Polk Speaker Disassembly Tweeter woofer Replacement CSi A6
Audio,  DIY Audio,  Repair,  Speaker Building

Polk Speaker Disassembly and Tweeter Replacement – DIY or buy Consumer Grade Speakers?

It has been super busy the last few weeks so I did not have much time for DIY. However I did put together this quick video showing the speaker disassembly and tweeter replacement of the Polk CSi A6 Center Channel Speaker. It is a lot of speaker for $150 new, but I was lucky enough to get it very cheap used, BUT the tweeter was blown! 😒

Was it worth it replacing the tweeter? Is it worth buying this center channel new, or should I spend $150 on a DIY kit?

Replacing the tweeter or woofers is easy, as you can see in the video, all you need is a set of Hex Keys and the replacement drivers.

  • Polk Tweeter P/N RD0695-1, costs around $65.
  • Polk Woofer P/N RD6545-1-E, I cant find a replacement option.
  • Polk Center Channel CSi A6
  • Polk Center Channel CSi A6
  • Polk Tweeter
  • Polk Woofer

Back to my previous questions:

Was it worth it replacing the tweeter?
No! At $65, it is more then what I paid for this speaker used. It is a lot of speaker, but I feel like I can buy a fully functioning center channel for that price used. Also I can find a cheap DIY center channel kit to put together myself. $65 for that type of tweeter is A LOT for a silk dome tweeter.

-Is it worth buying this center channel new, or should I spend $150 on a DIY kit?
Maybe! 😎 You do get two 5 1/4″ woofers, it is quite sizeable, it has like 3 ports😮! It handles power pretty well, it should have a good dispersion and according to specs it handles 45 Hz → 27,000 Hz!!! It can eat up between 20-200W of power. It sounds pretty good in the home theater setup! I haven’t done critical listening but for the $ its a good buy overall.

However, for $150 there are a lot of DIY speaker kits that use better drivers. Also I was NOT impressed with the internal cabinet build quality, there was no bracing inside, a loosely placed polyester batting, and a very loud cabinet.

The batting doesn’t fill the whole cavity, and the drivers are not that impressive.

  • Polyester Batting
  • Polyester Batting

Personally I would go with a $150 DIY kit and spend the few weekends and to build my own center channel. I know I will use higher quality drivers, better cabinet construction, and ultimately better performance.

You can buy a complete DIY kit Overnight Sensation Center Channel with 4 woofers in MMTMM configuration for around $130 or less.

On the flip side $65 or $150 gets you a fully functional 29lb Center Channel with NO EFFORT! 😎😮

Either choice is fine, honestly. 😎😎😎

I think this is a topic I will talk about more in more detail in the future.

Bellow are some examples of my cabinet builds and acoustic dampening inside.

Until next time!😎🔊🔨