Newby Needs Help.....Duh

dodger

Greetings and salutations! Is this where the flaming begins? I've got my flameproof suit on and will now ask for your help.
I've never owned a high end stereo due to financial constraints.(crappy job). But being a working bass player I have the need to pick out bass lines to songs and want as much clarity as possible. So I found these speakers in a local thrift shop R12B and a L12B and bought them for a grand total of 30 dollars. I hooked up to my old Pioneer rated at 90 watts and proceeded to play the cd Standing In the Shadows of Motown. Ugh. The top end seems to be ok but no bass. The bass speakers are vibrating but have no sound coming out. Am I underpowered or is there damage? Any assistance or comments welcome.

TroyD

I'm going to guess that you have either a pair of Monitor 12's or RTA12B's. I'm guessing RTA as I don't think the monitors were designated Left and Right. I could be wrong.

So you've got sound from the tweeters only in both speakers?? If so, could be a number of things. I would get on the horn and talk to Ken Swauger at Polk Customer service. I would recommend him walking you through it to determine what the problem is and how to fix it.

If you've only got sound coming from the tweeters and it's an RTA12 with the tweeter and crossover mounted on top, I'd take a shot and say the crossover might not be connected properly.

No flame job amigo and for what it's worth, what you will spend in parts to get these repaired, you are still WAY ahead of the game.

BDT

TroyD

Welcome to the forum, BTW!

BDT

dodger

Thanks. First I am not tech savvy at all but will communicate as best as I can. Yes, the tweeter is on top with some kind of filter, hey looky here, it says RTA12B. The tweeter is working and the two mid-range speakers are working. What about these fuses mounted on top, what do they control?

dodger

I all most forgot, is my old 90 watt Pioneer enough power to push these speakers?

danger boy

it's tough to say for certain. but I would assume your 90w per channel receiver.. should be able to power those speakers without any problem.

Sounds like you may have a blow woofer in your speakers.. is there no sound from either one of them? That would be a little odd that there is no sound from either.. but it's always possible. Do check the fuses too.


good luck. Sounds like you got a good price for em.. now to just get them working again.. and you'll be hearing some sweet sounds i would think.

Ken at Polk can help you figure out the problem. Can't wait till you get them babies up and running .. woo hoo!

TroyD

Ok, now we are getting somewhere....

First of all, nice speakers, I have the RTA12C's......

So you are getting sound out of the tweeter and the two 6.5" drivers.

OK, the bigger driver is a passive radiator. Here is a little cut and paste definition of a PR:

'A passive radiator is essentially an unpowered driver installed with a powered driver in a sealed enclosure. The passive radiator takes the place of a port. Instead of sound waves from the backward motion of the powered driver exiting a port to increase efficiency, they hit and move the passive radiator. It in turn vibrates and creates its own sound waves from the front of its diaphragm. This is essentially similar to the domino effect where the sound waves push the passive radiator enabling it to move similar to how dominos push one another and move one another. A passive radiator maintains the sealed enclosure and its advantages while also allowing a speaker to take advantage of the backward pressure of the powered driver to increase output and efficiency. However, the passive radiator is a compromise offering neither the ultimate efficiency of a ported design nor the total precision and depth of a sealed design. '


So, to me, it sounds like everything is working as advertised. The RTA's, IMO, have decent bass response not quite as deep as you might think.

As far as power goes, as a wise gentleman once told me: you can NEVER have enough power. Having said that, your receiver will drive those RTA's ok. If you are using these for regular stereo, I would look at getting a decent integrated amp or separates though.

Fuses on top are to protect the tweeters from going up in smoke.


BDT

rs159

Are they in phase? Let's not rule out the simple stuff, as that could be a common newbie mistake.

Take one of the sets of wires on either a speaker or a set of amp terminals and reverse them. Make sure the red terminals go the red terminals and the blacks go to the blacks.

If the speakers are moving air but there is no sound, that's all I can think of. Is there midrange, too? Or is it just extreme highs you hear?

dodger

Ok,I took them back upstairs and hooked up again. Bad on back. Have Neodyminum speakers entered the stereo market yet?
You nailed it, passive radiators. I've got ported Pioneers and am accustomed to more low end. They do sound good and with more power,no doubt better. I guess I'm just a big bottomed kinda guy, speakers,women and my bass playing. What do you think about replacing the radiators with woofers? Good idea or bad idea? Any other suggestions to adding bass to this rig. From the response I've recieved they were a good buy so I'll keep them.
Thanks to everyone for the help I recieved. The rain kept me from returning them Sat. morning, thats when I decided to do a search and found this forum. This is a great place!

Tour2ma

doger,
Welcome...

As far as replacing the passive radiator... in a word, no.

Assuming you like the sound of the Polks over your Pioneers other than the bass, I think you're in the market for a powered subwoofer. For around $200, you should be able to find a good, used Polk or other that will give you some, but not the ultimate bass jolly's.

May be one or two over in the Flea Market. goinggonzo had a Velodyne CHT listed. And there were two Polk's or so as well from a couple members that were upgrading.

If you're a DIY kinda guy, some folks will be happy to put you onto some you can make...

Good luck...