RTA 15T same as RTA 15TL?

appleapple

My pair of Polks is labeled RTA-15T on the back of the cabinet. Is this the same as a RTA-15TL? I can't find reference to a RTA-15T anywhere. Along the same lines, I see RTA-11T and RTA-8T and a RTA-11TL and a RTA-8TL. What makes them different from each other that wouldn't be the case for a "15" series?

heiney9

I can't recall if Polk made a "T" version of the RTA-15. When the RTA-8's and 11's originally came out they were the only 2 models of that speaker type (tall, slim, D'Appolito array). The originals were "T" models and had the sl2000 tweeter in them (see 1st pic). Those tweeters have a nasty resonance or hump of +6db @ approx 10khz. This can make them sound harsh.

Polk solved that problem by introducing the sl3000 and designated Polk models as "TL" which I believe stood for "trilaminate" (see 2nd pic). Some of them I've seen also have a "deflector hood" attached to the top of the tweeter housing.

Which tweeter do you have? That will tell you what model you have. You can tell by the pics, or you can pull the tweeter out and look on the back.

The 15's had (4) 6.5 midwoofers and (2) 10" passive radiators 1 in front 1 in back.

The 11's had (2) 6.5 midwoofers and (2) 8" passives both in front

The 8's had (2) 6.5 midwoofers and port on the front.

All the RTA's are excellent speakers IMO, with the 15's being the largest.

H9

EDIT: the 2nd pic shown is actually of the RDo194-1 silk dome replacement tweet for the sl2000.

heiney9

In addition to the above the RTA-15's came a few years after the RTA-8' & 11's were introduced. I believe they were manufactured AFTER Polk started using the new tweeters, but I'm not 100% sure about that. Someone should know for certain.

H9

heiney9

I just remembered when Polk CS sent me new poly-switches they sent me a copy of the owners manual for the RTA series. They show a spec sheet for the RTA-15T and RTA-15TL. Both have the exact same drivers listed. It appears that for the 15's the "T" & "TL" are both the same. Atleast that what it states in the manual

BTW-Welcome to Club Polk

H9

halo

heiney9 wrote:

I can't recall if Polk made a "T" version of the RTA-15. When the RTA-8's and 11's originally came out they were the only 2 models of that speaker type (tall, slim, D'Appolito array). The originals were "T" models and had the sl2000 tweeter in them (see 1st pic). Those tweeters have a nasty resonance or hump of +6db @ approx 10khz. This can make them sound harsh.

Polk solved that problem by introducing the sl3000 and designated Polk models as "TL" which I believe stood for "trilaminate" (see 2nd pic). Some of them I've seen also have a "deflector hood" attached to the top of the tweeter housing.

Which tweeter do you have? That will tell you what model you have. You can tell by the pics, or you can pull the tweeter out and look on the back.

The 15's had (4) 6.5 midwoofers and (2) 10" passive radiators 1 in front 1 in back.

The 11's had (2) 6.5 midwoofers and (2) 8" passives both in front

The 8's had (2) 6.5 midwoofers and port on the front.

All the RTA's are excellent speakers IMO, with the 15's being the largest.

H9

H9 - Did you purchase and install the RDO194-1 tweeters?

heiney9

Halo wrote:

H9 - Did you purchase and install the RDO194-1 tweeters?

Nope, still working out that situation we discussed. **fingers crossed**

H9

halo

cool:cool:

Dennis Gardner

H9,

Is that black domed speaker really a 3000 or the silk replacement? I thought 3000s were clear, goldtone, or painted silver. Black 3000s are new to me.

heiney9

Dennis Gardner wrote:

H9,

Is that black domed speaker really a 3000 or the silk replacement? I thought 3000s were clear, goldtone, or painted silver. Black 3000s are new to me.

I grabbed the photo from the FM and it was marked sl3000 forsale. I'm pretty sure it's an sl3000.....but you never know. I think you are right here's another pic and they do look slightly different.

F1nut

There was no RTA 15T really, they were all TL's, but the early ones were marked with the "T" only.

The SL3000's came in bright silver (not painted), gold tone and a very dark silver that looks black or blue-black, none were clear. They were all the same, it's just that the color could not be controlled by the process used to make them. Polk would then match the colors as best as possible for each pair of speakers.

A dead give away that it's a SL3000 vs the new RD0198-1 is the SL3000 has a foam ring around the outer edge of the dome, the new ones do not.

Dennis Gardner

That batch is the 3000.

appleapple

h9,

Thank you for the assistance. I do thave the SL3000 tweeters. They are the ones with the deflector hood. They are dated 5/25/1990 and 11/22/1990. How do the SL3000's compare with the silk dome tweeters I've read so much about? Also, In one of the two speakers, 2 of the 4 drivers is stamped "SDA 2B" and 1 is stamped "SRS 1.2" while the last is stamped "15T". All 4 drivers are MW6503's, why are they stamped differently? Do they perform differently? The other speaker has all four drivers stamped as "15T".

Dennis Gardner

Those not marked 15Ts have been replaced with 6503s from other vintage models. It happened alot over the years as speakers got parted out as speaker designs got small and ebay got big.:rolleyes:

F1nut

In addition to Dennis' comment, Polk used whatever they had laying around at the time. They could all be the original drivers that were installed at the factory. Not to worry, all working MW6503's sound the same.

