Help!! Dust cap torn of my Polks RTI A3

[dinesh1201]

Hello folks!


As you all can see the attached images, the dust cap of both of my rti A3 got torn, I don't know how...thinking of environmental affect on these. Feeling too bad for them Asking here for help.
If someone can advise me how to repair both the drivers, means how to put a new cap on these and from where do I get the dust caps. It's 1.7" in diameter I measured.
Thankyou in advance.
Dinesh.

 

[chander]

Replacing the dust cap is easy except the removal part - as one has to be very careful. Regardless - you can get a lot of these here -

43mm dust cap for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for 43mm dust cap at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

www.ebay.com

Check out some videos on you tube - that should help!

 

[efernand1]

Hello folks!
View attachment 76630
View attachment 76631
As you all can see the attached images, the dust cap of both of my rti A3 got torn, I don't know how...thinking of environmental affect on these. Feeling too bad for them Asking here for help.
If someone can advise me how to repair both the drivers, means how to put a new cap on these and from where do I get the dust caps. It's 1.7" in diameter I measured.
Thankyou in advance.
Dinesh.

In Mumbai we have lamington road (Grant Road East) where there are many speaker repairers who can easily replace these dust caps at a cost..ofcourse you need to be in front when they do it so they dont mess the actual speaker.

Possibly there would be someone in your location who maybe involved in speaker cone replacement / repairs.

 

[Anshul_J]

Do dust caps really matter for sound quality? Or can you just remove the damaged dust cap and keep using the speakers as it is?

 

[sandeepmohan]

How old are your speakers? Did a little child or pet run rogue?
Does the speaker sound any different? I doubt it.
I'd start by talking to your dealer about it. Even if its out of warranty, ask them for direction.
I'd also drop a mail with Polk Audio letting them know about it. We are not expecting a replacement here. This is to inform them of material issue, if that is the case.

There are a few options you can consider. Some have been suggested already.

• Do a dust cap repair job at a local speaker shop
• Request for a new speaker driver directly from Polk or ask Pro FX if they can help you. I am sure you can find used drivers on ebay for cheap and fitting them is a DIY job
• Put the grills back on and use the speaker

 

[sbg]

Do search for Local shops.
Search for phone no and do call them.

for example, in Bangalore we have one by name "Speaker Babu" and another sitting exactly opposite across the road.
speaker babu google - long back( very very long back ) had a Philips speaker repaired - just the diaphragm+dustcap+surround for very nominal amount( for about 200/- ) .

King Koti in Hyderabad - used to get it for about Rs 2 to 5/- for this size ( around 1990-95 ) - especially repairing the car speakers which used to get damaged frequently.

I do not know what it costs now. but one should be able to get it locally.

google search shows up few from justdial , suleka and others like
https://business.google.com/website/sehgal-speakers

 

[sbg]

searching Amazon in , too shows up various sizes - should it matter if this is a bit larger? , personally I don't think so, as long as both the channel have the same size. - quality/performance/etc - I have no idea .
dustcaps for speakers

 

[dinesh1201]

Do dust caps really matter for sound quality? Or can you just remove the damaged dust cap and keep using the speakers as it is?

I was curious too, so got this from a website. Sharing.

 

[dinesh1201]

searching Amazon in , too shows up various sizes - should it matter if this is a bit larger? , personally I don't think so, as long as both the channel have the same size. - quality/performance/etc - I have no idea .
dustcaps for speakers

View attachment 76648

Thankyou for the resource

 

[dinesh1201]

How old are your speakers? Did a little child or pet run rogue?
Does the speaker sound any different? I doubt it.
I'd start by talking to your dealer about it. Even if its out of warranty, ask them for direction.
I'd also drop a mail with Polk Audio letting them know about it. We are not expecting a replacement here. This is to inform them of material issue, if that is the case.

There are a few options you can consider. Some have been suggested already.

• Do a dust cap repair job at a local speaker shop
• Request for a new speaker driver directly from Polk or ask Pro FX if they can help you. I am sure you can find used drivers on ebay for cheap and fitting them is a DIY job
• Put the grills back on and use the speaker

1st of all thankyou!
These are 8 years old and in pristine condition, haven't used these extensively in their lifetime, never run these above limits...3 days before i was cleaning the speakers and found some little cracks on the the caps (both speakers), initially I was shocked and just made a little push and the cap shattered like an old wet thin mdf and it happened to both the speakers.

