The difference between polk's 5.25 different woofers
RonTG
Posts: 7
Hello,
I have an old R10 pair of speakers which I really love.
Unfortunately, one of the speakers broke, and I would like to fix it.
For that, I was searching for a replacement kit of the original rd0514 woofer.
Now, I could not find it, but instead I found some of MW5530, MW5531 and MW5532, which the seller claims they are all the same in weight and sound quality, while the only difference is the cone color and whether the magnet is shielded or not.
It sounds pretty odd for me, and that's why I am asking you here-
Could you confirm that if I will replace my old rd0514 with a newer MW5530/1/2 - my speaker is going to sound the same as with a new rd0514?
Are the differences between the all 5.25 models are really about cone color etc. ?
Thank you!
I have an old R10 pair of speakers which I really love.
Unfortunately, one of the speakers broke, and I would like to fix it.
For that, I was searching for a replacement kit of the original rd0514 woofer.
Now, I could not find it, but instead I found some of MW5530, MW5531 and MW5532, which the seller claims they are all the same in weight and sound quality, while the only difference is the cone color and whether the magnet is shielded or not.
It sounds pretty odd for me, and that's why I am asking you here-
Could you confirm that if I will replace my old rd0514 with a newer MW5530/1/2 - my speaker is going to sound the same as with a new rd0514?
Are the differences between the all 5.25 models are really about cone color etc. ?
Thank you!
Comments
-
The later generation Polk 5.25" drivers ( rubber surrounds ) are pretty generic to each other, sound an performance wise anyway. Specifically, the only difference between the MW5530 and the MW5531/MW5532 is that the MW5530 is an unshielded driver, that is it doesn't have the magnetic shielding.
Fit, form and function they are fairly generic to each other. Cosmetics may be a bit different, cone color, plating color of the basket etc...
Putting them in your system should result you in a speaker system that doesn't sound any different than it did originally. Just my opinion, from practical experience.
John -
I have replaced my R10 woofers with the MW5532. The MW5532 is from the higher end RT25, has a bigger magnet and actually sounds better than the RD0514 woofer. I also have a pair of MW5533s that I got from a salvaged CS245 center channel speaker. While the cone is a different color, the magnet seems to be the same size as the RD0514. It remains to be seen if they sound the same or better. I have another R10 pair due for rehab so the MW5533 will go into them.
