Help on 3.1 TL

shary_exe

Dear Members,

I am getting a chance to buy a 3.1 TL which is cosmetically 8/10 the person has stored it since some time and doesnt have a provision to give me an audition before picking it up. But he promised me that I can return on DOA.

I've checked the drivers and seems to be intact except that its a bit loose, what I mean to say is that the drivers pushes in without much effort on it. Is it normal for those drivers? Also I've come across lots of upgrades for XO and stock tweeter. Is it really worth to invest?
oh by the way the guy is asking 500$

Looking forward to hear from the Guru's on this forum

Thanks

F1nut

The drivers should move freely. Do this, push in the PR and hold while watching the mid-drivers. All should move out, then start to recede taking 2 to 3 seconds to return to the resting position.

The tweeter and crossover upgrades are worth every penny.

xjghost

I got my 3.1TL's for $450 in Charlotte, NC last summer. They came with an Onkyo receiver and a projection projector. I think I got a really good deal though. Where are you located and how often do you come across SDA's?

shary_exe

Thank you F1nut . I'll surely test that...but I guess I've got worse problems.

I brought them in and did an initial check, on both towers the tweeter and the dimensional drivers are not working. All the bass drivers are working fine. I've checked the jumpers and they are intact.
I talked to the seller and he said that check it again if its not working well I can return. I really don't want to send them back but again I don't want to spend a fortune for fixing it.

I need to clear some doubts here.

1.) If it is the XO that has failed will the bass drivers still work?

2.) For the dimensional drivers to work do I have to interconnect the speakers (I did not get them from the seller)

shary_exe

That was a pretty good deal I guess.

This is for the first time am coming across an SDA speakers.

I live in Dubai and have never come across such a class.

zane77

You will need the interconnect cable. If he doesn't have it you cam make one fairly easily.

shary_exe

zane77 wrote: »

You will need the interconnect cable. If he doesn't have it you cam make one fairly easily.

Thank you,

Could you please guide me how to get this done.

shary_exe

ZLTFUL wrote: »

The dimensional drivers will not work without the interconnect cable...which makes perfect sense when you realize that the dimensional driver's signal comes from the opposite speaker via the interconnect.

Get your read on here: http://vr3mods.com/uploads/SDA_Handbook_2011_Rev3.pdf
And here: http://vr3mods.com/LCSDAUpgrade.php

Thank you.

I will surely go through the document that you've marked.

I was under the impression that these drivers were mid's . So I should assume that its just the tweeters that had its life.

From the vast reviews that I went through these speakers are sure keepers.

Dennis Gardner

Make certain that you have your tweeter (top) binding posts connected to the lower set. No signal will pass to the tweeters without this connection.

shary_exe

I've checked the binding posts, everything is intact. Does it need the interconnect cable for the tweeter to work?

Dennis Gardner

shary_exe wrote: »

I've checked the binding posts, everything is intact. Does it need the interconnect cable for the tweeter to work?

No, the tweeter is in the main signal path,

shary_exe

Thanks, so I need to test the tweeters before suspecting anything about the crossovers.

Can anyone tell me from where can I buy the interconnect cable or else how I can make one by my self.

PolkieMan

You have a PIN/BLADE Connection only the pin is used for signal the blade is merely for extra support, In a pinch you could strip 1/4" of insulation off a wire and stick it in each pin hole. That being said I bought two RCA connectors broke off the outer ring on each and soldered a piece of 12 gauge wire to the center pin connector on each one.

PolkieMan

Here is one that I made

PolkieMan wrote: »

You have a PIN/BLADE Connection only the pin is used for signal the blade is merely for extra support, In a pinch you could strip 1/4" of insulation off a wire and stick it in each pin hole. That being said I bought two RCA connectors broke off the outer ring on each and soldered a piece of 12 gauge wire to the center pin connector on each one.

shary_exe

Thanks Polkieman, So if I break the the outer ring on a subwoofer cable will it work without any modification or do I need to solder an extension to it?

F1nut

blade is merely for extra support

Much needed support as the pin is not that strong nor is it exactly a snug fit.

PolkieMan

F1nut is right you need to be careful when you move them.
Mouser makes a RCA plug that fits tight because it's like a spring Collet it has a little bigger od that's is what I used.
I did use just a subwoofer/video cable till I made this one.
The problem with that is the wire very thin maybe 20-24 gauge
so it doesn't carry as much current as it needs to.

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Pomona-Electronics/6881/?qs=u1iBJdNqp6hrmxPJ0snR6w==

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023901&p_id=2816&seq=1&format=2

F1nut wrote: »

Much needed support as the pin is not that strong nor is it exactly a snug fit.

shary_exe

After all the valuable inputs I was successful in passing the signal between the speakers using a subwoofer cable with the outer ring stripped but as F1nut mentioned its a bit difficult to hold them in its place and I find the signal to be feeble compared to the other drivers , will it be because of not getting proper contact?

