Blown RTI-A5 Tweeters!
milellie111
Posts: 3
My mom has been enjoying her system of 2 Polk R50’s being fed from an Onkyo TX8511 stereo receiver for at least 7+ years. About a month ago, both tweeters on the R50’s blew (no sound). I was able to replace those speakers with a pair of RTI-A5’s which was a huge upgrade over the R50’s and played well for a couple weeks. A couple loud playing sessions (volume knob 8/9 o’clock) and I heard crackling from the tweeters.
Today there was no sound at all out of either tweeter. I brought over my Denon 6200 to make sure it’s the speakers and yes it is, same no sound from tweeters hooked up to my AVR (woofers play fine. The jumpers are in place (hopefully correct) and the speakers are single wired.
Would this stereo receiver which is at least 20 years old cause these tweeters to fail? It’s rated 100 watts into 2 channels 8 ohms but recently it has been acting up (no sound switching inputs sometimes). Are there replacement tweeters available? I know it’s a long shot, but would Polk goodwill? What should I look at powering with as a replacement receiver once I get the tweeters replaced so these don’t blow again? I personally have Klispch floorstanders which seems to be easier to drive and I’ve never blown a horn tweeter yet driving to insane levels.
Thanks for any help.
Today there was no sound at all out of either tweeter. I brought over my Denon 6200 to make sure it’s the speakers and yes it is, same no sound from tweeters hooked up to my AVR (woofers play fine. The jumpers are in place (hopefully correct) and the speakers are single wired.
Would this stereo receiver which is at least 20 years old cause these tweeters to fail? It’s rated 100 watts into 2 channels 8 ohms but recently it has been acting up (no sound switching inputs sometimes). Are there replacement tweeters available? I know it’s a long shot, but would Polk goodwill? What should I look at powering with as a replacement receiver once I get the tweeters replaced so these don’t blow again? I personally have Klispch floorstanders which seems to be easier to drive and I’ve never blown a horn tweeter yet driving to insane levels.
Thanks for any help.
Answers
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8 to 9 o'clock on the volume knob isn't normally what one could consider loud. Anyway, the crackling sound indicates the receiver was clipping resulting in either cooked tweeters and/or burn resistors. You should remove the binding post plate where you'll find the crossover attached. The resistors are white ceramic bricks. If discolored or cracked/broken it's bad. Report back.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 -
The tweeter part number is RD0696-1, but IIRC Polk no longer has them.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 -
What f1 said plus I think your receiver is toast- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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I’m sorry I mistyped, I was playing around 1/2 o’clock on the receiver knob and at the time the speakers were bi-wired to the receiver as I didn’t have the jumpers to attach yet. I’m sure this changes things.
Attached is a pic of the crossover of one of the towers. So I just need new tweeters and a new stereo receiver correct?
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If that is supposed to say 1 or 2 o'clock I'd say that your receiver had run out of gas and was sending clipped signals to the speakers.
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If that is supposed to say 1 or 2 o'clock I'd say that your receiver had run out of gas and was sending clipped signals to the speakers.
Yep, sticky fingers on the volume dial kills speakers. Anytime your going into the 10-11 o'clock position or above, your entering the danger zone.. You need to listen carefully and when the music starts sounding distorted, shrill, congested, turn it down....unless you enjoy buying tweeters and crossover parts.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
btw, I can't see any damage on those crossovers so count yourself lucky you only need the tweets. You also may not need a new receiver, just better judgement with that volume dial.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
1 or 2 o’clock wasn’t really that loud. Had to turn it to 8 or 9 o’clock to really even get any decent volume. Guess the receiver is not strong enough and these rtias are harder to drive and require more power.
Any tweeters available for source? -
Might want to try Parts express, maybe others will chime in with suggestions. Has Polk said when they'll get more in ?
If your not getting volume out of them, there are other things to look at aside the receiver. Make sure your connections are tight, no plastic from the speaker cable coating is caught under the posts at either end. Make sure the brass connectors are tight also.Make adjustments in the receivers settings. Power wise, your receiver should be fine. Are you using a subwoofer with these ?HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
milellie111 wrote: »1 or 2 o’clock wasn’t really that loud. Had to turn it to 8 or 9 o’clock to really even get any decent volume. Guess the receiver is not strong enough and these rtias are harder to drive and require more power.
Any tweeters available for source?
The RTiA series are easy to drive, even for a budget receiver. That said, if you are trying to obtain rock concert volume levels you'll need a he-man amp and dedicated pre amp.
The tweeters are not available new. Check eBay.
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
