RTA 12 Under Construction

bored184

Below is what the original crossover looked like.


Here is what they currently look like.


I have a few more resistors to wire and solder in place, long story :rolleyes:. I also have the new connections to install and tweeter leads. Overall I am pretty happy with my first crossover rebuild and I can not thank VR3 enough for all the help. Thanks VR3!

VR3

Looking good!

Glad I could be of help!

drumminman

Nice work! Interested in your impressions upon initial power up and then again after complete burn in.

Pretty satisfying when you DIY, eh?

bored184

So far it has been quite the learning experience and one I have truly enjoyed. I have been reading about the burn experience and find it quite interesting. It appears that it is a gradual increase over 100 plus hours that may be hard to pick up until one day, you realize it sounds different and better :cheesygrin:.

drumminman

In my case with my 2.3tl's, after the Xover rebuild I noticed improvement in stages with the most dramatic change at around 110 hours.

I see in your signature that you have SDA 1C's too. What will you be using the RTA 12's for? I have RTA 12C's the are the front L-R mains in my HT. They are outstanding for that.

bored184

I will swap between the RTA 12 and the SDA 1C when ever the moods hits me. When I get the basement finished I plan on having my 2 channel rig setup down there with multiple speakers to swap in out with.

bored184

Well It has taken a little longer then I would of liked but here is the final results. I am afraid I made a rookie mistake and screwed up a tweeter while using the soldering iron and braid to remove the old solder off the connections. When hooked up one of the tweeters is weaker then the other. I have swapped tweeters and the problem follows the tweeter. The tweeter should measure around 8ohms, its also stamped 8 on the back, but instead it is measuring around 6. Would that cause the difference I hear? Would the RDO-194 work in replacement of the peerless?



Next I have to rebuild the top hats.

westmassguy

bored184 wrote: »

Well It has taken a little longer then I would of liked but here is the final results. I am afraid I made a rookie mistake and screwed up a tweeter while using the soldering iron and braid to remove the old solder off the connections. When hooked up one of the tweeters is weaker then the other. I have swapped tweeters and the problem follows the tweeter. The tweeter should measure around 8ohms, its also stamped 8 on the back, but instead it is measuring around 6. Would that cause the difference I hear? Would the RDO-194 work in replacement of the peerless?

Next I have to rebuild the top hats.

If you overheated the connector on the Peerless, the front solder connection, where the coil wire attaches may have been affected.
You would have to carefully scrape the sealer they used on the front solder point and inspect it.
The RDO-194-1 is not a direct replacement for the Peerless. You can try eBay, just make sure you get the same model #.
Some Peerless were from Denmark, others were made in the US.
The only new replacement, is a clone of the Denmark Model sold by Midwest Speaker. I have several customers that have used them, and they're very pleased with the sound.

StantonZ

bored184 wrote: »

Well It has taken a little longer then I would of liked but here is the final results. I am afraid I made a rookie mistake and screwed up a tweeter while using the soldering iron and braid to remove the old solder off the connections. When hooked up one of the tweeters is weaker then the other. I have swapped tweeters and the problem follows the tweeter.

Sorry to hear that. One of the reasons I've never "touched" my Monitor 4's (mod-wise) is that I don't want anything to happen to my peerless tweets (not that you would want to replace them with anything else).

bored184

westmassguy wrote: »

If you overheated the connector on the Peerless, the front solder connection, where the coil wire attaches may have been affected.
You would have to carefully scrape the sealer they used on the front solder point and inspect it.
The RDO-194-1 is not a direct replacement for the Peerless. You can try eBay, just make sure you get the same model #.
Some Peerless were from Denmark, others were made in the US.
The only new replacement, is a clone of the Denmark Model sold by Midwest Speaker. I have several customers that have used them, and they're very pleased with the sound.

Thanks!


I will look this afternoon and see what version of the peerless I have. Would I need to put the hole in the aftermarket version? I know it will sound different but can I install 2 sl2000 tweeters for the short time of making sure there are no crossover issues?

westmassguy

bored184 wrote: »

Thanks!


