5jr tweeters/crossovers

whitesmoke
whitesmoke Posts: 3
edited February 2011 in Troubleshooting
My son gave me a pair of 5jr's (bless his heart). They are hooked up to a Marantz 2275. They sound great. However, one of the speakers has a slight crackling in the tweeter. We did the basic troubleshooting and the problem follows the speaker. I'm guessing I need to replace the tweeter but could the crossover possibly be causing this?. I plan to swap parts between spkrs. to verify. Would these parts still be available?
Thanks,
Mark
Post edited by whitesmoke on
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  • Rev. Hayes
    Rev. Hayes Posts: 475
    edited January 2011
    Welcome to Club Polk!

    Depending on which version of the 5jr you have Polk makes a replacement tweeter. The RDO 194 I belive.

    However there are a couple other things to check before you have to do that.
    Does your speaker have a fuse on the back by any chance? If so cleaning the contacts would be the first thing to do.

    If you post a picture we could help even more.
    Sounds good to me...
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  • george daniel
    george daniel Posts: 12,096
    edited January 2011
    IIRC the 5jrs had an sl 2500 tweeter,,try swapping the tweeter and see if the problem follows,,,then report back to us
    JC approves....he told me so. (F-1 nut)
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  • whitesmoke
    whitesmoke Posts: 3
    edited January 2011
    Will definitely check the fuse connections and swap the tweeters between speakers. Probably won't be until next wknd though - my wknd is about over and unfortunately I'm a road warrior during the week. Thanks for the suggestions.
    Regards, Mark
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  • 20hz
    20hz Posts: 636
    edited January 2011
    I have a pair of moniter 5 also but I think its the same speaker but my tweeter is the metal face plate silvercoil does anybody know "is mine just a earlier model then the vintage product ones pictured, is it just as good as the plastic face plate one shown "??
    fyi its a 8" passive maybe 7" other driver ..
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  • On3s&Z3r0s
    On3s&Z3r0s Posts: 1,013
    edited January 2011
    I have a pair of 5Jr's that have the SL2000 in them. If it does turn out the tweeter's bad, and if you're able to figure out for sure what part you're working with (or that failing, post a pic), you might want to give some thought to whether you'd like to replace both tweeters with the current / modern replacements or go with one used vintage part.

    Most folks here would likely tell you that the RD0-194 replacements sound different enough from the original SL2000 that replacing just one would be less than ideal. But the same folks would also probably say that the 194's sound better and are enough of an improvement that paying $100 for a new pair is worth it even if the old ones aren't busted.

    You'd probably be able to get a used SL2000 pretty easily and quite a bit cheaper than replacing both the tweeters with the 194's.
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  • Big Dawg
    Big Dawg Posts: 2,005
    edited January 2011
    We first need to ascertain which 5Jr you have. Earliest versions did not have a passive, but had a port instead. Later versions, some or all of which were 5Jr+, had the passive radiator added. Earlier versions could have either the Peerless tweeter or the SL1000 if there is a fuse. Later versions used the SL2000. The Series 2 version used the SL2500.

    If you post a few pics, I'm sure that we can help list out the various solutions available to you.

    BTW, welcome to Club Polk. That's a very nice sounding speaker you have there, much better than most people realize, and well worth your time and money to update.
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  • whitesmoke
    whitesmoke Posts: 3
    edited February 2011
    Rev. Hayes wrote: »
    Welcome to Club Polk!

    Depending on which version of the 5jr you have Polk makes a replacement tweeter. The RDO 194 I belive.

    However there are a couple other things to check before you have to do that.
    Does your speaker have a fuse on the back by any chance? If so cleaning the contacts would be the first thing to do.

    If you post a picture we could help even more.

    Thanks and yes they do have fuses. The offending speaker is s/n 4296
    Am posting pix as requested...
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  • Big Dawg
    Big Dawg Posts: 2,005
    edited February 2011
    You have the SL1000 tweeter, those are earlier versions. If you can find them, I believe that the Peerless tweeter is a drop in replacement, but I've never tried, so probably should check with someone who knows for sure - plus, you'd need to swap out both. SL1000s sometimes do come up for sale in the Flea Market.

    Have you tried swapping the tweeters between speakers to determine if the problem is with the tweeter or somewhere else? You may have a loose connection somewhere, and the crossovers would be well served being updated with new electronics (they're very simple).

    Try these steps: switch speakers - does the crackling follow the speaker? If not, the problem in in the speaker wire, amplifier, or further upstream. If it does follow the speaker, try swapping fuses, then swapping tweeters. If you find the crackling following any one swap, you have your answer and we can resolve from there. If the crackling stays with the same speaker, even after swapping tweeters, then the problem is either in the wiring or most likely in the crossover.

    Keep us informed with your progress.
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