I've confirme that both the tweeters are not functional, but dont know whether it is the XO

F1nut

I find the signal to be feeble compared to the other drivers

The SDA driver in each cabinet plays at about half volume compared to the stereo drivers.

Your tweeter circuit is not protected with a polyswitch, so I would say the tweeters are cooked. Look at it as a good thing as you can replace them with the superior RD0198-1 tweeter available directly from Polk.

nspindel

As F1nut says, there are replacement tweeters called the RD-0198 that Polk makes available, and these are far superior to the original SL3000 tweeters. If the dome of the tweeter is clear, then they are original. If the dome is black, then it is the replacement. If your tweeters have the clear plastic dome, do not be upset if they don't work, as you would want to replace these anyway.

shary_exe

Thank you guys...this is the first time that am getting hold of an SDA speaker. Am really not able to get the full potential of the same since the tweeters are not working so far its giving me a flat response, but good bass rather boomy.
Since I have the option to return it to the seller, what do you guys recommend, should I spend more and keep them or should I be returning it.
And if I change the tweeters can the crossovers too be faulty? cause I saw the XO modification to be costing some serious bucks

amb426amb1

I would have the seller reduce price by the cost of the tweeters. They are unique speakers which as you mentioned are not going to be available in your area. The cross overs will degrade with time but something you could deal with down the road. If they sound boomy to you the placement, or the amount of power you have available to drive them might be the problem.

shary_exe

Yeah I need to talk to the seller for some more discount. I hope the XO are not faulty since its only the tweeter which is not working.

I think these speakers are very specific about their placement. I am powering them with emotiva XPA-2 , any recommendations?

amb426amb1

shary_exe wrote: »

Yeah I need to talk to the seller for some more discount. I hope the XO are not faulty since its only the tweeter which is not working.

I think these speakers are very specific about their placement. I am powering them with emotiva XPA-2 , any recommendations?

Those tweeters were a common point of failure. the XO will only have a degree of DE-compensation over time but should be just fine. You have plenty of power to drive the speakers. Tweeters and placement are probable cause for disappointing sound.

headrott

The 3.1TL crossovers didn't originally have a polyswitch to protect the tweeter on the crossover. If someone had overdriven the speakers, the crossover (of course) could still be fine, but the tweeter(s) (having no protection) could have been fried. The SL3000 was not a tweeter that had a high failure rate as the above poster stated. that is, unless too much low quality power was applied to them. There are no inherent problems with the SL3000 tweeters as far as reliability goes, however. I would bet that if you replace the tweeters, they will work. I (of course) cannot guarantee that without seeing the crossovers. We are having to speculate a fair amount with the information that is given. I agree with others also that the RDO-198 tweeters are a much better tweeter than the SL3000 and you would want to replace them anyway.

I would highly recommend keeping the 3.1TL's as they are more rare SDA and a very good one also. I agree with others that you should get a discount for the tweeters not working.

Also, I would highly recommend buying a different amp down the road (after you upgrade the crossovers). I wouldn't consider Emotiva to be a very listenable amplifier. That, of course is my opinion but I think you will get similar ones from many many other SDA owners.

I hope this helps you out.

F1nut

If the dome of the tweeter is clear, then they are original.

You're thinking of the SL2000, the dome of the SL3000 is not clear.

Am really not able to get the full potential of the same since the tweeters are not working so far its giving me a flat response, but good bass rather boomy.

You have no tweeters, you can't possiblily have a flat response. SDA placement is very different than other speakers. They should be 5 to 6 inches from the back wall, NO toe in, 6 to 8 feet apart and at least 3 feet from any side wall.

Those tweeters were a common point of failure.

No, they are not.

nspindel

F1nut wrote: »

You're thinking of the SL2000, the dome of the SL3000 is not clear.

Serves me right for trying to be smart, but I learned something at least......

PolkieMan

The SL3000 dome on mine were a darkened silver

nspindel wrote: »

Serves me right for trying to be smart, but I learned something at least......

F1nut

Due to the manufacturing process, the SL3000's came in a silver tone, silver/black tone or a gold tone. Polk would match the tone for each set of speakers.

amb426amb1

F1nut wrote: »

Due to the manufacturing process, the SL3000's came in a silver tone, silver/black tone or a gold tone. Polk would match the tone for each set of speakers.

That's why 2 of my 6 sl-3000 in my 2.3's were goldish and the rest were silver/black. 2 of the 6 were fried on purchase but I already knew the new RDO replacements were going in and the purchase price was lowered for that upgrade. Everyone of them had a different date on them when I replaced them and the original owner had a Adcom he drove them with.

shary_exe

Any clue about how much a pair of these replacement tweeters would cost? and the process of ordering them.