Polk RTA11 T's

drillher

There is a pair of rta11t's for sale from 1985.Are these speakers prone to foam rot being that old? The asking price is 200.00 which seems reasonable,if they still work well.Thanks,
David

leroyjr1

No foam, rubber surrounds.

zarrdoss

for 200 they better be in excellent shape

zarrdoss

These are my fav non SDA speaker just replace the tweet with the newer RDO 194 and your gold. You can also upgrade the x-over as well. BTW I paid 150 for mine in great shape. and welcome

drillher

I will have to look at them.I can always offer less than 200.00.Thanks for the information.Interesting that they don't use foam.
David

drillher

Does the rubber degrade after 23 years?

george daniel

not mine

leroyjr1

drillher wrote: »

Does the rubber degrade after 23 years?

The rubber surrounds should be the least of your worries. The speakers will wear out before the rubber will. I've owned over 20 pairs of vintage polks with the MW drivers and 0 problems thus far.

John30_30

drillher wrote: »

Does the rubber degrade after 23 years?

I had a set that the bottom passives did degrade to crumbly pieces. I'm sure the **** I bought them from left them stored in the very cold or something.

I replaced them with foam, which is non-kosher, but they sounded great. The drivers were in great shape.

drillher

The seller of the RTA11ts did not get back to me yet,butI am still hopeful.I brought my old Cizek Model 2 speakers in to be re-foamed,so hopfully I will have speakers sooner or later.
David

drillher

Does anybody know of any reviews of the RTA11T's?How good of a speaker are they?Thanks,
David

zarrdoss

They are very good, epically when you upgrade the tweets, they are my most favorite non sda Polk's clear highs smooth mids and deep tight bass.

rallyshark

I have them and love them as well. I don't have as much experience listening to all the other vintage polks, but I have listened to a lot of speakers, and the 11T is my favorite I've owned. They have a really nice sound, and surprising bass. If you change the tweets to the RDO's and do the crossover mods, they move up another notch in quality. People are always amazed when they hear them and I tell them they are over 20 years old. Then they ask if the sub is on:D If you can get the price down a little and they appear to be in good shape, I say go for it:)

zarrdoss

I wonder if these would be worth anything?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260506695197&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en

ben62670

www.Polksda.com

They are one of my favorite designs of none SDA's out there.

drillher

Thanks for all of the good input.Hopefully I can see them this weekend.I am having a pair of Cizek Model 2 speakers re-foamed and the Polks may be good to use as well.I just bought a MC 250 amp.and will be buying a C-24 preamp. next weekend.I have a Dual 510 turntable a Yamaha tuner and a Pioneer CD player.All I need are speakers to have a working system.
David

drillher

I emailed the seller of the cross over modification kit and asked how to get in touch with him if I am able to buy the Polks.
David

lakesailor

They were easily the best non-SDA speaker in the Polk line-up at the time and were also the best deal by far. Used for the typically $ 200 - $ 300 they go for these days they are still a steal.. A very subtle under the radar looking speaker but surprisingly listenable and exceptionally more bass than you would expect. Can’t go far wrong if they have been well preserved.

ben62670

zarrdoss wrote: »

I wonder if these would be worth anything?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260506695197&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en

Crap.

drillher

The cross over modification kit is crap?The seller sounds like he is a expert if you read his discription.

zarrdoss

ben62670 wrote: »

Crap.

Thats kind of what I thought but thought Id ask. Because you cannot buy one decent cap from parts express for 20 bucks for those.

drillher

Did you modify your crossover?

zarrdoss

drillher wrote: »

Did you modify your crossover?

Me? no its in the works one of these days and probably will just order Solen caps off parts express, all I have done is upgrade the tweets and they sound great.

drillher

According to the seller of the caps.on ebay,the tweeters are fine and only the crossover needs modification.Where did you get the diagrams and values to make the changes?Thanks,
David

concealer404

SL2000 tweeters are an acquired taste. Most of us don't really like them. They're harsh and have a pretty nasty spike.

zarrdoss

here is the schematic

Attachment not found.

rallyshark

That ebay kit is cheap, and I think in this case, you would be getting what you pay for. First off the kit has electrolytic capacitors, which aren't preferred on a good crossover. Second, looks like there is an inductor in that kit, which I don't think you should monkey around with, especially since the one already on the crossover is just fine. Don't take my word for though, there are much smarter people than I on here:o I would recommend buying the caps yourself along with resistors. Even if you got all Dayton caps from Parts Express, it would still be better than that kit IMO. I ordered all of the parts separately and did the crossovers on mine myself, and it was a VERY rewarding experience. FYI, I used Sonicaps on the mid/high, and Dayton on the low, but there are many other choices to be had as well. You never know, you may like them just the way they are. Good luck:)

drillher

Thanks for all of the information and the schematic.I understand now how the ebay parts can't be that good for that price.All I have to do is buy the speakers and then I may ask for more details on modification.Thanks!
David

Mos Fete

Do, did you get the speakers?

I have a pair and they are amazing, deep bass, smooth mids and crisp highs.

Cheers

rpkoran

I found this on ebay. Is the kit mentioned above being crap for an upgrade?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180548920257&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_4160wt_1137

Thanks,
Randy

zarrdoss

rpkoran wrote: »

I found this on ebay. Is the kit mentioned above being crap for an upgrade?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180548920257&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_4160wt_1137

Thanks,
Randy

This is crap also, better off ordering new caps and resistors from Parts Express.