I will look this afternoon and see what version of the peerless I have. Would I need to put the hole in the aftermarket version? I know it will sound different but can I install 2 sl2000 tweeters for the short time of making sure there are no crossover issues?

No I wouldn't try and modify them, you'll void any warranty. It won't hurt to put the SL2000s in, they just suck.
I'd still try eBay, and see if you can get a replacement with the same model number, and with a dome that's as wrinkle free as possible.

Faustin

I have the Peerless clones from Midwest Speaker in my 10A's and they sound very nice. When I contacted Polk several months ago about replacement tweeters they directed me to Midwest.

bored184

I've been doing some research and I've got the US made 5514 peerless. The Midwest tweeter replacements have peaked my interest. I would eventually like to have the original peerless tweeters in it but I am also really wanting to give the new crossovers a listen.

westmassguy

bored184 wrote: »

I've been doing some research and I've got the US made 5514 peerless. The Midwest tweeter replacements have peaked my interest. I would eventually like to have the original peerless tweeters in it but I am also really wanting to give the new crossovers a listen.

I did Faustin's crossovers for him, and he was in the same dilemma. If he says the clones sound good, then get them. eBay is always a crap shoot with vintage parts. If I'm not mistaken, the Peerless have ferro-fluid, which was organic based back then, and does oxidize. Finding a Peerless with a perfect dome is rare too.

Faustin

It is a crap shoot buying from Ebay etc. I purchased 2 Peerless tweeters a while back for $40.00. One was a 5514 and the other was a 7514. The 5514 sounded great but there is something wrong with the 7514. It sounds weak and a bit off. That is when I went to the Midwest clones.

Faustin

I forgot to mention the Midwest clones were around $100 with shipping. I did have one that suddenly just quit a while back and they promptly shipped me a new one. He said they have had very few problems with them and I was very pleased with there customer service.

bored184

Thanks Faustin and westmassguy, I will look into ordering two new tweeters this week and giving them a try.

VR3

These turned out great!

I am glad to hear you were able to find a tweeter replacement!

bored184

How would these pair with either a Dynaco ST-70 or a pair of Dynaco Mk-III monoblocks?

drumminman

Not sure. My 12C's thrive on power, the more the better they sound. They're rated at 10-500 wpc and I've got 375 on 'em now.

Can you borrow a Dynaco and try it out ? And then throw you TFM 25 on 'em and let us know which you prefer.

bored184

drumminman wrote: »

Not sure. My 12C's thrive on power, the more the better they sound. They're rated at 10-500 wpc and I've got 375 on 'em now.

Can you borrow a Dynaco and try it out ? And then throw you TFM 25 on 'em and let us know which you prefer.

I'm repairing a Dynaco ST-70 as we speak. I have a pair of peerless tweeters coming from a large auction site, they should be in tomorrow. From the photos they appeared to be in great shape, lets hope they survive the trip.

bobivxx

I ran my 12B's on a ST-70 and a PAS3 for a while. I thought they sounded very good.

It seems like everyone recommends a couple hundred watts per channel on these to really sing. I don't know; I do know I prefer tubes!

I ran my 12B's for a year or so on my Dynaco. The whole time I had a Pioneer Spec-4 amp just sitting there. I hooked it up maybe 1% of the time.

I sold all that except the 12B's to (help) pay for a Music Reference RM-9 and a Mcintosh MX110.
100 (tube) watts per channel is definitely enough for me.
And 35 was enough for moderate listening. If the power transformer gets too hot to touch it's time to turn it down a little.

bored184

Update: Peerless tweeters came in and the RTA's sound great. Sadly they don't get much use because the SDA SRS-2's sound amazing. The Dynaco ST-70 will be finished this weekend and I hope to hear it hooked up the RTA's.

zingo

Congrats on replacing the tweeter as the Peerless is a nice unit on its own.

I also can't blame you for all your other speakers taking a back seat to the SRS 2s...