Fixing an SL2000

[barakus]

I just received a pair of Monitor 5s purchased from eBay and heard a stomach-tightening thunking noise when turning one of them over when taking it from its box.

Some investigation revealed that one of the tweeters had its magnet come detached from the faceplate. I removed the tweeter from its metal ring and attempted to reattach the ring to the magnet assembly, but, as many of you probably know, it's a pretty damn strong magnet, and I found it impossible to center the ring over the pole without it contacting the pole and thereby preventing the tweeter coil from moving as it should.

I've already contacted Polk support about getting some upgraded tweeters, but I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a fix while I'm waiting for replacements.

Firstly, I have to figure out some way to center the ring over the pole. I tried putting a tube of cardboard around the pole and sliding the ring over it - no go. I also tried putting a series of toothpicks in the valley around the pole, and, again, no joy.

Secondly, if I do come up with a centering method, I'd like to know if anyone has any adhesive recommendations. I'm assuming any metal-to-metal epoxy would do the trick, but specifics would be nice.

It might seem a waste of time to fix these with replacements coming, but I would like to compare the original sound with the upgrade. And I'd like to sell/give these SL2000s to someone who needs them.

Thanks.

[Boywonder]

Epoxy, preferably 5 minute. I don't have any brilliant suggestions for aligning the magnet/pole piece but it sounds like you are innovative, so keep going. It's trash as it is, so no downside.

[dorokusai]

Throw it in the trash when you're done trying to fix it. The new RD0194 replacement tweeter is much better, or you could look for a used SL2000 on here or eBay.

Good luck.

[barakus]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm just a little impatient after not having heard these speakers for the last 20 years or so. I heard a pair of Polk monitors in a music store as an adolescent and they really woke me up to what decent speakers could offer. I crave the 'retro' sound!

Another question that I don't feel like making a thread for: Is the whole cabinet supposed to be filled with polyfill? On the one speaker, at least, there is only polyfill in the tweeter area, which seems odd to me.

[NJPOLKER]

In all three sets of my Polks there is "polyfill" only in the upper half so I gotta think it's the way it is supposed to be.
The advice in purchasing two RDO-194's is the best bet for you. They are superior to the original ones and trying to fix the broken tweeter probabley won't work out perfectly.
Upgrading the x-overs will be a great move once you install the RDO's. The RDO's will only set you back about $104.00 for the pair, money well spent. To upgrade the x-overs will cost somewhere around $70. and again, money well spent.

Drew

[MarcLazarek78]

I need help on my SL2000 also.

I left the room for 2 min and come back in to see one of the cats clawing the dome off.

all thats left is a severd single thread wire from top to bottom and a detached dome. is this fixable?

[dorokusai]

I doubt it but since Barakus now has a spare, working SL2000....perhaps you two can work something out.

[MarcLazarek78]

Barakus, you would really be a saviour,and I would be very appreciative.

And am making a declawing appointment Monday!

[barakus]

I'd be happy to oblige once I get my new tweets, but I have to warn you that I'm pretty sure I've heard some scratchiness (not cat related) in my "good" tweeter.

Also, this isn't a promise as of yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll get the upgrades and would be willing to send you the tweeter if you pay shipping.

This is the nicest forum I've ever been a part of, so I'm more than happy to help a member. Now you guys just have to promise me not to encourage extreme electronics spending. (crossover upgrade notwithstanding)

Speaking of which, what exactly does the crossover upgrade offer? Is this specific to the RDO-194 tweeter?

[dorokusai]

I assure you....we all have your wallets on our minds ;)

Welcome to Club Polk and I'm sorry in advance.

[barakus]

Marc,

I'm assuming from your spelling of 'saviour' that you don't live close to me (Southern New Jersey). Maybe the hive mind here could chime in on the wisdom of this, but it would save a lot of shipping weight to just ship the plastic dome sans magnet.

I don't know anything about shipping costs frankly, so maybe this idea is ridiculous, especially given the additional fragility of that precious little plastic dome by itself. Trust me, the whole massive system is prone to failure under shipping pressures and 20-odd years of gravity. :(

[MarcLazarek78]

I bid on this.
http://cgi.ebay.com/POLK-AUDIO-COMPONENT-TWEETERS-NEW-OLD-STOCK_W0QQitemZ190196844760QQihZ009QQcategoryZ1379 44QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

$13 shipping for the pair.

So I'd feel fine floating you twice that for the single original model. can pm me for the red tape.