I forgot to address your other question. Most people prefer the new RD0198-1 silk dome to the SL3000 metal dome.

halo

I own the RTA 15TL's and I swapped out the original tri-lams for the RDO198-1 silk domes. The silks are smoother. This is a no brainer upgrade - just be sure to mention that you are a club Polk member for a discount and free shipping.;)

heiney9

Yep, if you are going to keep them I would swap out the tweets. Everyone who has done has been very pleased. Many Polk models used the same drivers and tweeters. According to the owners manual in front of me the 6.5 drivers should be MW6503. The fact they are stamped with different Polk model #'s doesn't hurt anything. Perhaps at the time of assembly they used drivers stamped for other speakers because they ran out of MW6503's stamped with 15T. Or as Dennis said they are replacements.

As aside note the sl3000 is a slightly better version than the sl2000. The silk dome RD0198-1 replacement is the best of the three.

What other equipment are you running?

H9

appleapple

H9,

At the moment I'm not running anything. I'm in the process of moving. When built I'll be connecting 2 systems out of 2 Sony CX90ES's, Sony DVP-S7000, Yamaha DDP-2, Yamaha RXV-990, Carver C-1 Pre-amp, Carver M0.5t amp, Cambridge Soundworks surround speakers and Center channel, a pair of Monitor 10's and a pair of RTA-15TL's. I have had the equipment in a storage room above a garage for the past winter. This room is not insulated and got down to maybe 40 degrees at times. Do you think this had a negative effect on the drivers in the Polk's? I have yet to connect everything, can't wait, it's been along time since I've heard the Mon 10's rip some goods tunes.

loh_kg

F1nut wrote:

I forgot to address your other question. Most people prefer the new RD0198-1 silk dome to the SL3000 metal dome.

Sorry to add in:
SL3000 is the soft dome and not the metal dome.
Cheers

F1nut

It has a layer of stainless steel and a layer of aluminum applied to a polyamide surface. I'd call that a metal dome tweeter any day of the week.

heiney9

appleapple wrote:

H9,

At the moment I'm not running anything. I'm in the process of moving. When built I'll be connecting 2 systems out of 2 Sony CX90ES's, Sony DVP-S7000, Yamaha DDP-2, Yamaha RXV-990, Carver C-1 Pre-amp, Carver M0.5t amp, Cambridge Soundworks surround speakers and Center channel, a pair of Monitor 10's and a pair of RTA-15TL's. I have had the equipment in a storage room above a garage for the past winter. This room is not insulated and got down to maybe 40 degrees at times. Do you think this had a negative effect on the drivers in the Polk's? I have yet to connect everything, can't wait, it's been along time since I've heard the Mon 10's rip some goods tunes.

I would say if it never got too close to freezing you'll be alright. The worst thing is high moisture content, that does more damage than cold air. Just get them out and start playing them. Look and listen for problems, but I think you'll be ok. Sometimes the glue on the inside of the cabinets gives way as well as on some of the driver magnets.

This maybe jumping the gun here, but the links below are for trouble shooting a leaky Passive Radiator and/or frozen/seized driver. Keep them handy just in case. How long have these been in storage? Just like everything else long periods of non-use could lead to some deterioration. I'm sure things will be just fine though

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17569&highlight=passive+radiator+test

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5170&highlight=passive+radiator+test

Good luck

H9

appleapple

H9,

Thanks for the thread links, very informative. I'm hoping you are jumping the gun on the potential driver issue. The speakers have been in storage only since Nov 2005. I will have them running by weeks end. Thank you. I'm off to find a couple of bucks, as it seems I've got four silk tweeters to upgrade into.

heiney9

appleapple wrote:

H9,

Thanks for the thread links, very informative. I'm hoping you are jumping the gun on the potential driver issue. The speakers have been in storage only since Nov 2005. I will have them running by weeks end. Thank you. I'm off to find a couple of bucks, as it seems I've got four silk tweeters to upgrade into.

A year in storage should be no problem. The new silks are part # RD0198-1 call Polk CS and ask for Ken tell him you're a club member and you will get a discount. If you don't get Ken ask for the tweeter by Part #. I called once and asked to see if they had replacement tweets for my RTA-11T's and the guy tried to sell me an sl2500, which would work (in my case) but it's not what I wanted. Lots of times the silk replacements are out of stock and he was just trying to help me by selling me an in-stock item.

Also your Monitor 10's will take part # RD0194-1. That is the silk replacement for the sl2000 or sl2500 which is most likely in the Monitor 10's. They never had the sl3000 tweeter that is stock in your RTA-15T.

So you need (2) RD0198-1 for your RTA-15T
and (2) RD0194-1 for your Monitor 10's

One last note if you have M10's with the peerless tweeter you may want to leave them be. The Peerless is a wonderful tweeter. You might to post a pic of the Monitor 10's so we know exactly what generation you have. The Peerless are usually black dome with a pin hole in the center of the dome.

FYI

H9

appleapple

H9,

I will try to get some pics up, camera not so good. However, I've pulled the tweeters out for inspection and to catalog specs. They are definitely SL2000's. Did my taxes tonight, much to my surprise I've got some coming back. Could I have the IRS send it directly to Ken? That's where its gonna end up anyway.

F1nut

H9, I think you're the apple in his eye.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I crack myself up sometimes.

heiney9

F1nut wrote:

H9, I think you're the apple in his eye.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I crack myself up sometimes.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Man you gotta get some sleep F1.

H9

Polk65

I have seen many references to the RTA 15TL as a "military version". Does anyone know where this originated?

Attached is an image from an old magazine ad (I think Stereo Review) that says to contact your "nearest dealer".
This does not seem right if they were only military versions...?

heiney9

There was a military version of the Monitor 15T which was not an RTA line speaker. I can't recall if I've ever seen a pic of one. Completely different animal than the RTA-15TL.

H9