Tweeter help

laptop44
laptop44 Posts: 11
in Vintage Speakers
Can someone tell me if these are Peerless for Polk? Made in USA 55140983 serial on one the others have 5514 too I dont see any hole in the middle if that maters


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  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,512
    edited February 2020
    I don't know if they were only made for Polk, but I believe that would mean that one was made in the 9th week of 1983. I have a couple 5514s that say made in USA that do have the hole. Not sure what the deal is as far as why some have it and some do not. Mine are 8 Ohms. They apparently made some that were 8 Ohms and some that were 4 Ohms.
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,654
    Gardenstater wrote: »
    I don't know if they were only made for Polk, but I believe that would mean that one was made in the 9th week of 1983. I have a couple 5514s that say made in USA that do have the hole. Not sure what the deal is as far as why some have it and some do not. Mine are 8 Ohms. They apparently made some that were 8 Ohms and some that were 4 Ohms.

    Polk burned a hole in the dome center of most of theirs. Other manufactures used them they were not a Polk exclusive AFAIK.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,957
    edited February 2020
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    Gardenstater wrote: »
    I don't know if they were only made for Polk, but I believe that would mean that one was made in the 9th week of 1983. I have a couple 5514s that say made in USA that do have the hole. Not sure what the deal is as far as why some have it and some do not. Mine are 8 Ohms. They apparently made some that were 8 Ohms and some that were 4 Ohms.

    Polk burned a hole in the dome center of most of theirs. Other manufactures used them they were not a Polk exclusive AFAIK.

    They were also sold for DIY by Peerless (for many years). KO10DT, available into the early 1990s at least (per old Parts Express catalogs)

    Yes, widely used in 'big name' loudspeakers in the 1970s and 80s in particular. Some of the Singer (?) era KLH loudspeakers (e.g., the 355 Barons) used 'em, as did some b&o loudspeakers and the (at least) regionally famous Cizek loudspeakers. There were others, but those are the ones that leap to mind as I sit quaffing coffee and reminiscing :)

    tvogla2db2gc.png
    15127683227_a3c1c18ae5_b.jpgCizek brochure p2 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
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    (borrowed images all, except the Cizek brochure page)

    EDIT:
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    Some early Teledyne-era (?) AR speakers, e.g., the early AR-14, used the Peerless silk dome tweeter too (albeit with a 'custom' bezel).

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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,957
    edited February 2020
    oh -- in the matter of the "holey Peerless" used by Polk. Yes, my understanding (per @pitdogg2's post above) is that Polk burned the holes in theirs with a soldering iron (at least in the early days).

    The only reason I am commenting on this, and strictly FWIW: I am not absolutely sure that very early (?) Polk products using the Peerless silk dome tweeter had the holes burned in 'em (EDIT: and I just realized that @pitdogg2 mentioned this, too -- sorry for being redundant!).
    I say this on the strength :p of very circumstantial evidence, such as a pair of early Monitor Series Model 10s that are here. These have Peerless(es) sans holes -- but of course I don't know if these tweeters are original or were perhaps replaced in the three-ish decades this particular pair of loudspeakers exisited before I acquired 'em. :|

    11208619575_674f036d9b_c.jpgP1020559 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

    There's a nice pair of Monitor 9As in the basement -- I honestly can't remember if their Peerless tweeters are holey or profane ;)

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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    I believe the hole was put into the domes to allow air pressure to equalize between the inside and outside of the domes. This became especially important when the speakers were sent via air cargo shipments.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,957
    KennethSwauger wrote: »
    I believe the hole was put into the domes to allow air pressure to equalize between the inside and outside of the domes. This became especially important when the speakers were sent via air cargo shipments.

    Interesting! I had always assumed it was for resonance control (but that was, at best, a SWAG).
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,654
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    KennethSwauger wrote: »
    I believe the hole was put into the domes to allow air pressure to equalize between the inside and outside of the domes. This became especially important when the speakers were sent via air cargo shipments.

    Interesting! I had always assumed it was for resonance control (but that was, at best, a SWAG).

    That is what I was lead to believe as well.
    Thanks Ken
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  • laptop44
    laptop44 Posts: 11
    edited February 2020
    Thanks to all for their input. These are on Craiglist local and I was wondering if I could use them to replace the SL2000 in my 10B. Would they fit? I have a set of 10 A with the peerless and prefer the sound from the A over the B.
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  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,512
    Well it might not be what you want to hear but I found that I prefer the sound of the Danish ones over the USA ones (with my limited sample size of 2 pairs of tweeters). I "believe" the Danish ones all start with 7714..... but I'm not 100% certain.
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,654
    They are slightly smaller in the bezel and the cut out for the sl2000 tweeter will not work for the Peerless.

    Not a good idea to use them in the 10b
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,654
    edited February 2020
    Gardenstater wrote: »
    I "believe" the Danish ones all start with 7714..... but I'm not 100% certain.
    That is correct
    IIRC the danish also have flat sides on the magnet.
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  • laptop44
    laptop44 Posts: 11
    Ok will get the 194 instead. Thanks to all!
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,729
    laptop44 wrote: »
    Ok will get the 194 instead. Thanks to all!

    That's your best choice.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,512
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    Gardenstater wrote: »
    I "believe" the Danish ones all start with 7714..... but I'm not 100% certain.
    That is correct
    IIRC the danish also have flat sides on the magnet.

    I've seen some early 5514s with the flat. Chris has one (1980 mfg. date) and posted the pic in my Peerless Tweeter thread.
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
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