RTI A3 Distortion

Hey, so I have a pair of RTI A3's mounted as the front speakers in my living room. Not an audiophile here- more of a musician who appreciates decent sound. Receiver is an older Sony all in one deal. Recently I noticed something seemed off, so I finally made time to move furniture and climb around to troubleshoot. The left speaker is definitely distorted/lacking low frequencies. I tried resetting the speaker cable on both ends (speaker and receiver), and there was no difference. I swapped that output from the receiver to the other speaker, and the sound is clear. Is there the possibility of something needing to be fixed on that speaker, or is it just blown? We play music and television through it daily, but never at unreasonable volumes.

Comments

  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 27,969
    I would unscrew the terminal cup on the back and put your eyes on the crossover for any burnt parts
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.

  • no5jkty8pf5z.png
    Ok. I'm quite familiar with musical instruments and computer electronics, and less so with this type of audio equipment on a daily basis. For what you're saying, I need to undo these four screws?
    VR3 wrote: »
    I would unscrew the terminal cup on the back and put your eyes on the crossover for any burnt parts

  • Well I went ahead and tried those four screws. Here's what I'm seeing. No smell of anything burnt. Not sure where exactly I'm looking for the crossover.

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  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,124
    Look at where I circled the resistors and connections on back side of board under the white resistor 1st 02mp6mzp10jk.jpeg
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 27,969
    The other thing you can do is swap the drivers between the two speakers.

    That resistor shows some wear at the base where the glue has turned brown but it's not to bad.
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
  • Hmm, yeah I'm not sure that I know how to swap the drivers. I've been doing some digging and found my purchase info from I bought them originally. I'm going to see what Polk can do. I wanted to make sure it wasn't just an easy thing that I needed to tighten or connect back together.

    VR3 wrote: »
    The other thing you can do is swap the drivers between the two speakers.

    That resistor shows some wear at the base where the glue has turned brown but it's not to bad.

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,709
    Swapping the drivers is easy. There are 4 allen head screws holding the driver in place. Unscrew them and disconnect the two leads, which have little locking tabs. Depress the little tab to pull the terminal off.
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  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 7,952
    edited January 2020
    Wasp reported. Clever though!
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