what happens if you replace a speaker in a 2-way cabinet with another one with a different impedance?

I'm trying to replace a tweeter, but I don't know what the imp of the old one is, how important is this?

7/14/2007 6:57:21 PM

just make sure it's not uber low (like 2 ohms), and its rated to handle what your amp can put out at that impedance

might want to make sure the crossover can handle it too (im assuming there's a crossover since you said it was a 2-way)

7/14/2007 6:59:52 PM

yea changing the impendance will alter the crossover frequency and probably make the speaker sound like poop. it's safe to assume you have another speaker like this 1 since speakers are usually sold in pairs . pop the tweeter out of the other speaker and test it on a voltmeter, additionally i'd leave te tweeter out and preplace both of them so you don't get different sound.

7/14/2007 7:30:16 PM

yeah I plan on replacing both of them.

so basically it'll just sound like crap, it won't blow up and destroy my house or anything right?

7/14/2007 11:09:57 PM

well since the tweeters are put in there with reference to the other speakers, I would not replace them with tweets with different impedances

check out http://www.partsexpress.com

btw, the impedance of your old tweeter is most likely 8ohms, if it was made for a HT

If you give me more info I may be able to help you more

7/15/2007 6:24:35 AM

If it is a home tweeter, then most likely it was 6 or 8 ohms. Even if you replace it with a 4, you aren't going to burn your house down smoking your amp. Tweets draw such little power as it is. It isn't just the impedance you have to be concerned about when replacing them, but also the Fs point. If you get a tweeter than doesn't cross low enough, you'll probably end up destroying it. You can do a couple things to figure out a tweeter that will be a good replacement (close enough for your most likely untrained ears).

You can either get at the crossover board and figure out the alignment (besel, butterworth, etc) and components on it for the crossover point if the caps/inductors are marked or you can figure out the Fs for the tweeter and get another tweeter with a similar Fs.

Do you know how to do either of these?

The entire process is complicated even more if you have some really nice speakers and the crossover board includes some sort of notch filter and/or linearizing piece of circuitry.

7/15/2007 8:43:32 AM

I pulled the tweeter out, its a Polk Audio SL2500, came out of a Monitor 5 jr+ Series 2. I've been doing some looking but so far haven't found the specs on the individual speaker, only the box as a whole.

7/15/2007 11:04:45 AM

These http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/specs/monitor5jr/ are the specs for the monitor 5jr+

7/15/2007 11:45:27 AM

Seems like you should be able to find replacements

http://web1.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46502

7/15/2007 10:56:56 PM

yeah, but I don't have $100 for two tweeters from polk, that's why I'm trying to see what kind of cheaper replacements I could use.

7/15/2007 11:59:46 PM

go to http://www.partsexpress.com

7/16/2007 4:06:26 AM