Best Polk speaker drivers?

ChrisD06

I'll keep this short and sweet:

Looking to build custom bookshelf speakers (maybe towers later on).
Want to use Polk audio drivers and also remake the Power Port.

I just need your guys' opinions on some things...

What is the best tweeter Polk has ever produced?
What is the best midrange driver Polk has ever produced?
What is the best woofer Polk has ever produced?

For the hell of it, has Polk ever produced an 8" subwoofer driver that takes the cake over their other 8" ones, or are they all basically incredible?

Tony M

Hi.

What kind of music do you listen to?

Why Polk audio drivers?

ChrisD06

@Tony M

I listen to rock quite a bit, but I also enjoy the occasional rap music or piano music.

I love Polk, thought I'd make the ultimate Polk speaker by taking their drivers, combining them, and putting them in a custom cabinet.

Emlyn

The best drivers are the ones found in the current Legend and Reserve lines. If someone could source those drivers new, build a better crossover, design a competent port system, and build a cabinet producing better sound than Polk currently does for the price I'd be impressed. Why not just buy a pair of R200s, tinker with the crossover components, and put a nicer real wood veneer finish on them?



One could also argue that the doped paper 6.5 inch mid-woofer drivers Polk produced in the 1980s may have been the best for some purposes but those are designed with an acoustic suspension speaker and passive radiator in mind.

Tony M

The LS90's had some great woofers and a nice tweeter.

You could take those components and include a Polk audio powered 12" subwoofer into a bottom
cabinet.

The S series had some nice woofers too.

Now...like @emlyn said above and I've read this over many years, Polk audio has kept getting better and better. With the exception of plainly obvious budget lines, their upper-level lines used very fine drivers and cross-overs per price point targets.

So...maybe see what might be for sale (at used pricing) locally with Polk speakers and subs and come here again and ask some more questions about "them". Maybe you could score some "FINE" polks you can part out for your builds.

Polk's classic Monitor 10's got me back into stereo collecting and music listening again. I like classic rock a lot and Motown. Piano music not so much. These Monitor 10's sound like I think classic rock and Motown should sound like. I like the Monitor 10's with Peerless Tweeters. The Polk RD-0194 replacement tweeters sound pretty good too. They're about 60.00 ea.. Members with more knowledge than I like the RD-0198 replacements better. Each replacement tweeter is designed for specific cross-overs in specific polk classic speakers.

I've never heard the RD-0198 yet.

Good luck.

xschop

Build some SDA-CRS+ and Power Port them. Phase-Plug and butyl mat drivers, then foam mod inner baskets. My vote.

Nightfall

ChrisD06 wrote: »

@Tony M

I listen to rock quite a bit, but I also enjoy the occasional rap music or piano music.

I love Polk, thought I'd make the ultimate Polk speaker by taking their drivers, combining them, and putting them in a custom cabinet.

I would probably suggest one of those kits where the crossover and the cabinet dimensions are already correct.

ChrisD06

Hey all, thanks for the replies!

I think I'll get some LS90 woofer as @Tony M suggested, and for the midrange driver I think I may give the LSi series ones a try along with their ring radiator.

As for @Emlyn asking why not R200s? Simple. Why not try to build custom ones?
Point of the project is fun not budget. I don't really care if they sound worse than R200s, I just want them to sound better than the RT3000p satellites in music and I'll be happy.

Tony M

I've owned Rt3000P's for 10+ years and the bigger brothers to the top speakers of the RT3000p, the RT55's.

Here's some experience I just had over the last 6 months;

I put a few book-self and a few tower speaker sets in my back room of the cottage and hooked them all up. I needed to re-test a lot of receivers I had stored for years.

Of all the speakers, the RT55's produce the best bass 21' away on the opposite wall. THEY SOUND PERFECT and balanced.

These RT55s were sold when I needed some spare spending money. The man called me back and said his bose 301's sounded a lot better in the bass area. Ok, bring them back. I know very well how 301's sound and the RT55's beat the bose 301's in every way. I know it.

I asked the man if I could hook them up to see and hear what he was saying. I hooked them up and damn if he wasn't right, they had no bass. I returned his money and left. I was glad to have them back, sellers' remorse and all. Later that night, laying in bed, I thought about the polarity. I'm human and couldn't wait to see if I in fact wired one backwards.

The next morn came and out I went.

YEA! I wired one wrong. I corrected it and WOW, kick-a** speakers were back home where they belong. I still own them and I hope to forever now. I did try and sell them years ago to a very nice guy and he declined thank God.

The man had to have wired one backwards too.

ChrisD06

I genuinely want 2 pairs of RT55i just to use as my surrounds for Dolby Atmos, but for now I really want to make some music speakers.

I have an RT55/RT3000p 6.5" midwoofer BRAND NEW sealed in it's original box, you think that could maybe be my woofer? I feel as if I should keep it as a backup as those parts get more rare, but at the same time, I really want to see how I could do with it as the RTxx(i) series midwoofers were INCREDIBLE with bass.

DaveHo

No such thing as best. You can combine the "best" of anything and end up with something that sounds like complete crap. It's the synergy of blending the right drivers, crossover components/design, and cabinet construction that makes a speaker the "best". And even that is subjective.

F1nut

^THIS^

F1nut

ChrisD06 wrote: »

Hey all, thanks for the replies!

I think I'll get some LS90 woofer as @Tony M suggested, and for the midrange driver I think I may give the LSi series ones a try along with their ring radiator.

As for @Emlyn asking why not R200s? Simple. Why not try to build custom ones?
Point of the project is fun not budget. I don't really care if they sound worse than R200s, I just want them to sound better than the RT3000p satellites in music and I'll be happy.

