Kenwood KL-777A Stiff surrounds - lack of bass

Exinn

New Member
I recently acquired a pair of Kenwood KL-777A speakers in great condition for almost nothing.

I have lots of spare time and I'd like to restore these and gift them to a friend. I understand that they're kabuki and I don't really mind. (I just enjoy fixing stuff).

The Highs and mids sound pretty good (nothing amazing) but the bass is absolutely abysmal. There is almost no bass at all.

I notice that the woofer surround is not deteriorated or falling apart, but it is incredibly stiff and the woofer can't move, it just sort of vibrates. Could this be causing the lack of bass, or are they simply weak by design?

Does anyone know what material the surrounds are made of, and if it's possible to loosen them up? I've heard of people applying things like acetone or brake fluid, followed by a sealant, but I don't know the details.

Some sources state that these Kenwoods should have deep punchy bass, and others say that the bass is very bad. I'm not sure what to think.

I have included a video comparing the Kenwood woofer to a Marantz that I have.


Thanks for your time, I appreciate it.
 
Welcome to AK.
They are party speakers. They need to be cranked.
I had tested 777.888s,999x they are small with large speakers. The guys in Vietnam used to buy those, KL999X's --- Trip 9's they called em.

I really think they are selling for way too much money.

MY .02

John
 
Wow those are stiff, hopefully someone here has a potion to soften the surround up. When you do loosen the surround up remember the spider behind the cone will need to loosen up as well and might take a few hours at some decent volume.

I try and not be too critical of an old speaker until I have worked them real good for a few days as they get stiff sitting. (yours is bad) and none of the drivers will sound good initially. Once you get them loose after a few days of playing work them hard for an hour or so, then dont listen to them for a day or two;(you are not trying to form an opinion yet) After this procedure I feel one can one give used speakers a good listening assessment.
 
Welcome to AK.
They are party speakers. They need to be cranked.
I had tested 777.888s,999x they are small with large speakers. The guys in Vietnam used to buy those, KL999X's --- Trip 9's they called em.

I really think they are selling for way too much money.

MY .02

John

Wow those are stiff, hopefully someone here has a potion to soften the surround up. When you do loosen the surround up remember the spider behind the cone will need to loosen up as well and might take a few hours at some decent volume.

I try and not be too critical of an old speaker until I have worked them real good for a few days as they get stiff sitting. (yours is bad) and none of the drivers will sound good initially. Once you get them loose after a few days of playing work them hard for an hour or so, then dont listen to them for a day or two;(you are not trying to form an opinion yet) After this procedure I feel one can one give used speakers a good listening assessment.


Thanks for the input, I'll work them hard for a while and see if there's an improvement.

@NH-MAN I hope such a potion exists!
 
If the surround fibers break then you will need new surrounds and that means more WORK :)
 
Take careful measurements and order some new surrounds, the original material has out gassed
Not a whole lot you can do to reverse it
What is the diameter of the cone? Not the frame
They should be readily available
 
How much did you pay for the speakers? Or, how much are they worth to you? If you don't mind potentially ruining them, you could cut the cloth surrounds off and replace them with foam, and see how they sound after that.

Lee.
 
How much did you pay for the speakers? Or, how much are they worth to you? If you don't mind potentially ruining them, you could cut the cloth surrounds off and replace them with foam, and see how they sound after that.

Lee.
Why would that potentially ruin them? They can't function - don't work at all now as things are
The woofers need new surrounds, the old ones have simply gone bad and hardened like Lansalloy

Compliance is readily available - not my first choice and no affiliation with this seller - For illustrative and reference purpose only
http://www.simplyspeakers.com/kenwood-speaker-foam-edge-repair-kit-fsk-15a.html
 
If you've never refoamed a woofer before, you could end up putting the new foams on and having the voice coil rub. If you have, forget I said this part.

Lee.
That applies to just about everything in Life you haven't done before doesn't it?
 
That's why I said about what are they worth? If it's your first refoam, you wouldn't want to start on anything expensive.
 
I recently acquired a pair of Kenwood KL-777A speakers in great condition for almost nothing.

I have lots of spare time and I'd like to restore these and gift them to a friend. I understand that they're kabuki and I don't really mind. (I just enjoy fixing stuff).

The Highs and mids sound pretty good (nothing amazing) but the bass is absolutely abysmal. There is almost no bass at all.

I notice that the woofer surround is not deteriorated or falling apart, but it is incredibly stiff and the woofer can't move, it just sort of vibrates. Could this be causing the lack of bass, or are they simply weak by design?

Does anyone know what material the surrounds are made of, and if it's possible to loosen them up? I've heard of people applying things like acetone or brake fluid, followed by a sealant, but I don't know the details.

Some sources state that these Kenwoods should have deep punchy bass, and others say that the bass is very bad. I'm not sure what to think.

I have included a video comparing the Kenwood woofer to a Marantz that I have.


Thanks for your time, I appreciate it.
I have one 777D and the surround is not rubber or foam. It has the same treated cloth style surround that my Fisher 884's have and the Kenwood woofer doesn't move nearly as easy as the Fisher woofers but the bass is so much tighter. I love the tighter bass of my Kenwood. I wished I had a complete pair. Found the one I have at the curb for trash pick up at my neighbors. I'm not finding the 777D's on ewwbay.
 
Make sure woofers are not frozen. Carefully check cone movement by hand. Acoustic suspension woofers are going to be tighter. There is a design aspect which will shed light on your impression. Acoustic suspension speakers will always sound bass shy against ported speakers so the deficit you are hearing in the comparo is real. Whether this represents a real issue with the surrounds is something else.
 
I own 4 pairs of 777 and 777A's. I can tell you from first hand experience, the surrounds are cloth. All the woofers on all 8 speakers are stiff. Kabuki style, sure, but i dont mind the sound at all. Paired with the right amp/receiver, they can sound great. Before you even try to mess around with the surround, (my recommendation is dont), re-cap them. There are only between 4-6 caps in the crossovers. Parts Express sells the caps. I re-capped all mine and the main ones paired with my Yammie CR-2040 sound great. If you are still looking to gift them to a friend, well.....I'm your friend now and I wouldnt pass up another pair. As to how the wife would feel about that, well, that is another story. All kidding aside, caps dont cost much and the crossovers will come out pretty easily. I would start there. You could also add in some polyfil to help with the bass, if you were so inclined. Like you said, you have lots of spare time. Play around with the speakers, you might surprise yourself and have a great new set of speakers.
 
I have 4 KL777a. Two are stiff as in the video. One is medium. One is soft and has much more free travel than the other three. All are coated cloth. All look original. Not re-doped. Or re-clothed.
The three stiff ones have hardened to the touch. When massaged the coating can be heard cracking. But the cloth does not fail.
The soft one has more and better bass below 40 hz.
I would re-cloth one of the three stiff ones if I could get the original surround.
 
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