RTA 12b Tweeter question
gjm76
Posts: 5
Hello,
New member with a question about a pair of Polk RTA 12b speakers. I picked up a pair on craigslist and one has a blown tweeter. It uses the SL-1000 tweeter. I was told by another member that Polk makes a better tweeter that is available and will swap right in without any mods done. Can someone direct me to where I find these? Also, any modifications done to the crossover under $100? These speakers are beautiful and sound amazing...Looking to restore them and push them with my Carver M1.5t Amplifier. Thanks!
Greg
New member with a question about a pair of Polk RTA 12b speakers. I picked up a pair on craigslist and one has a blown tweeter. It uses the SL-1000 tweeter. I was told by another member that Polk makes a better tweeter that is available and will swap right in without any mods done. Can someone direct me to where I find these? Also, any modifications done to the crossover under $100? These speakers are beautiful and sound amazing...Looking to restore them and push them with my Carver M1.5t Amplifier. Thanks!
Greg
Post edited by gjm76 on
Comments
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you can contact Polk's customer service and ask for the Polk replacement drivers, the RDO194. Mention you are a Polk Club member and you can get a discount. Unfortunately, the RTA-12s have one of the most complex crossovers of any Polk speaker. It would probably set you back a couple hundred to replace all the caps and resistors, depending on the quality of the components. I replaced all my drivers and caps with Sonicaps and it set me back several hundred dollars....
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Thanks Jon,
Any idea how much the tweeters are? I appreciate the info...Did the Sonicaps improve the sound quality much? I am AMAZED at the sound these speakers produce with only 3 drivers, esspecially since the woofers are only 6 inches!!
Greg -
If you have SL1000s putting in an RDO 194 will require making the opening slightly bigger as the face plate on the RDO is larger. The tweeters run $48ea to Club polk memebers + tax. While the RDO is very nice I strongly recommend putting in Peerlees tweeters in this application for the following reasons
1) You can find them for around $25 each
2) They came on the 12Bs from 1981 to late 1983. I assume your speakers are 1984 to 1985 with serials numbers in the 18,20,000 range??
3) They look exactly like the SL1000 except they are black and they fit right in the opening
This part is subjective I and other have compared the RDOs 194s and Peerless in RTA 12Bs countless times. Infact i just did it 3 days ago. The Peerlles is more open and more defined. The RDO (in this application) tends to be darker and i always feel like I am looking down at the floor as it seems as though the stage drops. They are very much like the Peerless in that they are pretty smooth and not bright but the peerless seems more open and extended and defined. in this application. keith
