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Removing Amplifier Plate

ATTENTION: ALWAYS DISCONNECT FROM MAINS POWER AND LEAVE DISCONNECTED FOR AT LEAST 5-10 MINS BEFORE ATTEMPTING ANY DISASSEMBLY OR REPAIR WORK TO AVOID THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK!

Here you can find more detailed information on removing the amplifier plate for the KEF subwoofer models listed below:

It’s always a good idea to take a few photos in the process.

Reassembly is the reverse of disassembly.

KEF PSW1000/1000.2, PSW2000, PSW2010, PSW2500, PSW1150, PSW2150, Celestion S8, S10, S20

1. Unscrew the 8 screws marked on the photo below.

2. Disconnect the two speaker cables from the board inside. Speaker is connected via two spade connectors, the photo below shows the easiest position to turn the amplifier plate after you removed the screws. Start by lifting the bottom side as shown and drop the top left corner in, turning the plate to the left side. Be careful, leads inside are rather short. Best approach is to use small bent nose pliers as shown holding the end of the spade connector.

WARNING: DO NOT pull by the wires, however tempting that may seem!

KEF PSW3000, PSW3500

1. Unscrew the 8 screws marked on the photo below.

2. Carefully lift the amplifier plate – you can safely hold and pull by the 8 high level connectors. Depending on your amplifier revision, there will be 2 or 3 connections to disconnect inside.

  • Speaker connection – two spade connectors (see PSW2000 above for safest way to disconnect)
  • Front panel connector – flat ribbon cable
  • Optional 3rd connector (on older revisions) – 3-pin small RF module connector

KEF PSW4000, PSW5000

1. Undo the screws circled in RED, according to your model.

2. Carefully lift the amplifier plate – you can safely hold and pull by the 4 high level connectors. There will be 2 connections to disconnect inside:

  • Speaker cable – the disconnect is inline, not on the amplifier plate itself, so look about half way along the cable, connectors are usually hidden inside black heat-shrink tube.
  • Front panel connector – flat ribbon cable. Be careful, as this one is sometimes short and not as easy to access and disconnect. It has some glue applied to the connector which holds it in place, do not pull too hard by the ribbon cable as this can cause damage.

KEF Kube-1 MK1/MK2, Kube-2, Q400b, C4

Kube-1* – Refer to the photos below to identify which version of Kube-1 you have.

1. Undo the screws circled in RED, according to your model. Do NOT undo the screws marked in yellow (yet).

For Kube-1 MK1

For Kube-1 MK2, Kube-2, Q400b and C4

2. Carefully pull up (try not to pull by the knobs). The amplifier will come out with the back box it’s contained into. That’s the safest way to send, as it protects the internal electronics.

In some cases the speaker may be mounted as such, that access to it’s terminals is not directly possible as shown. That’s particularly true with Kube-1 subwoofers. If you can not safely access the speaker driver terminals to undo the spade connectors, remove the screws marked in yellow according to your model and separate the amplifier plate form the back box, disconnecting the speaker connector on the inside. Usually that connector would have some glue over it, to prevent it loosen up from vibrations, so carefully pry the glue off as needed and undo the connector.

KEF T2, HTB2, HTB2SE, HTB2SE-W

Amplifier modules are not easily removable, so you’d need to send the whole unit. These subs, especially HTB2, are not easy to package safely, so best option is if you have the original packaging, if not, make sure you protect driver sides with rigid material so packaging won’t cave in and damage them.

KEF Model 30B

1. Unscrew the 10 screws circled in RED on the photo below.

2. Carefully lift the amplifier plate, it will come up enclosed in a plastic back box as shown here:

3. Disconnect the two speaker spade connectors by pulling holding the metal part (not the wire!) and the 3-wire plastic connector* – try to pull the plastic at the very top, not the wires. Take note which wire goes where.

*When re-assembling, make sure you properly connect the plastic 3-wire front LED light connector – if not connected, stand-by feature will NOT work properly on this model!

KEF Model TDM45B

1. Remove the 12 screws marked on the photo below.

2. Carefully pull the amplifier plate and disconnect the speaker wires as marked on the photo and the front LED – pull up holding the plastic connector.

KEF R400b

1. Unscrew the 8 screws marked on the photo below.

2. Carefully lift the amplifier plate, set aside as shown below and disconnect the two speaker cables from the inline connectors as shown – squeeze the plastic tab marked with red arrow and carefully pull apart. It’s a good idea to mark which is which just in case, as both are the same:

3. When refitting, take care of the ferrite and connectors placement as shown below: