The Tale Of 5 Tweeters - SDA Tweeter Replacement Guide

xschop

DarqueKnight wrote: »

If there is, I don't know of it. Some insight is to be gained by Polk having to re-engineer replacements for the SL2000 and SL3000 tweeters. I don't think it's that easy to find off-the-shelf tweeters that are close in performance and electrical characteristics to the originals.

What do you think about these specs? It is a Peerless/Vifa treated silk dome that is also used in Dali speakers.

I ask, because I've listened to these in another DIY build. They are inexpensive, Beautiful, crystal clear and I know they fit the SL1000 cutouts. I would build billet SL1000 replacement adapter plates for them. As an aside, It is interesting that they share the same magnet bolt pattern as 194/198's

RandyWilliamson

Just wanted to say thank you. Thank u very much(elvis). Because I had to choose between 194 and 198s when I redid my XO and overhaul and I knew it had to be one or the other. This confirms they are both good. And it I didnt have any analysis to go buy really. I just picked up the consensus from good postings here. And for me it seemed the 198s were what was going to work for my ears the most. This data is much appreciated as supporting evidence and my ears dont fail me. Thanks all for a great place on the web and the ideal setup Im content with.

Gardenstater

I know the Peerless tweeters were not in any SDA speakers and therefore not pertaining to the title of the thread but I though this was interesting from an eBay seller who measured some NOS Peerless tweeters he is selling (Peerless K010DT 810665 Silk Dome Tweeter):

PS: It seems to have an average impedance (2kHz and above) of around 9.5 Ohms, whereas the SL1000 was around 7.25 Ohms. The SL1000 has been said to have been the warranty replacement that Polk used for the Peerless, perhaps when they severed their relationship and no longer used Peerless tweeters. I know there is more to determining if two tweeters are compatible in frequency response but it makes me wonder. The other Thiele Parameters are quite different.

Gardenstater

Looks like a factory Dimensions Drawing (posted by eBay seller):

xschop

When I get time next week, I'll dissect, compare domes, then rebuild a set of these Peerless with the aftermarket silk domes.

xschop

The SL2500 dome material looks just like the same material used on Polk's SL5000 "dynamic balance" tweeters...
The magnet bolt pattern fits the SL2000 pattern, not RDO.

chargingBull

Wow! Thank God for this article.

I have had a pair of Polk RTA11 TLs for years. I thought something sounded a little off. I never could figure it out until now.

I usualy listen to music in the background when I am doing something else but, once in a while I just put on an album and really listen to it. It was during those few and far between sessions that I would notice something. The stereo image was a little off maybe.

I thought it might be my imagination. I thought it might be a blown speaker element. I did all kinds of fequency tests through the speakers. Both speakers were able to recreate all frequencies. I did touch and listen tests to all of the speaker elements. There was no blown element.

All the speakers were fine yet, they definitely sounded different. Seemed like the problem area was with the high frequencies. Years ago, I noticed that one of the tweeters was silver and one of the tweeters was black. I didn't think about that for many years.

Finaly, I took the grills off and unscrewed the tweeters. One tweeter was an SL2500 and the other was an SL3000. They were clearly marked.

I'm not really sure why there are different tweetersin my speakers. I bought them from a local hi-fi store that has gone out of business since the 90s. Were they damaged in the store and repaired? Did Polk run out of SL3000s on the day they made my speaker?

Has anyone else seen an SL2500 inside an RTA 11TL?

So, I went ahead and ordered a pair of RD-0198s. That should fix the problem.

I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the time and effort that you put into this article. I will let you know how my new RD-0198s turn out.

Thanks so much.

F1nut

Polk didn't put the SL2500 in your speaker.

BlueBirdMusic

@chargingBull:

Welcome to the Forum. Stay and you will have a lot of fun.

For your first post, it was interesting.

Lucid1

Long time Polk fan but new to this forum. I've finally taken the dive into "fixing" my vintage speakers so I'm still learning what I need to know and this post along with the subsequent comments was exactly what I was looking for regarding my tweeter options - thanks for the education!!

F1nut

Welcome to Club Polk.

audiophileNewbie

This was exactly what I was looking for!
I just revamped the home theatre and am now using my dads old Monitors 10Bs, called Polk Audio Customer service and am ordering up 2 RD-0194s to upgrade the one (broken) and other tweeters as I have heard some great reviews

Being in signal processing engineering, these phase/frequency diagrams were a fantastic visual to confirm what I wanted.

Thanks.

Hansvelton

chargingBull wrote: »

Wow! Thank God for this article.

I have had a pair of Polk RTA11 TLs for years. I thought something sounded a little off. I never could figure it out until now.

I usualy listen to music in the background when I am doing something else but, once in a while I just put on an album and really listen to it. It was during those few and far between sessions that I would notice something. The stereo image was a little off maybe.

