monitor 5 bass
canadianicon25
Posts: 200
it may have been said before but the monitor 5 w/ peerless is bass shy. is there anything that can be done to improve the bass output of these speakers?
Post edited by canadianicon25 on
Comments
-
It a 6.5" driver.... that being said "dynomat" on the baskets will tighten the bass quite a bit! Also new caps wont hurt. But at the end of the day it is a bookshelf speaker. What kind of amp and sources are you playing them on?Main Rig:
Krell KAV 250a biamped to mid/highs
Parasound HCA1500A biamped to lows
Nakamichi EC100 Active xover
MIT exp 1 ic's
Perreaux SA33 class A preamp
AQ kingcobra ic's
OPPO 83 CDP
Lehmann audio black cube SE phono pre, Audioquest phono wire (ITA1/1)
Denon DP-1200 TT. AToc9ML MC cart.
Monster HTS 3600 power conditioner
ADS L1590/2 Biamped
MIT exps2 speaker cable -
I agree that the 5's are lacking bass but like sf1 said they are book shelf speakers. Mine had been rebuilt and modded. They are what they are.
-
Get a subafterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
I found that the 5A's are a little shy on bass. The 5B was better. My 5A's have a ton of Daycron polyfil stuffed in them including behind the PR. This was from the factory. This is usually a no-no and I have toyed with the idea of removing some.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 don't mention which model Monitor 5s you have. There's the 5A, 5B, 5jr and 5jr+. Each have different -3db bass cutoff frequencies. As other have said, a good sub, set to 60-80Hz crossover will fill in the bottom nicely.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/ -
Given its size and design, the (original) Monitor 5 does pretty darned well, wide-range, I'd opine.
-
I found that the 5A's are a little shy on bass. The 5B was better. My 5A's have a ton of Daycron polyfil stuffed in them including behind the PR. This was from the factory. This is usually a no-no and I have toyed with the idea of removing some.
Like other vintage Polk's the dacron should be rolled up and positioned above the pr. -
Many times people put the 5B's in too large a room and they aren't designed for that. I have them set up in a bedroom that is a home office and I can rattle the metal pull handles on my cabinets as well as vibrating the closet door tracks. They need proper placement, stands and gear and they hit surprisingly low. Mine are modded as well as having Larry's rings and mortite sealer, which do make a noticeable difference. I have 30wpc of tube power.
If I move them out to big rig room, they don't sound as good, loss of bass because the room is too big and open for these type of speakers.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
I have my 5As on a vintage JVC of 40 watts x 2 and it is not bass shy for a bookshelf. Have to agree with both mhardy and Brock on this. Sure they're not going to blast you out of the room but in my office they're on a bookshelf 10' from the opposing wall. On the 17' side. That's not a big room and they do fine in there with no sub.
I do believe room size is a factor here!
cnhCurrently orbiting Bowie's Blackstar.!
Polk Lsi-7s, Def Tech 8" sub, HK 3490, HK HD 990 (CDP/DAC), AKG Q701s
[sig. changed on a monthly basis as I rotate in and out of my stash] -
so what about ideal placement. how far out from a wall?
-
I have a pair of 5A's that the poly fill was also behind the PR. I do believe they came that way from the factory. Easay enough to move and it does improve the sound along with all the other mods mentioned.
I have mine hooked up to a Pioneer SX-780 (45watts) in a small 10x12 room and they have plenty of bass in a small room. -
I have a pair of 5A's that the poly fill was also behind the PR. I do believe they came that way from the factory. Easay enough to move and it does improve the sound along with all the other mods mentioned.
I have mine hooked up to a Pioneer SX-780 (45watts) in a small 10x12 room and they have plenty of bass in a small room.
Rolling up the dacron and stapling it in place above the pr is recommended. Replacing the old caps and resistors will vastly improve their sound.
