Klipsch Palladium P39F and Probably the Entire line Major issue!


I have a pair of P39F's and have had an issue for a while with one of the 9" woofers.  The rubber surround that is connected to the aluminum cap on the cone was separating.  Today I thought I would see if I could get the decorative cover off that hides the screws, it is over $100, so I didn't want to have to buy it to when I replaced the torn woofer.  I managed to remove the cover and then I looked up at the rest of my woofers in the cabinet and to my surprise  the other two woofers have the surround separating too. 

I then took the cover off my other P39  and it's surrounds are starting to separate to. 


Something really stinks, six woofers separating, Klipsch is this why you discontinued the Palladium's?  Maybe anyone out there that has Palladium's should take a look at the rubber surrounds.  Klipsch use the same technique on the entire line for the surrounds, not just the P39's but all of them.


Anybody know of a hidden recall or something?  this isn't right, Klipsch this shouldn't be happening on a pair of $20,000 speakers!!!

78c3sam
So uhh....  did you contact Klipsch, or the dealer you purchased them from?

Very few people own these speakers.
Same happened to me on a pair of Vandersteen 2CE speakers.  Sent the woofers back for repair. Richard Vandersteen told me the speakers were too close to the baseboard heat in my home. Lesson learned. 
Klipsch is known for standing behind their products. Give them a call before blowing a gasket.

I contacted them, they said maybe if my warranty was still valid, but they are out of warranty by a few years.  I asked if they re-cone, didn't get an answer, asked if there was a core charge since the p39 is the only one with the 9" woofer and at some point they will not have any left if someone else needs replacements, waiting  to see what they come back with.

I asked how much for all 6 woofers, maybe I can get a discount since I am replacing all of them, waiting on that ....

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no need for me to cool off, just pointing out that if this is a problem with Palladium's, everyone out there that purchased any Palladium will be seeing this issue sooner or later.


Also, it is not just that the rubber surround has simply separated, it is if there were some kind of chemical reaction that caused the surround to deteriate where it touches the aluminum cone cap..

Because of this, it is not a simple glue job but a replace or

I bet if you send her a ticket, Elizabeth will come and fix them for you. She's nothing if not a mensch.
No I do not over drive them.  200 watts is what my amp puts out and I rarely push it to half volume, my wife freeks out if I do.  They sound amazing and even with the detached surrounds they still sound great, but I know I need to fix them.
" And even with the detached surrounds they still sound great ". Really ? Enjoy ! MrD.
yes they do still sound good, the structure of the 9" woofer frame is unlike any I have seen.  the cone doesn't sag like a regular speaker when the surround has detached.  The raddle
I ordered all 6 9" drivers from Klipsch yesterday.  Not sure when I will get them but the order is in, they were extremely good about the matter and gave me them at a price I simply could not refuse.  Thank you Klipsch from a extremely satisfied Customer that com....
@78c3sam ,

Glad to hear Klipsch still has spare parts for the Palladiums and are also treating you well.  What I suggest is to send those drivers in to Klipsch so they "might" analyze the cause and be able to "answer with certainty" in case another owner has such issues.

Bill
Ii realize this is an older post  but today i discovered the cause of my p37f's distorting and it's detached surrounds on five of the six woofers. I find it strange that there have been no posts on this issue since September. It clearly IS an issue that affected entire line. I guess really not a lot of people own these. In any case i removed the woofers and took them in to a local speaker repair shop, which is sort of the same thing klipsch said to do when i contacted them as to whether or not they would fix them. They themselves do not (!?). They outsource repairs to a shop in Florida. In any case they definitely did not offer to cover the repairs in what is clearly a manufacturing defect. Oh well, i really like the speakers, just wish company as big as klipsch stood little more behind their top of a line product. Discontinued or not. 
At least they are truthful in saying “precisely matched right and left pair”...
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I noticed the same on my P37F last week
bought them new in 2012, and already the rubber is broken on all 6 woofers. And Klipsch support suggest it is my fault:  "Hi,

Deterioration can depend on quite a few factors.

The environment they are in, the receiver they are used with, the content played through the speakers, the level they were played at and the frequency of use can all play factors in this."

I think this is the end of my Klipsch era aswell.
I bought my P37f in 2010 and after six years the surrounds broke.
They are not repairable because Klipsch does not supply the surrounds and the ridiculous thing and that if I wanted to buy the new woofers, Klipsch has no spare woofers !!!
Nico from Italy
They normally have good customer support, so this problem with Palladium speakers is not acceptable and they need to come up with a fix for it or risk their reputation; especially since this was probably their most expensive consumer product line.
Rule #1 is never buy anything with rubber or foam surrounds no matter how nice it is right then. Pretty disappointing to hear this but not surprising. On the other hand cloth accordian surrounds from Klipsch I have never seen fail under normal use and that includes woofers up to 40+ years old. I have seen some damaged but not from being played. I have also seen a few blown up but that was under severe abuse which would have fried anything pushed that far past design limits.
mahlman,
That is a very silly statement. So you would rule out the thousands of good, durable speakers that use rubber and easily replaceable foam surrounds? Come on...
It is obvious that nothing lasts forever but a deterioration of the surrounds after only six years is inadmissible!
I love my P37fs and thought I would keep them forever, good to sell these while they are working and in good shape

So sad, such good design and great sound on inferior quality parts
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I loved them too ...
My soul weeps when I see them in my warehouse collecting dust.