts just clip together ? Do I just need to use more force ? I am not using my full strength on them for fear of damage/cracking etc.

Thanks for posting Trey - much appreciated !!

[thoppa]

Me again.

I removed the front panel and lower bass driver and got my arm into the speaker. The innermost section of tube is actually sitting flush with the middle section on the outside so obviously whoever assembled it wouldn't know there was a problem unless they had also checked the bore. In the bore there is a 5mm channel on the inside. I checked the other speaker and made some measurements. Both speakers have identical sections of tube except for the middle sections, which are 4 to 5mm shorter on the speaker with the problem. However, the overall length of the tubes is the same because the flange on the innermost section is 4 to 5mm longer than the insert from the centre section. If I could figure out how to post pictures to this site.....?

I can't see how I can fix this without the 'correct' centre section, except to fill in the channel with an epoxy putty and then sand it down. So this is what I'll have to do I guess. Any ideas ?

Cheers

[Trey Cannon]

the 52 we have in the lab had the port glued in.

here are some pics

RF-52 PORT.pdf

[thoppa]

Thanks Trey - it looks like just a little mdf came off with the tube so I'll give that a try ! I'll remove it and fill it and then my lovely RF-52s will be perfect!!

I've tried to attach a pdf of the problems - if you look at the heatsink on the tweeter you can see it isn't exactly perpendicular to the horn and the right edge of the mount is twisted up just a little. The channelin the bass reflex tube is pretty obvious.

Thanks for your help - I really appreciate it.

Tom

P.S. already done - just waiting for the epoxy putty to set. Thanks again - it's great to receive such personal customer service !

RF-52 Tweeter and reflex tube.pdf

[kenratboy]

In all fairness, these speakers sell for $300 each, which probably means Klipsch spent ~$100 each making them (as in, the physical item itself). Unless there is a mechanical defect, or glaring cosmetic defect, it is hard to be too picky about it. However, if you had these same issues on a new Klipschorn, then I would be very upset.

[Guest srobak]

That's awfully biased of you. So you are trying to say that someone who spends $600 on a pair of "reference line speakers" - regardless of the manufacturer - should not expect or desire as-close-to-perfect as possible? That's just silly thinking. I should not get concerned or have any expectations because the seat rails in my Honda Accord are not parallel because I did not buy an Acura NSX? Please.

Yeah, it might have only cost Klipsch $100 to make (which is a high estimate I think), but that $100 in China is worth a hell of a lot more in equipment, material, and craftsmanship than it is here. $600 for a pair of speakers is a lot of money for most people, and for $600 if I had a flaw in one of them, I'd want it replaced or repaired. One of the best things about Klipsch is the fact that they DO take care of their customers - including the $130 ProMedia 2.1 owners, the $250 headphone owners, the $600 52 owners, or the $7500 KHorn owners.

It isn't about price. it's about principle and pride in product - which Klipsch has. Otherwise - it doesn't matter if you make both $600 and $7500 speaker pairs - if you aren't going to do something well - don't do it at all. It also isn't about the Holy War with some Klipschsters who think that anything non-heritage is somehow "beneath" them, and not worthy of Klipsch notoriety or expectation of quality. Thankfully those same people are not the ones making decisions for the company, or worrying about quality control. If so - they would be bankrupt for sure. That being said -while khorns were pretty impressive, there is only one speaker I have heard at any price that I would be willing to pay more than 1500 a cabinet for - and they weren't khorns. As such, and until I get them - I am perfectly happy with my RF35's, which listed at nearly 1200 a pair but I got for less than 700, and I am glad that Klipsch's name is on them and that they take care of me no different than a khorn owner.

[Trey Cannon]

On the port it looks like the glue set before they got the pices of the port seated together. You may be able to just push them together. As for the tweeter, when you had them apart, did the plastic you filed look like "slag" or left over from the mold? Was it on the horn or the tweeter? No matter the price, we want the product to be right. He is right, there are flaws here. As a good consumer, he fixed the problem and shared the info with us.

[thoppa]

Hi again,

The speakers sound superb and look good too, and they were really good value aswell, so despite the minor flaws, I'm still very happy with them. I hope to make them the rears one day and get some RF-62s for the front.

The horn moulding was the problem - the circular raised projection was a little too wide on one side. It was not flash or spur or excess or stuff like that. I think the item was injection moulded and the shape of the die is the problem ? From a manufacturing point of view, it's probably easier to change the tweeter surround as it is a much smaller part.

The tube looks the same as yours on the outside - the pieces are together as far as they can be. Weird eh ? As this is only in one speaker I have no idea why this should be so. My best guess would be that very similar tubes from two different model speakers got mixed together so I have a tube with a shorter flange from one model and a tube with a longer flange from another ? Because they have the same overall length and looked like they were correctly assembled from the outside, it's something that the factory worker could easily overlook.

The epoxy has set and the bore is smooth enough now so I've sprayed it semi-gloss black and glued it back into the cabinet - easy job in fact. Thanks for helping me out - it's really great you care about this. Despite the two minor faults, I'm a Klipsch fan - awesome speakers !!

