Possible blown Rt7’s ...Help!!! FFFFUUUU...

[iwantsomepie]

So I just discovered that my parents were former Polk owners themselves at one point. While rummaging through the basement I stumbled upon these babies.

They are Polk Audio RT7 – 17300





Unfortunately they sound like they are blown, the sound they emit is very dull and silent, no bass whatsoever. The little speaker at the top is releasing a tiny bit of sound while the bigger one at the bottom isn’t turning out anything.

I’ve attached a video of the RT7’s playing music; hopefully someone can diagnose the problem from it!

The receiver is a HK3480 and the other speakers in the video are my own Polk RTi A1.

I am hoping there is a way to fix these puppies and get them playing again. Any help is appreciated!

 

[croseiv]

Contact Polk Audio's customer service. IMO it's a speaker worth fixing if you can. Mine still sound great (RT7 21495-6).

http://www.polkaudio.com/contactus/index.php

Have you removed the driver and had a looksie inside? That may be very revealing.

 

[bandphan]

Battery check the drivers and inspect the crossover for leaks.

 

[iwantsomepie]

Battery check the drivers and inspect the crossover for leaks.

Damn, ummm... I have no idea what you mean lol
Sorry I am a huge newb when it comes to speakers/electronics, not an audiophile by any means.
But I would really like to get these speakers working again.

From what I gather; I should unscrew the driver (the not working one) and check the cables in the back?!

What should I be looking for?
Thanks man!

Contact Polk Audio's customer service. IMO it's a speaker worth fixing if you can. Mine still sound great (RT7 21495-6).

http://www.polkaudio.com/contactus/index.php

Have you removed the driver and had a looksie inside? That may be very revealing.

I asked my parents about the speakers, my dad tells me he bought them at a garage sale a long time ago, so we are not the original owners. Would you think I could still get them repaired through Polk's service department?
-Probably a question more directed toward Polk themselves... hmmm...

Any other ideas?

 

[Seth=L]

I liked your rage at the end of the thread title.

The RT7s use the 7" driver that I have found has a pretty low tolerance to high output low frequencies. It's easily over exerted if fed a full bandwidth signal, this comes from my personal experience with the model. They are worth repairing, assuming it doesn't cost a fortune. Many regard them as one of Polk's best bookshelf speaker systems.

 

[croseiv]

I liked your rage at the end of the thread title.

The RT7s use the 7" driver that I have found has a pretty low tolerance to high output low frequencies. It's easily over exerted if fed a full bandwidth signal, this comes from my personal experience with the model. They are worth repairing, assuming it doesn't cost a fortune. Many regard them as one of Polk's best bookshelf speaker systems.

Seth you must have been feeding them A LOT of juice. I"ve been quite surprised at what these little boogers can do with bass. Decent excursion really. That's why I bought them initially.

 

[iwantsomepie]

Well I unscrewed the driver and took a look inside, but I have no clue what I am suppose to be looking for. Personally it all looks fine.

I took some pictures of the connections that are going onto the driver.

I have no idea what to do next.
I may give Polk Service a call tomorrow!
But obviously I would like to fix them myself for cheaper.

 

[croseiv]

That last photo shows what appears to be a corroded voice coil.....The connections look okay. How does your crossover look??? That driver looks fried.

 

[Swerd]

From your video, it seems like the woofer isn't making any sound. Test it with a battery:

• Remove the woofer from the cabinet and detach the wires.
  
• Attach some short wires (roughly 5" long) to each terminal of the woofer. Tape will do to hold them in contact.
  
• Hold the other ends of the wires to a 1.5 volt AA battery. Attach the plus terminal of the battery to the plus (or red) terminal of the woofer.
  
• If the woofer is OK, it should move forward with a pop. It's alright if you reverse the wires, the woofer will move inward, also with a pop.
  
• If the woofer doesn't pop, call Polk and ask about a replacement.

 

[Guiria]

I looked into replacing a blown RT3 driver (same line as RT7 but uses 5.25" woofer vs. 7") back in the day and Polk audio wanted upwards of $60.00 for the driver. I didn't see that cost being worth it and ended up not repairing the speakers.

I'm not sure what your expectations will be with replacing the 7" drivers if needed but I'm guessing they won't be less than the smaller 5.25" woofer.

Just a little FYI

Good Luck, I always did like my RT Polks...

 

[walter duque]

Push in the driver, if it rubs it's fried.

 

[Quickley17]

I recently contacted Polk regarding a blown driver. I had to provide proofe of purchase, and since its been 5 years since I bought the speakers, I did not have the receipt. Luckily I was able to get a copy of the invoice from the store I bought them from. They were fairly adamant that I prove how I had purchased the speakers in order to get a replacement when I briefly asked a what if about not being able to find my cc bill or invoice.

 

[ItsRossTime]

RT7 Drivers no longer in stock

I had a problem with my RT7s a few months ago. Called Polk, and they don't make the 7" driver anymore (MW8002 or something like that). They're pretty rare to find, and therefore can get expensive.

The voice coil was rubbing, but turned out that I could rotate it 180 degrees and remount, the force of gravity on the coil corrected the rubbing problem, so I got lucky. Love these speakers.