I also have 11 years old MAudios but the caps are smooth and in excellent condition. So I'm doubting the material quality. As suggested I raised the issue to Polk on Instagram and they directed me to ProFX, now I've shared the images to ProFX .. they replied me on my tweet regarding the issue.
I know it will be a paid job , let's se how things gonna work, the nearest service center as per them is in delhi and I'm from Lucknow.

I'll keep all of you updated

 

[dinesh1201]

Replacing the dust cap is easy except the removal part - as one has to be very careful. Regardless - you can get a lot of these here -

43mm dust cap for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for 43mm dust cap at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

www.ebay.com

Check out some videos on you tube - that should help!

I've checked a few of them, now in contact with ProFX...let's see/

 

[dinesh1201]

In Mumbai we have lamington road (Grant Road East) where there are many speaker repairers who can easily replace these dust caps at a cost..ofcourse you need to be in front when they do it so they dont mess the actual speaker.

Possibly there would be someone in your location who maybe involved in speaker cone replacement / repairs.

I'm from Lucknow...I've here some shops but the past experience wasn't good with those shops. Now I'm in contact with ProFX...hoping for something good.

 

[dinesh1201]

The service center said, it's 5800 rupees per driver. That means 5800x2 = 11,600 and this includes the old drivers buy back , otherwise please add 1500 rupees additional to each driver. They do not repair the cap but send me a new whole speakers.
Asked me to send the defective drivers to them + transfer the whole amount, when they receive everything..they will dispatch the new drivers to me.

 

[efernand1]

The service center said, it's 5800 rupees per driver. That means 5800x2 = 11,600 and this includes the old drivers buy back , otherwise please add 1500 rupees additional to each driver. They do not repair the cap but send me a new whole speakers.
Asked me to send the defective drivers to them + transfer the whole amount, when they receive everything..they will dispatch the new drivers to me.

Thats too expensive.

 

[sbg]

The service center said, it's 5800 rupees per driver. That means 5800x2 = 11,600 and this includes the old drivers buy back , otherwise please add 1500 rupees additional to each driver. They do not repair the cap but send me a new whole speakers.
Asked me to send the defective drivers to them + transfer the whole amount, when they receive everything..they will dispatch the new drivers to me.

Thats almost half of new speaker?.

Looking at the burn in for current drivers, I would go for replacement of dust caps - ( if the units are already out of warranty 3 or 5 years ? )
Cost of new drivers are reasonable saying that they are new - albeit a bit on the higher side.

 

[Naturelover]

Check with FM @SIDEWINDER18X
He has a professional speaker repair setup in Kolkatta

 

[sandeepmohan]

These are 8 years old and in pristine condition, haven't used these extensively in their lifetime, never run these above limits...3 days before i was cleaning the speakers and found some little cracks on the the caps (both speakers), initially I was shocked and just made a little push and the cap shattered like an old wet thin mdf and it happened to both the speakers.

Its definitely material failure.
Like I said earlier, if it does not impact the quality of sound coming out of them, live with it. It makes no sense whatsoever to spend over 11K on a speaker driver that is perfectly functional.
Next time, don't touch the caps at all. Photograph and send to the manufacturer. Right now, they can use the excuse that the situation worsened as a result of pushing the dust caps.

 

[giddavr]

Do dust caps really matter for sound quality? Or can you just remove the damaged dust cap and keep using the speakers as it is?

I haven't heard the difference if any. i simply removed the entire dust cap care fully and kept on using the speakers.

 

[giddavr]

The service center said, it's 5800 rupees per driver. That means 5800x2 = 11,600 and this includes the old drivers buy back , otherwise please add 1500 rupees additional to each driver. They do not repair the cap but send me a new whole speakers.
Asked me to send the defective drivers to them + transfer the whole amount, when they receive everything..they will dispatch the new drivers to me.

don't waste your money. you can use the speakers with out the dust caps. the job of the dust caps is just that of keeping dust away...so unless your speakers are exposed greatly to dust, or if you are using them with out the grill covers, you can replace them. and it is a simple job of applying glue and sticking them on. you should be able to buy dust caps very cheaply from any electronics shops which supply electronic components. total 600/- is too much

 

[sbg]

... the job of the dust caps is just that of keeping dust away...

In my understanding, this may not be entirely true.
This also helps in keeping the Speaker Enclosure from any leakage , depending on the volume / ported/sealed ( including raw driver design ) i.e the pressure exerted by the diaphragm will change .
looking at the TS parameters from the original - there is a possibility of changing the frequency response a bit.
Vas(Air volume ) can change.
Moving mass can change.

of course - my opinion.