Advice on Polk Monitor 5jr woofer surround and silver coil tweeter brightness issues

Pianist19

I bought these speakers a week ago. The mid-woofer on one of them has a torn surround. I tried gluing it back but that did not do the trick. Is there a source for surrounds for these? I have a extra surround from a Design Acoustics PS 6 which seems to line up but does not look like the original woofer surround. The speakers are listenable at low volumes but there is an occasional buzz from the cone which cannot stay centered. I hope I do not have to replace the woofer on these. Also the silver coil tweeter is too bright for me and is it possible to replace the tweeters with something smoother. The brightness sort of ruins what otherwise would be a great speaker. Any help appreciated.

steveinaz

Speaker positioning might help with tweeter issues, by using less toe-in. I assume your tone controls are set to flat/disengaged?

Mystery

Yes, you can replace the SL2000 with new RDO-194 tweeters that are smoother.
RDO-198 can also be used with an additional 5.8uF capacitor.

For the mid woofer, Polk may still have replacement woofer.

pitdogg2

It would be cheaper to just either get a new driver from Polk or get the number off the back and buy one on eBay. As far as I know there are no replacement surrounds that I know of that are the same...

PolkieMan

Pictures help a lot on a question like this. What kind of glue did you try?

Check that the speaker is a Mw6502 new $48 last time I checked free shipping +tax now that your a "Club Polk Member".

call Helen Yarbor

Customer Service Rep / Parts
Baltimore, MD. 21215
1-800-377-7655
Fax- 410-764-5470

The tweeters replacement are as Mystery said much better than the 2000.
You can spend a lot but you will find they are pretty good.
It would not hurt to replace the 20+ year old capacitors and resistors in the x-over either


http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=340-078&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pla

F1nut

There is no good way to repair the surround, replacement surrounds are not available, so just buy a replacement driver and get the RD0194-1 tweeters as well. All money well spent.

tonyb

I don't think spending more money is on the OP's radar.

Pianist19

The glue I used is Alene's Tacky glue. This is the first time I have ever heard of a woofer of this size for which no surround is available. I am tempted to try a generic surround to see if it can keep the woofer cone centered. I have an extra surround from a Design Acoustics PS 6A speaker which appears that it might line up.

F1nut

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

skrol

I permanently repaired a rubber surround on a car speaker with Stix-All and it worked out great. This stuff adheres very well and remains flexible. Just don't use globs of it or you will change the flexibility of the surround but you do want to make a good seal. The speaker design with the passive radiator must have a good seal.
Stan

inspiredsports

As F1 says, to smooth out the high end you can replace the harsh original SL-2000's with current replacement RDO194-1's,

Or, you can really solve the problem and move up to the (same price) RDO198-1 by replacing 1 capacitor in each crossover.

The only difference from your 5jr (that uses the SL-2000 or RDO194-1) and a 5jr+ (that uses the SL-2500 or RDO198-1) is a 12 uf cap in the crossover in the 5jr that can be replaced with a 13.5 uf cap to drive the superior RDO198-1. (Caution: replacement cap is not 5.8 uf as mentioned in #3 above)

You can resell the SL-2000's to recoup some of your cost.

Pianist19

I just took the woofer out and it indeed as an MW 6502. It also says Monitor 5jr + on the woofer. Does anybody know how much the RD0194-1 tweeters cost? Guess I will reluctantly have to put some money into these.

tonyb

LOL...."reluctantly" ? Didn't you know what was wrong before you bought them ? Didn't you listen to them first ? The new tweets I believe cost around 50 bucks, but you have to replace both or they will each sound different. That's 100 bucks right there. Maybe best to part them out and recoup your coin and move on.

Pianist19

I got these very cheap and only was able to listen for a minute as the seller had other offers. I have done several woofer surrounds and thought that this was a simple surround replacement issue. I had no idea that there isn't a commercially available rubber surround for this woofer. Although I really like the sound of the Polk speakers I have owned(Monitor 7's RT5's and these 5jr's), I have had woofer problems with all of them. I do have access to the following woofers if they are a possible match. The numbers are: MW: 5502, 6511 and 6512. Can anyone tell me if they are a match for the 6502?

PolkieMan

The tweeters and the mid woofer are 48+tax free shipping for Club Polk members

get this before it's gone

http://www.ebay.com/itm/POLK-AUDIO-Monitor-Series-4-Replacement-5-5-Woofer-Mint-MW6502-Works-/261323686108?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item3cd81b00dc

F1nut

Can anyone tell me if they are a match for the 6502?

They are not.

skrol

There are some rubber surround repair kits out there. You may be able to match it up with the measurements and edge type.
http://www.simplyspeakers.com/rubber-speaker-repair-edge-kits.html

Also, the MW-6502 comes up from time to time in the FS section and on ebay.
Stan

PolkieMan

$19.00
get this before it's gone

http://www.ebay.com/itm/POLK-AUDIO-M...item3cd81b00dc

Pianist19

Thanks for the info, PolkieMan. I just bought the woofer from eBay. There was no link to the tweeters but happy I will now have a good woofer. Please let me know if there is a similar source for the tweeters.

teekay0007

Pianist19 wrote: »

Thanks for the info, PolkieMan. I just bought the woofer from eBay. There was no link to the tweeters but happy I will now have a good woofer. Please let me know if there is a similar source for the tweeters.

See PolkieMan's post above (post #5) with the Polk CS info listed. That's where you get the new replacement tweeters for the SL-2000. The ones you want are the RD0194-1. They are a drop-in replacement for the SL-2000. They are regularly priced at $60 apiece +tax +shipping. As a Club Polk member (tell them you are when you call) you can get them for $48 +tax apiece with free shipping. Then, you can sell the SL-2000s to offset some of the cost of the new tweeters.

The 194 tweeters haven't been available for that long and are usually bought for replacements/upgrades for the SL-2000s, so used ones aren't often available and if they are, they aren't that much cheaper than the new ones.

PolkieMan

yes teekay0007 is right get the new tweeters they are so much better than the Sl-2000. Or you can get the RD0198-1 and with a minor cheap crossover change and use them, the feeling is they are the best of all.

teekay0007 wrote: »

See PolkieMan's post above (post #5) with the Polk CS info listed. That's where you get the new replacement tweeters for the SL-2000. The ones you want are the RD0194-1. They are a drop-in replacement for the SL-2000. They are regularly priced at $60 apiece +tax +shipping. As a Club Polk member (tell them you are when you call) you can get them for $48 +tax apiece with free shipping. Then, you can sell the SL-2000s to offset some of the cost of the new tweeters.

The 194 tweeters haven't been available for that long and are usually bought for replacements/upgrades for the SL-2000s, so used ones aren't often available and if they are, they aren't that much cheaper than the new ones.

drumminman

Just came across this, replacement rubber surrounds:

http://w.mawebcenters.com/midwestspeaker/ecommerce/diy-repair-kits/rubber-surround-kits

Pianist19

OK I am about to put the replacement woofer in. Is it necessary to seal the woofer with plumbers putty or rope calk? The one I removed did not have anything like that.

F1nut

The original mid-driver should have a black foam gasket, which I'm sure is compressed. You can reuse it as long as it's not damaged, but I thought the new mid-drivers came with a new gasket.

Anyway, do not use plumbers putty or rope chalk. Get some Armacell and cut to fit.

Pianist19

"new" woofer is in and all is fine. Hope I might come across those better tweeters cheap but an equalizer seems to tame the harshness for now.