Trilaminate dome tweeter changing color

[adb3da@yahoo.co]

Hello - I have a pair of RT 16 that I bought new around 1996. They have seem relatively little use in the time I have owned them and have spent most of their time is storage. When not in use they we used very infrequently. I have resurrected them recently and have been very glad that I did. They really rock. I took the grills off yesterday and noticed that one of my tweeters has started to change colors compared to the other one. The color is getting closer to bronze or gold as opposed to the original silver color. As far as I can tell, the sound is not impaired. Just curious if this is a know issue and whether I should consider replacing the tweeter.

Thanks in advance!

[Tbone289]

I wouldn't get too concerned unless you hear an imbalance between the two. I have several speakers from that era with the same tweeter (RT7, RTf/x currently), and they all vary slightly in color, some appearing more bronze, others more silver. The metal that is vapor deposited on the surface is oxidizing at varying rates, but I don't believe it should affect the sound.

However, you might still want to find a replacement tweeter (SL6501 I believe). Those are becoming somewhat hard to find and, though Polk has replacements, they are a "substitute" model that needs to be replaced in pairs. They pop up on eBay from time to time, and here on the Polk forums in the sale section. If you can locate a replacement, you can then match them aesthetically and keep the least-matching one as a backup "just in case". Until then, ignore the difference (or leave the grills on) and enjoy those RT16s!

[adb3da@yahoo.co]

Thanks. I thought this would be the answer but wanted to make sure.

Is the non-original replacement part the SL6001? I see that on eBay. Is it lower quality?

[Tbone289]

No, you need to stick with the series with SL65XX numbers, if yours are SL6501. You might want to pull one to check--it will have a sticker with the model number on the magnet. A non-original replacement would have a number such as SL6508.

BTW, the only difference between an SL6500 and SL6501 is that the "01" indicates that the tweeter is video shielded with a bucking magnet. There are no other differences between the two, and they will sound the same.

[Tbone289]

FYI... I checked the schematic here , and your tweeters are indeed SL6501.

[adb3da@yahoo.co]

Right on man! Thanks alot. Also good to know that the mid drivers are MW 8103. I replaced on of those courtesy of Polk about 10 years ago.