Klipsch R41 M bookshelf speakers

[Francis55]

Hey, picked some up from Goodwill recently--neither one works at all. I pulled a driver, hooked it up directly to wires, sounded great. What might be going on here? Worth getting it fixed, or could I part it out to salvage my investment? Klipsch R41 M. I also got a Klipsch center speaker, same issue--will pull driver tomorrow, but I suspect drivers are also fine. What did the previous owner do that would cause this problem? Thanks!

 

[RTally]

You need to inspect the crossover. Since you have the woofer out, you should be able to see the crossover through the opening. It may be that the speakers were overpowered and the crossover has an open circuit. If the woofers don't work, check the large inductor to ensure that the conductor is not discolored and there are any discoloration on the components. If you have a VOM, it should be easy to check for continuity from the speaker terminals through the crossover.

I am not familiar with the insides of that model, but some Klipsch bookshelf speakers have a separate crossover board inside. Others have the crossover attached to the inside of the rear speaker terminal cup. On those, remove the rear terminal cup and the crossover is on the back side.

This video shows that the crossover is attached to the terminal cup.

 

[Francis55]

Dang, that's impressive! Ok, I'll see what I can do--definitely beyond my capabilities. If the previous owner overpowered them (this seems the most likely scenario), would the needed repairs likely run high?

 

[RTally]

Dang, that's impressive! Ok, I'll see what I can do--definitely beyond my capabilities. If the previous owner overpowered them (this seems the most likely scenario), would the needed repairs likely run high?

You learn by doing. This would be good practice.

Need to see what the damage is first before jumping to conclusions about cost. Pull out the crossover and post pictures. Take pictures before disconnecting any wiring to ensure you can reassemble correctly.

If something looks damaged or burnt, that may be the culprit.

If the crossover looks good, with the woofer connected to the crossover, you can work backwards from the driver connections by connecting the amplifier speaker wires to various places on the crossover. Start at where the woofer connects to the crossover and work back toward the speaker terminals. For the woofer circuit, only the inductor is in series between the speaker terminals and the driver terminals. If you get sound when connected to one side of the inductor, but not the other side, then the inductor is an open circuit.