Polk 10a Stuck woofer, other help needed
Upallnite
Posts: 12
I have an original pair of 10A's and have recently started to look at putting them back in use. I noticed 2 things. One of the woofer drivers appears to be stuck. I push on the passive radiator and one moves and the other does not. I tried to push on the stuck one and it seems locked. Is there a way to get this loose?. It has been several years since I have used these. There is also a small nick in the foam of one of the woofers but it seems minor. Could this be patched? It seems to be sealed just fine.
What other recommendations would you make for pulling these out of the moth balls. Any preventive steps before firing them up? Any recommended upgrades since these are bone stock since I bought them as a kid? I see things about Caps ect. Very new to this but I am want to learn.
Thanks for any advice
What other recommendations would you make for pulling these out of the moth balls. Any preventive steps before firing them up? Any recommended upgrades since these are bone stock since I bought them as a kid? I see things about Caps ect. Very new to this but I am want to learn.
Thanks for any advice
Post edited by Upallnite on
Comments
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Welcome,
You'll need to replace the locked woofer. It's most likely caused by the magnet moving on the frame. Chances of getting it lined back up are slim. The glued on magnets can/will slip as the glue dries out over the years and no longer holds firm. It's a good idea to run a bead of good adhesive around the magnets on your good mid woofs before they slip. Handle them very carefully as not to knock another magnet loose on the other mids before securing them. There are a couple of posts addressing this issue. As far as the nick on the surround goes, without seeing the damage it will be hard to say.
I'd get them up and running before you do anything else as far as upgrades go. After you have them in good working condition then you might want to consider replacing the caps. The old A models are surely due to replace or at least upgrade to a quality cap.
Harry -
Here are a few pics of my speakers. What is your opinion of the surround damg? repairable? About a 1/4 tear but all the material is still there. Also any advice on removing the drivers? How can I tell what driver I will need for a replacement?
Thank you -
tears in the rubber surround should be fixed if the driver is still good. you don't want to have any air leaks like that. it will decrease your bass output on that speaker.
remove the screws holding the bad driver and unplug the two wires.. on the back of the unit towards the top of the driver will read the model number of that driver. it will be something like MW6502 or something very similar to that. call Polk up, they may still carry your driver or have a replacement that will work. tell them you are a member of Club Polk for a discount if they have your driver in stock.PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin: -
I have an original pair of 10A's and have recently started to look at putting them back in use. I noticed 2 things. One of the woofer drivers appears to be stuck. I push on the passive radiator and one moves and the other does not. I tried to push on the stuck one and it seems locked. Is there a way to get this loose?. It has been several years since I have used these. There is also a small nick in the foam of one of the woofers but it seems minor. Could this be patched? It seems to be sealed just fine.
What other recommendations would you make for pulling these out of the moth balls. Any preventive steps before firing them up? Any recommended upgrades since these are bone stock since I bought them as a kid? I see things about Caps ect. Very new to this but I am want to learn.
Thanks for any advice
Welcome to Club Polk
Your 10's should be easy to upgrade. Remove the passive and check the values of the caps and resistors on your x-overs. The process of removing the old components is simple and replacing them is just as easy. You should use the search function to see many pictures and suggestions on the upgrade process. Then ask questions here and everyone will be more than happy to help you out. Since you have Peerless tweeters you don't have to worry about replacing them. I used to use 1/2 amp fast blow fuses when I was young to try and better protect the tweeters from over driving them/clipping thus blowing them.
Drew -
Thanks,
What is the best way to fix the surround? Any way to patch it? That driver of course if good. Or would I replace the whole surround?
Peter -
Best to replace the driver as anything added to the surround will affect it's performance and replacement surrounds are not available.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 -
You are always best off to replace a damaged driver but in this case from what I can tell by the pics yours is definitely repairable.
Use a quality speaker surround adhesive to bond the tear AFTER a good cleaning of the affected area. A good non-residue cleaner will work. If the tear is worse than shown there also good flexible rubber adhesives that will work. It doesn't appear to have any material missing to speak of and it should be able to be repaired and hold up fine. If you are unsure how to do this I'd be glad to do it for you at no charge other than the shipping.
Harry -
Wow!!
Harry that is very nice of you. If you would be willing to walk me through it I think I would like to give it a try. You also said something about securing the remaining magnets. What type of adhesive would I use? What products and where would I get them?
Last problem I now see. In the speaker that had the frozen driver, the other driver seems free but is doing something weird. When I push on the PR it moves but seems to have some friction. When I try and move it by pushing (gently) the driver itself, it seems to move fine with no friction. (Of course this is still not the driver with the tear in the surround)
What can I do to see it this other driver also needs to be repaired/replaced?
Last I can't thank you guys enough for being helpful here.
Peter -
You're asking for help on "hands on" issues. If you're not familiar with voice coil alignment issues I don't see how I could "walk" you through it. Maybe someone close can give a qualified hand and help out. You're welcome to ship them down to me and I'll check them out at N/C except for the shipping costs.
As far as securing the magnet structure on the frames J-B Weld looks to be the best NO-FAIL I can think of.
Harry -
Harry
Is the repair of the surround that tricky? That is the part I was looking for a hand on. I don't plan to mess with the frozen driver at all. My understanding is that, for the most part, is a lost cause?
Sorry for any confusiton. -
I Like the JB weld idea
Any tricks to the application - how thick, over both sides where the magnet is mounted? -
The repair can be tricky. It has to flex and hold without interfering with the movement of the surround. Again, I can't get a good look with just a pic. If it's not torn through it will be an easy patch up. The key is clean and proper adhesive. As far as the J-B weld goes, I think 3 well spaced bridges from frame to magnet should do the trick.Harry
Is the repair of the surround that tricky? That is the part I was looking for a hand on. I don't plan to mess with the frozen driver at all. My understanding is that, for the most part, is a lost cause?
Sorry for any confusiton.
Harry -
The repair can be tricky. It has to flex and hold without interfering with the movement of the surround. Again, I can't get a good look with just a pic. If it's not torn through it will be an easy patch up. The key is clean and proper adhesive. As far as the J-B weld goes, I think 3 well spaced bridges from frame to magnet should do the trick.
Harry
Sent PM...Thanks!!
