Anyone replace the RDO194s with a Vifa on a Polk RTA-12C?

jon s

As some of you may know, I have a pair of Polk RTA-12Cs with RDO-194 tweeters and all caps replaced with Sonicaps. I was just wondering if it would be a good idea to replace the RDOs with Vifa tweeters. I have a spare set of Vifas which are lying around the house collecting dust. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

engtaz

Try it and report back to us on how it went.

Thank,
engtaz

george daniel

eh,, nope.

Face

No, especially with the complexity of that crossover.

ben62670

Keep the RDO's, and send me the Vifa's;) The XO would most likely not play well with Vifa's. Most Vifa tweeters are 4ohms, and even if they were six the XO wouldn't match up well.
Ben

jon s

Well, i measured my Vifas and they were 6-ohms. Measured the RDO194s and they were 10-ohms??? Swapped the drivers out and there was a noticeable change. There was a substantial drop in the HF response, I'd say about 6-8 dB. Cymbals literally vanished on some recordings. I would have thought with less resistance the Vifas would be too loud. The only thing I can think of is that the Vifas are a lot less sensitive than the RDOs... Oh well... back to the RDOs.

ben62670

You need a new meter. The values are way off;) IRC the 194's DCR is about 5.6, and most Vifa's are around 3.5.

engtaz

or new battery. When readings are suspect, low battery voltage on battery.

engtaz

skrol

Could be the meter if it is out of calibration or low quality. I have a $7 Centech meter and a Fluke 187. The Fluke measured my 1.5 ohm 1% resistor as 1.53 ohms. The Centech measured it as 2.54 ohms.

ben62670

I have some centechs. I use them for auto stuff, and non critical stuff. If it gets dropped who cares::

dudeinaroom

could also be the probes. ....edit....I had a pair that were a little corroded had fun trying to get a reading with. Also had a pair that the nickel plating (or what ever metal it was) had worn through and the worn spot that would yield a different reading.