driver substitution

tomhoutx

I ordered a MH 6511 driver to replace the bad one in my SDA 1C. I was told that there were not any in stock but if I tried calling back every 3 or 4 days, they might receive some. Well today I received a MW 6501, sent from Polk. The speakers look and feel identical but there must be some difference. I'll call Polk in the morning when they are open and ask them but I thought I'd put the question to the group to see what the general thinking is.
Thanks,
Tom

F1nut

You meant that you needed a MW6511, right? The 6501 will get you by, but keep your eye out for the 6511 either from Polk, here or eBay.

tomhoutx

Yes, I needed a 6511. Now that I've looked at them closer, I've noticed that the "red dot" indicating polarity is on the opposite side from the 6501. And with this particular SDC "cross connect" system, I wonder if mabe the polarity is to be switched for the reverse movement of the cone for the "canceling out" effect?
Tom

tomhoutx

I said SDC above when I meant SDA.
Tom

F1nut

Tom,

The MW6501 has been used for both the normal driver and the SDA driver. Why the red dot is on the other side......I don't know. Just hook the MW6501 up the way your MW6511 was.

madmax

You can be sure of the polarity if you want to test it. If you connect a battery to it with + of the battery going to + of the speaker the cone will move outward. I've always used a 9V battery for this test. Obviously if you have an original driver you can check it as well and make a comparison. I don't know whether the red dot is + or - but what is important is that it is wired in the same polarity as the old one.
madmax

tomhoutx

Well I talked to the factory and they said they made a mistake by shipping me the 6501. Helen said that the coil is designed differently and that I need to replace the 6511 with a 6511. The only thing is that they have none in stock but she told me to keep checking back with her every few days and they might get a shipment in. It seems strange that they don't know when a particular model of speaker is scheduled to go into production to replace empty stock. Helen did give me an RA so that I can return the 6501 for credit although I do have to pay for shipping. I did notice on the 6501 that it was stamped "made in Mexico" and I mentioned this to Helen. She told me that the speakers now being shipped are not made in Mexico. She did not mention where they are now being produced. Do you think maybe San Diego or perhaps Taiwan? (joke)
thanks again,
Tom

hoosier21

Polk shipped the wrong driver and you have to pay to send it back, that don't sound right.