RT 16's...Worth repairing?

pgrego71
pgrego71 Posts: 5
edited February 2011 in Vintage Speakers
My first post ....I just received a pair of polk rt 16's for free and I am wondering if they are worth repairing. The drivers are pretty worn out from years of abuse. One mid is blown out completly and the others you can hear grinding when you press on the speakers. One tweeter is blown as well. I didn't see much information on the Polk website for replacement drivers so I thought I would try the forums for answers. My question is... It looks like I would have to replace all drivers and tweeters. Is it worth it to replace everything? Also is there a place that I could find replacement parts?
Any help, hints, or advice would be greatly helpful....Thanks in advance to any responce....
Post edited by pgrego71 on
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  • cubdog
    cubdog Posts: 835
    edited February 2011
    I really like them, when working properly. Guess it depends on just how much the repairs will run. I'd certainly investigate.

    cubdog
    Shuguang Classic S8MK
    Emotiva XDA-2
    Bel Canto M300 mono blocks
    Bel Canto DAC 1.5
    Squeezebox Touch
    Sony SS-M7
    A/D/S L710
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  • falconcry72
    falconcry72 Posts: 3,580
    edited February 2011
    pgrego71 wrote: »
    My first post ....I just received a pair of polk rt 16's for free and I am wondering if they are worth repairing. The drivers are pretty worn out from years of abuse. One mid is blown out completly and the others you can hear grinding when you press on the speakers. One tweeter is blown as well. I didn't see much information on the Polk website for replacement drivers so I thought I would try the forums for answers. My question is... It looks like I would have to replace all drivers and tweeters. Is it worth it to replace everything? Also is there a place that I could find replacement parts?
    Any help, hints, or advice would be greatly helpful....Thanks in advance to any responce....

    Welcome to CP!

    I used to have a pair of RT-16's, and I loved them. I wish I hadn't sold them. You can get the tweeters from polk. The mid woofers are very hard to find. I think it's more a matter of "is it possible" rather than "is it worth it". If you can find the drivers then you'll have an excellent set of speakers. Good luck!
    2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's

    Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses

    Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's
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  • pgrego71
    pgrego71 Posts: 5
    edited February 2011
    falconcry72 wrote: »
    Welcome to CP!

    I used to have a pair of RT-16's, and I loved them. I wish I hadn't sold them. You can get the tweeters from polk. The mid woofers are very hard to find. I think it's more a matter of "is it possible" rather than "is it worth it". If you can find the drivers then you'll have an excellent set of speakers. Good luck!

    Thanks for the reply...If its not possible to find original mid's is it possible to use newer drivers and if so what would be a good choice? Sorry for the n00b questions, I really know very little about audio related stuff...
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  • cubdog
    cubdog Posts: 835
    edited February 2011
    You may be able to have the mids repaired/rebuilt. Do you have a reputable speaker tech near by?

    cubdog
    Shuguang Classic S8MK
    Emotiva XDA-2
    Bel Canto M300 mono blocks
    Bel Canto DAC 1.5
    Squeezebox Touch
    Sony SS-M7
    A/D/S L710
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  • pgrego71
    pgrego71 Posts: 5
    edited February 2011
    cubdog wrote: »
    You may be able to have the mids repaired/rebuilt. Do you have a reputable speaker tech near by?

    cubdog

    I am not sure if there is a speaker tech place where I live...I would probably have to do the work myself..
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  • falconcry72
    falconcry72 Posts: 3,580
    edited February 2011
    pgrego71 wrote: »
    ...is it possible to use newer drivers...

    Unfortunately, no. The RT-16's and RT-7's used a rare 7.5" driver, and Polk never used that size driver again.
    2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's

    Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses

    Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's
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  • pgrego71
    pgrego71 Posts: 5
    edited February 2011
    falconcry72 wrote: »
    Unfortunately, no. The RT-16's and RT-7's used a rare 7.5" driver, and Polk never used that size driver again.

    Bummer...Is there a re-cone kit out there to repair the drivers? And if so where could I find them?
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  • Cayuga
    Cayuga Posts: 480
    edited February 2011
    Try www.parts-express.com they do cone repair
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  • pgrego71
    pgrego71 Posts: 5
    edited February 2011
    Thanks Cayuga....I didn't see anything for Polk recone kits on the site. Finding anything that has to do with this model speaker is hard to find.
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,194
    edited February 2011
    Did you call Polk? They just might have something laying around.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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