New owner of vintage Polks
Simplyrandom
Posts: 119
I finally acquired a pair of speakers I have wanted since the 80s. I picked up a pair of monitor 10as off CL for 75.00. I had been looking for a pair local but most of the ones I found were over priced and in bad shape. I have to admit this pair is filthy however otherwise they are in good shape. The grills are toast thanks to a cat and some liquid damage to the bottom of one of the grill frames. The cabinets are nice though with very minor corner and edge damage for speakers of this age. I am looking forward to giving these the much needed attention they deserve. Starting with a thorough foreign dna removal. I have read windex and 409 are good cleaning solutions but I was curious if there are any products I should stay away from.
Post edited by Simplyrandom on
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Welcome to club polk. 409 on the vinyl and real Windex on the 6.5's and the passives. What tweeters do the have? You will probably want to have the crossovers rebuilt to make them really sing again. Lots of good info and help available.
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Yes Original Windex not new and improved or any other other title. I used it on both the cones and the butyl surrounds and does a great job w/o any chemical damage to either part. Just of course don't directly spray on the the speakers themselves just use a clean rag. For the bezel or motor board don't use Pledge as I did and was hammered when I said I did that. it leaves streaks and ha a silicone residue that becomes sticky after time and is really unapealling.2chl- Adcom GFA- 555-Onkyo P-3150v pre/amp- JVC-QL-A200 tt- Denon 1940 ci cdp- Adcom GFS-6 -Modded '87 SDA 2Bs - Dynamat Ext.- BH-5- X-Overs VR-3, RDO-194 tweeters, Larry's Rings, Speakon/Neutrik I/C- Cherry stain tops Advent Maestros,Ohm model E
H/T- Toshiba au40" flat- Yamaha RX- V665 avr- YSD-11 Dock- I-Pod- Klipsch #400HD Speaker set-
Bdrm- Nikko 6065 receiver- JBL -G-200s--Pioneer 305 headphones--Sony CE375-5 disc -
Welcome to CP thats a great price. Congrats on getting them & well worth upgrading. Enjoy your new to you speakers
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Welcome to CP. If the vinyl has years of wax buildup, you can use denatured alcohol to remove it and the embedded dirt. Like other have said, pure Windex, and a microfiber cloth on the cones. They're naturally tacky, so you'll want to keep them wet with the Windex, until all the dirt is off. Spray only on the cloth, not directly on the cone. Use a circular motion, and keep turning the cloth until it comes up clean.Home Theater/2 Channel:
Front: SDA-2ATL forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/143984/my-2as-finally-finished-almost/p1
Center: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/150760/my-center-channel-project/p1
Surrounds & Rears: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/151647/my-surround-project/p1
Sonicaps, Mills, RDO-194s-198s, Dynamat, Hurricane Nuts, Blackhole5
Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXV, Carver PM-600, SVS PB2-Plus Subwoofer
dhsspeakerservice.com/ -
Welcome to Club Polk! Absolutely love my pristine Monitor 10Bs!
Sounds like you got a pretty nice deal. Start with a thorough cleaning and getting those grilles taken care of. Then decide how far down the rabbit hole you want to go with getting them "just right". LOTS of good info in this forum to help you out. -
Thank you for all the advice. I wish I could have found a pristine pair but I am happy with what I have. I will enjoy every minute of bringing them back to life. I am a hopeless hobby addict and I think I have found my new hobby.
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Hey, welcome to the club! Nice speakers, you will enjoy bringing them back! I have a PSW1200 that sustained some damage during shipping,(thank goodness I have a 2nd one) but I was able to bring it back! Granted I had to use an external plate amp, but it's better now. I had fun repairing that sub!SRT Seismic System with dual PSW1200's
RT5000 x 2
RT2000p
CS400i
CS350-LS
LS F/X
PSW650
PSW1000 w/Dayton SPA1000
DSW MicroPro 4000
Adcom amps
Pioneer Elite SC-89
Pioneer PLX-1000 Turntable
PS4
XBOX One
MIT Interconnects
BJC -
Welcome to CP. Rebuild those Xovers - if you like the way they sound now, you'll be amazed at the improvement new high quality film caps and resistors bring."Science is suppose to explain observations not dismiss them as impossible" - Norm on AA; 2.3TL's w/sonicaps/mills/jantzen inductors, Gimpod's boards, Lg Solen SDA inductors, RD-0198's, MW's dynamatted, Armaflex speaker gaskets, H-nuts, brass spikes, Cardas CCGR BP's, upgraded IC Cable, Black Hole Damping Sheet strips, interior of cabinets sealed with Loctite Power Grab, AI-1 interface with 1000VA A-L transformer
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I am making a to do list. I started wiping things down tonight but I ran out of clean jersey cloth as my son uses my stock for cleaning his guitars. I am hitting the dollar store for a bundle of micro fiber. I need to make a list of parts for the crossovers. I can read the values on some of them but the large white caps seem blank. I am sure I can dig around and find the values for them. I have also read conflicting information on changing the resistors. Some say you should and others says leave them be. I am still on the fence unless someone wants to push me in a direction. I also want to secure the magnets as I am paranoid they will shift. I see Loctite clear acrylic adhesive is one solution. Is that something I can pick up at the local Lowes or Home Depot ? I dont want to get the wrong stuff and make a huge mess. For the time being I am spinning James Talyor on a Pioneer PL!) through an Onkyo TX4500 MkII into the new family members. I just wish the turntable wood was rosewood to match the speakers and receiver.