I thought it might be my imagination. I thought it might be a blown speaker element. I did all kinds of fequency tests through the speakers. Both speakers were able to recreate all frequencies. I did touch and listen tests to all of the speaker elements. There was no blown element.

All the speakers were fine yet, they definitely sounded different. Seemed like the problem area was with the high frequencies. Years ago, I noticed that one of the tweeters was silver and one of the tweeters was black. I didn't think about that for many years.

Finaly, I took the grills off and unscrewed the tweeters. One tweeter was an SL2500 and the other was an SL3000. They were clearly marked.

I'm not really sure why there are different tweetersin my speakers. I bought them from a local hi-fi store that has gone out of business since the 90s. Were they damaged in the store and repaired? Did Polk run out of SL3000s on the day they made my speaker?

Has anyone else seen an SL2500 inside an RTA 11TL?

So, I went ahead and ordered a pair of RD-0198s. That should fix the problem.

I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the time and effort that you put into this article. I will let you know how my new RD-0198s turn out.

Thanks so much.

Did you buy them "new" in box, or were they display/demo models?

Therockit1

Long time polk owner, bought a very nice set of SDA SRS2 and they were totally stock,
Never had any problems and they sounded great with my amp and large room until a week ago when i was playing some distorted music (ACDC) apparently too loud and the tweeters on the left channel cut out. I turned it off and let them rest for a while and when I turned them back on they seemed fine. Last night I started noticing cutting in and out of the tweeters from the same speaker. My question, is it time for the upgrades to the RDO 0194-1's or could it be the crossovers ??

westmassguy

Therockit1 wrote: »

Long time polk owner, bought a very nice set of SDA SRS2 and they were totally stock,
Never had any problems and they sounded great with my amp and large room until a week ago when i was playing some distorted music (ACDC) apparently too loud and the tweeters on the left channel cut out. I turned it off and let them rest for a while and when I turned them back on they seemed fine. Last night I started noticing cutting in and out of the tweeters from the same speaker. My question, is it time for the upgrades to the RDO 0194-1's or could it be the crossovers ??

More likely the polyswitch is craping out. Replace it with a .5 ohm 12 watt mills resistor , then replace the tweeters with RD-0194-1s

Therockit1

is there any pics or vids on this form to do that as I have not messed with crossovers before

pitdogg2

Therockit1 wrote: »

is there any pics or vids on this form to do that as I have not messed with crossovers before

Can you solder, have you ever soldered before?

Therockit1

been a while i do still have a soldering gun

Therockit1

I noticed there 2 sets of crossovers in the SRS 2's maybe it would make more sense to have someone just
upgrade them. Im sure theres people here that can do it ?

pitdogg2

Therockit1 wrote: »

I noticed there 2 sets of crossovers in the SRS 2's maybe it would make more sense to have someone just
upgrade them. Im sure theres people here that can do it ?

yes contact DHS speaker service

http://www.dhsspeakerservice.com

txcoastal1

Therockit1 wrote: »

I noticed there 2 sets of crossovers in the SRS 2's maybe it would make more sense to have someone just
upgrade them. Im sure theres people here that can do it ?

He is also the westmass guy that responded to your question 1st...Dave is a great guy...good luck

Therockit1

The next question is how difficult is it to remove the crossovers to ship them
is there a step by step somewhere here ?

F1nut

Considering this is a tweeter thread start your thread.

gp4jesus

Therockit1 wrote: »

The next question is how difficult is it to remove the crossovers to ship them
is there a step by step somewhere here ?

F1nut wrote: »

Considering this is a tweeter thread start your thread.

@Therockit1 Jesse is sayin’ you should start a separate thread for your project. He’d prefer you did not post any more discussion of the above here.

Tony

lzuo

Upon reading all the great comments about the tweeter upgrade, I ordered and just received a pair of RD0198-1's to replace the SL3000's in my RTA15tl's. Unfortunately, I can't seem to figure out how to disconnect the wires from the SL3000's and connect to the RD0198-1's. I was thinking I could just pull them out of the old tabs and plug in the tabs on the new tweeters. But that does not seem to work. Any ideas? Any helpful info is great appreciated.

plastic_avatar

Pictures of how the wires are connected?

Usually you can pry the clips loose if they're on the ravs too tightly.

pitdogg2

Those should have a large and small quick connect tabs. I'm pretty sure Polk was not soldering them on at the time your speakers were made. You should be able to pull them off and slide on to the new tweeters.

lzuo

Thanks to plastic_avatar andpitdogg2 for your response!

Here are the photos of the two connectors on the SL3000:

Gardenstater

I don't think they used any solder or else they wouldn't have faced the faston connector in your bottom photo towards the magnet. I think you are going to have to grip them by the crimp with a pair of needle nose and pull hard, with the tweeter safely braced against a surface so as to not damage the dome.

pitdogg2

Or wiggly top to bottom a bit.