Model 10s -are they 6 ohm or 8 ohm & what to seal drivers in with

coral191

I've always been under the impression that Model 10s were 6 ohm speakers. However, I have seen some Polk literature saying they are 8 ohm and some Polk literature saying they are 6 ohm. The shop I bought them from always said they are 6 ohm, and the amplifier test clinics I've had the A-10 at always listed them as being 6 ohms.

Also, what is something good to seal the drivers in with?
I've got a replacement driver coming and that putty stuff that came on them is dried up & probably not doing a good job of sealing anymore.
Thanks!

Jimbo18

Most people on here recommend Armacell to replace the gaskets and it can be bought from Home Depot or ordered on line. Do a search on this site and you will see more than a few posts mentioning it.

As far as how many ohm's your speakers are, I think it depends on the exact model. Do you know if they are Monitor 10a or 10b?

aprazer402

The Polk Audio Series II Monitor line which came out around 1990 offered the Monitor 10 in a nominal 8 ohm version.

mhardy6647

The original, unsuffixed Monitor Series Model 10 was specified by Polk as 6 ohm; I suspect that the 10A was also 6 ohm but I have no documentation to support that... and I have no idea about any later versions.

The attached is from a brochure I picked up at Soundscape in Baltimore in 1977.

polkca1976brochurebackpg by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

I should make a higher-res scan of that ... one of these days...

coral191

Mine are just plain Model 10 Monitors, bought new in 1977, before the A, B, etc models came out, but that probably explains why I've seen both ways in Polk lit.
Not sure what Armacell is, but I'll google it and there is a Home depot not far from the house.
Thanks!!!

mhardy6647

Definitely 6 ohm.

They should look like this one (with an uncoated paper cone passive radiator):

P1020559 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

aprazer402

Here is a vintage Polk catalog prepared a few years ago by forum member "skrol".

mhardy6647

aprazer402 wrote: »

Here is a vintage Polk catalog prepared a few years ago by forum member "skrol".

Excellent; I don't think I've ever seen this before. Thanks for posting it to this thread.

The family tree gets a little tangled up along the "Monitor 5" branch, doesn't it? :-P

coral191

That picture looks exactly like mine, except my PRs are coated like the drivers. Everything else the same-brown faced baffle, thick greyish gaskets around the drivers, same tweeters, super Velcro attachment, 2 fuses on back.

Turns out, I've got that same brochure, since I finally found my long-lost audio equipment folder just the other day. What was throwing me off seeing stuff on later models that are 8 ohms.

mhardy6647

... which means, I reckon, that they (Polk) changed the drivers and/or they changed the crossovers.

Do your Peerless tweeters have holes in the domes, or not? My "belief" is that very early Polk Monitor Series products didn't have the hole in the dome which later ones did.

FWIW: my belief/understanding has always been that the coated PRs "appeared" on the "A" versions... but Polk was a very small company in those days & "continuous improvement" was probably ongoing -- and undocumented ;- )

My Model 7s were sold to me as 7As -- and have two fuses, not just one, and coated 10" PRs. The original Model 7, though, actually had a smaller (8 inch) PR rather than the 10" PR (identical, I think, to the one used on the 10) of the 7A.

edit: heh, as long as I am at it, I'll regurgitate a little more ephemera...

The aforementioned brochure, which I think (?!?) may date from 1976 -- although I am sure I didn't pick up a copy 'til '77 -- shows an 8" PR on the 7.

earlypolkfamilyportrait by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

A somewhat newer ('78, I think) catalog from Gordon Miller Music (also a Baltimore company) shows, on two different pages, a "Polk 7A" with an 8" uncoated PR (i.e., a Model 7) and a system with a "Polk Model 7" with the 10" uncoated PR. Copy editing was a little more laborious in those days :-P

GMMspeakerpage by Mark Hardy, on Flickr


whatmore by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

leftwinger57

I used as mentioned before Armacell-Armaflex ap insulation tape as you see in the pix on the left it's on a roll and you can do many,many speakers. It compresses real tight used in conjunction w/ Larry's rings which may or may not be still available.Tool compi
lation was for total modding of my 2Bs

leftwinger57

Forgot to mention ,Mark you said that Polk did not always sticky coat their speakers back in the day. My 7s w/ the Peerless tweeters and out board fuse holder are not coated. I just thought they were sun bleached but not discolored and I'm going w/ your assumption.

vmaxer

aprazer402 wrote: »

Here is a vintage Polk catalog prepared a few years ago by forum member "skrol".

Very cool.

coral191

My soft dome tweeters do have the little hole in the middle, and they have nothing stamped on the backs, which I think means they are Danish ones.
Are those still the best tweeters to have?

mhardy6647

there is debate -- but I like 'em :- )

tonyp063

"Best" is relative & an opinion.

I have both monitor 7s & 10s (crossovers rebuilt) with the Peerless tweeters & I love the way they sound.

My brother has a pair of 7s with RDO-194s ( also rebuilt) and I also love the way the way *they* sound.
Very discernibly different, but both very good.

leftwinger57

Tony, your right it's all subjective to the listener. I changed out the silver domes to RDO-194s in my 2Bs and it was like night and day.The 28 y/o tweeters compared to the 194s well there is none. The Peerless of the 7s w/ somewhat of a softer tone will stay.

coral191

IF..one of my Peerless tweeters went bad, is the RDO-194s gonna be the best (new)replacemenst available?

mhardy6647

you'd have to change both tweeters and there might be (I am not at all expert on this topic!) crossover alterations required, too.

Peerless made those tweeters for decades (into the early 1990s, at least); used ones aren't too hard to find.

There is also a current production, 'brand X' replacement available, as well.
https://www.midwestspeakerrepair.com/mw-audio-mt-4115-1-inch-dome-tweeter

I've never heard one, though, and they're certainly not cheap. Again, if I went that route, I'd think it would be best to replace both.

tonyp063

IF..one of my Peerless tweeters went bad, is the RDO-194s gonna be the best (new)replacement available?

Significant crossover modification AND cabinet modification. The RDO-194 is not a drop-in replacement for the Peerless. Different fitment.

coral191

Thanks for info everyone!! Its good to know my options should something quit