So, how are you going to implement the 8 ohm woofer with the 4 ohm tweeter and the mid-driver of unknown ohms?

VR3

F1nut wrote: »

ChrisD06 wrote: »

Hey all, thanks for the replies!

I think I'll get some LS90 woofer as @Tony M suggested, and for the midrange driver I think I may give the LSi series ones a try along with their ring radiator.

As for @Emlyn asking why not R200s? Simple. Why not try to build custom ones?
Point of the project is fun not budget. I don't really care if they sound worse than R200s, I just want them to sound better than the RT3000p satellites in music and I'll be happy.

So, how are you going to implement the 8 ohm woofer with the 4 ohm tweeter and the mid-driver of unknown ohms?

"A little bit of energon, and a whole lot of luck,"
- Optimus prime

xschop

Ohm's law is of no concern here at the CCP.
'Trans'ducers are accepted for whatever ohm they identify with.

Tony M

xschop wrote: »

Ohm's law is of no concern here at the CCP.
'Trans'ducers are accepted for whatever ohm they identify with.

I like that.

So right for the times we're seeing nowadays.

ChrisD06

@F1nut That is... a damn good point.

Maybe I should do what xschop recommended and just mod some SDA-CRS+, can't find any within 500Km of where I live though.

As for custom building speakers, perhaps I could just buy new drivers instead of Polk ones. I just really wanted to use Polk drivers as I find they are very nice for what they do (the RT series has amazing bass and low mids, LSi series has great high-mids and treble)

Nightfall

https://gr-research.com/diy-loudspeaker-kits/

https://www.parts-express.com/speaker-components/speaker-subwoofer-kits

There's a ton of options all over the internet.

stangman67

Meniscus audio also has a ton of great kits

ChrisD06

I'll check out those kits. Thanks for the replies
I'll keep researching and post with updates of how the project is coming along.

gmcman

The LSi is a good place to start. I wish there was an LSi 8. The 7 was just a tad light on the bass and the 9 was just slightly "tubby" for lack of better terms.

However for their size they could fill a small to medium size room....very musical.

The LSiM 705 is a great speaker, not sure how you turn it into a bookie but would have to sacrifice the bass.

gp4jesus

Avoid the RTi/RTi A series tweeters (RD-690, I believe) at all costs. Not even as a gift.

Someone correct me, but aren’t those RD-0198 made by Peerless?

pitdogg2

gp4jesus wrote: »

Someone correct me, but aren’t those RD-0198 made by Peerless?

They could be, I've not found any manufacturer name/number on any of mine.

F1nut

Made in China.

Hansvelton

gp4jesus wrote: »

Avoid the RTi/RTi A series tweeters (RD-690, I believe) at all costs. Not even as a gift.

Someone correct me, but aren’t those RD-0198 made by Peerless?

What?? Those are decent tweeters!

They just need a bit of resistance to put them at the proper level.

Most all of them are peerless/vifas....yes....including the RTi/RtiA lines.

gp4jesus

F1nut wrote: »

Made in China.

By Peerless?

F1nut

gp4jesus wrote: »

F1nut wrote: »

Made in China.

By Peerless?

Peerless makes some of their products in Denmark and some in China under the Tympany HK brand. I have no idea if Peerless makes the RDO tweeters for Polk. Not even sure were that notion came from.

gp4jesus

Hansvelton wrote: »

gp4jesus wrote: »

Avoid the RTi/RTi A series tweeters (RD-690*, I believe) at all costs. Not even as a gift.
*corrected - RD0690-1

What?? Those are decent tweeters!

They just need a bit of resistance to put them at the proper level.

Most all of them are peerless/vifas....yes....including the RTi/RtiA lines.

I confess this is grossly hyperbolic:
As-is the XO components* contribute significantly to the “pain and suffering” they cause but the tweeter is a player

A few have upgraded the same*, much to their listening pleasure. I upgraded the XO by going the electronic route much to mine. I can adjust their output to my heart’s content, plus EQ them. While they sound way better, unfortunately, I find them edgy or “glary.” I can tame it w/EQ but that compromises the presence & imaging.

I believe one tweeter is on the way out. I have a Dayton Audio ND25FN-4 1" Silk Dome Neodymium Tweeter on deck as a replacement.

https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-ND25FN-4-1-Silk-Dome-Neodymium-Tweeter-Element-4-Ohm-275-053

I wish you good fortune on your quest. Tony

gp4jesus

F1nut wrote: »

I have no idea if Peerless* makes* the RDO* tweeters for Polk. Not even sure were that notion came from.

Hansvelton seems to believe that* but we both know you’ve been around.

To be fair, PE carries an inexpensive ($13.48) Peerless tweeter that, except for color, looks* remarkably like an RD0690** tweeter minus the heat sink, free of the Polk RTi/RTiA series bezel.
*I compared one** to PE’s images

Peerless by Tymphany OC25SC65-04 1" Textile Dome Tweeter

Whatever… Tony
https://www.parts-express.com/Peerless-OC25SC65-04-1-Textile-Dome-Tweeter-264-1018?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIopyumoak9wIVxYBbCh2OQQFxEAQYCiABEgIFIvD_BwE

IteachSTEM

To solve the different ohm issues with all the drivers, go active 3 way crossover. Then you can tinker around with different x-over points and slopes to see what sounds best to you.

I have done this many times in the past with systems I've built, and, if nothing else, it's fun to tinker around and hear the results of all of the changes you are making in real time.

Sure, you need several amps, but I'm guessing anyone on an audio forum has extra amps and stuff taking up space somewhere in their home...