SRT System question

jsdeprey

PolkWannabie wrote: »

jsdeprey,

They are SRT SDA Surrounds ... I posted the doc for them above in this thread. There were relatively few of these made. What you have I believe are the SRT ( or RT ) FX's which are a much more common companion.

O'Shag,

If you put the center lower, which is where mine is, then just angle it upwards if you can so it as pointing at the same height at the seating area.

Thats very interesting, I did not know those existed, when you search on polkaudio.com for SRT all I see is things about the main system I have.

I really wish polkaudio.com would keep some of the old system information and manuals on thier main site just for history sake, the pages you find when you search for SRT have half the information missing.

I would love to have those SRT's for surrounds, but my wife would kill me if I tried to hang those on the wall!

polkie4life

jsdeprey wrote: »

Thats very interesting, I did not know those existed, when you search on polkaudio.com for SRT all I see is things about the main system I have.

I really wish polkaudio.com would keep some of the old system information and manuals on thier main site just for history sake, the pages you find when you search for SRT have half the information missing.

I would love to have those SRT's for surrounds, but my wife would kill me if I tried to hang those on the wall!

The original SRT set came with the FX surrounds. They changed on the run to the SDA surrounds. I assume they released those due to the fact the FX surrounds struggled to keep up with the fronts.

You dont need to hang them on the wall just build another 2 SRT subs. They sit nicely on top as they are the same width. LOL

O'Shag

I picked up the SRTs today. Moving them took some muscle. Once inside and with the Sats mounted on the Subs, I was reminded how bloody big these things are. I think thy're good looking too in a no-nonsense sort of way. I also learned that the Sub has no speaker wire terminals, but relies on line-level input jacks.

Don't have them set up properly yet, and have not tested the SDA technology, but just proceeded with a basic sound-test to make sure nothing is wrong. And wouldn't ya know it, one of the drivers is making distortion noises. Its the lower of the two mid bass drivers that is located below the tweeter, in other words the lowest positioned driver on the inside edge of the cabinet. The driver itself looks undamaged, but I've not removed it to examine it yet.

When I picked up the speakers they were a bit grubby so will require a good clean-up. The condition of the speaker cabinets I'd have to say is fair rather than good. Placing the Satellite atop the sub is definitely a two-man job, and I can see the original owner felt they could do it themselves with the result there are scratches where the attempts were made to line up the Satellite's spiked feet with the holes of the Sub cabinet. Also there are the chips along some of the edges here and there.

First impressions of the sound are sure to be a little off given the driver problem and the fact that I don't have the bass dialed in properly, but I can get a general idea of the sound. I do have some first class speakers in the house so its natural to compare. It strikes me from a brief listening test that the SRT's real strength is in delivering full-range highly dynamic sound for movies. This is the way I heard them about ten years ago. I think that for this they have very few equals. Music may be another matter - we shall see...

As far as the distortion problem goes - does anyone have ideas on what it could be? I do have three days to report problems and return them if they are not operating correctly. I'd hate to have to give 'em back....

O'Shag

Just another initial impression, but the SRTs (Sats) sound 'righter' with the grills on. The sound seems more coherent. Again this is just after brief listening.....

ESavinon

Replace the damaged driver. Check each driver carefully at different volumes with different music. Remove the crossovers and check for blown glass fuses.

O'Shag

Thanks Esavinon. The cone area of the driver does not look damaged at all. Could there be damage in the magnet area behind the cone? I was thinking this distortion this may be a problem in the crossover. You mentioned blown glass fuses. Ar there glass fuses in the Satellite crossover? If I do have to get a new driver, are they readily available and are you aware of the price range?
Cheers mate

ESavinon

Probably the voice coil is damaged. The glass fuse is in the crossover behind the terminal plate. You need to unscrew the rear speaker terminal and look inside.
The fuse is actually a glass bulb. check it with a meter to see if it's not burnt.
The driver cost $48 plus tax. The glass fuse cost $2.00 each. Both are available from polk.
Don't forget to mention you're a polk club member for 2 day shipping plus discount.

O'Shag

Thats a very decent price. Thanks much.