[barakus]

I don't have enough posts to PM yet, apparently. I'll send it to you for whatever it costs me, pending the arrival of the new tweeters. I just listened to the "good" tweeter at high volume and close range, and it's fine, as far as I can tell. Quite good, actually.

I'm waiting for Polk support to get back to me regarding replacement drivers. I sent an email Friday night, so I guess I won't hear anything until Monday morning.

There aren't any direct links to buy the RDO-194 anywhere that I'm missing, right?

[dorokusai]

Correct, call them direct.

[MarcLazarek78]

No problem.Sounds great,and I appreciate the generosity. when ready,my email is mdlazarek@aol.com

Good luck with your new replacements.

[Marty913]

barakus wrote:
Speaking of which, what exactly does the crossover upgrade offer? Is this specific to the RDO-194 tweeter?

Probably a lot of different opinions on this but it is definitely NOT an RDO-194 specific upgrade. I did my SDA2 XO's (but have not upgraded the tweeters) for several reasons. Some shipping damage was one reason, wanting to learn more, converting the interconnect cable to better wiring, replacement of older (weaker?) components were others. I expected them to sound better but probably would have done the upgrade anyway. They do sound a lot better. The bass seems tighter and the SDA effect seems a lot more pronounced. I will probably do the $200 worth of tweeters eventually but for now the $90 for the four crossovers was money well spent.

[heiney9]

I'd be happy to oblige once I get my new tweets, but I have to warn you that I'm pretty sure I've heard some scratchiness (not cat related) in my "good" tweeter.

Also, this isn't a promise as of yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll get the upgrades and would be willing to send you the tweeter if you pay shipping.

This is the nicest forum I've ever been a part of, so I'm more than happy to help a member. Now you guys just have to promise me not to encourage extreme electronics spending. (crossover upgrade notwithstanding)

Speaking of which, what exactly does the crossover upgrade offer? Is this specific to the RDO-194 tweeter?

Look here:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51420&highlight=5b%2A

I have a pair of Monitor 5B's in my office rig and I highly recommend the new silk dome RD0194-1 tweeters. For about $50 or so and a little bit of time replacing caps and resistors gives outstanding results. Step by step w/pics as well as comments in the above thread.

Good luck and stick around

H9

[MarcLazarek78]

I found this...

http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/service/parts/partslist.php3?item=tweeters

could I just drop in a single SL2000T?

[heiney9]

The sl2000T is not the same as the original sl2000. I believe (going from memory here) the RD0194-1 is the same as the sl2000T, just different names. You would need to replace both tweeters with the new silk domes in order for the speakers to sound correct. Or you are welcome to find a used sl2000 and replace the single damaged tweeter.

The RD0194-1 is a really nice upgrade but not everyone wants to invest that much money. Last I checked a pr of RD0's runs $102 shipped to your door w/free 2 day fedex.

H9

[MarcLazarek78]

so in my SDA 2's (2 tweets each cab) I'd need one or two pair, and are the new crossovers needed?

[heiney9]

If using/purchasing the new silk domes (RD0194-1) you would need to replace them all. The x-over refresh is not needed to use the new Polk tweeters.

H9

[MarcLazarek78]

would these work fine?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEBTOX:IT&item=190196844760&_trksid=p3984.cTODAY.m238.lVI

acording to this list
http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/service/parts/partslist.php3?item=tweeters

they are SL1500's

[heiney9]

Nope, not only are completely wrong electrically but if you measure your current tweeter the one's in the link are too small to fit in the opening.

H9

[heiney9]

If you have sl2000's in your SDA's then the only 2 tweeters that are comparable are the sl2000 or RD0194-1 (which is the same as the sl2000T). That's it.

[barakus]

I don't remember where I saw it, but somewhere on this board, someone recommended these (http://www.mcminone.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=MCMProducts&product%5Fid=LS00058)
as a replacement for SL1000s. I guess most will say that SL1000s are a tad worse than SL2000s, but do they work/fit? They sure are inexpensive.

I'm almost certain that I'll be getting the RD0194-1s; just curious.

[heiney9]

Ok, I thought we were talking about sl2000's. Sometimes threads get too mired in muck unless we stay on topic.

The RD0194-1 is also the Polk recommended replacement for the sl1000, but you need to slightly massage the opening in the cabinet (w/a dremel) to get them to "drop" in. I know of no other Polk recommended replacement tweeters for either the sl1000 or sl2000.

Some have experimented with other brands of tweeters sold at Parts Express, Madisound, etc. but I can't say what the results were.

