Rti 12 upgrades??

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naturallight
naturallight Posts: 689
edited April 2012 in Speakers
Now i have looked thu all the posts i can find. But don't see any "upgrades" on these speakers. If VR3 dose do them, he did not post about them that i can find, unless i missed it someplace.

Now i bought the 12's off the Polk ebay site, so they may have been "refurbs"....but I could find no nicks or anything on them, they looked pretty brand new to me, and took a while just to break in. Maybe they had the 9's crossover put in them....I don't have a clue. But i really have a hard time finding fault with them. The "shrill" twetter deal...It may come across like that on a few CD's....but there old remastered analog stuff, and i tend to blame the person who remastered it, more then the speaker. On 95% of the CD's...I really can't turn them up past 11 oclock on the pre.
Not if i want any hearing left...LOL Plus they don't come across "shrill" at all.

Now my room, may have something to do with that. Don't really know. But any complaints about these speakers, i just have to say...your just not running the right equipment. If your not running a good "high current amp" then your just not getting what these speakers can put out.

If there is a post about this, and it tells you what caps to change, I would greatly appreciate being directed to it.
Thanks
Post edited by naturallight on
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  • naturallight
    naturallight Posts: 689
    edited April 2012
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    LOL..no, i'll be the first one to tell you these speakers are great. Far beyound what you can buy in that price range.
    I've had these for about a year now. They DO need some time to break in. Don't pull these out of the box and expect them to sound great..LOL Now Polk dose say you need at min 50-500 watts to run these. What they don't say is they really should be "good" high current amps.....which to make them shine is what you really need.

    So any complaints about these speakers is pretty much do to the fact of trying to run them with a stock AVR.
    Just NOT going to happen....

    I always look to "upgrade" stuff..so if VR3, has some upgrade on the caps, I would like to know what they are. But can't find that in any of the posts.

    Now i was thinking of getting a set of the Lsi 15's.....but after reading a number of posts....not sure it's worth the money. They should be better on the high end More "accurate"....but in some posts, they feel the bottom end can become sloppy, not as "accurate" as the 12's. In some cases they say there is not alot of difference between the 2, and the 15's can not dive down and give you the bass of the 12's.....which in some cases i tend to beleive.

    If i can upgrade the 12's high end to make that a little more "accurate"...then i'm all for it....just need to know how.
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  • slider2828
    slider2828 Posts: 118
    edited April 2012
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    485725_10150823615216177_623741176_11918742_208079958_n.jpg


    I did the VR3 upgrade buying all the parts from VR3. I am pretty good with electronics, like soldering IC chips, reading wiring diagrams of cars, tracing circuits, etc. So I felt pretty comfortable with doing the labor parts myself.

    So with this, I modded one side of the speaker and not the other to see if I can tell the difference AND I COULD! Keep in mind I touched absolutely nothing except the crossovers, so no fiddling with settings and stuff.

    The modded one was much more efficient in the following ways:

    More sound volume than the unmodded one.
    Much more sound from mids
    Softened up overall sound because of the mids and tweeter (I felt the sound was very bright, which is great for action movies, but really sucked for stereo music or instrumental stuff.)
    Better staging and ramping... basically you can really hear the roundness of the sound as it comes around
    Currently have about 30 hours on them, so things are probably only going to get better as I get closer to 100 hours.

    VR3 has been pretty busy with his house renovations hahaha.... but look in the DIY section.

    Let me know if you have any questions.
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,082
    edited April 2012
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    This thread is deja-vu

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?131452-Lsi15-better-then-Rti12

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • naturallight
    naturallight Posts: 689
    edited April 2012
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    Wow...more volume?? seems hard to belive..LOL But what i'm i look at in that pic?? Is that the back of an rt1 12..thats metal...whats on the back of mine "assumeing" were looking at the back plate of were the speakers connect to is plastic..unless thats just a cover???

    I have no problem with soldering or anything else. I looked in the DYI section..could find nothing in there.
    If you could tell me what caps you replaced and what else you did would be great.