O'Shag

Hi folks,

I'm working through some problems here and before I seek advice from the advanced technical area, I'd like to see if I can get the info I need from you guys. I'm working through some issues with these SRTs. I mentioned the drivers that are clearly malfunctioning, with distortion evident. The drivers I've clearly identified with this problem are the drivers at the top and bottom of the inside edge of one sat speaker ie above and blow the line of the tweeter. The problem is definitely more apparent when I route the fronts thru the control center rather than direct. My guess is the additional bass reinforcement information is overdriving the malfunctioning drivers. From what you say Esavinon, the voice coils would seem to be damaged and that makes a lot of sense. By the way, how do I access the crossover in the Sat?

Also I am noticing with the subs a rattle at an decent volume level. This is not a rattle of something nearby resonating, but seems to sound like something lose in the sub cabinets. Also, I noticed that the LED light turns green when switched to off, and red when switched on - is this right - I thought it would be the other way around?
Also, in the manual, it states to start by putting the volume dials at the 12 o'clock position. When I do this with the mode set to video, I almost bring the house down in other words way way way too much power. In fact to sound anywhere near ok, I have to select music, and set the attenuator knob and sub fine tuning knob way down - almost to zero in fact. I know this can't be right. Any thoughts?

polkie4life

If you lightly push the drivers in the sats in and out to see if theres any grating/rubbing sound.

I had major problems with my subs, on initial listening i though they were ok. I had a bit of a rattle, found it to be a detached spider on not one but 2 of the drivers. I also found one of the others was frozen due to the voice coil being stuffed.

I've since got them all sorted and the settings i'm at now are as follows...

Coarse = -10db
Fine = 0
Music mode att = -15db

I still think i need to do some fine tuning as the room rattles on a lot in certain scenes from different movies.

O'Shag

Thanks mate for that input. I think your experience is similar. How did you deal with the detached spider on the subs. Was it a simple case of **** this back to re-tighten, or was it more complex? I did lightly push in the drivers on the sats and unfortunately the distortion sound has not abaited. At this point I'm questioning whether I'm wise to keep these. I have the option to return them by Monday. To be honest, the overall condition of the speakers is ok I guess, but not great. Quite a few scratches chips etc. I'm sort of beyond having dinged up electronics in my living room, but I definitely don;t want to deal with broken stuff anymore (I've had some bad buys before). I'm trying to guage whether its worth it. If the fixes are simple, then I'll keep 'em. But if the problems run deeper and are a little more complex, then I don't want to mess about with another busted product if you know what I mean. The Missus thinks I'm crackers enough as it is! Cheers mate for the input.

polkie4life

I shipped mine from New York to Miami, and from there on to New Zealand (a total of 9500miles). They weren't packed well, just in cardboard and they suffered accordingly....

All grills broken
4 punctured sda drivers (from the grills)
1 detached magnet in a sub
Numerous chunks missing and dings everywhere

I reglued the spiders a bit at a time with flexible epoxy, and had the detached magnet repaired professionally. I bought 4 new sda drivers, not worth the hassle to repair them.
You've seen the job i did on the refinish, i plugged the holes for the grills, (the cheaper option).

I get a kick out knowing that i put so much into them, it really is satisfying. I think if you decide to pass these up you will regret it. I will never sell mine, ever, it's reinforced every time i go into a hifi shop.....

ESavinon

O'Shag wrote: »

Hi folks,

I'm working through some problems here and before I seek advice from the advanced technical area, I'd like to see if I can get the info I need from you guys. I'm working through some issues with these SRTs. I mentioned the drivers that are clearly malfunctioning, with distortion evident. The drivers I've clearly identified with this problem are the drivers at the top and bottom of the inside edge of one sat speaker ie above and blow the line of the tweeter. The problem is definitely more apparent when I route the fronts thru the control center rather than direct. My guess is the additional bass reinforcement information is overdriving the malfunctioning drivers. From what you say Esavinon, the voice coils would seem to be damaged and that makes a lot of sense. By the way, how do I access the crossover in the Sat?

Also I am noticing with the subs a rattle at an decent volume level. This is not a rattle of something nearby resonating, but seems to sound like something lose in the sub cabinets. Also, I noticed that the LED light turns green when switched to off, and red when switched on - is this right - I thought it would be the other way around?
Also, in the manual, it states to start by putting the volume dials at the 12 o'clock position. When I do this with the mode set to video, I almost bring the house down in other words way way way too much power. In fact to sound anywhere near ok, I have to select music, and set the attenuator knob and sub fine tuning knob way down - almost to zero in fact. I know this can't be right. Any thoughts?

