Don't tell me

sinvayne

I just purchased a Pioneer VSX 1019-AH receiver, two Polk M70's, pair of M40's, PSW 505 sub and a CS2 center channel. I just have the M70's and the sub hooked up right now. I was playing some music through the ipod connection and walked out of the room. All of a sudden everything cut off. I waited a few minutes and turned the receiver back on. The right M70 sounded fine but the left one sounded kinda muted. I unhooked both and switched them. The speaker that sounded muted is still like that. I can put my ear up to it and it sounds like the tweeter isn't putting out. There is sound coming out of it but not as clear as the other one. Any idea what could have happened? Is the speaker shot? Any help would be much appreciated.

Knucklehead

bye bye tweeter?

sinvayne

Maaaannnnn, don't tell me that. What did I do wrong? I thought those Polk speakers could easily handle the wattage the Pioneer was pushing. Makes me not even want to hook up the rest of the speakers. I researched and am sure I've done everything correctly.

ben62670

A lower wattage receiver will burn out a tweeter if it is turned up to the point of distortion. You are more likely to blow a tweeter with a receiver than an amp.

sinvayne

Any suggestions on what to do with the speaker? I'm sure it's probably not covered in the warranty is it? Does anyone recommend any additions to my set-up such as an amp? Thx for the help. It's MUCH appreciated.

ben62670

Call Polk CS they are top notch. Mention you are a club Polk member.

Knucklehead

sinvayne wrote: »

Any suggestions on what to do with the speaker? I'm sure it's probably not covered in the warranty is it? Does anyone recommend any additions to my set-up such as an amp? Thx for the help. It's MUCH appreciated.

Im not so sure your AVR has pre-outs to add an external AMP.

reeltrouble1

If you purchased the speaker through an authorized dealer I would call Polk CS and tell them the tweeter blew shortly after hooking it up they may be under warranty, if not just buy a tweeter from them. Make sure in he future you keep your receiver around no more than 11:00 on the volume dial. Hi-fi requires high current design components, dont get fooled in the watts game, you want high current, Polk can give you some recommendations for your products or you can read the forum and see what the fan boys of various gear say about it and its ability to deliver current.

Your word for the day is clipping. When the reciever is asked to put out more power than it has available it cuts off a portion of the signal, or "clips" the wave this results in a distorted signal the tweeter is not designed to handle, your receiver shut down to save itself it likely has a protection circuit, unfortunately sounds like the one tweeter went before this happened, dont be to hard on yourself most of us have been there.

RT1

Freak When C

reeltrouble1 wrote: »

Make sure in the future you keep your receiver around no more than 11:00 on the volume dial. Hi-fi requires high current design components, dont get fooled in the watts game, you want high current, Polk can give you some recommendations for your products or you can read the forum and see what the fan boys of various gear say about it and its ability to deliver current.

Your word for the day is clipping. When the reciever is asked to put out more power than it has available it cuts off a portion of the signal, or "clips" the wave this results in a distorted signal the tweeter is not designed to handle, your receiver shut down to save itself it likely has a protection circuit, unfortunately sounds like the one tweeter went before this happened, dont be to hard on yourself most of us have been there.

RT1

Most excellent advice. I'd like to ask a question along these lines. Current, high current - how can I verify my amp is putting out high current? I was told by the seller it does, yet the amp is rated at only 25wpc. But he said to disregard that, that my amp is very high current. I have an integrated tube amp, a Mastersound Due Venti.

What specs tell the owner of an amp that it's a high current design?

reeltrouble1

the pk 2 pk amperage rating is an indicator, the higher the better, most of the usual suspects you see here will measure around 25-35 amps, of course this is for very short bursts and is related to the transformer and storage capacitors, some companies use big looking cans others use many smaller capacitors which recharge very quickly, my B&K gear measures at 75 ampres, NAD has a bit different type circuit, dynamic power rating I believe they call it, Musical Fidelity believes in huge amounts and they maeasure above 200, there is much more than this to hi-fi sound of course but having enough current power is fundamental, just get heiny going on that pass Aleph he has, it is like 30 watts with big current power. Sometimes you have to ask the vendor if they do list the ratng in the spec. But remember do not rely on specs for how gear will sound,they do though supply some indication of the gear, one old trick for traditional gear is to look at the weight of the piece, it does not come from pig iron, big power requires heavy metal so to speak.

