Solved Klipsch promedia 5.1

[matts6887]

has anyone else had this computer speaker system or do they still have it; and have they had the issue of the subwoofer cutting in and out(crackling noises etc.) and what did they do to fix it? I have this system but I had to take all the guts out of it and take it to a sound guy that does repair work on these systems. It seems like the protection circuit that monitors certain actions is malfunctioning; and i was sorta wondering if anyone else has had this type of experience with this system.

 

[Wordsworth]

I have the Klipsch Promedia 5.1 system. It should actually be the satellites cutting in and out with only a muffled sound from the subwoofer. This was a well known problem with this system and back in the day one could find a legion of posts concerning it on the Klipsch forums. It is several components in the amp gone bad from heat. I had a couple of systems go bad while still under CompUSA's replacement policy and the system I still have went bad after 3.5 years use. I sent the amp to Henry in Minnesota who I found at ebay. Don't know if he still does repairs but you can try to contact him through his page at ebay, or buy the upgrade kit he has for sale.

I sent my amp to him in October 2009 and he installed all the components you see on that ebay page. The system still sounds great. It took only a couple of days to get this done and I had my PC sound system back.

 

[matts6887]

Well; Ive already taken the guts out of it and took it to a guy who strictly does home audio repairs here locally. I had some work done before from him i believe. But it is not my actual speakers(sattelites) that are the problem here. It is the actual sub itself thats the issue as it keeps cutting in and out and the guy I took it to didnt say for sure what it is but it might be the protection circuit.

 

[Wordsworth]

This may be a different problem than what most of us have had but it has never been the satellites that were actually the problem since they are passive and powered by the amp in the subwoofer enclosure.

There are still people at the Klipsch forum writing about this problem with the sound from the satellites cutting in and out and the sub having a muffled sound as well. You might take a look at the forums there and also if you have not take a look at the text on the ebay page in my last post. Henry knows his stuff on these Klipsch systems and what he's written there may help the person you have working on your system.

 

[matts6887]

This may be a different problem than what most of us have had but it has never been the satellites that were actually the problem since they are passive and powered by the amp in the subwoofer enclosure.

There are still people at the Klipsch forum writing about this problem with the sound from the satellites cutting in and out and the sub having a muffled sound as well. You might take a look at the forums there and also if you have not take a look at the text on the ebay page in my last post. Henry knows his stuff on these Klipsch systems and what he's written there may help the person you have working on your system.

Well to be honest; Ive never; not once; had a problem with the satelites cutting in and out. Those have worked perfectly for me since the day i got the system like almost 10 years ago. But as i said; the subwoofer itself is a different story as that keeps cutting in and out and making crackling like sounds, etc. and as i said previously; the guy i took it to thought it might be the protection circuit; but he has to do some more testing on it before he can fix it. Hopefully it wont cost an arm and a leg to fix though as i love this system when it works. Love the bass from the sub and love the sound quality from the satelites. Wish they hadnt stopped making these systems. I found a completely brand new still in the box promedia system on ebay; but the seller wants like 600.00 for it!!! I was like ouch!!!. Now if i could find a working replacement sub for a decent price; I would consider picking it up. But so far no such luck there. Also; just curious. What city in Michigan are you in? I only ask as i use to live there. was born and raised there.

 

[Wordsworth]

This sounds then like a different problem from the norm. If your repair guy is stumped at all you might want to direct him to the above ebay page though.

I like the system as well and wish I'd been one of the lucky ones that did not have a problem for ten years like yourself. But I don't consider it a waste to have spent another $100 to repair it and what Henry did seems to have stuck; better components for one, and the cooling system. Through the years I've gotten more than $500 worth of listening enjoyment from it between music and movies.

I don't think you'll need a replacement sub as if your repair guy can't fix it Henry can, or he may have a replacement sub he could sell. He's worked on a lot of these Klispch systems, 5.1, 4.1, and 2.1.

I live in the Howell/Brighton area of Michigan.

 

[matts6887]

Cool. Our family used to live in Farmington Hills. As far as shipping it to the guy that you had yours done by; I think that may be a problem because it would cost a arm and a leg to ship even just the guts that i took out to take to this guy locally; and right now; i dont have a big cash flow to work with unfortunately. But; I am considering trying to have your ebay guy hold one of those fans for me so i can hopefully put it in myself once my amp/guts are fixed properly as i know overheating has been one of the known issues for this system as the air flow into this system was poorly designed. Klipsch should have put either a fan in it directly from the factory; or designed a after market fan etc for people to buy and put in themselves IMO.

 

[Wordsworth]

I don't recall what shipping was but I know it was not cheap as you say; principally because I built a wooden box to ship it and protect the amp from the rough stuff all things go through during shipping.

On the system itself, not only cooling but some of the original components were not very good where heat tolerance was concerned, and Henry replaces those whether they are bad or not.

We were originally from Farmington, 9 mile and Inkster to be exact.

 

[matts6887]

I don't recall what shipping was but I know it was not cheap as you say; principally because I built a wooden box to ship it and protect the amp from the rough stuff all things go through during shipping.

