I'm trying to figure out why one of my tweeters isn't working at all.
Model- Polk Audio SR6500
I bought the set, 2 woofers, 2 tweeters, 2 passive crossovers, not even 6 months ago. I installed them into the doors in the stock location via adapters I made (factory 6x9 I think, did not have any when I bought the car over 3 years ago) and also set the component set up as coaxial because I did not have time to make seperate pods. On this series of speaker you screw a tweeter pod (supplied) into the center of the woofer, then place the tweeter into said pod, thus making coaxial speakers.. The adapter plates (1/4" MDF) were sealed with caulking to keep them as air-tight as possible then screwed into the doors. The speakers were installed into the plates using the supplied plastic rings and foam gaskets.
The rest of the setup-
Crossovers- Used the supplied crossovers, wired per the manual. The crossovers were both adjusted to -1dB on the tweeters. 14 guage wire from the amp to the crossovers, 14 guage wire from the crossovers to both woofers and tweeters.
Amp- Rockford Fosgate P200.2 (the new line, last years model) rated for I think 125w RMS per channel. the low/all/highpass filter was set to all pass as the owners manual instructed when being used with a component set with crossovers. Gain turned to maybe halfway.
Head unit- Pioneer P690UB. High pass filter on the head unit was set to 100 Hz (adjustable). This was set because I have no A/C, and with the windows down on the highway I needed a little more volume to hear the music well. This was done as a safeguard, there was no distortion audible at the levels I frequently listened at with the filter turned off. The EQ was adjusted frequently because I listen to a very wide variety of music, although I rarely had anything below 320 Hz on the positive side of the scale.
Symptoms- The passenger tweeter simply does not create any sound at all. Nothing. I took it off of the passenger crossover and hooked it up to the drivers side crossover(Which I knew worked) and still did not get any sound. After inspecting the wires it looked like the two wires (positive and negative) were pinched at some point during the install of the tweeter, crossing the two wires. The insulation was not damageed. I cut the wires past the "damage" and did not have any change.
Never any clipping from the amp, never any distortion, just went out one morning for work and noticed the highs from the right channel weren't playing. Worked great the night before.
I'm completely stumped.
-Gary.
Replies (5)
cplkittle on 11/21/2007 23:31:10
Thanks for the thorough explination, that should narrow it down significantly..
Let's start with using an AA battery or any 1.5v battery. Connect one side of the tweeter wire to one side of the battery and briefly brush the other wire to the other side of the battery. The tweeter should make a scratching sound. Also look for tiny sparks where the wire makes contact with the battery. If the sparks are present, but no sound is coming from the tweeter, the coil is frozen in place. If you get a scratching sound, there is nothing wrong with the tweeter, the problem is in the connections somewhere.
Another place to look is the solder joint on the back of the tweeter. I have seen these come off occasionally.
If all else fails, I would consider returning them if you bought them at a local store. Most speakers come with a 1 year warranty, and if it is a reputable company, they will at least send it back for repair or replacement.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Grdevs24zero on 11/22/2007 00:00:57
Well the battery test was a no go. No sparks, no sounds, nothing. New pack of batteries too. I guess all signs are pointing at a defunct tweeter or possibly a very, very fried voice coil?
The solder joints look to be in perfect shape. No breaks are apparent under the protective coating they put on after the solder connectoin was made. The wires feel stiff and solid, just like they're supposed to.
And Polk speakers come with a 3 year warranty :)
cplkittle on 11/22/2007 01:50:04
I meant to add try a multimeter to test the resistance, but in this case I would bet the meter would not read anything.
Tweeters are amazing feats of engineering. A very fragile, thin dome attached to a tiny coil immersed in fluid that moves up and down up to 22,000 times a second.
swez on 11/22/2007 01:50:34
Sounds like a blown tweeter voice coils alright. It happens once in a while and Polk will usually ship you a new tweeter if under warranty and purchased from a bonified seller, dealer or distributor.
Even if you had to buy a new tweeter from Polk to relpace it, it's worth the cost as these are very nice speakers. Contact the seller and see what they can do for you on the warranty replacement side of the deal. Otherwise, contact Polk and see what they can do for you.
Swez
PS Most quality crossovers come with tweeter power protection circuits. If the crossover is also damaged, it may require deeper action to correct the net problem.
Grdevs24zero on 11/22/2007 01:55:35
I've swapped the crossovers and everything performs well except for the one tweeter. I even went so far as to dissassemble the crossover to make sure there was no water in it.
I think it's just a fluke of a thing to be honest.
And you are correct on the way these components sound, I am very pleased with the performance considering the significant investment they were. The retail of these speakers is more than what I originally bought the car for.