The crossover is attached behind the binding posts. Just uncrew the four screws that hold the binding post and pull forward.
You can access the subwoofers by removing the plate amp or removing the rear pannel completely. The led on the subs are working correctly.
Your SRT controller seems to be working correctly also.
Check the sub drivers and replace the drivers that are rattling.

It is common to find the faults you listed on used SRT systems.
I had to replace a few drivers on one of my SRT system.
This ussually happens when people under power these speakers.

O'Shag

I think you did an awesome job judging from the photos. If anything they look better than original. I agree that the SRTs are good, and exceptionally so for HT. So are you a Kiwi mate?

O'Shag

You guys are a great support. Thanks. Its clear you both reckon the challenge is worth it to get the system fully and correctly operational!

ESavinon

I've owned my two SRT system for 2.5 years now.
I just recently had to replace one plate amp, one input plate and a mid driver.
Luckily, The amp and input plate was still under warranty.
I had to do a major refurb on system two at the time of purchase.
I will keep these speakers until Mr. Polk comes up with an SDA home theater system that will best them which i believe will be unlikely. Until then, keep them,fix them, enjoy them or sell them to me.

O'Shag

ESAVINON wrote: »

I've owned my two SRT system for 2.5 years now.
I just recently had to replace one plate amp, one input plate and a mid driver.
Luckily, The amp and input plate was still under warranty.
I had to do a major refurb on system two at the time of purchase.
I will keep these speakers until Mr. Polk comes up with an SDA home theater system that will best them which i believe will be unlikely. Until then, keep them,fix them, enjoy them or sell them to me.

If you own two sets then that answers the question of your regard for the speakers. I did try out the SDA array and I can hear the quality of the technology, despite the blown drivers on one of the Sats.

Is the plate amp the amp that drives the subs?

polkie4life

O'Shag wrote: »

I think you did an awesome job judging from the photos. If anything they look better than original. I agree that the SRTs are good, and exceptionally so for HT. So are you a Kiwi mate?

Yes there are a few of us kiwis, we have our own little SRT club happening. LOL

Its funny, while i was humping them round, sanding them, undercoating them i really regretted starting. Once it was all finished and they were operational, all was quickly forgotten. There's passages in songs where i wait for that "moment" and i smile at the thought, that they're actually mine.....

PolkWannabie

If you have not yet hooked up and at least listened to the SDA arrays in the SRT's then IMHO you are listening to a good deal less than half of what they're capable of ...

The last I heard Polk still had replacement tweeters and drivers for the satelites and the drivers for the subs. The only part that is problematic if it's not working correctly is I believe the control center.

brody05

From one of the NZ club.

The spiders are very easy to reglue and if they only rattle a little likely to only partially be unglued, there was a common issue with this initially until they changed glue type to resolve it. Take the sub driver out and push the driver outwards as though it were making noise, look at where the spider meets the metal frame below the cone, if it has come unglued you will see and it is as simple as gluing with a flexible epoxy glue. If it has come undone all the way around you need to center the coil properly which although can be done may be better off in the hands of someone that knows what they are doing.

Take the drivers out that sound knackered and run one at a time straight off your amp ie put the speaker wire directly onto the terminals of the driver itself and listen to it, if is still sounds stuffed you know it is the driver, if it sounds good then start looking at the crossovers. Start at low volume and turn it up slowly until you can tell if it is blown.

I made the big mistake of selling my SRT's many years ago for the deposit on a house, I regretted it so much I had to go and replace them, learn from my mistake, keep them, you need to get the SDA array (the bank of drivers without the tweeter) running, without this they will not image and are not unlike any other speaker, once you have them set up right you will not be able to contain your smile, they are as great for music as they are for movies, you just need to get them running right.

PolkWannabie

This is the info that Polk used to have on their Web Site for the SRT's which I reformatted to Word and then PDF'ed before it disappeared ... I tried to leave as much in the original format as possible while also neatening it up for document as opposed to Web Site presentation and removed the links to now non existant other web pages. Good stuff in there, some of which can't be found elsewhere.