Thanks again,

[Guest srobak]

And THAT kind of interest in taking care of the customer is what I am talking about. There is not a single other speaker or electronics manufacturer in the world that you could do this with, and I would bet a paycheck on it. I had an identical experience when I had questions regarding my 2 different center channels, and not only did a Klipsch employee who was hanging around the forum answer my questions and concerns - but it also happened to be the ACTUAL PERSON who designed the speaker... so in essence - I got the answer straight from the horse's mouth, and not even a company mouthpiece.

Yeah - the speaker might be built in China - but with that kind of support network and company dedication - I'd buy a hundred of them.

HATS OFF to Klipsch. Doing things the RIGHT way.

[Marvel]

It isn't about price. it's about principle and pride in product - which Klipsch has. Otherwise - it doesn't matter if you make both $600 and $7500 speaker pairs - if you aren't going to do something well - don't do it at all. It also isn't about the Holy War with some Klipschsters who think that anything non-heritage is somehow "beneath" them, and not worthy of Klipsch notoriety or expectation of quality. Thankfully those same people are not the ones making decisions for the company, or worrying about quality control. If so - they would be bankrupt for sure. That being said -while khorns were pretty impressive, there is only one speaker I have heard at any price that I would be willing to pay more than 1500 a cabinet for - and they weren't khorns. As such, and until I get them - I am perfectly happy with my RF35's, which listed at nearly 1200 a pair but I got for less than 700, and I am glad that Klipsch's name is on them and that they take care of me no different than a khorn owner.

Man, I couldn't agree with you more. I love my Heritage product, but not because it is Heritage. It is because I oculd afford it and it was available... The sound is great too.

It shouldn't matter if the speakers are only $50 each, they ought to be built well. [Y]

[Jay481985]

That's why I try to buy things made in the US when I can. Sometimes I even pay more.

Recently I found a Pilot brand stick pen missing the end cap that holds in the ink refill on my desk. Sure enough, the cap was on the floor next to the desk with teeth marks on it from one of our teenage daugters who had twisted it off. Would there be enough lead or other dangerous substance in a pen cap that chewing on it would hurt? Probably not. Even less likely with a Pilot pen made in the USA. Yes. A package of 10 is a few cents more than other brands made elsewhere but I also like the way they write better.

I thought Pilots were japanese??

[BLSamuel]

I thought Pilots were japanese??

Yes. Jay's right. Pilot is a Japanese company but with a US subsidiary. Many of their products available in the US are made in the US. Sort of like a Honda or Toyota car that claims to be made in the US? In any case, our girls really like the Pilot G2 pens and I like the Pilot Easy Touch fine stick pen better than a BIC or PaperMate WriteBros both of which I'm sure we have around the house and have used.

[Jay481985]

Oh it wasn't meaning to be hurtful. I just remember when I used them alot that they always had japan and I thought highly of them. Now my pens tend to be German.

Honda's and Toyota's, some BMW, some Mercedes are more American then some American cars built in Canada or Mexico..... go figure.

[BLSamuel]

Jay... I didn't take your comment as hurtful. You were just getting the facts in line. I think I knew that Pilot was a Japanese company but had forgot.

Not sure really where the different pens I use come from. At work, I use what they provide. At home I use whatever I can find, sometimes my rosewood pen with matching pencil and solid wood case that was made by a craftsman in the US. No idea where the mechanisms are from but the pen uses a Cross refill.

Picked up a couple of refills for Cross today, another roswood or standard metal if/when I can find them and a wood one that's my father-out-laws that's been repaired. Bought the Foray brand made in Switzerland as they were 3.99 for 2 as the Cross refills, made in China were 5.99 for 2. Wonder if the Pilot pens, made by a Japanese company are more American than Cross pens nowadays?

From the Cross website:

What we’re most proud of, though, isn’t all that’s changed in the 158 years we’ve been around.

It’s what hasn’t changed. Headquartered in beautiful Lincoln, Rhode Island, just outside

Providence, A. T. Cross is proud to still be a part of the community we helped build. And

we still make products unsurpassed in quality and value, one at a time and by hand, just as

Richard Cross did.

http://www.cross.com/companyinformation/aboutcross.aspx?cat_name=About+Cross&MSCSProfile=983BB0CC620F5E6D8FDE26829663AF16283E76C720DE55715CAC77E986646D6846E9DA4C176D72B41B08BC4D16A06A036D39CDA8D07A57C08082CFB67785B389AB9F8A083D2C8ED5B4EF25C5EE093CF97A4D368EAE768530B656428C3B8A6711BE20EB42096D9D25257DEB97E5AAF2900A7ACD654593301C52D72A6C62978E8FE7CC9A6AA4E17F35

Cross history says marketed in more than 140 foreign markets. http://www.cross.com/companyinformation/history.aspx?cat_name=Our+History

Doesn't really say where they're made but suspect a lot of the manufacturing is outside the US?

So back on topic. Klipsch builds a lot of stuff in China. So does everyone else. I'm just glad they still build a lot in the US including a lot of their best products.

[Guest srobak]

Honda's and Toyota's, some BMW, some Mercedes are more American then some American cars built in Canada or Mexico..... go figure.

This is correct - the engines in the X5 and Z4 are manufactured and assembled in Germany, then shipped to Spartanburg, South Carolina, where everything else for those two cars is manufactured, and the whole thing is then assembled.

[fdiefyg]

Klipsch is indeed made in China now, and the quality is ordinary.