Polk Monitor 12

lcrakel87

Ok so I've recently acquired a pair of Polk Monitor 12. Before getting them, I read all about how they are boomy. I didn't think it would be that bad so I got them anyway. Now that I have them, they are boomy. Now I'm trying to see if I can tame them a little bit.

My pair have some one inch risers on the bottom of them. I don't know if this is original or not. Would it be better to try and raise them off the floor a little bit more? Also, last night I got bored and took out the passive radiator. I was surprised to find no dampening material. There was some up behind the four 6.5" drivers. Should there be some behind the radiator as well?

I also found out that my cabinets are not properly sealed. When I press and hold the radiator in, the 6.5" move out and then start to come back in. Is there any good materials to seal the drivers back in. I have used a glue in the past, but I don't want to glue all the drivers back in.

Finally would these speakers benefit from crossover recap? When I had the radiator out, I could see they had a manufacture date of sept. 1990. I know people have benefited from recaps from speakers from 70's and 80's but not sure if these are "ready" for it.

I'm up for any more suggestions on how to getting the most out of these. Thanks!

falconcry72

Smallies wrote: »

Screw bass play treble.SL2500's are capable of that.

wtf are you talking about?

falconcry72

Welcome to CP and congrats on the sweet vintage Polks! That's a fairly rare set! :cheesygrin:

lcrakel87 wrote: »

My pair have some one inch risers on the bottom of them. I don't know if this is original or not. Would it be better to try and raise them off the floor a little bit more?

Placement can have a big effect on bass. Moving them out and away from any walls will help lessen the bass, but at the end of the day, the if they're too boomy, they're too boomy.

Should there be some behind the radiator as well?

Nope, the polyfill is supposed to be up around the MW's where you saw it.

When I press and hold the radiator in, the 6.5" move out and then start to come back in. Is there any good materials to seal the drivers back in. I have used a glue in the past, but I don't want to glue all the drivers back in.

Even on the best-sealed of these vintage Polks the drivers will start to go back in after pushing in on the passive. The question is, how fast do they go back in? Do they go ALL the way back in?

Forget the glue. Make sure the gaskets are intact and all the screws are tight.

Finally would these speakers benefit from crossover recap? When I had the radiator out, I could see they had a manufacture date of sept. 1990. I know people have benefited from recaps from speakers from 70's and 80's but not sure if these are "ready" for it.

Almost all speakers will benefit from installing better capacitors. Sometimes this is done to replace old capacitors that have gone bad, but other times it is done to put in higher quality caps that sound better, whether the originals have gone bad or not. HOWEVER, if, after playing with placement, your speakers are still too boomy, recapping them will NOT solve this.

There are a ton of good vintage Polks out there that do not exhibit the same boominess of the 12's. If you can't live with the boominess, don't try to "fix" it.. just get a different pair of speakers.

Other vintage Polks I'd recommend would be the Monitor 5's or Monitor 7's on the smaller side of things, the RTA-12's, 11's, or 15's on the medium side of things, or any of the SDA's on the larger side of things.

pitdogg2

Do not use glue on the MW!!! There are several good alternatives. Parts express has a couple that will work not the best but FAR better than any glue. Have you tried to just tighten the screws a little? Home Depot has a pipe wrap that all here seem to like although I do not recall the name. Recapping with Sonicap or Clearity make very good sense those Electrolytic's were not all that good to begin with so it is not to early to do it. Also do the resistors at the same time Mills 12 watt are cheap and 100% better than stock.

falconcry72 was on it typed much faster than I:)

Mystery

lcrakel87 wrote: »

My pair have some one inch risers on the bottom of them. I don't know if this is original or not. Would it be better to try and raise them off the floor a little bit more?

Yes, they are original feet.
They are 1.5" in the front and taper to 1" in the back so speakers are tilted slightly upwards.
I haven't raised them any higher but try and see if that makes any difference.

BTW, congrats on getting them.
I like my 12B's a lot.

As mentioned, mids don't stay out all the time when PR is pushed in.
They stay out only for few seconds.

pitdogg2

Mystery wrote: »

BTW, congrats on getting them.
I like my 12B's a lot.

I think you may be confussed with RTA12 the op has Monitor12 there was no B or C models I'm aware of.

Mystery

pitdogg2 wrote: »

I think you may be confussed with RTA12 the op has Monitor12 there was no B or C models I'm aware of.

No no... not confused about RTA and monitor but may have added B in there.
I had RTA-12C's that I already sold.