H9

[barakus]

Sorry to confuse the issue. I guess Marc and I are just going a little crazy without having working tweeters.

Somewhat back on topic, did the SL2000T/RD0194-1 ship as original equipment on later Polk Monitors or is just an after-the-fact replacement? I bought my speakers on a whim, and only found this place just afterwards. I must say I'm very glad to find that Polk supports its products so well and I commend them for it.

And I commend you all for being so supportive and genial. Must be that mellow vintage speaker sound making the world a better place one listener at a time. Alright, I'm starting to sound like a product spokesman or something, I better go.

[MarcLazarek78]

Forgive me for lack of knowledge here,but this list shows the SL2000T as RD0103-C.
http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/service/parts/partslist.php3?item=tweeters

Is it that we are talking about the replacement "RD0194-1" is for the SL2000 definitively, and can be used for a SL2000T?

[heiney9]

Sorry to confuse the issue. I guess Marc and I are just going a little crazy without having working tweeters.

Somewhat back on topic, did the SL2000T/RD0194-1 ship as original equipment on later Polk Monitors or is just an after-the-fact replacement? I bought my speakers on a whim, and only found this place just afterwards. I must say I'm very glad to find that Polk supports its products so well and I commend them for it.

And I commend you all for being so supportive and genial. Must be that mellow vintage speaker sound making the world a better place one listener at a time. Alright, I'm starting to sound like a product spokesman or something, I better go.

I can't blame you for going crazy since your speaks aren't working. :p.

At some point Polk addressed the issue with the sl2000 tweeter having a +5dB peak at about 13kHz or 15 kHz (depending on whose quoting). That always made the sl2000 seem to be very forward and sometimes could cause it to be harsh sounding.

Starting with certain generation SDA's and RTA's models Polk engineered a new tweeter made out of a "tri-laminate" material. All those models are designated with a "TL" after the model number. and the tweeter was called the sl3000. You could not replace older sl2000 tweeter's in older Polk models with the new "TL" tweeter as the x-over's and electrical characteristics were different.

Later on the Monitor line received a variation of the same tri-laminate tweeter called the sl2500. The Monitor line was designated with the model number followed by "series II". Ex. Monitor 5 series II

The company and process that allowed Polk to offer the Tri-laminate tweeters (sl2500 and sl3000) went out of production plus it used a process that has many caustic and nasty environmental by products like cyanide, arsenic, etc. So Polk sent engineering specs and parameters to several outside vendors to have them build a suitable replacement for the sl1000/sl2000/sl2500 and sl3000 tweeters.

That's where we are today. Polk chose a single vendor after many listening tests, etc.

The RD0194-1 replaces the sl1000/sl2000
The RD0198-1 replaces the sl2500/sl3000.

They are both silk dome tweeters and are very smooth, open and detailed without a hint of harshness compared to the sl1000 and sl2000. The sl2500 and especially the sl3000 weren't as bad a tweeter, but many feel the silk dome replacement (RD0198-1) is still better.

The "are dee oh 19x-1" refers to the stock number of the part. It's the same as the sl2000T as it was originally called a few years ago. It's just universally known as the RD0.......

H9

[heiney9]

Forgive me for lack of knowledge here,but this list shows the SL2000T as RD0103-C.
http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/service/parts/partslist.php3?item=tweeters

Is it that we are talking about the replacement "RD0194-1" is for the SL2000 definitively, and can be used for a SL2000T?

The parts list info is old and obsolete. The correct stock number is now RD0194-1. The sl2000T was never offered in a production Polk it was a replacement tweeter that is now known as the RD0194-1.

[MarcLazarek78]

ahh haa, yes. Thank you very much for that superb (and long) informative reply. We are all SL1000-3000 replacement certified now,I believe.

Thanks.

[Marty913]

I need help on my SL2000 also.

I left the room for 2 min and come back in to see one of the cats clawing the dome off.

all thats left is a severd single thread wire from top to bottom and a detached dome. is this fixable?

so in my SDA 2's (2 tweets each cab) I'd need one or two pair, and are the new crossovers needed?

My god I do not want to start anything but IF you are in a pinch tweeter-wise on SDA2's (1 stereo tweeter, 1 SDA tweeter each cabinet), there are some members that have "unplugged" the SDA tweeter. Polk eventually did away with it and some claim it's presence actually muddies the upper-end.

I have done listening both ways and prefer it connected but I use mine for surrounds. It certainly sounds good either way. It's just another option if limited tweeters on hand are preventing you from enjoying you Polk's.