On the system itself, not only cooling but some of the original components were not very good where heat tolerance was concerned, and Henry replaces those whether they are bad or not.

We were originally from Farmington, 9 mile and Inkster to be exact.

We were originally from Farmington Hills; 13 and Inkster. As for the system; I think Im gonna wait to see what happens with the guy I have locally. Hopefully he can fix it as inexpensively as possible as like i said i dont have a huge cash flow to work with at the moment so that kinda ties my hands on that so to speak. Once thats done I think i probably will invest in this kit and replace any and all components that have been know to overheat and cause issues, etc.

 

[Wordsworth]

Small world ain't it? Sounds like a plan on getting it fixed and then upgrading some components later. Hope the repair goes well for you.

 

[matts6887]

Small world ain't it? Sounds like a plan on getting it fixed and then upgrading some components later. Hope the repair goes well for you.

Sure is a small world! lol. I too hope things go according to plan. I want to get that cooling fan upgrade kit but the problem is he wants 50 bucks for it!. But; from what ive been reading it sounds like it would be worth it to keep "issues" from coming up hopefully.

 

[matts6887]

hey there wordsworth; if you see this(I hope you do); my local guy tried to fix it by re-soldering all the major connections. So, yesterday when i went and picked up the amp; he showed me that it worked. But; alas; go figure that when i got home and reconnected all the speakers, and the audio connections to my sound card; it suddenly became intermittent; like it would work for a short time then make a crackling like sound and then cut out. So, today, I took it back to him and he told me the only other thing it could be is the "driver" board in which he called his supplier and he only has 1 left; so i told him to snap it up before someone else does because after they are gone thats it he wont be able to get anymore because the system has been discontinued for such a long time now(and yes it sucks; wish they had not stopped making the 5.1 promedia system). But can you say ouch!; the guy wants 50 bucks for the dang board! and when he told me that i was like geez!; but seeing as how its like the only one left possibly in the country; I have no choice if i want to keep the system alive for a number more years. On another note though; i have been conversing with your contact Henry via ebay messages and he is such a wonderful person to talk to about this system. I think what i am going to do is get that simple to install fan kit that any ordinary consumer should be able to install as i really dont think its necessary at this point to get the 50 dollar kit with all those parts as it seems like everything else so far is in working order.

 

[Wordsworth]

I hope what you will have eventually paid will be a little less than if you'd shipped the amp to Henry for repair. I found him to be knowledgable and very professional. He's honest and does good work. There was another person that Klipsch forum members sent there amps to for repair and the problems and complaints on that person became legion.

I hope this repair works out for you; I'd get the cooling system for sure as I think you will still have some components that tend to fail unless better cooling is present.

 

[Layback Bear]

I do not own a Klipsch 5.1 but I do have two Klipsch 2.1 THX.
I had cracking now and again and found it to be the way the satellite speakers hooked to the base. The base has spring loaded jaws that hold the wires.
All I did to solve the problem was put a wad of solder on the end of the wires to give the spring loaded jaws something to grab onto.

I don't know if the 5.1 uses the same method of hooking up speakers.

 

[matts6887]

I do not own a Klipsch 5.1 but I do have two Klipsch 2.1 THX.
I had cracking now and again and found it to be the way the satellite speakers hooked to the base. The base has spring loaded jaws that hold the wires.
All I did to solve the problem was put a wad of solder on the end of the wires to give the spring loaded jaws something to grab onto.

I don't know if the 5.1 uses the same method of hooking up speakers.

Layback; oddly enough; Ive never had one ounce of trouble from my klipsch sattelites(speakers) for this 5.1 system; its just been strictly the amp thats been the issue as like i mentioned before; it would cut in and out and in and out etc. and thats what happened when i took it to my local repair guy yesterday for him to test. It started out working; but then about 10-15 sec later...out it went crackling and all. Weird thing is he sprayed some cold air duster on the "driver board"(I think thats what its called) and it came back for a short time but then went out again so yea it looks like i need to snap up that one remaining driver board thats left in order to keep this system alive.I love thie bass this system puts out when the amp is working correctly(albeit I know i disturbed my neighbor at least once with it lol) and the sound quality is one of the best out of any computer speakers Ive ever had; which is why it sucks they stopped making the 5.1 system. I do think they still might make the 2.1 system that you have but not sure; as its possible they stopped making them all together.

 

[Layback Bear]

I bought the last one of my 2.1 about a month ago. I'm well please with both.

 

[Wordsworth]

Klispch still makes two versions of the 2.1. A wired version, and a wireless as in no wires between the amp and computer sound card.

 

[mcdonamw]

OP, did you ever find an actual cause and solution to your problem? My 5.1 ultra system has started doing exactly what you describe. My sub is going in and out, often crackling before hand. Some days it's completely fine, other days it's horrible! I love this system and do not want to replace it with a receiver/5.1 system usually found in a living room. I hate that they don't really make powerful 5.1 systems for PC anymore. I need to fix this!