Should I upgrade from my Polk Audio RTi10's to RTI A9's?

[Fried Chicken]

There's a listing near me of a pair of RTi A9's with broken tweeters I'm considering.

Would going from RTi10's to RTi A9's make sense?
Are replacement tweeters available?
Seller claims the other speakers are fine, but there must be a reason the tweeters burnt out. Should I be concerned?
I'd power them with my Yamaha M-65.

 

[ryanosaur]

Seller claims the other speakers are fine, but there must be a reason the tweeters burnt out. Should I be concerned?

I'm not going to comment on the Speakers themselves, however Polk is "known" for making Speakers that can absorb large amounts of power... that the seller has blown the Tweeters is absolutely something concerning.
Whether there are replacement parts available from Polk or not, I would advise not touching these with a 10 foot pole.
Something absolutely happened with the seller and these Speakers and it isn't a stretch to think these Speakers have not been treated kindly.

 

[Fried Chicken]

This is true.

It would make sense that the other larger speakers would be unaffected though. Maybe the crossover suffered as well.

 

[lovinthehd]

How much does he want for the broken speakers? Have you asked Polk if replacements are available and at what cost? Personally if I bought new speakers I'd probably change brands and a more significant step up and wouldn't particularly want to be fixing them (but maybe the $ could be attractive).

 

[j_garcia]

I would not call that a big enough upgrade, unless as mentioned, the price was really good. Changing out a tweeter is not super difficult, but it indicates the speakers were pushed too hard (insufficient power, not too much, common cause of fried tweeters) and that does obviously leave concerns of how they were treated. I'd check on the replacement tweeters first too as mentioned, because if they're pricey or unavailable, then it may not be worth the trouble.

 

[ryanosaur]

It would make sense that the other larger speakers would be unaffected though.

First... What is the ticket seller is asking?

Anyway, to reply...
Not necessarily. It is true that Tweeters will be the most delicate and subject to overdriving if the Speaker were abused. It is very possible that some "minor" cooking of another Voice Coil has occurred.
I may be wrong but suspect the XO network is probably fine, considering the claims Polk makes re: power.

My advice stands: walk away.

 

[j_garcia]

Tweeters have the smallest VCs and are usually the first to go in the average speaker. That often comes via a low end AVR being pushed to its limit and clipping beyond the limits of the drivers. That does not mean you can't damage mids or bass drivers, but most people will turn it down when they hear no more highs and quickly realize something went wrong. They had it too loud, a big peak hit and *zzzzt*. If they are too good to be true cheap, then it is too good to be true.

 

[Fried Chicken]

I will keep this in mind.

Seller is asking $300 for the pair. I will look at them and see if I can test them.

Are the tweeters for these available?

 

[ryanosaur]

I will keep this in mind.

Seller is asking $300 for the pair. I will look at them and see if I can test them.

Are the tweeters for these available?

You’d have to contact Polk to see if they sell them or if there is an equivalent replacement that will match spec.

At 300, I can understand your interest. They are at least priced where I would hope them to be for damaged goods. But if you can’t get replacement tweeters, they do you no good.

 

[Timforhifi]

Tweeters have the smallest VCs and are usually the first to go in the average speaker. That often comes via a low end AVR being pushed to its limit and clipping beyond the limits of the drivers. That does not mean you can't damage mids or bass drivers, but most people will turn it down when they hear no more highs and quickly realize something went wrong. They had it too loud, a big peak hit and *zzzzt*. If they are too good to be true cheap, then it is too good to be true.

I agree completely, I had rti 10 speakers about 15 years ago. Went through multiple tweeters powering with my denon. Polk bass drivers ask for so much power and tweeters get suffocated with no power and at high spl they burn out. Really common with Polk, had this happen on monitor 70 speakers as well.

a9 are good speakers but be prepared to give them 200-300 watts from a quality amp.

those a9 are probably fine and need new tweeters and they are rather cheap or use to be. Rti10 have same tweeters and were around $20 a decade ago. The rti10 and a7 have higher crossover points than rti12 or a9. With a9 sealed mids with lower crossover it gives them a more detailed forward sound. Rti10 are more laid back and sound a lot different. A7 and rti 10 were the odd duck in that lineup. Some like the rti 10 for that though, more warm and balanced.

the a9 match the a6 or csi5 center much better though for movies.

 

[fmw]

If you can't listen to the speakers when a personal transaction should make it available, you have a problem. You are suggesting "upgrading" one speaker for another without knowing if the new speaker is even an upgrade. I'm for saving a buck but not this way. I would move on to something you can actually hear.

 

[Fried Chicken]

Seller never responded.

I guess that's for the best. I couldn't find replacement tweeters when I looked, but I never reached out to Polk Audio.

My RTi10's didn't sound as good as my Paradigm Monitor 9 v4's that I sold. I was astonished when I hooked them up to sell them how good they sounded. I only sold them b/c the rest of the system is Polk RTi.