Polk Rt600i Problem

[Stevieh2297]

Hi, this product is an older model and therefore I understand if people are unable to help me but I picked up a pair of used Polk Audio Rt600i's for 40$ and they sound very dark and muffled almost as if I had a towel covering the speakers, unlike any typical muddiness Ive heard. However it doesn't sound like anything is physically wrong within the speaker, nothing sounds blown, and there isn't any noticeable damage with the exception of one tweeter that has a small dent in it. Both speakers sound exactly the same. Im thinking the source of my problem could be my receiver. It's a Yamaha CR 420 natural sound with only 22watts per channel, is this too weak for these speakers? Ive read that the minimum requirement is 20watts but Ive also visited a website suggesting to use at least 35 watts here is the link. ( https://www.tnt-audio.com/casse/polk-rt600i_e.html ). They are pretty heavy duty speakers and certainly seem like a pair designed for a stronger receiver than my 420. I have a Yamaha 620 I'm currently attempting to repair. Secondly I'm using pretty cheap speaker wire, what gauge would be suggested for these speakers?
Thank you for your time.

 

[Dale A B]

I would say both tweeters are blown. Nothing wrong with your receiver or the wire.

 

[goodolpg]

I was thinking the same thing.
That or the jumper straps (if needed) are missing or bad.

EDIT/ADDED
After a quick Google search I see no external fuses and they are not bi-wireable.
Use a paper towel tube or something to make sure there is sound coming from the tweeters.
Or, pull the tweeters and check their resistance values.

 

[F1nut]

It's likely the high frequency resistor is cooked in both. Take the binding post plate off, the crossover is attached to it. If cooked you will see the damage easily.

 

[hnash53]

Welcome to AK!!! You've come to the right place to get the help you need.

 

[Stevieh2297]

It's likely the high frequency resistor is cooked in both. Take the binding post plate off, the crossover is attached to it. If cooked you will see the damage easily.

Thanks I'm going to do this today, no sound is coming for the tweeters not sure why I didn't check this before posting, if the frequency resistor is cooked is there any economical way to fix it or will I end up having to spend more than the 40$ I bought these speakers for.

 

[F1nut]

You would replace the resistors, which if you do it yourself will cost you a few bucks.

 

[goodolpg]

Take some pictures of the crossovers.
And I'd still do an ohm check on the tweeters.
Would suck to "fix" the crossover and the tweeters are dead.

 

[Stevieh2297]

EDIT/ADDED
After a quick Google search I see no external fuses and they are not bi-wireable.
Use a paper towel tube or something to make sure there is sound coming from the tweeters.
Or, pull the tweeters and check their resistance values.[/QUOTE]

Yeah there is no sound coming from the tweeters this should of been one of the first things I checked thank you. I'm going to try to see whats going on in the speakers internally today.

 

[goodolpg]

No sound could be a couple of problems.
Electrically checking would CONFIRM if they are actually toast.
Right now we don't know if they are good or not.
Just that they aren't putting out sound.

It very well could be resistors.
I'd do a three minute check of the drivers themselves before buying parts.
But that's just me.
Even if there is visible crossover damage I'd still do a cheap quick and easy test of the drivers themselves.

That's like "well the fuse looks good".
Not good enough, check it electrically with a meter.
Plenty of stories of fuses looking good and in truth being blown.

Which gets us back to "blown" tweeters", the only way to know is a quick resistance test.

 

[Stevieh2297]

You would replace the resistors, which if you do it yourself will cost you a few bucks.

Okay so both tweeters still work. Unfortunately I don't have the speakers with me to take pictures they are at a different house but my father is looking at them and can't identify any obvious damage. Looking at this picture, which is the exact crossover he is looking at, which of these parts is the high frequency resistor? And where should he see damage? Also do you know where I could purchase this part?

 

[Stevieh2297]

No sound could be a couple of problems.
Electrically checking would CONFIRM if they are actually toast.
Right now we don't know if they are good or not.
Just that they aren't putting out sound.

