TSI500 problem

blindAdrenaline

Hi all,
First of all, I am blind and using a screenreader, so I hope I am putting this in the right forum and all, sometimes our screenreaders lead us the wrong way on the internet.
I purchased a pair of TSI500's directly from Polk last week, having read rave reviews of them.
I had my son hook them up for me, from my Sony 150W receiver, through a 8" Polk sub that was a bonus from Polk, into the TSI500's.
At first, everything was great, the sound was good, and I noticed no issues with a couple quick test tracks, about a minute total listening time.
After my son went home though, I started listening to other tracks with more mid range bass, and I heard rattling from the left speaker.
After getting up close, and moving my head up and down from about six inches away from the speaker, I realized the top driver was rattling like crazy, worse with some tunes than others. On many tracks, I didn't even notice it.
I did the same with the right speaker, and noticed no problems.
I checked with a different input, panning the receiver from left to right, and it was obvious the left speaker has a serious problem, and the right one is fine.
I did turn the volume up on the first few test tracks, but not nearly enough to damage the speakers.
The speakers the TSI's are replacing were 20 years old, so I know how to take care of speakers, and I don't crank my system up just to see how loud it can get, so I am confident I did not damage these speakers with too much output.
To say I am dissapointed would be a massive understatement. I am on a limited income, and this was a huge outlay for me, but I take my music seriously, and figured I'd spend it now so I wouldn't be looking for any other speakers for some time to come.
So, my question is this: what do I do now?
I can have my son come back over and change the cabling from the left to the right speaker, but I really don't think its the source causing the issue, it really sounds like the driver is blown.
Can a single driver be replaced by a consumer, or should I see about replacing the entire speaker, or is that even an option?
Is there something I can check that maybe I am missing here?
Any input appreciated.
Thanks for reading this,
Eric

txcoastal1

Polk customer service is A++++ not to worry. Ask your son to come by and reverse the wiring channels andhelp reassure his connection. If the issue still exists call Polk, they will you in every way.

Welcome to Club Polk

blindAdrenaline

Ok, my son came by today, and we double checked everything wiring wise, and its all good.
I was pretty anal about it the first time, so he was very careful to hook everything up just right, and we went back over everything today.
The rattling is still there, he says it sounds like a bad driver or maybe the wiring to the speaker that is rattling is loose, but that seems unlikely.
It is only really noticeable on certain tracks, but those tracks sound terrible in the mid bass area with that speaker, the right speaker sounds perfect.
I was able to minimize the issue by sending more of the low freq to the subwoofer, but that isn't an acceptable solution.
I suppose I could possibly replace the one driver that seems bad, but I don't want to spend $400 bucks on a speaker thats a lemon, and I certainly don't want to void my warranty.
Also, my receiver is a Sony STR-DE 825, 100W per channel according to what I looked up today, and my son said when I turned the system up, I never had the volume knob to half way.
Man, I just dunno here, I've never bought an audio component before and had it fail on the first day.
So what are my options? Do I just call customer support and go from there, or do you guys have any other suggestions?
Thanks,
Eric

RuSsMaN

Yes call support in the morning, I will alert them now to the issue, it is probably a driver issue and we will get it remedied in short order, no worries.

Cheers,
Russ

blindAdrenaline

Ok, thanks much for the quick response.
One reason I went with Polk other than the great reviews of the TSI500's was because when I called to ask some questions about the speakers, the young lady on the phone knew her stuff, and had answers for all I asked, so I just went ahead and ordered them from her, Brianna was the name if I remember right.
Anyhow, impressed with the response on forums here, thanks again.
Eric

What if the hokey pokey IS what its all about?
--Bumper sticker seen in Birmingham AL

TrashyTrucker

BlindAdrenaline,
Welcome to club polk! Let us all know when you have any news and or when you get your speakers fixed. Polk and the guys on this forum are just the greatest. Again welcome and happy holidays.


Matt

blindAdrenaline

Hey, yeah, I talked to Brianna again today, she told me what to check for to see if the voice coil is fried, and they are sending a new driver out Fed Ex, can't ask for more than that.
I am a bit concerned though, cause if I fried the VC with less than half volume with a 100W receiver, maybe something is screwed up with my setup. Although Brianna told me the speakers need about 30 hours break in time, something I did not know.
I dunno, I did some research on line today to see what I could find out about setups, but from what I can tell, we've got it set up correctly, going from receiver front outs to the sub, from sub to the TSI500's, and all is in phase.
I just hope i got a lemon driver, and once replaced, all will be well, cause these speakers sound incredible otherwise.