Monitor 70, 40 and cs2 mods, needed? and home much is too much?

Esreuter
Esreuter Posts: 176
edited April 2011 in DIY, Mods & Tweaks
hey all.

i recently rebuilt my home theater system to match what i now seek in audio.

i used to have a boomy system and the harder and louder the bass the better.

but after years in the mud i sold it all to a friend and now i seek clarity and the ability to hear all sounds in the sound tracks and music.

i chose polk speakers, because of several other forums recommending them for clarity over many other entry level speakers.

so, i chose to build with the polk monitor line, new eggs sale was also a big helper in that decision. i got a set of 2 monitor 70's, 4 M40's and a cs2, haven't found or decided on a sub yet. i was thinking on the psw125. the brain box of the bunch is a sony da 5400es.

anyways the purpose of this post is, i would like to climb inside the speaker box and tinker a bit.

i would like to add a lil bit of the sonic foam for some deadening effects. i was wondering if i got the 3/4 in stuff would it be to much to adhere it to the 3 planes behind the speaker? back, top bottom, and sides? i would of course not allow it to get into the drivers and nor would i cover the ports, just looking to handle the back wave a bit.

second thing i am now considering is the Moretite around the top of the basket and also perhaps on the arms of the basket. are these two mods together to much? will i be killing my sound or will my intentions of cleaning up audio come true?

also, being that i do not have a driver over 6 in, is the rope caulk and the stuffing going to make a difference? is it even needed?

so please share your thoughts, wisdom, experience are needed!

harr be me first post!! its great to be here and learn from you all!:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:
AVR: Sony 5600ES
Center: CS2II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coil, Mundorf resistors)
Front: Monitor 70 II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coils, Mundorf resistors)
Surrounds: Monitor 40 II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coil, Mundorf resistors)
Rear Surrounds: Monitor 40 II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coil, Mundorf resistors)

More to come :biggrin:
Post edited by Esreuter on

Comments

  • Outfitter03
    Outfitter03 Posts: 563
    edited April 2011
    Welcome to Club Polk Esreuter.

    Forget the mortite. These speakers are ported and the seals are fine around the drivers.

    If you are looking to improve dampening I have a couple of suggestions. First is to buy yourself an inexpensive glue gun. If you surf the posts of the vintage posts on this site in DIY section you will see that Polk was very generous in the past with hot glue on the bracing within the speakers making a very good bond. In my Monitor 70s and 60's, a recent sample of two the hot glue was very light. There were spaces between the bracing and speaker walls. Not that the bracing could fall out, but it could be much better. I used about 4-6 long sticks in each speaker closing those gaps.

    Secondly for the drivers, they have stamped rings. A little strip of Dynamat Extreme on each of the driver spokes will help eliminate resonance. It can be found on ebay and a small door kit is all you need.

    For further damping I would use Sonic barrier behind the Mid range drivers, Top two enclosures. I would also place this on the back wall only behind the Bass drivers and on the top and bottom speaker walls. Supplement the adhesive with a little hot glue to ensure these will remain in place.

    http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=260-530

    If you want more damping, there is also this foam which may work well for the sides in the bass portiion, (Lower half). If you cut close to size it will stay in place for the short term so you don't over dampen. This is a trial and error process, for your ears in your room. If you apply too much you will take the life out of your speaker.

    http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=260-520

    The polyfill in my speakers was covering the top Bass Driver and nothing behind the second mid driver.. I would move the two provided poly fill sheets to behind the to Mid Drivers.

    The Monitor 70's and CS2 respond real well to additional amplification, especially with a high current power amplifier. Long term, adding these will really increase your enjoyment of these speakers. I am not familiar with your AVR, so I don't know if you have pre-outs for external amplification. These will be required.

    Hope this helps. Welcome again.
  • Esreuter
    Esreuter Posts: 176
    edited April 2011
    Thanks outfitter.

    The 1\2in sonic foam looks great and that can provide me some dampening.

    i will apply the dynamat to the ribs on the baskets. i have read that it helps clarity quite a bit.

    the moretite is something more used to repair the front seal in older drivers and older cabinets? just something i noticed.

    we have a local car audio shop so i can check into their sound deadening mat. it will be a little time before i can report back my findings, wife and i are leaving for a week of travels tomorrow.

    any other thoughts and experiences are greatly appreciated:biggrin:. thank you all.
    AVR: Sony 5600ES
    Center: CS2II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coil, Mundorf resistors)
    Front: Monitor 70 II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coils, Mundorf resistors)
    Surrounds: Monitor 40 II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coil, Mundorf resistors)
    Rear Surrounds: Monitor 40 II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coil, Mundorf resistors)

    More to come :biggrin:
  • Esreuter
    Esreuter Posts: 176
    edited April 2011
    Yes Outfitter,

    My receiver does have preouts for external amplification.

    that is something i am gaining interest in. need to save moneys first and research.

    ahh, seems there is a bug here. beware its bite.:eek:
    AVR: Sony 5600ES
    Center: CS2II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coil, Mundorf resistors)
    Front: Monitor 70 II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coils, Mundorf resistors)
    Surrounds: Monitor 40 II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coil, Mundorf resistors)
    Rear Surrounds: Monitor 40 II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coil, Mundorf resistors)

    More to come :biggrin:
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,481
    edited April 2011
    mortite is more for sealed cabinets with passive radiator's. Some like it some don't. If you're good with a soldering iron down the road you could upgrade the caps and resistors that would help out a bit, but on some Xover boards there is not enough room to get the Xover back into the cabinet. That would be your call.

