Kef R3 making clunking sound when carried - repair tutorial?

[tifune]

I recently sold my R3 "center", but as I was packing it I noticed it's making a clunking sound if I turn it to and fro. Thankfully, it seems to work fine, but I had to issue a refund and can't really sell it as-is. I've never opened a speaker before - I presume whatever's making that noise will require me to remove the drivers, not simply the back panel where the terminals are placed. Can anyone recommend some tips/tricks so that I don't damage anything along the way? For example, I doubt I can simply take a flathead screwdriver and pry the drivers out without damaging the gloss finish.

Any suggestions as to what may be causing that sound are certainly welcome. Strange to me something is obviously loose, but it doesn't seem to affect operability whatsoever.

 

[TheBatsEar]

I recently sold my R3 "center", but as I was packing it I noticed it's making a clunking sound if I turn it to and fro. Thankfully, it seems to work fine, but I had to issue a refund and can't really sell it as-is. I've never opened a speaker before - I presume whatever's making that noise will require me to remove the drivers, not simply the back panel where the terminals are placed. Can anyone recommend some tips/tricks so that I don't damage anything along the way? For example, I doubt I can simply take a flathead screwdriver and pry the drivers out without damaging the gloss finish.

Any suggestions as to what may be causing that sound are certainly welcome. Strange to me something is obviously loose, but it doesn't seem to affect operability whatsoever.

Ask KEF for the nearest repair partner. For example, changing the woofer and checking the speaker costs only 40€ in Germany.

You probably have something floating inside that needs removing. Could be a dead beetle

 

[Katji]

Or a loose crossover mounting or something. Just take off the back panel and look. It's not a speaker driver problem or something that requires a speaker repair person.

 

[TheBatsEar]

How do you open the KEF R3?

 

[Katji]

This suggests that there are screws on the back:

I've never opened a speaker before - I presume whatever's making that noise will require me to remove the drivers, not simply the back panel where the terminals are placed.

 

[DMill]

I don't own them but from the pictures it looks like there are 4 screws on the binding post plate on the back. Should be pretty easy to get that off and hopefully whatever is loose in there will fall out. Curious what it could be. If the speaker is working fine it might be something as simple as the nut that secures your binding post on the inside. I probably would not advise prying off the decorative rings on the front to get at the drivers unless you really know what you're doing.

 

[bo_knows]

My suggestions would be as above, open the back panel with the binding post first, slide it to the side and take a look inside, and see if a loose part will come out or just freely hang inside the enclosure. If this doesn't solve the issue, use the plastic prying tool and carefully remove the outer plastic ring of the woofer. Once you remove the ring you should be able to see the screws that hold the woofer. Remove the woofer and see what's going on inisde. If you care careful enough, no damaged will occur to the speaker.
You can do this.

Tool:

https://www.amazon.com/Panel-Removal-Dashboard-Dismantle-Installer/dp/B0983C7KX1/ref=asc_df_B0983C7KX1/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=532546161982&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10500551787293588188&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9026794&hvtargid=pla-1416001861605&psc=1

Check out the following video on how to remove the woofer:

Good luck!

 

[PatentLawyer]

What is the set of (fine) leads on the Uni-Q, that seem to be connected from one of the driver terminals to the black plastic/rubber plate on the magnet assembly? (not sure if it is connected to the mid or tweeter driver terminals)

 

[DVDdoug]

I don't know anything about that speaker but if the back doesn't come off there are plastic trim-removal tools (usually intended for cars).

I got a small kit like this with a replacement battery for a GPS device. One of the things in that kit was a guitar pick (which I didn't actually use).

Since you said "clunk" it's probably not a little screw or anything that's going to fall-out of a hole... It could be the crossover or a crossover component. Something "important" and attached to wires. Or, it could be a small piece of wood bracing.

 

[tomchr]

If you're not mechanically inclined or otherwise experienced with general repair of stuff, I suggest that you take the speaker to KEF for repair. You're likely to do more damage than what's already there.

That said, I bought a pair of KEF R3 from an online store a few years back that we supposed to have a few scratches but otherwise work fine. Yeah... About that. One of the speakers had a clunking sound when moved too. That speaker must have fallen off the top shelf or something because one of the inductors in the crossover had fallen off and was rolling around loose in the cabinet, partially unwound. There was also quite a bit of damage to the cabinet itself.

Anyway. I do recall that the speaker drivers were pretty easy to remove once you get that decorative ring off. I also seem to recall that the crossover is easily accessible through the woofer hole. Maybe there's a loose component that needs another wire tie to stop wobbling.

Tom

 

[tomchr]

What is the set of (fine) leads on the Uni-Q, that seem to be connected from one of the driver terminals to the black plastic/rubber plate on the magnet assembly? (not sure if it is connected to the mid or tweeter driver terminals)

The Uni-Q driver is a coaxial driver. The thin leads are likely for the tweeter portion of the driver. I bet they go through the magnet to a small voice coil in the centre of the driver.

