5jr+ crossover

skinnyb1973

I'm new here just bought some 5jr+
But this crossover looks different then what I've seen posted and it's dated 2009 ,anyone know what I'm looking at and should I upgrade it?

tonyp063

I depends.
Fuzziness in sound is a possibility. What is more likely is bass/treble ratio will be off if the resistor is out of spec.
Capacitors of that era will drift way off & that will change the crossover point, among other things.

Best guess says that you have this crossover:
https://us.v-cdn.net/5021930/uploads/attachments/4/6/7/2/8/18770.pdf

I which case it's a simple upgrade. Replace the cap & resistor with the same values.
Pull the safety switch & replace it with a 0.5 ohm resistor.

Wiser heads than mine will weigh in on whether or not you can follow the updated schematic here:
https://us.v-cdn.net/5021930/uploads/attachments/4/6/7/2/8/18771.pdf

And which particular components you should get, budget allowing.
FWIW, I did my M10's with Clarity ESA & PS caps & Mills resistors.

agfrost

My advice is under the assumption you want to keep and listen to these--they're nice speakers and worth the attention, but you won't recoup your money if your plan is to fix and then sell them.

That said, they are relatively inexpensive crossovers to update.

•2 12uF capacitors (Sonicap Gen1)
•2 1.0 ohm wirewound resistor (Mills 12 watt /MRA12)
•Replace the Yellow polyswitch, as suggested above, with 0.5ohm Mills MRA12.

All the above available from Soniccraft.com

The polyswitch *may* be the source of your tweeter noise, seeing as you note that it happens at volume. It's function is to protect the tweeter from blowing when receiving too much (distorted) power. It's a self-resetting fuse, so to speak. As they age and get tripped repeatedly, they tend to trip too easily, leading to cutting in and out of the tweeter. If you replace it with a resistor, you'll attain better sound, but lose the protection the polyswitch is designed to give. This is especially a problem if you both a) have a lower powered receiver and b) like to push the volume when you listen. A general rule for receivers is "don't push the volume past 12 o'clock. Too much volume and the amp starts distorting and tweeters can die.

That said, most common practice around here is to replace that "nasty polyswitch" with the half-ohm resistor. That's what I did with my crossovers.

If the Sonicaps strike you as being too pricy, there are other options. Perhaps Dayton (parts-express.com) , perhaps Clarity PX (madisound.com)

The 12uF will be larger than the one on the original crossover. You may have to get a bit cute with mounting it. There are people here who have done that crossover before, so help is available if needed.

Good luck, have fun, happy listening!

agfrost

Other advice: You can swap driver and tweeter from left to right speakers to see if the problem lies with the driver or with the tweeter.

You can swap the speakers left <--> right to see if the problem also switches sides. If it does, it's the speaker. If it stays, it is in the equipment: perhaps the amp/receiver, perhaps even in speaker cables. Do some experimentation. Make sure you're powering off before any switcheroo action or your expenses will be mounting quickly!

Finally, you can buy replacement tweeters for them directly from Polk. Assuming you have the silver 'fisheye' SL2000 tweeter, the RD0-194 is a drop-in replacement, and sounds much better than the SL2000. Biggest expense you'll incur in this project if you go for it, but probably the biggest sonic payoff.

skinnyb1973

Lol, it does ,that's funny ,I juat glanced at it ,I thought that was weird, haven't pulled the other yet to check, reason I pulled this one was it doesn't sound as strong as the other and there seemed to be some crackling distorted sound at volume,so I wanted to see if it was woofer or crossover

skinnyb1973

If xo are bad,what do we hear to know,like weak sound,distortion, popping just wondering what you guys hear to know it needs to be recaped

pitdogg2

la2vegas wrote: »

Not to be picky but, I believe Polk uses month/day/year so in reality its April 3rd, 1990. Not 4th March, 1990.

BINGO lol

OP read to cap values very carefully would not want to see a 21uf in there ....

skinnyb1973

So what's the basic parts list ,and what's the best place to buy

skinnyb1973

There is definitely some crackling coming from what sounds like the tweeter,just wondering if the refresh will fix the problem, guess I'll order the parts and see what happens and go from there

skinnyb1973

Thanks agfrost that's what I was looking for,I thought about swapping things this morning just to be sure,and will get the parts here to do the rebuild,I can definitely here a difference in one from the other,I ordered these on ebay ,so not sure if they were damaged in shipping to my house, or if the guy just didn't here the difference in one,I checked the woofer it's not frozen and the magnets seem fine so,I'll upgrade the crossover and see if the problem persists thanks for the help,I'll keep you updated thanks

skinnyb1973

Ok I swapped the tweets around and the crackle moved so blown tweeter right?

txcoastal1

Correct as long as everything else stayed in place, i.e. cables etc

skinnyb1973

Dayton 1% caps ,and mills registers on the way,as well as a sl2000 ome from ebay,can't wait to get these baby's rocking!

pkquat

Sonicaps are the best recommended for polks. They will do custom values. You will have to order the next largest size and then specify the value you want in the notes. Its a little confusing at first, but you can contact them ahead of time and ask for clarification on availability and ordering before you order.

