My Polk Monitor 7 rebuild

gmjungbluth

Friends,

I've finally finished the rebuild of my Polk Monitor 7Bs, which came to me courtesy of RRomeo.

Short story - rebuilt crossovers with Dayton 1% caps and Mills resistors, added Larry's rings, dynamat on the driver and PR, acoustic insulation inside the cabs, and re-covered the cabs in real cherry veneer.

I'm still testing and burning in but so far I am very happy.

I took a lot of pictures and wrote up the whole story on my blog - you can read the entire saga here:

http://silverfacestereo.wordpress.com/

Many many thanks to all of the forum members who shared their own experiences in modding and restoring their Polks. It was your advice, posts, and shared experiences through this forum that gave me the knowledge to attempt this and the confidence that I could get it done. I produced the detailed write-up of my rebuild to pay this forward and hopefully give someone else the information they need to do the same.

Respectfully,

G

PS - looking at my blog post and photos I realize I have to take some better close-ups of the veneer to show off my work. That will come soon!

cnh

Is that "your" site? Because that is pretty impressive. One of the better sites I've seen. Very nice work!

cnh

gmjungbluth

That is my site. All are my speakers, receivers, and experiences. Thank you very much!!

cnh wrote: »

Is that "your" site? Because that is pretty impressive. One of the better sites I've seen. Very nice work!

cnh

Oldfatdogs

Nice job on your 7bs they turned out great.

VR3

Those turned out great!

gmjungbluth

Thanks!

VR3 wrote: »

Those turned out great!

gmjungbluth

Thanks! Appreciate it.

Oldfatdogs wrote: »

Nice job on your 7bs they turned out great.

zane77

Really nice job on your speakers and the write up and your website are great.

gmjungbluth

Thanks!

zane77 wrote: »

Really nice job on your speakers and the write up and your website are great.

vcwatkins

Excellent work and write-up! Thanks for taking the time to share.

Craig

gmjungbluth

Thanks!

vcwatkins wrote: »

Excellent work and write-up! Thanks for taking the time to share.

Craig

TNHNDYMAN

Nice job and a great write up. Very nice site you have created, I have it bookmarked now and will explore it further as time allows.

geoff727

Nice looking, a big improvement. I like the color combination of the speakers & stands.

G~

gmjungbluth

Thanks for the compliment on the site!

It actually wasn't that hard at all to put the site together. The hardest part is remembering to write down my impressions of gear on a timely and regular basis...

TNHNDYMAN wrote: »

Nice job and a great write up. Very nice site you have created, I have it bookmarked now and will explore it further as time allows.

Conradicles

Super nice!!!!

schwarcw

The vaneer looks fantastic! I'll bet they look even more impressive in person. You did all the usual mods and upgrades. Thos 7B's should sound pretty good!

doctor r

Love the veneer work. That is what is in line for my 7Bs next, but I did the crossovers a while ago and I will say it took a while for them to really settle in. Give them time and you will be richly rewarded with improving sound.

gmjungbluth

Cool, thanks!

I don't know about your experience with veneering, but as I wrote in the post the biggest lesson for me was to go slow and finish each step as close to perfection as you can, because flaws persist.

Good luck!

doctor r wrote: »

Love the veneer work. That is what is in line for my 7Bs next, but I did the crossovers a while ago and I will say it took a while for them to really settle in. Give them time and you will be richly rewarded with improving sound.

schwarcw

So now that you have had some time to break them in, how do they sound?

westmassguy

Nice work. Now sit back with an adult beverage and enjoy.

gmjungbluth

I have only had some short time to play them when hooked up to my Pioneer SX-1250 and Yamaha turntable, and a shorter time on stands with my Pioneer VSX-820. Shortly after getting them back together, I pulled the whole basement apart for a remodel. So all my speakers are packed and under drop cloths now! I estimate I only have about 20 hours on them at this point.