I do have a pair of monitor 12's now.
Now who made me think my 12's are 12B's if there are no monitor 12B's to begin with? :eek:

Here is a thread about them: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?145216-Polk-Speakers-don-t-leave-me-alone...-Monitor-12-s-wanted-to-come-home.

trav0810

I have had a pair of Monitor 12's for years and I love them. I kept them over my 10A's, Rti12's and Rti8's. I have upgraded to the RDO tweeters though.

ZLTFUL

falconcry72 wrote: »

...the RTA-12's, 11's, or 15's on the medium side of things, or any of the SDA's on the larger side of things.

The 15s are "medium"?? My back disagrees. :cheesygrin:

But otherwise, I completely agree with everything Falconcry said.

thsmith

I had 12s and never thought they were boomy but HAD to have them away from back wall more than 28". I can tell you I compared my 1Cs with upgraded XO and RDO with a bone stock 1C and the stock 1C sounded boomy to me. I believe upgrading caps and resistors would be helpful but only if you plan to keep the 12s.

Might also consider spiking the wedges, dynamatting the drivers, and putting some norez behind MWs.

lcrakel87

Thanks for detailed post falconcry72. A lot of good info. My MW only stay out for less than a second. Ill have to look around to see if I can find some of that pipe wrap stuff described. Make sure all the screws are tight too.

After seeing your 12's I dont think my risers are original. Mine are just a even one inch bar. No slant.

Ill play around with the placement when I get a chance. I do have a pair of 7b that I really like. I was just looking for something a little bigger. I would love to find a pair SDAs but the right pair hasnt come along yet. Ill try and get some pics up soon

lcrakel87

Mystery wrote: »

No no... not confused about RTA and monitor but may have added B in there.
I had RTA-12C's that I already sold.

I do have a pair of monitor 12's now.
Now who made me think my 12's are 12B's if there are no monitor 12B's to begin with? :eek:

Here is a thread about them: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?145216-Polk-Speakers-don-t-leave-me-alone...-Monitor-12-s-wanted-to-come-home.

Ok after seeing your pic, I don't think my risers are original. Here is a pic with a few more.

PolkieMan

Well one things for sure, you really don't need the new ones and the sub anymore if you do those up right.

11tsteve

here is the pipe insulation mentioned. it does a nice job.... and if you do use it, attach it to the drivers, not the cabs.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Armacell-2-in-x-30-ft-R-1-Foam-Insulation-Tape-TAP18230/100539553#.UWAEMFewVn8

lcrakel87

PolkieMan wrote: »

Well one things for sure, you really don't need the new ones and the sub anymore if you do those up right.

the monitor 60's and sub Are for home theater. The 12s are for my 2channel setup

PolkieMan

I had monitor 60's and a sub till I got my SDA 1C's :cheesygrin: believe me I did not need a sub or the 60's anymore :cheesygrin:
But do as you wish It all about having fun and trying new things.
Did you take out the passive radiators and check the poly-fill was still up above the PR where it should be?
As far as cabinet leaks also check the terminal cups. 11tsteve gave you a good link there. Now you can't really seal the
system totally as there is some leakage around the coil and dust covers.

lcrakel87 wrote: »

the monitor 60's and sub Are for home theater. The 12s are for my 2channel setup

skspider

I have a pair of monitor 12's. was able to curb some of the boomyness by resealing the box with silicone, anding internal bracing to stiffen the cabinet. added more stuffing. mortite caulking cord for the drivers. recapping the crossovers helped a ton. On the sealing of the cabinet, the mw have a vented dust cap so you will never have a truly sealed box. I use these for the mains in my HT set up. I like the clarity of the midrange and high's I get from these speakers. (the recaping helped with that alot, before the recap they where a little muddy in the midrange).

westmassguy

skspider wrote: »

I have a pair of monitor 12's. was able to curb some of the boomyness by resealing the box with silicone, anding internal bracing to stiffen the cabinet. added more stuffing. mortite caulking cord for the drivers. recapping the crossovers helped a ton. On the sealing of the cabinet, the mw have a vented dust cap so you will never have a truly sealed box. I use these for the mains in my HT set up. I like the clarity of the midrange and high's I get from these speakers. (the recaping helped with that alot, before the recap they where a little muddy in the midrange).

You should never, ever use silicone to seal the inside of a speaker cabinet. Silicone releases an acidic gas as it cures, which can damage exposed metal parts, steel, copper etc., on the drivers and crossover. In addition, silicone doesn't really adhere well to wood or wood products. You sould always use either a water based caulk, or construction adhesive. Solvent based construction adhesives will work as well, but the adhesive must be fully cured, and cabinet must be fully ventilated before installing all the drivers, and buttoning it up.