Clarity caps are the next recommended ones.

The main note is if you keep the same crossover cap value, 12uF according to this schematic:
https://us.v-cdn.net/5021930/uploads/attachments/4/6/7/2/8/18770.pdf
You will need the RD-0194 replacement tweeter.

If you change to the later version which some people prefer you will need a13.5uF capacitor according to this schematic:
https://us.v-cdn.net/5021930/uploads/attachments/4/6/7/2/8/18771.pdf
You will need the RD-0198 replacement tweeter.

As always don't upgrade or replace components in just one speaker, do the same to both.

pitdogg2

pkquat wrote: »

Sonicaps are the best recommended for polks. They will do custom values. You will have to order the next largest size and then specify the value you want in the notes. Its a little confusing at first, but you can contact them ahead of time and ask for clarification on availability and ordering before you order.

Clarity caps are the next recommended ones.

The main note is if you keep the same crossover cap value, 12uF according to this schematic:
https://us.v-cdn.net/5021930/uploads/attachments/4/6/7/2/8/18770.pdf
You will need the RD-0194 replacement tweeter.

If you change to the later version which some people prefer you will need a13.5uF capacitor according to this schematic:
https://us.v-cdn.net/5021930/uploads/attachments/4/6/7/2/8/18771.pdf
You will need the RD-0198 replacement tweeter.

As always don't upgrade or replace components in just one speaker, do the same to both.

Sonicraft stocks all these there is no need for special values or the confusion that comes with it.

OP has already ordered the caps he intends to use so this is moot.

skinnyb1973

Is there a huge difference in the different caps?

pitdogg2

skinnyb1973 wrote: »

Is there a huge difference in the different caps?

short answer yes. enough to get all worried about it ? In your case I'd say no. If I was doing the same speaker more than likely I would take the same path as you.
Sonicap is a 5% tolerance unless you ask and pay for matching and they can get to 1%

Sonicap 24.00

Dayton 9.00 1%

Dayton 5% is 6.00

tonyp063

And let's not forget that even the 1% Daytons will be head & shoulders better than the old, out of spec ones that are in there now.

If you decide you're not satisfied, it will be a small matter to get better.

Were it me I'd do the Daytons & a pair of RDO-194 tweeters.
Once you hear how much better they sound after break-in you can decide to move up the chain.
Those speakers have the virtue of being not complex in the crossover department, so you'll not have to lay out a huge chunk of change if you wish to go premium.

Oh and. Welcome to the rabbit-hole.
Just check your wallet with the Maitre d

K_M

skinnyb1973 wrote: »

Is there a huge difference in the different caps?

Between old crappy bad ones, and anything new, yes!

pkquat

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Sonicraft stocks all these there is no need for special values or the confusion that comes with it.

OP has already ordered the caps he intends to use so this is moot.

I must have scanned right over the order
Sonicraft does not list the 13.5uF on the main page. Trying to order those was a little confusing at first.

skinnyb1973 wrote: »

Is there a huge difference in the different caps?

I echo the previous cap statements. The RD-0194 tweeters for ~$50 ea. direct from Polk (mention your a Club Polk member and get free shipping) will likely be a huge difference as well. The RD-0194 will have a much sweeter, less harsh sound. That said, I do have 1 pair of SL2000's that sound much better than the others I have replaced.

pitdogg2

13uf is stocked and well within the tolerance of +/- 5%

skinnyb1973

So I'm hoping this is right,the caps and resistors don't have any markings + or - ,I put the daytons in with the writing in the same direction,I'm pretty sure resistors are not directional,so there I am

pitdogg2

Looks good. correct no need to worry about directionality.

skinnyb1973

Thanks pitdogg, the hardest part was getting those leads to the mills resistors through the holes,after cleaning the solder out,I took a small drill bit ,just slightly bigger than the hole,ran it through and they when in just fine.thanks for all the help guys