Model- Polk Audio SR6500
I bought the set, 2 woofers, 2 tweeters, 2 passive crossovers, not even 6 months ago. I installed them into the doors in the stock location via adapters I made (factory 6x9 I think, did not have any when I bought the car over 3 years ago) and also set the component set up as coaxial because I did not have time to make seperate pods. On this series of speaker you screw a tweeter pod (supplied) into the center of the woofer, then place the tweeter into said pod, thus making coaxial speakers.. The adapter plates (1/4" MDF) were sealed with caulking to keep them as air-tight as possible then screwed into the doors. The speakers were installed into the plates using the supplied plastic rings and foam gaskets.
The rest of the setup-
Crossovers- Used the supplied crossovers, wired per the manual. The crossovers were both adjusted to -1dB on the tweeters. 14 guage wire from the amp to the crossovers, 14 guage wire from the crossovers to both woofers and tweeters.
Amp- Rockford Fosgate P200.2 (the new line, last years model) rated for I think 125w RMS per channel. the low/all/highpass filter was set to all pass as the owners manual instructed when being used with a component set with crossovers. Gain turned to maybe halfway.
Head unit- Pioneer P690UB. High pass filter on the head unit was set to 100 Hz (adjustable). This was set because I have no A/C, and with the windows down on the highway I needed a little more volume to hear the music well. This was done as a safeguard, there was no distortion audible at the levels I frequently listened at with the filter turned off. The EQ was adjusted frequently because I listen to a very wide variety of music, although I rarely had anything below 320 Hz on the positive side of the scale.
Symptoms- The passenger tweeter simply does not create any sound at all. Nothing. I took it off of the passenger crossover and hooked it up to the drivers side crossover(Which I knew worked) and still did not get any sound. After inspecting the wires it looked like the two wires (positive and negative) were pinched at some point during the install of the tweeter, crossing the two wires. The insulation was not damageed. I cut the wires past the "damage" and did not have any change.
Never any clipping from the amp, never any distortion, just went out one morning for work and noticed the highs from the right channel weren't playing. Worked great the night before.
I'm completely stumped.
-Gary.
Replies (5)
cplkittle on 11/21/2007 23:31:10
Thanks for the thorough explination, that should narrow it down significantly..
Let's start with using an AA battery or any 1.5v battery. Connect one side of the tweeter wire to one side of the battery and briefly brush the other wire to the other side of the battery. The tweeter should make a scratching sound. Also look for tiny sparks where the wire makes contact with the battery. If the sparks are present, but no sound is coming from the tweeter, the coil is frozen in place. If you get a scratching sound, there is nothing wrong with the tweeter, the problem is in the connections somewhere.
Another place to look is the solder joint on the back of the tweeter. I have seen these come off occasionally.
If all else fails, I would consider returning them if you bought them at a local store. Most speakers come with a 1 year warranty, and if it is a reputable company, they will at least send it back for repair or replacement.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Grdevs24zero on 11/22/2007 00:00:57
Well the battery test was a no go. No sparks, no sounds, nothing. New pack of batteries too. I guess all signs are pointing at a defunct tweeter or possibly a very, very fried voice coil?
The solder joints look to be in perfect shape. No breaks are apparent under the protective coating they put on after the solder connectoin was made. The wires feel stiff and solid, just like they're supposed to.
And Polk speakers come with a 3 year warranty :)
cplkittle on 11/22/2007 01:50:04
I meant to add try a multimeter to test the resistance, but in this case I would bet the meter would not read anything.
Tweeters are amazing feats of engineering. A very fragile, thin dome attached to a tiny coil immersed in fluid that moves up and down up to 22,000 times a second.
swez on 11/22/2007 01:50:34
Sounds like a blown tweeter voice coils alright. It happens once in a while and Polk will usually ship you a new tweeter if under warranty and purchased from a bonified seller, dealer or distributor.
Even if you had to buy a new tweeter from Polk to relpace it, it's worth the cost as these are very nice speakers. Contact the seller and see what they can do for you on the warranty replacement side of the deal. Otherwise, contact Polk and see what they can do for you.
Swez
PS Most quality crossovers come with tweeter power protection circuits. If the crossover is also damaged, it may require deeper action to correct the net problem.
Grdevs24zero on 11/22/2007 01:55:35
I've swapped the crossovers and everything performs well except for the one tweeter. I even went so far as to dissassemble the crossover to make sure there was no water in it.
I think it's just a fluke of a thing to be honest.
And you are correct on the way these components sound, I am very pleased with the performance considering the significant investment they were. The retail of these speakers is more than what I originally bought the car for.
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