polk driver motor structure

felipe

I recently had to retire my Polk r40s because the tweeters in both gave out. I've read online that its not even worth getting replacements, so I didn't. Out of curiosity, I removed them to see its motor structure... Wooow...I think the magnet was smaller than the driver itself! No wonder it gave out. Anyway, I found a pair of tsi100s locally on CL in like new condition for cheap..so I picked them up ( having had owned these in the past I'm familiar with their sound ). Now I know that yammy receivers and Polk speakers make a great combination. These tsi100s sound in a way better than my old r40s did. From my discovery of the motor structure on the r40s drove my curiosity of the driver structures of the tsi's...so I examined both the tweeter and woofer. The tweeter has a better motor structure..which tells me it won't be giving out on me for a long time ;-). The woofer has a rather large magnet which is good, but to my surprise it is not a vented pole piece design. I wonder why Polk wouldnt vent the pole piece or the voice coil?? Could this be just for this series?? Does Polks higher end models vent the motor structure?? Thoughts? Opinions?

F1nut

Your tweeters gave out because you drove the Yamaha into clipping, which will cook the tweeters in your new speakers as well. I think you are expecting too much from a sub $300 receiver.

tonyb

F1nut wrote: »

Your tweeters gave out because you drove the Yamaha into clipping, which will cook the tweeters in your new speakers as well. I think you are expecting too much from a sub $300 receiver.

.....and sub 300 buck speakers.

Nightfall

How loud do you listen at, honestly? I used to use an RX-V667 and now have a RX-A1020 and unless the source material is quiet I don't go above -20. Maybe you should get some hyper sensitive Klipsch?

felipe

I don't drive the yammy into clipping..or play my music deafening loud..I guess the tweeters just reached their life span. My old folks had the r40s before I did. They might of driven them hard when they owned them. I know my mom likes her music loud. I was just surprised at the r40s tweeter with that nickel sized magnet structure...that's what drove me to take a look at the tsi100s tweeter and woofer motor structure...which looked more substantial/beefy. I figured that the woofer would've had a vented pole piece..I know that the AJ pios woofers have the vented pole piece for less pressure buildup..which to me would provide greater durability and longevity when driven to louder volume levels. Polk with the dynamic balance and klippel optimized motor structure and AJ pioneer with the vented pole..two different designs with the same idea..promote high performance and durability/longevity.

F1nut

I don't drive the yammy into clipping..or play my music deafening loud..

You wouldn't have to play the music deafening loud, all it takes is a one second transient to blow a tweeter.

I guess the tweeters just reached their life span.

The life span of a tweeter can be a very, very long time. To have both go bad certainly indicates the problem was elsewhere.

I figured that the woofer would've had a vented pole piece.

Did you look at the dust cap?

Nightfall

Yeah, if tweeters had a life span Polk would constantly be sold out of RDO's.

tonyb

felipe wrote: »

....promote high performance and durability/longevity.

There is something to be said for speaker design certainly, but no speaker....none, are impervious to abuse. That's just a simple fact.

I'll say it again, distortion is the slayer of tweeters. Trick is of course recognizing that distortion, which many don't, and not playing it at higher volumes. In todays world of the internet, there's no reason why a lot of folks can't educate themselves on the things not to do with your system/gear/music collection.

Once you get a grasp on recognizing that distortion/noise, you then come to realize just how many crappy recordings you have and why even at modest levels it can do damage. This is basic audio 101, and a point we never seem to drive home enough. This also lends itself to seeking out better recordings, the complaints from the audio community about the lack of better recordings and the loudness wars.

A good way to judge is to listen to a recording your familiar with on a good system with a well recorded song. Once you hear that same song minus the distortion/noise, which will blow you away, you can then recognize it and judge your own system. Thus giving you a better grasp on where the limitations are on that volume dial. Recognizing it is 90% of the problem, the other 10% is doing something about it.

tonyb

I should also point out the R40's were not expensive speakers, so one shouldn't expect top notch drivers. Neither are the TSI100's, but different time periods dictate drivers available and costs. Sometimes in life, you get what you pay for....sometimes not too. lol

felipe

tonyb wrote: »

I should also point out the R40's were not expensive speakers, so one shouldn't expect top notch drivers. Neither are the TSI100's, but different time periods dictate drivers available and costs. Sometimes in life, you get what you pay for....sometimes not too. lol

+1 on the sometimes you get what you pay for and sometimes not lol. I got those r40s free of charge, so no complaints there. They were great while they lasted. My folks don't know much about audio, only that they like music and they ( my mom especially ) like it loud lol. The tsi100 is a great budget bookie IMO ;-)