Easy to mod tweeter for existing speakers? (1 Viewer)

[Brian_Fly]

Someone gave a sarcastic suggestion to replace the tweeters in Polk R series speakers with Vifa's (not necessarily the XTs, but perhaps a nicer silk 1"). The stock tweeters (3/4" silk polymer) are the source of most criticisms with these speakers. Anyway it made me wonder- is this possible, practical, or worthwhile for a novice? Also, if not Vifa's, would their be a better budget brand to consider.

 

[ThomasW]

In order for the swap to work, the T/S parameters of the new tweeter need to be exactly the same as those of the stock tweeter. If they aren't you must redesign the crossover.

 

[Brian_Fly]

T/S? Sorry, not sure what you mean. Thanks for the reply.

 

[ThomasW]

Theile/Small loudspeaker parameters

 

[Dave Poehlman]

It's not impossible to find a tweeter that'd do better. But without doing some measurements, it'd be hit or miss. You could "earball" the crossover point with a test tone CD and find a respectable tweeter with the same rating that can handle that frequency easily (and hopefully fit in the same cutout) and plug 'er in. You could even take an SPL meter and gauge its sensitivity compared to the woofer and damp it with an L-Pad if need be. The results might not be exact.. but might be better.

However, it might be the crossover that's causing the problem afterall. A resistor here or a cap there might make a world of difference.

I would say, if you know anybody with test equipment who can do some measurements on the speaker, that might tell you what the problem is.

I'm not familiar with the Polk-R's, what's the problem with the tweeter?

 

[Brian_Fly]

No real problem per say, but it is the weak point of the speakers. It's just a 3/4" silk dome that many find bright and susceptible to distortion at louder levels. The speaker's crossover is identified in the product manual as a second order crossover at 2000Hz.