Tom

 

[PatentLawyer]

The Uni-Q driver is a coaxial driver. The thin leads are likely for the tweeter portion of the driver. I bet they go through the magnet to a small voice coil in the centre of the driver.

Tom

I think you misunderstood my question. There are three lead sets going to the driver. Is the midrange dual voice coil? I'm asking about the third (and fine) lead set.

Look at the video at ~ 6:12 - 6:25.

 

[AwesomeSauce2015]

That set of wires comes from the terminals and goes to the center of the driver. Those wires do not go anywhere outside of that driver's area. They are probably for the tweeter, and pass through the center of the driver. They attach to the posts where the blue wire set was attached. The blue wires then go to the crossover, wherever that happens to be. The video doesn't seem to show it.
I don't think KEF would use dual voice coils on an already compact midrange driver. Firstly because they probably don't have the space, and secondly because it would add cost without any real performance gain (most likely). They already do custom driver development, so they don't really need to have dual coils, just 1 big one.

 

[PatentLawyer]

That set of wires comes from the terminals and goes to the center of the driver. Those wires do not go anywhere outside of that driver's area. They are probably for the tweeter, and pass through the center of the driver. They attach to the posts where the blue wire set was attached. The blue wires then go to the crossover, wherever that happens to be. The video doesn't seem to show it.
I don't think KEF would use dual voice coils on an already compact midrange driver. Firstly because they probably don't have the space, and secondly because it would add cost without any real performance gain (most likely). They already do custom driver development, so they don't really need to have dual coils, just 1 big one.

You might be right, and no offense intended, but still not convinced of why there are three sets of terminals. Even under your explanation, one is superfluous. Perhaps that unanswered question will be my cross to bear.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Personally, I would not disassemble it. Get Kef to give you a repair partner. If you do something back there, you could do a lot more harm than good, and cost yourself more in the end. Just bite the bullet and get it looked at. You'll feel better about sending a professionally maintained speaker to your customer.

 

[Beave]

I recently sold my R3 "center", but as I was packing it I noticed it's making a clunking sound if I turn it to and fro. Thankfully, it seems to work fine, but I had to issue a refund and can't really sell it as-is. I've never opened a speaker before - I presume whatever's making that noise will require me to remove the drivers, not simply the back panel where the terminals are placed. Can anyone recommend some tips/tricks so that I don't damage anything along the way? For example, I doubt I can simply take a flathead screwdriver and pry the drivers out without damaging the gloss finish.

Any suggestions as to what may be causing that sound are certainly welcome. Strange to me something is obviously loose, but it doesn't seem to affect operability whatsoever.

Did you buy it new?

Do you have kids?

Are any of your kids missing a matchbox car or similar small toy?

Those port holes are a vacuum for small toys.

 

[AwesomeSauce2015]

Did you buy it new?

Do you have kids?

Are any of your kids missing a matchbox car or similar small toy?

Those port holes are a vacuum for small toys.

Unfortunately that could actually be the case...
(Source: I was once that kid...)

 

[DMill]

Unfortunately that could actually be the case...
(Source: I was once that kid...)

I hadn’t thought of this. I’m sure if you find a Lego brick in your speaker KEF is off the hook.

 

[tifune]

Thanks for suggestions all; finally got around to checking and it appears theres a board (crossover?) for which the plastic fasteners snapped somehow. I've never dropped the speaker, and the cabinet has no visible damage, so maybe took a hard hit during shipping but the packing material protected the exterior?

As a few have suggested, I'm not going to attempt that repair with my XXL hands. Unfortunately because shipping is what likely caused the problem, shipping is what's likely to exacerbate it so I guess I'll be selling local but thems the breaks

 

[bo_knows]

Thanks for suggestions all; finally got around to checking and it appears theres a board (crossover?) for which the plastic fasteners snapped somehow. I've never dropped the speaker, and the cabinet has no visible damage, so maybe took a hard hit during shipping but the packing material protected the exterior?

As a few have suggested, I'm not going to attempt that repair with my XXL hands. Unfortunately because shipping is what likely caused the problem, shipping is what's likely to exacerbate it so I guess I'll be selling local but thems the breaks

Hello Tifune,

Cool, so you did figure out what the rattle sound was all about. Congratulations!

I would think this is an easy fix. What I would do in your place, is to remove the crossover board and snip and remove those plastic fasteners.

Purchase two self-mating-black-dual-lock-adhesive-fasteners and place one side on the enclosure and one on the crossover board. Press firmly and Voilà, you are done.

I've done this in the past and it works great.

Scotch Reclosable Fastener, Acrylic Adhesive, 150 ft, 1 in Wd, Black SJ3550 | Zoro

Order Scotch Reclosable Fastener, Acrylic Adhesive, 150 ft, 1 in Wd, Black, SJ3550 at Zoro.com. Great prices & free shipping on orders over $50 when you sign in or sign up for an account.

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Good luck!