RT1

sinvayne

Thx reeltrouble1. I'm slowly realizing there is more to this than I imagined. Live and learn. Guess I need to do more research than I have done. I was basically looking for something that was a step or two up from the theatre in a box stuff. Not going to give up though. Hooking up the center and rear surround first of the week. Thx again.

Zitro

sinvayne wrote: »

Thx reeltrouble1. I'm slowly realizing there is more to this than I imagined. Live and learn. Guess I need to do more research than I have done. I was basically looking for something that was a step or two up from the theatre in a box stuff. Not going to give up though. Hooking up the center and rear surround first of the week. Thx again.

Good luck, and don't be discouraged. I am relatively new to this game also, but it's been a lot of fun and there are A LOT of knowledgeable people here willing to give you a helping hand if needed. Welcome to Club Polk.

reeltrouble1

you are at least a step from HTIB, like I said we all started somewhere, the Polks are solid speakers, hang on for the ride and welcome to the audio rabbit hole, it can be quite a journey for those that pursue the hobby of sound.

First order is to get the speaker working properly, plenty of time and things to read and learn here from the guys as you move along.

RT1

reeltrouble1

Freak--I am getting on a bit and did miss the fact your amp is tubed....oh my, well, as I say Tubes Rule, you will see where folks say tube watts are different from solid state, well, yes, true, you see there are voltage swings that can occur with tube gear which is not possible in ss design. So 25 tube watts pack quite a power punch as the pressure applied to the flow by the voltage swings and so on, still, be aware there are many tube designs that produce much more, for me tube circuits do in fact handle the audio signal in a most pleasing way, resulting in liquid mids and sweet highs. Modern tube designs have taken much of the fun to the extreme while addressing their original weaknesses of bloomy bass, biasing nightmares and so on.

RT1

josephclemente

Sinvayne - what was your volume set to (#) when this happened? If you disconnect the speakers and set the volume to max, what number does it show?

sinvayne

Don't laugh.... I had it set to 0.00. It goes up to I think +12.00. Starts at like -80.00. I had it crankin listening to some old Corrosion of Conformity. Newbie I am. The speakers were sounding soo good, I couldn't resist cranking it. Guess I'll have to be satisfied with a moderate level until I learn more and probably eventually upgrade.

josephclemente

Good to know. I have a lesser receiver (a Pioneer VSX-819H-K) and have kept the volume no higher than the mid setting so far.

Pioneer's web site specifications say that my receiver has a "Volume Limit Setup". I thought this meant I could set a maximum for the Master Volume, but I can't find this feature anywhere. I thought it would be useful in case my dog increases the volume real high (he does change channels sometimes).

sinvayne

Just keep looking. I finally set mine but the lowest I found I could set it was 0.00. Which was where I blew my tweeter. Been listening to it at no more than -10.00 and am satisfied. Waiting to hook up the M40's in the rear so I can watch The Wall. Should be a new experience.

sinvayne

Next time I look, I'll try to let you how to get to the setting if it's the same as my receiver.

Knucklehead

You guys are insane! I can only turn mine up about 2/3 before I start running for cover....never damaged by speakers.:D

sinvayne

Called Polk and they said as a courtesy, they would send me a replacement tweeter at no cost. Now I really know I made the right choice with Polk Audio.

Pycroft

Congrats, and good job Polk Customer Service!

wutadumsn23

Sorry to hear about your incident sin, but as the guys have said above, there is a reason why protection circuits are bulit into AVR's and this is exactly it. Just be glad you didn't fry your AVR too. 0 is way too high for listening, and it looks like you found that out the hard way, no worries though, I have done the same thing. Just this past weekend I was messing with my newly aquired Monitor 10's and I had them hooked up to the Zone 2 on my 806. I had apparently hooked them up wrong somehow, and could barely hear them, so I started cranking the volume knob. I honestly have no idea how far the volume had gone up, since I wasn't looking at it when I suddenly heard my AVR shut off and mt 10's got even quieter, lol. Long story short, my AVR went into protect mode and I blew both the fuses on my 10's. I often play MW2 in the morning and turn the volume way down to about 60-64 so I don't wake anyone up. I thought the volume was way down there and just started turning the knob thinking I had a ways to go. Luckily for me I was able to reset my Onkyo and changed the fuses in the 10's and everything is good to go now. You gotta be careful with those speakers, protect your investment. Good on Polk Audi for sending you a new tweet, they are second to none. Let those 70's burn in for awhile before you crank em up, and enjoy em.

-Jeff