Plate amp repairs for vintage speakers
neils
Posts: 26
(mod, up to you if you want to make this a sticky or not)
Hey guys,
Thought I would share some valuable information with you, if you are stuck with a faulty plate amp (for sub drivers) on one of your vintage speakers. In my case, I had a plate amp go on me on my RT3000p. My heart sank cause I knew I would not be able to find another replacement plate amp (I was wrong). Being in Canada, my options were limited, call the Polk rep, who then referred me to an electronics repair company in Ontario. After looking over my plate amp (was making a loud buzzing sound), they concluded that the amp was not repairable (it is see below), but surprisingly, they had rebuilt plate amps lying in inventory, and cheap too. So a day later, I had a rebuilt unit sitting at my house, working perfectly. If you are in Canada, you can contact Walter Moser, or contact me as well, to put you in touch with that repair company.
As for the rest, after looking around on the net, I found the Holy Grail of repair companies, who bring vintage plate amps back to life. Their eBay handle is "electronetix", and they currently have a few auctions up for plate amp repairs. The way it works, you buy the auction on eBay, which covers parts and man-hours to repair your plate amp. Their prices are extremely reasonable. They ensured me that, minus the power supply, all other parts are repairable with over-the-shelf parts, which I believe.
If you cannot find the auctions, you can contact me, but here are some search examples:
Polk RTi100, RT1000i or RT1000p Powered Subwoofer Amplifier Plate Repair Service
Polk RT3000p Powered Subwoofer Amplifier Plate Repair Service
So if your plate amp blows, don't sweat it...
Neil
Hey guys,
Thought I would share some valuable information with you, if you are stuck with a faulty plate amp (for sub drivers) on one of your vintage speakers. In my case, I had a plate amp go on me on my RT3000p. My heart sank cause I knew I would not be able to find another replacement plate amp (I was wrong). Being in Canada, my options were limited, call the Polk rep, who then referred me to an electronics repair company in Ontario. After looking over my plate amp (was making a loud buzzing sound), they concluded that the amp was not repairable (it is see below), but surprisingly, they had rebuilt plate amps lying in inventory, and cheap too. So a day later, I had a rebuilt unit sitting at my house, working perfectly. If you are in Canada, you can contact Walter Moser, or contact me as well, to put you in touch with that repair company.
As for the rest, after looking around on the net, I found the Holy Grail of repair companies, who bring vintage plate amps back to life. Their eBay handle is "electronetix", and they currently have a few auctions up for plate amp repairs. The way it works, you buy the auction on eBay, which covers parts and man-hours to repair your plate amp. Their prices are extremely reasonable. They ensured me that, minus the power supply, all other parts are repairable with over-the-shelf parts, which I believe.
If you cannot find the auctions, you can contact me, but here are some search examples:
Polk RTi100, RT1000i or RT1000p Powered Subwoofer Amplifier Plate Repair Service
Polk RT3000p Powered Subwoofer Amplifier Plate Repair Service
So if your plate amp blows, don't sweat it...
Neil
Post edited by neils on
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Comments
Velodyne CHT15's x2 subwoofers! one for each tower
RT2000i's as surrounds
CS1000p
FX500i's
Looking for RT2000i's or RT3000p's...PM me...or click on profile and respond to my WTB ads...thanks!!!
Now any one of you knows about this or have any experience, I do not want to junk them as they are absolutely wonderful speaker set.
Thank you in advance.
polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 2.3TL's + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X TC265i Rears, SVS PB13 Ultra x 2
Pass Labs X1, Pioneer Elite SC-67, Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400, Oppo BDP-83SE, Sony SCD-C333ES
http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/38755/polk-audio-speaker-wiring-schematics-more-all-models-except-sda
Not sure of the differences between the RT1000P & the RT1000i in terms of the amps.
RT1000p Wire Diagram
https://us.v-cdn.net/5021930/uploads/attachments/4/6/7/2/8/18718.pdf
RT1000p Amplifier Schematic
https://us.v-cdn.net/5021930/uploads/attachments/4/6/7/2/8/18862.pdf
RT1000p Crossover Schematic
https://us.v-cdn.net/5021930/uploads/attachments/4/6/7/2/8/18719.pdf
HDTV - Sharp AQUOS LC-70LE600U 70" | AVR/Streamer - Onkyo TX-NR3008 | Amp - Parasound HCA-1203A
Blu-Ray/Media/Gaming - Sony PS3-320GB / Microsoft Xbox One | Broadcast - Xfinity X1 Platform
Front Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Center Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Rear Spkrs - Artison Portrait LRS
Sub - DIY Stereo Integrity HT 15 | Sub Amp - Dayton Audio SA1000
Wire - Audioquest Type 4, BJC Belden 5000 | HDMI - BJC Belden | Power Cables - Pangea | Surge - Monster
Thanks "dpowell"... You gave me the key to the problem and confidence to tackle the problem. I took apart my RT1000P amp and noticed the Paper caps leaking and loose. The amp has 4700uF 25V capacitors. I was not able to find that same one locally, but I was able to find 4700uF 35V and installed them. From both speakers I found 3 out of the 4 capacitors (4700uF 25V) leaking and loose. I went ahead and purchased and replaced all four of the capacitors. I can report that my subs are no longer humming and sound amazing. Cost for the capacitors for me was $1.50 each. Since I purchased the speakers used and with the humming sounds, I never experienced them or their amazing bass. I disconnected my Velodyne sub and now have both the subs connected for bass. Using a Yamaha RX-V773WA.
polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 2.3TL's + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X TC265i Rears, SVS PB13 Ultra x 2
Pass Labs X1, Pioneer Elite SC-67, Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400, Oppo BDP-83SE, Sony SCD-C333ES