I recently bought a pair of Heresy II’s, was told they were “in good working order”, come to find out at my first listening that one tweeter and one mid are not working.  It was a good price bought from an estate/auction dealer, I suspected something might be off, but took the chance. So here I am. I don’t have any electrical experience, but am hoping to learn.

Tweeter: K-76-K. My understanding is that this speaker is made up of three components: a magnet, a diaphragm, and a horn.  My assumption is that nothing can “break” with the magnet, and that the horn, if sealed well and not cracked, is a hunk of metal.  That leaves me to believe that if the crossover is working properly and the speaker makes no noise, the diaphragm is the non working component.  I have seen the replacement diaphragms offered by Bob Crites.  He makes it seem that a new set of diaphragms can be easily and quickly installed.  If done, would that be all that is necessary to revive a “dead” tweeter?  Is this correct?  Or, should I seek out a working K-76-K and plug and play?  If so, does Klipsch Parts sell replacements for the K-76-K or do I have to go to the secondary market?

Midrange: K-53-K. Same questions as above, however, I didn’t see replacement diaphragms from Bob Crites for the K-53-K.  I assume there are some out there, though.

Woofer: K-24-K.  Here, I’m lead to believe there are good replacements out there as well as a lot of replacement originals.  I don’t think I need new woofers, as they both seem to work well.  Regardless, is there an audible difference between a twenty + year old original woofer with no defects (tears, pinholes, cone issues, etc.), and a brand new woofer?  The originals look old, but I don’t know if that matters sonically.

Crossover: How do you know if they need fixing?  What is the best method of upgrade?  I’ve seen the options provided by Bob Crites (DIY parts package, component replacement on original board, brand new crossover, etc.) but don’t know which is considered “best value to performance”.  Is a set of Bob Crites’ new crossovers overkill if typically the inductor and autotransformer are still in working order?  Suggestions?

Cabinet: Original is in rough condition.  How well do these cabinets take to sanding and refinishing?  Can you “mess” with the veneer, or does it need to be removed and replaced?

Grill:  Are logos readily available?  What kind of glue should be used if I decide to buy some grill cloth and stretch it myself?

Thank you for your insights and sorry to burden you with my ignorance.  I’m sure many of these questions have been answered previously.  In those cases please point me to an existing thread and I will go from there.

I suspect your tweeter assumption is correct. Bob also has a titanium tweeter which I am told is a nice upgrade.

The K-53-k: I think you will need to source this part from the Klipsch parts Dept.

The K-24-k should be fine, Bob is currently testing a replacement for it with good success.

Before you start spending money there are a few tests that may be performed with a voltmeter.

Make sure there is continuity to the individual drivers and also test the resistance on the drivers themselves (are they "open").

Don't bother replacing a woofer that is currently working.

The cabinet refinishing is always more work than you first expect (be careful sanding the veneer plywod).

Good Luck,

-Tom

And be patient with us too. Smile.

You should contact 1800KLIPSCH and Crites to see what is available.

I'm quite sure the tweeter and midrange diaphragm replacement is just a matter of skills requiring a screwdriver and other hand tools like small wrenches or plyers to work the small nuts.  It will be a bit of an adventure but do-able if you are somewhat handy.  I replaced a diaphragm on my e-bay Quartets which are of similar vintage -- and probably construction.

The horns come out from the front FWIU.

Make notes, take pictures, mark wires.  Essentially gather enough information so you know how they go back together.

I wouldn't jump into crossover upgrades at first.  That will require soldering skills. There is very little chance the crossover is defective in a gross way.

As far as the cabinets.  Without pictures, we can't know just how bad things are. 

The usual treatment for oiled walnut (are these?) is Old English or similar furniture oil.  Used a fine Scotchbrite pad to get a little scrub to the first application.  Michael C. here suggests a the use of a "sanding block" behind the pad to prevent localized pressure which, arguably, might cause a sand through.  I was conservative with hand pressure

The veneer is reportedly thin.  I have some second hand Forte II (again similar vintage) with planter stains and some scratches.  I used wet or dry 400 paper and the furniture oil to clean them up.  No sand through but in some areas it seems the layer of wood with stain were removed -- so it is a bit lighter there.

The gentle (read gentle) scrub  (whether Scotchbrite or 400 paper) takes off grung and may help even out shallow scratches.  You see a slurry of brown in the oil which is mostly the grunge and perhaps the first cells of the veneer. Clean with a paper towel and then maybe another coat of oil which should be cleaned off with another paper towel.

This cleaning and re-oiling may be enough to make yours presentable. A full refinish is a big task.  You'll have to re-oil every six months or so as the oil evaporates.

Let me suggest you post pictures and the many fine people here will have advice.

Wm McD

Thanks for the suggestions above.

I just got my BEC new crossovers and Ti diaphragms.  To install the crossovers I need to remove them from the input cups.  In doing so I'll most likely make them unuseable in the future.  Is there any value in these original corossovers in original condition?  I've heard of people saving them for future sales of the speakers.  I think my HII's are keepers, so that is not my main concern.  Its just that I hate to see them go in the trash and I can't give/sell them unless I get new input caps for my speaker terminals (Klipsch Parts doesn't sell them, Parts-Express terminal plates won't cover opening).  BEC said the old crossovers usually end up in the trash.  I figured I'd ask before destroying them.  Same story with the Ti diaphragms.  Any value in the old diaphragms?  They were working fine, replaced for upgrade only.

 Only keep them while you listen to the upgrade and decide you don't want to go back. I still have the AL crossovers from my La Scalas, but really assume no one would want them.I built new ones and love how they are working out. I haven't touched my HIIs yet, but should probably upgrade the crossovers in them at some point.

Bruce