[tlniec]

I currently have a 5.1 system, consisting of reference-series Klipsch in-wall speakers for LCR and synergy-series Klipsch in-ceiling speakers for the surrounds. I've been quite happy with this system, but I happened to run across a pair of 'tested good' used KHC-6 speakers on eBay with a really tempting 'buy-it-now' price. So I thought, hey, why not upgrade to 7.1? I was wise enough to run wires for it 'just in case,' so all I'd have to do is pick up another pair of speakers and pop them in.


So I bought 'em.


Well, it turns out there's a problem. One of the speakers sounds perfect. The other is severely rolling off highs. I can toggle the -3dB tweeter attenuator switch, and it makes no audible difference in the sound. I can use my hand to block the tweeter horn, then move my hand, and even THAT doesn't change the sound. Doing either on the good speaker makes a very clear difference.


I'm still trying to figure out ways I might get a refund, or a replacement, or possibly even repair the bad speaker. But if none of that works, would I be insane to install the speakers anyway? Given that I don't really listen to multichannel music (no SACD or DVD-A player), how likely am I to notice the problem during actual use (as opposed to my test scenario of blasting music into my face from 2 feet away)?

 

[vinipux77]

Sounds like the tweeter is not working. Has the connector slipped off during shipping?

May be a very quick fix.

 

[tlniec]

I'm going to try and do some more troubleshooting tonight. Boy I hope it's something that simple -- seems likely that it could be due to shipping/handling. I believe the seller tested the speakers and honestly didn't notice any issues. Thanks!


Update -


I did some more testing tonight. I hooked the 'bad' speaker up to a channel on my Receiver again and played some music through it. Same symptom as I noticed before, lack of high freq. But I then started playing around with/tweaking the Tweeter +/- connections (some sort of terminal crimped to the wires, hooks up with terminals on the crossover board). I managed to get intermittent good contact on the Tweeter connections -- as long as I could hold things "JUST RIGHT" the speaker sounded correct. Of course, I couldn't get things to stay 'just right', and soon was unable to get even intermittent contact to happen.

But anyway, now I think the tweeter is fine. And the crossover is likely fine too. The problem seems to be one of interconnection. I'll try to figure out if I can eliminate the problem. Maybe get rid of the terminals, and just solder the tweeter wires right to the board, for example (wonder why they weren't that way to begin with -- probably makes assembly quicker and cheaper when things plug together versus being soldered, or something along those lines).

 

[tlniec]

Well, unfortunately, I have a bad tweeter. Measures around 40 Ohms (good one measures ~6). So I need to either find another single KHC-6, or get some replacement parts. Or try upgrading from 5.1 to 6.1 instead of 7.1.