    On SDA's you have to pull the speaker...to get to the x over, this somehow looks like the back of were the speakers connect...is that right???
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  • naturallight
    naturallight Posts: 689
    edited April 2012
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    Well heiney9..nobody told me in the last thread..how to do this. Now i have a Pic, and somebody that did it. So for me..that pretty much works. Since i could not find the info to do it, it think it's pretty nice that slider showed me a pic..and may tell me how to do it.
    Sorry if the thread seems redundent.
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  • zane77
    zane77 Posts: 1,696
    edited April 2012
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    Try this link, I think it has what you are looking for.

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?128992-Vr3-Fortress-Edition-Mods
    Home Theater
    Onkyo PR-SC5508 Sharp LC-70LE847U
    Emotiva XPA-5 Emotiva XPA-2 Emotiva UPA-2
    Front RTi-A9 Wide RTi-A7 Center CSi-A6 Surround FXi-A6 Rear RTi-A3 Sub 2x PSW505
    Sony BDP-S790 Dishnetwork Hopper/Joey Logitech Harmony One Apple TV
    Two Channel
    Oppo 105D BAT VK-500 w/BatPack SDA SRS 2.3 Dreadnought Squeezebox Touch Apple TV
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  • naturallight
    naturallight Posts: 689
    edited April 2012
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    WoW....all i can say about those upgrades....Just again WOW. To put a faceplate like that, plus the caps and whatever..man that's over the top. To be honest, not sure i could afford that as an upgrade. But if VR3 is willing to send the cap's and stuff you need for the upgrade, or at least tell me what caps and stuff he used. Then maybe the price would not be so bad..LOL Maybe the 12's don't need a massive upgrade....but again WOW..my hats off to you.
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  • jbooker82
    jbooker82 Posts: 1,627
    edited April 2012
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    On mine he used the same parts that the stock xo uses. Just better quality.

    I belived he used Clarity PX caps in the woofers, and mids, and Clarity ESA caps in the tweeter network. He also used Mills Resistors.

    The caps have the same value they are just a different style. The factory xo's use a electrolyte cap (fluid filled). The Clarity Caps are desinged for audio, and are a Poly Film style cap. He doenst really change value's he just upgrades the quality of the componets, but the better componets are a lot larger and take up more space.
    AVR: Onkyo Tx-NR808
    Amplifier: Carver A-753x 250 watts x 3
    Fronts: Polk RTI A7 (modded by Trey VR3)
    Center: CSI A4 (modded by Trey VR3)
    Rear: FXI A4
    Sub: Polk DSW Pro 660wi
    TV: LG Infinia 50PX950 3D
    Speaker Cable: AudioQuest Type 8
    IC: AudioQuest Black Mamba II
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  • jbooker82
    jbooker82 Posts: 1,627
    edited April 2012
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    He done mine before he had the aluminum plates made. I think in fact mine were the first to use the threaded rod, and extra bread board.

    I also dynomated all the drivers while I had them out.
    005.jpg
    007-2.jpg
    AVR: Onkyo Tx-NR808
    Amplifier: Carver A-753x 250 watts x 3
    Fronts: Polk RTI A7 (modded by Trey VR3)
    Center: CSI A4 (modded by Trey VR3)
    Rear: FXI A4
    Sub: Polk DSW Pro 660wi
    TV: LG Infinia 50PX950 3D
    Speaker Cable: AudioQuest Type 8
    IC: AudioQuest Black Mamba II
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,054
    edited April 2012
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    Hey guys!

    I would love to talk to you about your mods - whether you want to do them yourself or me do them - just love talking about improving speakers....

    You can email me Vr3Mods@gmail.com

    Thanks! :-D

    Thanks for all the support guys! You rock!
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,054
    edited April 2012
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    Hey Josh!

    Glad you are still liking yours!

    Yours was the first set of RTiA7 I did and when I saw them I almost fainted until the ligth bulb went off!

    I have done close to 20 sets or so of speakers using that stacked method now! I love it and makes the end user have such an easy job.
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • slider2828
    slider2828 Posts: 118
    edited April 2012
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    What you are looking at in the picture are basically the crossovers. The crossover is basically the plate that the speaker wires connect to. Yes seriously, its more volume because its more efficient components. Just think if the crossover network is cleaner in all ways, it WILL increase volume or throughput.