For the short time I had them out I liked what I heard. I think the bass was tight and accurate. It seemed to have less of the typical Polk Monitor boom in the mid-low frequencies. Highs were great, still laid-back. I need to give them some more time to open up to see for sure where I land. Overall they sounded really nice, especially paired with the SX-1250 and a turntable. Then the mids were amazing. When everything's pulled back together in the basement I need to do an A/B with my Boston A200s - before the recap and mods of the 7s, a back to back with the A200s was very revealing - the 7s imaged better but in comparison with the A200s the Polks were veiled. I'm interested to see if that's cleared up. When I compared the pre-mod 7s to the A100s they were much more evenly matched, with the A100s winning on overall fullness of sound but the 7s winning on some accuracy and imaging.

schwarcw wrote: »

So now that you have had some time to break them in, how do they sound?

Hartge7

Thanks for your site, gmjb. It is one that talks to the different tweeters in one paragraph and tells us all we need to know.

gmjungbluth

Thanks!!

Hartge7 wrote: »

Thanks for your site, gmjb. It is one that talks to the different tweeters in one paragraph and tells us all we need to know.

rromeo923

rromeo is impressed!!! Nice Job George!!

We should get together and have a beer. I still have those KLH 17's that need work!

gmjungbluth

Definitely!!

Those KLH17s still need some lovin, eh? I'm amassing a little collection of KLHs that need attention: Have 32s and 20s which need recaps too!

gmjungbluth

An update. I've had the modded Polk 7s all over the place since the recap. For a while they haven't gotten much use - I put some amazing Klipsch CF-4s in my HT setup and had Klipsch KG-4s in use for general listening in the living room. I sold the KG-4s and the polks went upstairs. At first I didn't like the change - the Klipsches were great for low level background listening due to their efficiency and huge bass - the Polks' bass was different and they overall seemed to require more juice to shine from the Harman 3380 receiver I have them hooked up to.

But I've been using this system for my son to watch Netflix and play video games on. he's put 10x the hours onto t he system that way than I was able to listening to music. I have no way of determining how many hours but likely 200+ more burn-in.

And recently I have noticed that the Polks sound much much better. Bass is much lower and fuller, with an accuracy that I was not noticing before- the placement is not ideal for bass reproduction. Highs and imaging also seem to be very good given how my room is set up. I'm thinking it's time for another critical listening test, perhaps against my pair of Lsi-7s I have sitting in storage.

Bottom line - these things are getting better with age and a lot of burn in!

motorhead43026

Very nice site indeed, and for your viewing pleasure here is my KLH 20+ system. Excellent speaker those 7's are.

.

leftwinger57

I know this is knida an old site but if MR. gmjunbluth is still around how does the CF-4s compare w/ the Epic series or the ones I really want the KLF 10s,20, or the very big 30s. I did have a chance for KG 4s and just missed them and now I have Klipsch smalls for my h/t which is in no way anything compared to the Heritage line or other models mentioned.

gmjungbluth

Thanks for the comments!

Leftwinger, on the CF-4s - I've had Klipschorns, Cornwalls, Tangent 500s (big Heresys with a passive radiator), KG4s, and Forte IIs.

The only ones I still have are the CF-4s. I find them really dynamic, balanced, and fun to listen to. The bigger Klipsch Heritage series speakers are a lo of fun but I found the klipschorns hard to place to get the best effect, and their size means that you need to have the right room and space to get the most out of them. Cornwalls were really nice but they're big too.

I really liked my KG4s and shouldn't have gotten rid of them. Mine were stock and were great for low-level listening - the dynamics and bass were hard to beat. Depending on placement and source amp they could be a bit grating but so can other Klipsches.

I haven't heard the KLF line but there is a lot of debate about them on the Klipsch community forum. Some people swear by the KLF 30s, others say they were a small step down from the Epic line. Hopefully some day I'll be able to compare.

Good luck and have fun!