No sound out of RT8 Woofers

gsschreck

Purchased a used set of RT8 towers and no sound is coming out of the woofers. This was a gently used system and was not abused. Was there a problem with these woofers? I have read other post where they have had the same problem and it seemed to be a speaker defect? Please advise what woofer should be purchased to replace or repair these towers. Thank you.

Vette C6.r

Make sure the jumpers on the binding posts are on.

Is it one or both speakers ???

gsschreck

Not sure where that jumpers is. Is it on the speaker or receiver? It is both speakers and the center speaker is doing the same thing. Other speakers work fine, I hook up my Infinity's and they seem to work fine.

nguyendot

Mine had the same problem. The woofers were fried. Push the cones in to see if they scratch. It's a common issue.

tonyb

The jumper is that metal strap on the back that connects the top set of posts to the bottom set. If thats missing, then thats your problem. You can use some good speaker wire in place of those metal jumpers if they are missing.

gsschreck

Is that jumper inside the speaker cabinet on the back side of the binding posts? I don't think anyone has been inside these speakers since they were made. I will try pushing in on the woofers. They seemed really firm when I tried before, almost like they are stuck in that position.

nguyendot

If they seem stuck then one of two things has happened:

They are fried and need rebuilt/replaced. You might want to hit up an engineer at Polk to see what you can do. The woofers are no longer available. They were really nice to me after I wrote them and rebuilt my woofers for free since they couldn't sell me any.

The magnet has slipped on them and is causing them to be stuck. Same resolution as above.

Tbone289

gsschreck wrote: »

Is that jumper inside the speaker cabinet on the back side of the binding posts? I don't think anyone has been inside these speakers since they were made. I will try pushing in on the woofers. They seemed really firm when I tried before, almost like they are stuck in that position.

There should be metal jumpers between the top and bottom posts on the outside of the cabinet.

nguyendot

Pretty sure the RT8s only have single binding posts.

gsschreck

You are correct. Only one set of insulated posts. One driver is very stiff and after close inspection has a small tear in cone. Other speakers driver moves in and out better but a little stiff. No tears in that one. Center speaker drivers move in and out nicely. Really odd that tweeters all work and drivers don't. Should have listened to this before purchasing it. I don't think the RT8s are worth putting much time into.

Serendipity

Usually the magnets slip after the speaker has been dropped. This usually shows up as a cone which can be pushed in and will stay there, can be pushed out and will stay there, but will not go back to its center position. Is this the case with your woofers?

gsschreck

I will remove the speakers tomorrow and see if the magnets are properly located.

Serendipity

Let us know, good speaker reconing shop should be able to repair the woofers if you want to get them fixed. At a minimum, the torn cone will need to be replaced.