K-33 woofer mishap

[soundbound]

Finally got around to checking out what was making that metallic rattling noise inside my K-33 woofer. Cut off its dust cap and found a loop of its voice coil wire under its dust cap. Speaker still works. The voice coil itself is on the outside wrapped around its plastic former, so it surprises me it got caught on the center poll which is in the formers inside. I tried hard to make the coil come out of its gap, but there was no way because the spider would not allow it to go that high. There must have been a loop of coil wire hanging some where to get caught on the center poll some how. I'll cut the cone off to get a better look at the coil to see if I can figure out how this happened. May of just came all the way out of it's gap and got caught on the poll on the way back down.

[JJkizak]

Oh geeeeze, you voided the 50 year warranty.

JJK

[Daddy Dee]

Thanks for the pic. Was there any particular identifiable event prior to failure?

[djk]

Glue failure. Original defect. Eminence has a one year warranty to the OEM customer (Klipsch) for this type of defect.

[soundbound]

Daddy Dee,

No. I just noticed a light metallic buzzing noise one day. Took out the woofer and located it to inside of its dust cap. I figured it had something to do with its voice coil.

djk,

They were 14 months young when this happened. Klipsch offers a one year warranty. Klipsch was nice enough to say they'd go 13 months, but not 14 months. I didn't have a problem with that. I replaced it. I figured it could have been factory default, because I don't have to put much wattage through my Klipschorns to get them to the loudness I prefer in the room they're in.

[soundbound]

djk,

You're correct. Doesn't look like they glued the coil all the way to its end. Two of the end voice coil wrappings just came right off its former.

[Klipschguy]

That was a defect from day one. If Klipsch were my business, you would get a woofer at no charge (esp. if these are only 14 months old!). I run a business and we have rules, but these rules are softened when the golen rule ("Do unto others...") comes into play. If they would stiff themselves on a woofer, then so be it, but if the converse is true...

P.S. If this happened 15 months after purchase and brought to their attention, I'll bet they would say "Well we'd cover 14 months, but not 15." 13 but not 14?! Gimme a break.

[colterphoto1]

Hey, give US a break! Klipsch speakers are guaranteed from defects in manufacturing (that's what this is) for 5 years from date of purchase, that's what it says on the warranty card and inside the owner's manual. I'm sorry if you were given incorrect information.

Contact me at the number below if your speakers were purchased from and authorized dealer and are within the 5 year warranty period.

We're very flexible, sometimes even replacing drivers when the only 'defect' given is 'I blowed my speakers up'.

Does everyone feel better now?

Michael

[Groomlakearea51]

I do!![]

[Blvdre]

Not good enough! I expect a shiny new pair of Jubes on my porch by sundown!

A five-year manufacturing defect warranty is rare nowadays, and replacing a blown driver due to user abuse is downright generous. I'd hold them responsible...you know, consequences of their actions and all that.

[Daddy Dee]

I feel better. Thanks Michael.

Klipsch Rocks!

seriously good work Michael. You've redeemed one that was falling through the cracks.

[Klipschguy]

Hey, give US a break! Klipsch speakers are guaranteed from defects in manufacturing (that's what this is) for 5 years from date of purchase, that's what it says on the warranty card and inside the owner's manual. I'm sorry if you were given incorrect information.

Contact me at the number below if your speakers were purchased from and authorized dealer and are within the 5 year warranty period.

We're very flexible, sometimes even replacing drivers when the only 'defect' given is 'I blowed my speakers up'.

Does everyone feel better now?

Michael

Sorry Michael,

But, when I saw that 14 months and the "sorry, you're 1 month out of luck" story it sparked a fire that brought back all too many recollections of encounters with "the new business ethic." I have always felt Klipsch was above that sort of stuff...glad to see they are!

Andy

[colterphoto1]

Sorry guys, I didn't realize this was a Parts purchase. They are normally guaranteed for one year.

Moral of the story would be to hook something up when you buy it, give it a good hard run, and if something is wrong, promptly get it taken care of. I've done the same thing on different products before. We have this happen a lot, especially around Christmas. If Best Buys gives you 30 days replacement policy with a SUB 10, don't put it under the tree for 5 weeks.

Michael

[Guest srobak]

I find it interesting that Klipsch uses Eminence drivers in some of their products. Why is this?

[soundbound]

I had a Klipsch K-33 woofer that went bad out of its warranty period. Placed it up on a closet shelf figuring I'd cut it apart someday to see why it went bad. A friend of mine just acquired a pair of used Klipsch MWM cabinets with no drivers. He wanted to hear them to see what they'd do. I informed him I had one K-33 woofer that worked, but it buzzed under its dust cap. I took it over and we at least got to check out one of his MWM cabinets, be it with some buzzing. Just the one cabinet sounded amazing! When we were done checking it out, I took the woofer home and finally took it apart. I figured I'd take photos and share my findings here. It's just one of those things where something goes bad just out of its warranty coverage period. You can't expect a company to replace items out of their warranty period. As I stated above, "Klipsch offers a one year warranty. Klipsch was nice enough to say they'd go 13 months, but not 14 months. I didn't have a problem with that. I replaced it." I phoned Michael and we talked. Of course he's really nice, as is the Klipsch Corp. Thanks Michael. I'm very excited about receiving my Jubes!

[djk]

"I find it interesting that Klipsch uses Eminence drivers in some of their products. Why is this? "

Because they make the best driver for the money.

Want to spend more money?

No problem, Eminence makes better, more expensive drivers too.

[LarryC]

My reaction is that this is clearly a manufacturing defect by the original manufacturer (not Klipsch), and think they should make good on it. I think many OEM companies would do that in similar circumstances, as determined on a case-by-case basis.

[Groomlakearea51]

Interesting about "better and more expensive". Any examples (and possible applications) that would be of interest to everyone that you can think of?

[Guest srobak]

I guess I just expected that they would continue to use drivers the caliber of EV for anything they wouldn't make their own drivers for (which I also don't quite understand). Eminence has been considered rather generic for a number of years - and while providing decent bang for the buck - they don't have anything which ranks in the same classes as EV and JBL higher end drivers. They would not be my first choice for Klipsch cabs, that's for sure.

[djk]

"they don't have anything which ranks in the same classes as EV and JBL higher end drivers."

Gee, that's funny. JBL re-designed the Altec 604 used in their UREI monitors to use the JBL 2425 compression drivers, but they use EMINENCE for the subwoofers.

EAW uses EMINENCE woofers in their most expensive horn-loaded concert PA subs.

Community uses EMINENCE triple-spider woofers.

I wonder what they know that we don't?

"Any examples (and possible applications) that would be of interest to everyone that you can think of? "

The stock catalog from Eminence is limited, the bulk of their business is OEM. The Magnum series 15s and 18s with their eight voice-coil magnet-gap cooling vents and copper shorting rings were quite good. The Difinimax 15 has these features and can be used in a tapped horn subwoofer, and is half the price of the B&C Danley uses.