Of course member testing has not yet revealed whether cats like SL2000's or RDO-194's better. A study, however, is planned.

[barakus]

This is exactly why I have a dog. She has absolutely no interest in scratching tweeters, only herself and occasionally me or my wife as a strange form of greeting.

Talk about stirring things up - let the "cats vs. dogs and their relationship to high fidelity components" argument begin! ;)

[MarcLazarek78]

which would be the SDA tweet, upper or lower?

[Marty913]

which would be the SDA tweet, upper or lower?

For the SDA2 there are two horizontal tweeters & the outside on is SDA. Vertical tweeter arrays like the ones on the SDA SRS 2's & the 1C's are not SDA tweeters.

[MarcLazarek78]

Sorry, they are SDA SRS 2's.

.....?

[heiney9]

which would be the SDA tweet, upper or lower?

Can you describe the driver configuration in your SDA's. SDA 2's and SDA 2A's have (3) drivers and and (2) tweeters which are side by side. SDA 2B's have (2) drivers and (1) tweeter.

[heiney9]

Sorry, they are SDA SRS 2's.

.....?

Ah, ok, very nice speakers. You can't disconnect the bad tweeter on those without sacrificing the sound. Those are absolutely worth the investment to get new RD0 tweeters all around if you can spend the money.

H9

[MarcLazarek78]

4 mids (in a square configuration) 2 tweeters in the center of the square stacked vertical,and one 15'' flat sub driver.

[stereo_luver]

I have 4 sl2000's...who wants em?

[MarcLazarek78]

Sir,me. I only need one,but will take a pair if thats how you want to do it.

I think Barakas is set on upgrading.

[barakus]

Marc,

You might want to get stereo_luver's tweeter(s). I was listening to Abbey Road tonight at pretty high volume while putting together some furniture, and I definitely heard some cracking noises from my good SL2000. I'd be glad to ship mine to you once I get my upgrades, but you should know that it might not be ideal.

I hope it's not my midrange driver making the noise, but I doubt it. It could also be the source material, but I've never noticed any such thing on that album before.

[dorokusai]

The going rate for used SL2000's on this forum, is $20 shipped.

[MarcLazarek78]

I think I heard some cracking in one of my good ones too.

[nms]

Same here. After diagnosing a bad Xover in one of my M10s, I just assumed it was the Xover, not the tweeter. The crackling is only evident on certain types of music though.

[barakus]

Well, my tweeter that is definitely bad makes the same crackling noise, but constantly and much more loudly. I'm 99% sure that the sound is being caused by the voice coil crashing into the pole piece.

I'll probably do the crossover upgrade eventually but it's going to be a while, so I hope it's not my crossovers causing the Rice Crispies simulation.

[Disc Jockey]

Can you describe the driver configuration in your SDA's. SDA 2's and SDA 2A's have (3) drivers and and (2) tweeters which are side by side. SDA 2B's have (2) drivers and (1) tweeter.

The SDA 2A has the same configuration as the 2B, 2 mid drivers and 1 tweet.

DJ

[nms]

I'll probably do the crossover upgrade eventually but it's going to be a while, so I hope it's not my crossovers causing the Rice Crispies simulation.

My M10s would make a noise kind of like you are describing here. It was very noticeable with piano and classical music (but it wasn't constantly like you are describing). For me, it turned out to be the Xover. You can test this by swapping the tweeters and seeing if the crackling follows the tweeter or stays in the same place.

[nms]

I just fixed an SL2000 that suddenly went dead on me a while ago. Today I wanted to put the SL2000s in both my M10s and my SDAs, and since I only had 3 working SLs I decided to try to repair it.

Using an ohmmeter I discovered that the fault was simply one of the very thin wires from the plugs had come off the post it was soldered to. The voice coil and everything else was fine, so this is a different case than the starter of this thread had.

I cut away the rubber compound over the wire (which is thinner than my hair, BTW) to expose enough to work with. My original plan was to simply re-solder it to the post, but my soldering iron melted the wire!

Eventually I found some other thin wire I had and soldered that to the post, then wrapped the original thin wire around my new wire. I couldn't solder them because the thin wire would melt again, so I just kept trying different ways of physically connecting them until I got something that held. I verified a good/bad connection with the ohmmeter again, one probe on each post.

After getting the wires wrapped around each other I put some "goop" over the area to replace the caulk or whatever it is. So far it is holding.

Please don't attempt this if you don't want to spend more than an hour staring at things that approach invisible. I still have a headache from doing this. BUT, it IS possible to repair a SL2000 tweeter.

