Troubleshooting - KRK Exposé E8B

In today's session, Ken 'hiwatt' Marshall walks us through a typical troubleshoot. A slow, methodical approach to isolating, and solving problems with electronic equipment!
ON THE BENCH...KRK Exposé E8B
featuring 'Ambilight' by Ken 'hiwatt' Marshall

[@TheAmazingSnarf]

i'm an expert in taking things apart. i'm also an expert in having a few screws or small parts being left over, after i've reassembled the thing. thanks for a great lesson in patience, Ken!

[@ZipSnipe]

I had a similar problem with my Wharfdale monitors except it made the woofer sound like it was blown, so after pricing up replacement woofers which was a good chunk of change, I decided to take it apart, checked everything, didn't see any visible signs of trouble, put it back together and had worked beautifully ever since. I figured maybe it was just a connection problem. Sometimes the corrosion gets on the connectors and when you unplug and replug together you actually clean off some corrosion allowing contact......good luck with yours Ken ps. we need another studio tour

[@manufacturedpurposebeta]

Good session. Between this and working on the Revox sessions I feel inspired with some confidence to try working on some of my own projects. Thanx for sharing.

[@lancepage1914]

This video is interesting to me, I had done something similar. I have a pair of KRK Rokit 6 I still use. I read many forums about this hygroscopic black gunk on the board and components. Sure enough this is what caused a whole bunch problems for my monitors. It became scratchy, low volume and the power switch wasn't working. I opened them up and removed all the gunk and rust with circuit board cleaner, WD40 and scalpel. It took very along time. To my surprise there was a lot. I cleaned it all up a final time and sealed it with a circuit board lacquer. The monitors both work like new now. All KRKs made in that era have this black gunk. There were issues with the manufacturing processes to put it very lightly. KRK have since address these issues.

[@nikht0]

Electronics breaking down. UGH! The one thing that sometimes makes me think that I should have stuck with the Luddite simplicity of drawing and painting as my art outlet. :P I've done some really basic repairs, but only on components that I could afford to lose or replace if I fucked them up. You're brave for taking your cherished monitors apart.

[@xetuseer]

I had a set of krks succumb to the black gunk of death.

[@ericjohnson1811]

I always like to take really detailed pictures of stuff before and while I take stuff apart. : )

[@maxkatz6366]

good luck, Sir!

[@SynaMax]

Good luck with the troubleshooting, hiwatt! Also, I love the music at the end! Just thinking out loud here, but it would be awesome to have a session where you go through the process of producing an ambient track.

[@ClifBratcher]

Had an extremely similar situation with my Adam's that turned bad. Nailed the issue down to one channel on the class D chip they used being dead. The chip manufacturer put a >20V hot pin directly next to an input pin that's rated at 7V max and something shorted it. I thought maybe something fell in there until I opened up my second monitor and managed to catch it shorting the same way. The black glue they slathered on their boards was sweating. Throughout my debugging, Adam refused to give any information on the amps in their powered speakers. I asked for a replacement board and they asked for warranty info. As they're out of warranty, they deferred me to shipping the entire speakers cross-country for repair.. Cost of shipping, parts, and labor is more than a new one. I'm still on the hunt for replacement amp boards.

[@neveser]

Good luck with the repair Ken. I've got my old Ensoniq EPS-16+ that I need to look at. It won't stay up too long before erroring out and becoming nonfunctional. I really want to bring it back to life to use the sample looping. There's nothing like it out there. I made some of the coolest loop/soundscapes on that thing back in the day.

[@rjwinn1088]

I would look at recapping the power supply and any buck boost circuits as well. I'd also reflow or resolder the regulators(3 leg components on heat sinks). As they have heated cooled over the years, those joints probably weakened.

[@yluko]

Love the background music! Good luck on the issue!

[@justinhumphries]

Hi Ken, Thanks for your wonderful video. I have the same EB8 speakers and experience exactly the same problem. I'm just wondering if you ever resolved your issue? Also, I managed to source the schematics for these speakers from KRK a few years ago.

[@guy7828]

Hello, would you kindly send me the schematics of the EB8 ? or a link where I can download them ? Thanks !

[@brandondorsey]

Hey Justin, I'm also having this issue! Did Ken ever get in touch with you, or did you ever find a solution?

[@justinhumphries]

Hi there, no I never found a solution but I'm fairly certain that is has to do with the power supply. Happy to speak further about it if you like.

[@musicwired1]

just started this video... in my building of amps and pedals gear etc .alot of times its a contact point somewhere ,different heat and or beats can lower volume etc by way of less contact with vibration movement .but that's one of a millions possibilities ..

[@JacobSkriver]

I am impressed by your patience. As much as I enjoy trouble shooting, my impatience often gets in my way ending up with destroyed electronics and the purchase of new gear. How long can you live without a set of functional monitors?

[@FortyNightsMusic]

Looks like over your shoulder you also have a pair of the newer model "fat boy" Expose E8b. What's your opinion of those?? Would love to hear what you think. Are you able to beat those up like your older E8B? Are they durable and rugged like KRK's are known to be? And lastly, do you know why they were discontinued? Thanks in advance for your reply.

[@stevemushrush5771]

Hi Ken. Greetings from Germany. One the lights on mine just went out. I‘ve got it half open but don’t know if I can even get to it from front. Can you give a tip? I‘m thinking I can in from the heat sink but can’t figure out that either... thanx in advance

[@guy7828]

Hello, I have pair of KRK EXPOSE 8 to service. I cannot remove the two sides amplifiers modules. Is there a special " trick " ? Also how did you remove the speakers ? Even if I have a few decades of Audiopro technical service experience I am lost with that Monitor ! Thanks for your help. Best regards. Guy

[@guy7828]

I have just realized yours is a the E8B model. Big difference with the E8, where the speakers are direct mounted on the enclosure, not on a separate panel ! I cannot remove them....:-((