It very well could be resistors.
I'd do a three minute check of the drivers themselves before buying parts.
But that's just me.
Even if there is visible crossover damage I'd still do a cheap quick and easy test of the drivers themselves.

That's like "well the fuse looks good".
Not good enough, check it electrically with a meter.
Plenty of stories of fuses looking good and in truth being blown.

Which gets us back to "blown" tweeters", the only way to know is a quick resistance test.

If you see my other posts I sent a picture to another user to help me understand your guys advice. The tweeters put out sound when I bypassed the crossover, it wasn't the safest method to check their functionality I'm sure but there was no meter at hand. Knowing now that they work where should we be looking for damage, or is there a chance that damage to the crossover or more specifically the resistor isn't visible? I'd send pictures if I could but the speakers are at my fathers house and he isn't techy enough to send me pictures via email.

 

[goodolpg]

If you see my other posts I sent a picture to another user to help me understand your guys advice. The tweeters put out sound when I bypassed the crossover, it wasn't the safest method to check their functionality I'm sure but there was no meter at hand. Knowing now that they work where should we be looking for damage, or is there a chance that damage to the crossover or more specifically the resistor isn't visible? I'd send pictures if I could but the speakers are at my fathers house and he isn't techy enough to send me pictures via email.

Glad you did that as now we KNOW the tweeters are not faulty.
I use that method (direct hookup) when I receive new (used) drivers I've purchased.
I want to make sure they work before leaving feedback or needing to return.
I only test them for a FEW SECONDS, just long enough to see if they produce sound, and ALWAYS at low volume with loudness "off", and low treble or bass settings depending on what driver I'm testing.
Do be VERY CAREFUL to not let the two speaker wire leads touch each other as that leads to bad things.

At this point I'd look at the crossovers for visible damage, F1nut says that damage might be readily apparent. He may have hands on experience with your speakers or Polks in general and can offer more help.
Have you looked online for a schematic?

 

[Stevieh2297]

Hey guys, here I am 4 months later readdressing this issue with the tweeter. I pushed the speakers aside until today and I took some pictures of the crossover because I'm having trouble noticing any damage. I'm hoping someone on here will see something that I'm overlooking. For a quick recap the tweeter works when the crossover is bypassed. I was told in the past that it's likely the high frequency resistor is fried.

 

[F1nut]

I see no obvious signs of damage. Swap crossovers to see if the problem follows or remove each crossover component to test them.

 

[prighello]

+on no visible damage. You could just try rebuilding the crossover and reuse the inductor. Probably could do it for ten bucks in parts.

 

[Stevieh2297]

+on no visible damage. You could just try rebuilding the crossover and reuse the inductor. Probably could do it for ten bucks in parts.

Thanks, the only problem with this suggestion is I dont have an advanced understanding of the crossover or crossovers in general. I couldn't find a schematic for it to help me understand which parts are which do you have any resources that could help me? Would you say rebuilding a crossover is a difficult task for someone with a very basic understanding of speaker components. I also have no idea where to find the parts id need.

 

[Stevieh2297]

I see no obvious signs of damage. Swap crossovers to see if the problem follows or remove each crossover component to test them.

Thanks, I'm not positive how to completely remove a crossover to swap or test them but I'm sure I can figure it out. I'm mot challenging your suggestion but I'm just curious how swapping the crossovers could make a difference?

 

[prighello]

Aside from the inductor (round thing that looks like a spool) the parts should be marked with values. You just need to make sure you wire it all up correctly which you should be able to figure out from the traces on the circuit board. Best resource would be the parts express forum for help and parts express for the actual parts.

 

[prighello]

Thanks, I'm not positive how to completely remove a crossover to swap or test them but I'm sure I can figure it out. I'm mot challenging your suggestion but I'm just curious how swapping the crossovers could make a difference?

If you have a multimeter you can test the resistors and capacitors pretty easy.