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I was curious if there are any products I should stay away from.
As mentioned, no Pledge. Also, no Armor-All or any other products like that.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
As mentioned, no Pledge. Also, no Armor-All or any other products like that.
I assume alcohol would be a no no as well ?? -
If the magnets didn't shift in their truck ride they are not going to shift just sitting there.
Sand cast resistors suck, definitely change them.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Simplyrandom wrote: »I assume alcohol would be a no no as well ??
Real Windex and either 409 or Fantastic is all you'll need to clean tham up.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Well they were back down in the extra cab back seat with my son complaining I was driving like a grandmother all the way home. I seriously thought about borrowing a car to pick them up...lolIf the magnets didn't shift in their truck ride they are not going to shift just sitting there.
Sand cast resistors suck, definitely change them. -
Gotta love the handwriting on the drivers and crossovers of the vintage Polks, nice acquisition I'd say!
That is something about vintage gear I really love. -
Simplyrandom wrote: »Well they were back down in the extra cab back seat with my son complaining I was driving like a grandmother all the way home. I seriously thought about borrowing a car to pick them up...lol
Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Those have the Peerless tweeter and MW6500 drivers. More than likely the crossovers will be 2 12uf caps and 1 34uf cap. Resistors are very inexpensive and should be changed. I believe they will be a 2.5 ohm and a 2.7 ohm. If you need someone to rebuild them for you talk to wessmasguy. He does a great job. Use the Locktite on the drivers on both sides of the magnet. Put a bead on both sides and smooth it in with your finger. Consider using Dynamat on the driver and passive baskets. Also drilling out the screw holes and installing hurricane nuts and machine screws will snug things up to make the cabinets air tight.
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welcome to the forum and congrats on the speakers. There are many around here that really like that model.If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of Progress?!
Monitor 5Jr, Monitor 5, RTA12, RTA 15TL, SDA 2A, 1c, SRS 2, 1.2TL, CRS, Atrium. -
You can fix those pushed in dust caps with some scotch tape. Just gently stick the tape to the middle of the dust cap without pushing it in more and pull. The dents should come right out.Stan
Main 2ch:
Polk LSi15 (DB840 upgrade), Parasound: P/LD-1100, HCA-1000A; Denon: DVD-2910, DRM-800A; Benchmark DAC1, Monster HTS3600-MKII, Grado SR-225i; Technics SL-J2, Parasound PPH-100.
HT:
Marantz SR7010, Polk: RTA11TL (RDO198-1, XO and Damping Upgrades), S4, CS250, PSW110 , Marantz UD5005, Pioneer PL-530, Panasonic TC-P42S60
Other stuff:
Denon: DRA-835R, AVR-888, DCD-660, DRM-700A, DRR-780; Polk: S8, Monitor 5A, 5B, TSi100, RM7, PSW10 (DXi104 upgrade); Pioneer: CT-6R; Onkyo CP-1046F; Ortofon OM5E, Marantz: PM5004, CD5004, CDR-615; Parasound C/PT-600, HCA-800ii, Sony CDP-650ESD, Technics SA 5070, B&W DM601 -
You can fix those pushed in dust caps with some scotch tape. Just gently stick the tape to the middle of the dust cap without pushing it in more and pull. The dents should come right out.
I have actually popped them out twice but they are stubborn. I assume they have been pushed in for quite some time and developed memory. I am considering wetting them with windex and a soft brush and then popping them back out again and see if they hold better when the dry. I am still in the process of trying to remove years and years of grunge from the speaker cones so I keep bumping them as well. I used a vacuum by the way and they pull right out. I guess if they will not co operate in the future I can replace the dust caps. I am just weary of getting too close to the leads that attach to the speaker cones.