And yes, I realize I'm losing a lot of fidelity by doing this, but a poorly working tweeter is better than a broken one in my book!

[muncybob]

After lurking around these forums for a few months I'm finally convinced to replace the SL2000 tweets in my 2B's....probably call Polk up today and if anybody is interested in my old tweets(in very good condition....we have cats but the dogs keep them in their place!) just let me know. Probably just be looking for the previously mentioned $20/per price quote(unless there is some reason I should hang onto them?). One is original and the other was a replacement from around 8-10 years or so ago.
With all this talk of tweeter and xover upgrades(which I never would have even thought of if I had never read these posts!) has anybody ever "upgraded" the mids in their SDA speakers? Is it even worth looking into?

[candyliquor35m]

Hold on to them so you can do a side by side comparison with the sl2000 in the right speaker and the replacement in the left speaker or vice versa :)

Also try this on the positive lead of the sl2000 before you sell them: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=31246

[heiney9]

and xover upgrades(which I never would have even thought of if I had never read these posts!) has anybody ever "upgraded" the mids in their SDA speakers? Is it even worth looking into?


X-over upgrades are well worth it!! I don't know what you mean "upgrade the mids" Polk used several different model MWxxx over the years and they all had different electrical parameters and they probably sounded different. The later SDA's like the 1C's used the same type of wire wound voice coil that the big daddy SRS's did of the day.

I suppose it would be an interesting project but without knowing what the specs were for each driver compared to what type of x-over it was used with I don't know how one could go about it other pure trial and error. Polk's info on the drivers is proprietary and I doubt they would give it out willy nilly.

If you mean to upgrade by using other manufacturer's drivers, that would be just as much trial and error as again no published/available specs for Polk drivers.

Both would be an expensive trial and error especially if you have the bigger SDA's with all those drivers.

The tweeter's were R & D'd by Polk and they are "approved" and known to work as intended in each application.

H9

P.s. There must be a good reason the later multi driver SDA's used different drivers for the Stereo portion and the SDA portion.

[dorokusai]

With all this talk of tweeter and xover upgrades(which I never would have even thought of if I had never read these posts!) has anybody ever "upgraded" the mids in their SDA speakers? Is it even worth looking into?

No, not worth it.

[heiney9]

I will say I was going to experiment with my Monitor 5B's since they are a single driver speaker. I was trying to see if I could better bass at lower listening levels. I almost pulled the trigger and a pr. each of the Passive Radiators form an RTA11. Plus I was going to try and get a few used late MW6510's or MW6511's to try in them.

This would be much easier using a single driver speaker than a multiple driver SDA which has a stereo portion and a dimensional portion. I sort of let the idea pass because of cost and the hassle of sourcing quality used parts off e-bay.

I often wonder what a later model MW would sound like in an earlier Monitor like I have. Actually the different PR is what I was really interested in. My M5's have great bass but the volume has to be quite high to notice it. Since it's an office system and the speakers are only about 3.5 feet away there's no need to really crank them.

H9

[muncybob]

I will do a side by side comparison of the old and new tweeters. I have long felt that the SL2000's were harsh at higher volume levels and am hoping the silks will correct that since I love to crank up certain music when the wife isn't home. I'm not an "electrical type person" but can hardly believe Polk would have gone through all the trouble to develope the RDO tweeter if a simple cap add on would have done the trick?? But then I guess I would not know the benefit unless I try it...which I probably will since it looks fairly easy and cheap to do and lets face it, it all depends on the listener's ears doesn't it?:confused:

[barakus]

I just received my new tweeters and have a question. There are no labels on the terminals for the RDOs, so I don't know how to connect them. One terminal has a bronze-colored coating; I assume that's positive. I think the black wire is also positive. Anybody know if this is right?

[candyliquor35m]

Yes the black wire is positive and my rd0's had some kind of coating on the positive terminal. Try installing them in only one speaker first so you can do a side by side comparison of your old tweeters vs the new ones.

[barakus]

Thanks. I couldn't wait any more, so I connected them that way. Glad it's correct. I might compare them against the old one, but I have to let them break in first. It's just good not to hear that infernal crackling noise!

I'll report back.

[mescko]

I just picked up a pair of SDA 1s, and there are different tweets all over the place. I'm lost without knowing which one looks like what. Which one is the early SDA brushed-metal face tweet? There's only one of these on the pair. The other three are the 'Silver-Coil' with the horizontal caulking. They also came with 2 NIB SL2500's. So, what's next?

Scott