Polk Audio noob RTi10 tweeter blown

I picked these RTi10's up on craigslist. I've had them for about 3 weeks now. I'm not an audiophile. So I really didn't notice a difference in the speakers, till about a week ago. The right side didn't seem as loud. I just bought a new Yamaha RX-V1900 receiver and now I can hear the difference even more. I put a paper towel roll. Up to the right and left tweeters. After the test I don't hear any thing coming out of the right side speakers top tweeter. So I think it's bad but I'm not sure. Is there and more tests I should make. Or do I just try and find a new set of tweeter?

Oh yea and when I play "Pink Floyds" Dark Side of the Moon. The 3rd song "Time". It crashes my receiver. It's starts back up and I see "check Sp wires" flashing and then it plays as normal. I'm Lucky it hasn't blown the receiver yet:eek:.

I would like some advice. On what's the best solution to the problem.:o

Check the jumpers between the binding posts on the back. They may not be tight. If so, the tweeter will not work. All the binding posts should be tight, and the the jumpers in place.

If you are missing jumpers (there should be two per speaker, joining the top and bottom binding posts), make jumpers yourself using speaker wire.

If all four binding posts per speaker are tight, and the jumpers are present, then you may have a blown tweeter. Contact customer service, in that case, for a replacement (mention that you are a club member, since there is a club discout). They probably still have these in stock, since the RTi10 is a relatively new speaker.

Yea ok thanks.

I checked the binding posts. Everything looks good. These are used speakers but they're in excellent condition. The post and the jumpers look really shiny.

What is the best tweeters to get for these speaker? Should I get direct replacements or go for some kind of aftermarket tweets? These speakers seem a little harsh on the top end. As compaired to my old Definitive Technology DR7's.

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Originally Posted by dynamic73

Yea ok thanks.

I checked the binding posts. Everything looks good. These are used speakers but they're in excellent condition. The post and the jumpers look really shiny.

What is the best tweeters to get for these speaker? Should I get direct replacements or go for some kind of aftermarket tweets? These speakers seem a little harsh on the top end. As compaired to my old Definitive Technology DR7's.

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I like shiny too. :D
The original tweeters are going to be the "best" replacement, as far as fit and function. The RTi line is notoriously bright (or harsh as you say), but there is a lot you can do to mitigate that. I've made many changes and tweaks to my gear in an effort to "tame" the brightness. I feel like I have a pretty good combo right now and have lately found the 2-channel performance from my HT rig to be quite pleasing. The RTi's are first and foremost, HT speakers, but with a little effort (or luck ;)) can be made to sound fairly good in plain old 2-channel stereo too.

Thanks mdaudioguy. I've emailed polk audio customer service. They haven't got back to me yet. So when they do. I'll see about getting direct replacements.

I'd like to know more about tweaking the RTi's, to make them better. Do you have posts? I can go to and read more about all you've done?

One more thing. Does anyone know off hand. What size allen wrench it takes to remove the tweeters? I've got at least 50 different size allen wrenches and none of them were the right size. (just my luck) Seems to be somewhere in between 3mm and 4mm.

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Originally Posted by dynamic73

... What size allen wrench it takes to remove the tweeters? ...

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You probably should have posted this in the "Troubleshooting" section: "A direct line to Polk Audio customer service. If you've got questions or answers post here." Customer service in particular (not just the moderators) seem to roam around that part of the forum more than elsewhere.

If you're in a hurry, you could try using the internet chat feature (look for the dialogue bubble icon on the top right of your screen while browsing Club Polk). Otherwise, any e-mails I have sent to Customer Service get answered within about 48 hours IIRC (but it's Friday, and they're mostly on the East coast, so if you don't hear back this afternoon, that'll probably mean Monday).

Yea I didn't even notice that section. Let me end this post right here and open a new post in the troubleshooting section. Thanks for the direction.

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Originally Posted by dynamic73

Thanks mdaudioguy. I've emailed polk audio customer service. They haven't got back to me yet. So when they do. I'll see about getting direct replacements.

I'd like to know more about tweaking the RTi's, to make them better. Do you have posts? I can go to and read more about all you've done?

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It's been an evolution - three different AVRs (two different brands, Yamaha and now, Harman Kardon), adding external amplification (three different amps (two different brands, Emotiva and now, Adcom)), upgraded interconnects and source connections. Adding an amp goes a long way toward providing balance with the RTi10s, IMO, since it seems to improve the mid-to-low end of the range, therefore requiring less cranking on the volume knob. Of course, the better it sounds, the louder I want to hear it. ;) The funny thing is, the changes are most evident when listening to music. My rig has always pleased me for HT. I've thought about messing with the crossovers, but I'm not sure it's really worth it for me, since I've got a couple other sets of speakers that perform better for 2-channel than I think the RTis ever will.

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Originally Posted by mdaudioguy

It's been an evolution - three different AVRs (two different brands, Yamaha and now, Harman Kardon), adding external amplification (three different amps (two different brands, Emotiva and now, Adcom)), upgraded interconnects and source connections. Adding an amp goes a long way toward providing balance with the RTi10s, IMO, since it seems to improve the mid-to-low end of the range, therefore requiring less cranking on the volume knob. Of course, the better it sounds, the louder I want to hear it. ;) The funny thing is, the changes are most evident when listening to music. My rig has always pleased me for HT. I've thought about messing with the crossovers, but I'm not sure it's really worth it for me, since I've got a couple other sets of speakers that perform better for 2-channel than I think the RTis ever will.

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Hammer -> Nail

Totally agree, could not have said it better. And yes, I have done almost everything md has done, maybe with different components, but close enough.
The only thing I did over and above that was upgrade to IEC connectors so that better power cords may be used (yes, they do).