Changing tweeters

[jucas]

Hey all,

I have a small pair of klipsch bookshelves that I couldn't sell for enough to be worthwhile, so I've pretty much hung on to them and now and then run them into another room off the 2nd speaker outputs on my amp. The speakers aren't bad when they're quiet, but louder they are fairly harsh. I know that can partially be a cheap horn thing, but I was hoping that changing out a tweeter might help enough that I had a listenable speaker instead of a paperweight.

The questions are what do I need to look for in a replacement? Size obviously, crossover point, sensitivity, and obviously the configuration of mounting screws, anything I'm missing? I have no problems playing with the crossover and replacing parts to alter the frequencies that its affecting. Is there anything I should know, or is it even worth trying? Can anyone recomend a decent type of tweeter, or location (online) to purchase a pair? Or do manufacturers make it impossible to swap bits in and out like that?

Thanks for the help, and even just reading my ramblings.
-Chris

[Dusty Chalk]

Non-metal. If what you didn't like about it was that it was harsh, you'll probably enjoy a cloth tweeter.

You're most likely going to be unable to find an exact replacement (Fs, Vas, etc.), so if you're going to do this, do it right: research what it would take to replace the tweeter, and modify the crossover accordingly. The crossover is also contributing to the overall harsh sound, so just the fact that you're modifying it will help.

[drseid]

Hey all,

I have a small pair of klipsch bookshelves that I couldn't sell for enough to be worthwhile, so I've pretty much hung on to them and now and then run them into another room off the 2nd speaker outputs on my amp. The speakers aren't bad when they're quiet, but louder they are fairly harsh. I know that can partially be a cheap horn thing, but I was hoping that changing out a tweeter might help enough that I had a listenable speaker instead of a paperweight.

The questions are what do I need to look for in a replacement? Size obviously, crossover point, sensitivity, and obviously the configuration of mounting screws, anything I'm missing? I have no problems playing with the crossover and replacing parts to alter the frequencies that its affecting. Is there anything I should know, or is it even worth trying? Can anyone recomend a decent type of tweeter, or location (online) to purchase a pair? Or do manufacturers make it impossible to swap bits in and out like that?

Thanks for the help, and even just reading my ramblings.
-Chris

Changing a tweeter is not going to be so easy IMO. As was previously mentioned, it almost certanly will involve you changing the crossover to accomodate the new driver. Also to be considered is the mounting plate of the replacement tweeter... You may have trouble swapping many tweeters in there. Cost may also be another factor... I don't know how expensive your speakers are/were, but some of the best tweeters can cost major dollars. Depending on which one you end up going with, a pair of them may cost more than both your speakers put together. Also to be considered is once you invest that kind of money and time on altering the tweeter and crossover, will you then be dissatisfied with your woofer?

Maybe a good way to go is to find a starter speaker kit at a site like madisound.com or zalytron.com and build a new speaker instead.

Either way, I wish you the best of luck and hope it works out.

---Dave

[jucas]

Thanks for the tips, I had thought that it might end up being more trouble than its worth. I wasn't really looking for new speakers, I just had a pair that I'm not a fan of and felt like tinkering a little as selling them will probly get me so little money that its not even worth it.

As for replacements, I assumed that being cheap speakers it was unlikely that the tweeters were of even passable quality, and really doubted that anything other than the crossover was designed specifically for them. So I doubt that I'd need a very high end tweeter to see an improvement, although its likely that my logic is flawed.

I figure that you're right about this being more complex than it sounds, but can you recomend anywhere that sells replacements just so that I can browse a couple of them and check out price range/mounting issues?

Thanks again,
-Chris

[SlumpBuster]

Changing a tweeter is not going to be so easy IMO. As was previously mentioned, it almost certanly will involve you changing the crossover to accomodate the new driver. Also to be considered is the mounting plate of the replacement tweeter... You may have trouble swapping many tweeters in there. Cost may also be another factor... I don't know how expensive your speakers are/were, but some of the best tweeters can cost major dollars. Depending on which one you end up going with, a pair of them may cost more than both your speakers put together. Also to be considered is once you invest that kind of money and time on altering the tweeter and crossover, will you then be dissatisfied with your woofer?

Maybe a good way to go is to find a starter speaker kit at a site like madisound.com or zalytron.com and build a new speaker instead.

Either way, I wish you the best of luck and hope it works out.

---Dave

I agree with Dave regarding the tweeter swap being not necessarily that easy. However, you shouldn't let that deter you from jumping knee deep into "Frankenspeaker" territory. Cobbling together a new speaker from parts of old ones can be great fun and you can stumble upon some real interesting results. I have an Infinity/Boston Acoustic Frankenspeaker in my home office that I just love.

Look at partsexpress.com for cheap/good new tweeters.

Good luck and let us know what the results are.

[Grandpaw]

I would E-Mail the company that made the speakers and ask if they have any suggestions. You never know what they might come up with unless you ask, Jeff

[jucas]

Cool... Thanks for all the tips, if I find something to try I'll let you all know how it goes. I may be back asking a little bit about crossovers and whatnot, but until I find a new tweet to look at, Thanks!

[jucas]

So, as everyone expected, finding something to go in their was pretty much impossible... the whole horn loaded thing leaves it with some pretty exact dimensions. Klipsch of course ignored the question, so I have one last querry before I sell them really really cheap.

The grills are magnetically attatched, and so they come off extremely easily. could just sliding a thin layer of some kind of fabric tame down those highs without totally destroying the sound "quality"? Or is there anything used in room or speaker treatments that absorb mostly really high frequencies? I'm more than willing to sacrifice some of the highs if it'll be less harsh.

I dunno... sorry to bug evreyone with questions about cheap speakers. They may be cheap for speakers, but right now they're really expensive paperweights.

[46minaudio]

So, as everyone expected, finding something to go in their was pretty much impossible... the whole horn loaded thing leaves it with some pretty exact dimensions. Klipsch of course ignored the question, so I have one last querry before I sell them really really cheap.

The grills are magnetically attatched, and so they come off extremely easily. could just sliding a thin layer of some kind of fabric tame down those highs without totally destroying the sound "quality"? Or is there anything used in room or speaker treatments that absorb mostly really high frequencies? I'm more than willing to sacrifice some of the highs if it'll be less harsh.

I dunno... sorry to bug evreyone with questions about cheap speakers. They may be cheap for speakers, but right now they're really expensive paperweights.

Try adding one of these inline with the tweeter on the pos side.
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshow...rtnumber=016-2

[jucas]

Thanks for the tip. My electronics are a little rusty though, will filter out highs, or just quiet the tweeter relative to everything else?