    You are looking at VR3's Fortress edition, basically metal back plate with thread rods and stuff.... But yes VR3 is THE guy to talk to and instrumental in all my decisions. Next stop are my FX500i surrounds, but man that thing doesn't have a lot of room.
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  • slider2828
    slider2828 Posts: 118
    edited April 2012
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    @JBooker, what is the benefit of dynomatting the back of the speaker like that? what is the audible difference?
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  • jbooker82
    jbooker82 Posts: 1,627
    edited April 2012
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    It deadens vibrations. I dont know how much of a chage it did because I done it at the same time as the xo's. I could tap on the magnetic sheilds with by knuckles and would get a ring. With the dynomat I dont. You cant hear ringing while playing music but it is just a good theory, so I done it.
    AVR: Onkyo Tx-NR808
    Amplifier: Carver A-753x 250 watts x 3
    Fronts: Polk RTI A7 (modded by Trey VR3)
    Center: CSI A4 (modded by Trey VR3)
    Rear: FXI A4
    Sub: Polk DSW Pro 660wi
    TV: LG Infinia 50PX950 3D
    Speaker Cable: AudioQuest Type 8
    IC: AudioQuest Black Mamba II
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  • Drenis
    Drenis Posts: 2,871
    edited April 2012
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    What about dynomatting the port tubes? They seem to make some extra noise when you knock on them inside the cabinet.
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,054
    edited April 2012
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    I would do it

    I would also put a layer of No-Rez behind the mids in their enclosure personally
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • slider2828
    slider2828 Posts: 118
    edited April 2012
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    Hey VR3, No-Rez just attached to the back wall of the speaker opposite of the mids?
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,054
    edited April 2012
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    Yep, directly behind them

    I wouldnt do any more than that or you might start to cut out some air flow - dynamatting the baskets is a good trick too and the side of the bucking magnet cups
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • Drenis
    Drenis Posts: 2,871
    edited April 2012
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    What is no-rez?
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,054
    edited April 2012
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    http://gr-research.com/norez24x27sheet.aspx

    Kind of like BH5 - but geared more torwards a general speaker version a subwoofer --

    I like it alot better than Sonic Barrier...
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • Drenis
    Drenis Posts: 2,871
    edited April 2012
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    Interesting... and this is in addition to the current amount of whatever poly-fill polk uses in there already? (Lines the inside walls of the sealed enclosure)

    I need to email you one of these days. I'm reluctant to because you're going to make me spend money. :razz:
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,054
    edited April 2012
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    Yes, No-Rez in addition to Polyfill will still make an improvement...

    Hey I am always willing to exchange emails! :)

    Dynamat the ports too...
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • garlar4
    garlar4 Posts: 1
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    I understand this is an old thread. However has anyone spoke to Vr3? I tried emailing him a couple weeks ago about this mod and not received a response.
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  • bcwsrt
    bcwsrt Posts: 1,603
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    @VR3 ^^^

    Brian

    One-owner Polk Audio RTA 15TL speakers refreshed w/ Sonicap, Vishay/Mills and Cardas components by "pitdogg2," "xschop" billet tweeter plates and BH5 | Stereo REL Acoustics T/5x subwoofers w/ Bassline Blue cables | Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III integrated tube amp | Technics SL-1210G turntable w/ Ortofon 2M Black LVB 250 MM cart | Sony CDP-508ESD CD player (as a transport) | LampizatOr Baltic 4 tube DAC | Nordost & DH Labs cables/interconnects | APC H15 Power Conditioner | GIK Acoustics room treatments | Degritter RCM
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,054
    edited July 2023
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    Thanks for the heads up, I do believe I caught this email inquiry?

    zb1vnayg78n5.jpg
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • Hansvelton
    Hansvelton Posts: 151
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    There seems to be a Peak in the 2-3.5 or so Khz range that makes them a tad shouty or forward sounding.
    A great speaker with quite good deep bass and great volume level ability, but just "forward"


    To me that issue alone causes the fatigue.

    The Lsi15, almost the opposite, a small dip in that area, that makes them sound smooth and seductive, but a tad recessed overall.
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