[ctviggen]

I have had my Salk HT3s in the basement for the last 5 years or so.  My other speakers (Linn 5140s) broke, so I moved the Salks into their place.  This is the tweeter on one of the speakers:



Compare with the other HT3 (and the HT3 center looks like this too):


Is my tweeter bad?   

I am still configuring the system, so I cannot play the speakers until sometime this weekend.  And even when I play them, I'm not sure how to test to see if the tweeter is bad.

Thank you. 

(Hmmm...I have no idea why they are rotated, but you can still see the important part of the images.)

[TJHUB]

The tweeter element has stretched, so yes they are bad.  Good news is that’s it’s a cheap and easy DIY fix.  Contact Jim Salk for guidence.  This same thing happened to both my HT3’s.  I purchased new elements for about $6 each, but to practice replacing them, I simply stretched the old ones a bit.  It worked perfectly, but I put new ones in anyways. 

I have pics somewhere...

[ctviggen]

Thanks. If you can find the pictures, I'm sure they would be helpful. I assume I can play the speakers before fixing them?  (I still have some configuring of the system, then I have to route power over to a new box I put in, so it'll be this Saturday probably before they can be played.)

[TJHUB]

I just found the pics and will upload them very soon.  I think you can play them without any further risk of damage. 

[TJHUB]

Ok, the pics are in my gallery under "Salk HT3 Tweeter Repair."  The 3rd pic shows my original stretched element pulled tighter and reused.  Later, I installed new ones.  I do not think the stretched element sounded any different from the new ones.  You need to handle the elements with extreme care.  They are micro-thin and tear very easily.  I never tore any, but the ends are taped in place, and removing the tape is the most critical part. 

You can buy new elements from Parts Express.  Just search "Aurum Cantus G2 ribbon replacement" and you will find them.  Jim suggested I order extras, so I ordered 4 of them. 

Let me know if you have any questions.  I will try to help as best I can.

[TJHUB]

Also, the tweeter faceplate will likely be stuck to the speaker baffle.  An easy way to break the free without having to pry against Jim’s beautiful finish is to take one of the wood screws and hook it in the tweeter screw hole at an angle and pull gently.  Worked for me.  Also be aware that metal screws and screwdrivers are not easy to work with around very strong magnets!

[ctviggen]

Thank you for all that information. I found the replacement ribbons, which are so cheap the shipping will likely be more than the cost of a ribbon.  Since that's the case, it does make sense to order more.  The tweeter itself is $115.15 as of this posting.

I will probably order these this weekend.  I still need to finish installing the system.  Our speakers are in one corner of the room along with the TV, and the equipment is in the other corner. The Linn speakers I had were much thinner (and lighter) than the Salks, and the HT3 center channel is so massive that I can't find a good stand for corner placement.  So, we're temporarily using a coffee table to test.  I had the Salks and extra amps in storage and was running everything from a receiver.  I kept planning on putting this in the basement, for the home theater that's not getting built.  Once my Linns started acting up, I decided to break out the big-boy Salks and amps, but that meant I had to run another cable for the center channel, and I found a 20 amp circuit with not much on it (one towel warmer), and decided to run a circuit for that to where the equipment is.  It was when I was situating the Salks I realized the tweeter did not look right.