    Better amp would be my next move
  • bkeane1259
    bkeane1259 Posts: 54
    edited April 2011
    I'm rebuilding the entire XO's for my Monitor-40's. I'm also running a test on four different pairs of caps for the hi-pass section of the XO to determine which capacitor sounds the best. ...All subjective, mind you, but it will be a double blind test, so bias will be eliminated in the hi-pass capacitor decision.

    See this thread for more info, if you'd like to follow.
    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116146

    I've been chewed up and spit out along the way, but there's not too much reading to catch up. I originally pulled the M40 XO and ripped out the NPE and mylar bypass and substituted a Jantzen Superior-Z (8.2uF). That was super easy. I had great results with that cap, but it's the most expensive one in my test. I will also be testing Clarity, Sonicap and Dayton. The Dayton was less than $4 -- the Jantzen was $36 -- the others fit in between.

    Jump in...that's water's nice and ice cold.
  • Esreuter
    Esreuter Posts: 176
    edited April 2011
    Hey all,

    thanks again for your inputs. for you experienced members with your mods on any new polk line. specifically the monitors and their relatives, when and if you replaced the stock polyfill with any other dampening material, in this case, sonic foam what did you do with the stock poly fill?

    replace it in the area it was found originally in the cabinet, eliminate it all together? cut it up and disperse it evenly amongst the cabinet?

    i got me some foam and looking into what you others did with the poly fill after placing your foam in the cabinet.

    again, thank you for all your knowledge and time.

    esr.:cool:
    AVR: Sony 5600ES
    Center: CS2II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coil, Mundorf resistors)
    Front: Monitor 70 II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coils, Mundorf resistors)
    Surrounds: Monitor 40 II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coil, Mundorf resistors)
    Rear Surrounds: Monitor 40 II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coil, Mundorf resistors)

    More to come :biggrin:
  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 27,970
    edited April 2011
    Put the polyfill back in
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
  • Esreuter
    Esreuter Posts: 176
    edited April 2011
    pit dog i think your right. after the home mods, i have been looking into the emotia upa-7.
    i think that will really bring my set up to life.

    any one know the price on these at the emotiva website it simply states out of stock.

    how about any one with experiences with these amps, they seem popular and rugged.
    AVR: Sony 5600ES
    Center: CS2II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coil, Mundorf resistors)
    Front: Monitor 70 II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coils, Mundorf resistors)
    Surrounds: Monitor 40 II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coil, Mundorf resistors)
    Rear Surrounds: Monitor 40 II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coil, Mundorf resistors)

    More to come :biggrin:
  • blehmbo
    blehmbo Posts: 179
    edited April 2011
    Try the used market if you're hunting for an amplifier. You can get a lot more for your money if you are patient.
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,481
    edited April 2011
    Esreuter wrote: »
    pit dog i think your right. after the home mods, i have been looking into the emotia upa-7.
    i think that will really bring my set up to life.

    any one know the price on these at the emotiva website it simply states out of stock.

    how about any one with experiences with these amps, they seem popular and rugged.

    I would give one a listen to first. If HT will be the main use then it may work for you, but if you will use it more for music then i would get my ears on some samples of different amps by many manufactures. Don't just look at watts per buck you can score very well in the used market. Rotel,Adcom and B&K to name a few.
  • Esreuter
    Esreuter Posts: 176
    edited April 2011
    alright gang,

    so some of you might know, we are honeymooning in disney, just did the magic kingdom today and it was alright. splash mountain, and big thunder mtn were the best of the day. spent over an hour in line to ride the peter pan flight one and it was literally 2 mins long and lame. not worth an hour.

    any ways, i checked in with my local audio store and they have some dense material like dynamat i can buy by the foot.

    now, i was researching other peoples photos on their tweaks on the baskets of the speakers. and many of them covered the magnet on the back of the driver.

    my question before i get home and do this tweak, is, do i need to cover the magnetic shielding on the side and back face with dynamat as well?

    will there be any ventilation issues? weight issues? performance diminish?

    just looking for your thoughts and experiences.

    thank you in advance!

    esr:biggrin::biggrin:
    AVR: Sony 5600ES
    Center: CS2II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coil, Mundorf resistors)
    Front: Monitor 70 II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coils, Mundorf resistors)
    Surrounds: Monitor 40 II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coil, Mundorf resistors)
    Rear Surrounds: Monitor 40 II (Clarity Caps PX, Perfect Lay coil, Mundorf resistors)

    More to come :biggrin:
  • bkeane1259
    bkeane1259 Posts: 54
    edited April 2011
    Esreuter wrote: »
    my question before i get home and do this tweak, is, do i need to cover the magnetic shielding on the side and back face with dynamat as well?

    will there be any ventilation issues? weight issues? performance diminish?

    Here's how I did mine. First of all, I did not waste my money on Dynamat, but of course that's completely up to you.

    I use Peel & Seal

    It's very similar to Dynamat, but a fraction of the cost. Lowes and Home Depot carry it. It's around $17 for a 6"x25' roll!! Works very well for damping and awesome in auto installs as well, where it can get very expensive to cover large panels.

    On the MB drivers, I covered the basket and then wrapped the magnetic shield and put a cross on the back of the shield - using small strips of the Peel & Seal. It's light weight so it does not add much mass to the driver. It kills any basket ringing. I noticed the driver rang if I tapped the magnetic shield, so yes, I covered it. I don't think you need to wrap a conventional magnet structure, but since these are shielded, it makes sense to deaden that surface as well.

    I had a bit of trouble with the large fastons on the MB's mainly because of the short length of wire. You may have to use a flat-head screw driver to pry them off ? be careful. Take care when removing the leads, especially since you will be very close to the exposed tweeter. Good luck.

    Here are a few pics:

    IMG_0580.jpg

    IMG_0578.jpg

    IMG_0575.jpg

    IMG_0576.jpg

    IMG_0577.jpg

    IMG_0579.jpg