no sound from a9 tweeter

superjunior

a couple weeks ago I noticed there was no sound coming from the tweeter in one of my rtia9s. I switched speeker outputs,ect.. to be sure the problem is in the speeker and not the wiring or gear. Its definatly the speeker. So I figured I must have blown the tweeter and ordered a new one from polk. I installed it yesterday and still no sound Well now I've got a spare a9 tweeter but can someone please tell me where to look next? any help is MUCH appreciated. thanks
Dan

kawizx9r

Are the jumper posts (ones that connect the top/bottom sets of terminals when you're not bi-amping/etc.) sitting tightly between the terminals?

Maybe a loose solder or something came disconnected within the cabinet from your x-over.

I won't say test the tweeter since you've already found the culprit, but if you want test the original tweeter at a low volume connected straight to your receiver to make sure it's working fine. If you replace a tweeter/driver it's best to replace them on both speakers to let them break in at the same time.

superjunior

kawizx9r wrote: »

Are the jumper posts (ones that connect the top/bottom sets of terminals when you're not bi-amping/etc.) sitting tightly between the terminals?

Maybe a loose solder or something came disconnected within the cabinet from your x-over.

I won't say test the tweeter since you've already found the culprit, but if you want test the original tweeter at a low volume connected straight to your receiver to make sure it's working fine. If you replace a tweeter/driver it's best to replace them on both speakers to let them break in at the same time.

thanks Fred, I checked the jumper plate and posts, they're all tight . I would guess its not the tweeter itself but something within the speeker as they did arrive a little banged up from shipping. I'll probably put the old tweeter back in to keep things the same in both speekers. How do I access the x-over?

kawizx9r

I will assume the x-over is near the speaker terminals so you would either be required to take out the lowest mounted driver (for larger opening) or the speaker terminal plate on the back. Hopefully it's something minor that you can just re-solder or connect, but it's best to check there since your new tweeter wouldn't work when you plugged it right in.

Edit: Iirc, I thought I read somewhere about the crazy design they have for the RTiA enclosures so it's probably best you try to get to your x-over from the rear.

superjunior

anyone else dug into an a9 before?

leroyjr1

superjunior wrote: »

anyone else dug into an a9 before?

Take the four screws out on the speaker terminal (rear) to access the crossover. The crossover is built right on the terminal plate.

superjunior

I guess todays project will start with the crossover and go from there - after raking the leaves in yard :mad: - I'll post my findings later. thanks fellas
Dan

superjunior

I can't get the crossover out far enough to see anything. do I have to disconnect any or all drivers to get more slack to the x-over? is it just the wires going to the drivers that keeps it from only coming out maybe an inch? I've never taken a speeker apart before

superjunior

from what I can see the solder from the tweeter wire on the x-over looks solid. I'm at a loss here...:(

gtu2004

check to see if any resistor has fell off, come losse, or burned.

My LsiC tweeter was not working and when I opened it up, I saw one resistor was sticking to the cabinet. I bought it used from a member on here, and I don't know how it got there.Good thing it was still functional so after I solder it back to the crossover, the speaker worked fine.

superjunior

gtu2004 wrote: »

check to see if any resistor has fell off, come losse, or burned.

My LsiC tweeter was not working and when I opened it up, I saw one resistor was sticking to the cabinet. I bought it used from a member on here, and I don't know how it got there.Good thing it was still functional so after I solder it back to the crossover, the speaker worked fine.

far as I could see, and I couldn't get a real close look as the x-over only came out of the speeker about an inch or so, exposing only 1 side, everything seemed to be in order. I removed the middle driver to get a look at the back of the x-over and I couln't get a great look but nothing seemed to be loose or burnt. might have to take it in to some sort of speeker or electronics repair place. very depressing..:(

kawizx9r

If you can get a multimeter, can't you check to see if you have anything come out from the wires that go to the tweeter off the crossover?

See if you can check while listening to music if there's any output. Sucks that you can only see the x-o so much.

superjunior

kawizx9r wrote: »

If you can get a multimeter, can't you check to see if you have anything come out from the wires that go to the tweeter off the crossover?

See if you can check while listening to music if there's any output. Sucks that you can only see the x-o so much.

thanks Fred I'll pick up a multimeter and give it a shot. there's a plug that the mids and tweet wires go through in the upper chamber and they are a very tight fit through there limiting any slack to the x-over.

sTiLlLeArNiNg

Using a DVOM with an audible continuity signal (a beep sound lol) you should be able to find the problem quite easily, just set the DVOM to the setting that look's like this: .))) and check each lead, resistor, coil, cap whatever! No beep = no good

superjunior

I'll give it a shot but again access to the x-over is so limited you can barely even get a visual on the whole thing

sTiLlLeArNiNg

Have you tried to disconnect the lead's from the driver's to give you more slack? I would think if you pulled the lead's off of the tweet it would allow you enough slack to pull the X-over out more

superjunior

the wires from the mids and tweet go through some type of plug in the upper chamber maybe to keep it air tight? who knows how polk even got those wires through that plug but they wont budge. you can't fit your hand in there either. the plug would have to be pushed out towards the back of the speeker to get slack to the x-o, which it would seem impossible to ever get that plug back in place

Jed Leland

Hello Dan,
I believe Polk uses a gummy kind of material to plug the hole where the upper connecting wires go through the sub-enclosure. If you remove the tweeter, drivers and woofers from the cabinet you'll be able to remove the crossover completely. I'm going to assume you have tried the replacement tweeter in the other working speaker to make sure it is not a defective tweeter. If so, then the crossover is the only other part of the speaker that could be the cause.
Cheers, Ken

Toolfan66

Also if you wanted you can label all wires with masking tape or painters tape so you can put them back where you pulled them from. if this is a concern for you.

sTiLlLeArNiNg

superjunior try and give Polk CS a call, they are VERY friendly and ALWAY's willing to help You can use tape to "mark" the wire's or just snap a pic with your camera phone (what i do lol) Sorry can't be of more help

superjunior

just talked to polk cs and they said that plug is indeed a gummy type material that can be coaxed out, with a little carefull effort. since I know very little about caps, resistors, soldering ect, I figure I'd ask how much for a new x-o. 75.00 - without my club discount, so probably closer to 60somthing, and it has all the driver wires attached and ready to plug in. Think this is the route I'll go unless someone has a better suggestion. thanks everyone that chimed in - always appreciated!
Dan

Jed Leland

Hello Dan,
That sounds like the best plan, assuming you've checked to make sure the tweeter you were sent was operating correctly.
Regards, Ken

superjunior

ordering a new x-o from polk this weekend, it will likely be a week or two before I actually get the time to do the work though. good thing I got my little sda's to keep things up and running in the meantime. would it be a good idea to replace those driver gaskets since I'll have them all pulled off anyway?