# Question for other Klipsch RB35 owners



## SVSandKlipschFan (Jan 8, 2011)

Hi, newbie here but googling found at least one other RB-35 owner here... (selling a pair - I'm interested but can't reply yet as a newbie)

Recently (last month) I bought a pair of Klipsch RB-35s (cherry vinyl) on audiogon - decent price, great condition (seller said bought them new years ago, used for a few months, boxed back up for years) - but noticed the labels on the rear were not normal (silver foil, not the usual design, no signature, etc - plus it listed "75W max" when the RB35s are rated for 125W (cont.)
- the boxes they shipped in looked legit but did not have any SN/PN label on the box (as did my RB81s)

And not only that, - the backs are missing the threaded insert (in the keyhole mount).

I took the front off and neither of the drivers has any label (the woofer had what appeared to be a spot where a label was, but gone) - although the woofer bracket had "klipsch" molded into it.

lifted the foam batting (skimpy compared to the RB-81s I have, which has all walls covered) and the crossover board had the klipsch name/logo on one of the large caps. (didn't notice that when I had my RB-81s apart but I didn't look for it either - but seemed odd for a capacitor but my Electr. exp is not from comml audio products...)

They seem OK (unlike one of the RB-81s I had which had a tweeter 3db down, although the rb35's neo magnet tweeter is tiny compared to the 81s, but that's another story...)

I wrote the seller about this (with images/pix's) to ask about this (and where it bought them years ago) - not expecting much but wanted to let him know (he had all positive feedback)... 
they sound great to my ears (used as side surrounds - RB-81 fronts, RC64 center, dual subs in small, sealed room) and I likely may never sell them but the label, etc ruins any resale value (unlike the seller, knowing this I could not fail to mention it..)

anyway - until I can contact Klipsch support (monday I guess) just wondering if anyone else has seen anything like this (a RB35 early or late or b-stock or fake?) that did not have the rear threaded insert, odd "silver foil" label, etc.


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
That is interesting. I must say usually Audiogon is safer when it comes to Seller Integrity, but I suppose anything is possible.

Please let us know what you hear from Klipsch. Hopefully, it is just a B-Stock or different version of these speakers.
Cheers,
JJ


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## SVSandKlipschFan (Jan 8, 2011)

Thanks, 
I'm not sure he even knew about all the things I listed above until I mentioned it. He shipped fast (same day as payment) - double boxed (but the styrofoam padding was just bits and pieces in the klipsch boxes - maybe the original SF was tossed and spare pieces were used.) (EDIT - he also later paid for a pair of K-137 tweeters from Klipsch. I appreciated that.)

But I regret not insisting on pix first. (the ad had only the klipsch brochure/info) 
I asked for pix but he said they were still packed up and like new (listed as MIB - mint in box) - Ad listing said only used for a few months after buying them years ago.

And another thing I noticed right away was 3 razor cuts (boxcutter maybe?) in the top of one of them. Can't really see them easily, even up close though. That doesn't bother me.

Also found out the tweeter in these is not the proper finned/heatsinked K-137 klipsch lists in the RB-35 specs. The K-137 tweeter has a radial finned heatsink on the neo magnet, the K-130 does not. (Apparently quite a few RB35s out there w/K-130 though, maybe a later spec/tweeter change.)
These have the flat backed (and incredibly small/tiny compared to other models) tweeter (K-130 I assume - but no marking on these - appears the stamping was polished off after seeing a pix of a 'marked' K-130)
I wonder if that's why these odd silver labels note "75W" vs the normal 125W (cont.) normal for RB-35s. Or else the 'unauthorized dealer' make a typo when he was creating the 'silver foil' labels. 
(And again, I'm not alone in having RB-35s with K-130 tweeters... I wonder when they made the change to the K-137)

Found some threads tonight about this, apparently some (many?) speakers that were listed as having K-137 tweeters (including RB-35s) originally shipped with the small/flat tweeter (no HS on the Neo magnet) - which some said was the K-130 tweeter (per klipsch support). some owners had the tweeter fail (burn out?) and one said talking with Klipsch support got the story on the wrong tweeter (K130) - he said they shipped him 3 free (to swap out the tweets in his L/R and Center) - per an AVS post/report. 
Another post mentioned paying $28 each. (klipsch forum posts from june 2010 IIRC).
here's a klipsch forum thread that has pix of both the flat/K130 and the finned K137 tweeters.

http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/136826.aspx

And as I mentioned above - these RB-35s don't even have a p/n on the (flat) tweeter - nor the woofer. 
Since I doubt these were a-stock, and from the back labels (not standard), likely not from an auth dealer, etc even if they were still in the 5 year warranty period my chance of getting correct tweeter replacements for free is nil. (Although I've had great experiences with klipsch/mirage support in the past - they even replaced a dented tweeter on a OMD-C1 I bought 'scratch and dent' at a local (auth.) dealer for $99.

another late night/dead tired and rambling on.
Could be worse - at least they seem to sound ok (used as side surrounds) - did a pink noise/AVR level test and they matched/ok - but didn't do a freq sweep yet. (I did later - at low volume, seems ok.)

EDIT1 - after digging some more - it may be that klipsch changed the tweeter on later RB-35s (before they were discontinued), as I found an amazon listing for RB-35s that listed a K-130-DN tweeter. I'm guessing their info (amazon) may have been from the earlier specs for it. (Just a guess but that may be why some RB-35s have the 130 inside - later changed to 137 with the heatsink. Maybe for higher reliability.)

EDIT 2 - The seller is having 2 new K-137 tweeters sent! (he bought them - apparently wasn't as lucky with Klipsch CS as one owner was - but a klipsch contact told me my S/Ns were likely bogus (since original label removed) and also said anyone with original labels with any S/N 'stickers' applied over the original label/SN area were also not from authorized dealers and likely not the actual S/Ns.) 
She didn't comment on the lack of threaded insert in the back of these though (asked her again about that)

Anyway, I'm ok with the deal now all things considered. (Of course if I'd known all this beforehand I'd have passed on these, even at a good price. It seems like the seller didn't know any of this beforehand. Buying/sending the repl K-137s was appreciated.) 
They sound very good (to my ears) as surrounds in my small/sealed room, even with the K-130 tweeters. Not sure if I'll swap in the K-137s right away or wait until/if the 130's ever fail.

EDIT3 - Got a reply from a Klipsch contact about the missing threaded insert on these - she said the inserts were removed on later RB-35s as it was deemed they were too heavy (appx 24lbs each). So these must be later samples. (but still had the K-130 tweeter)


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