New drivers for monitor 10b, amplifier? Circuit board upgrade?

kansas1973
kansas1973 Posts: 15
in Basic Hookup/Wiring Questions
I bought a set of pristine 10b's but at high volume the drivers clap..
Is it the circuit board that I've read about or the drivers?
I'm powering them via sansui b-3000 at 120 w per channel@ 8 ohms
I understand the polks are 6 ohms. Is it an amplifier issue?
Any help is appreciated!
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Best Answers

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,647
    edited September 2016 Answer ✓
    Bass at 50%? Does that mean flat or you've got it cranked up 50%?

    Loudness should be off, period.

    Volume at 60%? You mean 1 o'clock? That's too much volume. You should never go past noon and that's probably pushing it too far. 11 is a safer bet.
    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

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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,647
    Answer ✓
    The bass at noon (flat) is where it should be, no need to turn it down.

    EQ's are evil.

    Bottom line, with the loudness turned on and the volume level too high bad juju will happen as you found out.
    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

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  • WTS
    WTS Posts: 170
    Answer ✓
    Basically, your starting point should be everything neutral: no loudness comp, and bass and treble at neutral settings. Then, if needed, you can make small adjustments to compensate for flawed acoustics in the room.

    On my setup, I save "loudness comp" for when I'm playing music particularly softly. At least on my amplifier (NAD 3155), that helps me hear the highs and lows better, without disturbing the neighbors.

    How do you have the receiver/subwoofer/speakers interfaces set up? If your equipment permits it, you should have the low bass frequencies to the speakers rolled off. Ideally they should be produced only by the sub. The sub and/or the receiver may be designed to facilitate this crossover. Check the instructions.

    Those 10b speakers weren't designed to handle modern HT low-frequency sound effects, nor are they intended to achieve rock concert sound levels. You don't want to attempt to replicate the "thump-thump" sound of a badly-setup and badly-overdriven car stereo. (Or at least I hope that's not your goal!)

    They're designed to present as accurate of sound and as nice a soundstage as could be achieved thirty years ago at a particular price point. They still hold up well today, as long as you don't ask them to do what they were never designed to do.

    That said, with a proper set up, the sub should take some pressure off of the speakers, and permit some good sound.

    Let us know what other questions you may have.
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Answers

  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,086
    Physical excursion limits? Do you have the bass knob turned up? Loudness switch turned on? Spider detached from cone?
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,647
    At what position is the volume knob when this happens?
    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

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  • kansas1973
    kansas1973 Posts: 15
    Bass is at 50%
    Loudness is at 50%
    Volume when clapping occurs is at approx 60%
    I have a 10"Polk floor sub..
    Don't get me wrong they sound awesome..
    I'm impressed with their age and performance
    I
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  • kansas1973
    kansas1973 Posts: 15
    I really appreciate your time..
    I'll turn off loudness and turn down bass.
    I had the bass at 12:00 or flat
    Also the loudness was at the same setting..
    I have a 10 band eq as well.
    I'll keep em cranked down.

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  • kansas1973
    kansas1973 Posts: 15
    Why are eq's evil?
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,647
    The more connections and circuits the signal passes through increases the noise floor, which is never a good thing. Secondly, an EQ is band-aid fix for issues that should be addressed directly.
    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

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  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,086
    edited September 2016
    kansas1973 wrote: »
    Why are eq's evil?

    They allow newbies to manipulate the bass signal so much that they get their drivers to reach physical excursion limits before the desired volume is achieved or a clipped amplifier signal frying their tweeters, leaving them wondering what is wrong with their speakers. ;)
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
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  • kansas1973
    kansas1973 Posts: 15
    I smell sarcasm..
    I guess I'm newbie..
    I never had an old set
    Polks, but they seem interesting
    Last 6 months I'm a bachelor//son off
    To college... type of free soul..
    I've been building a nice stereo finally
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  • kansas1973
    kansas1973 Posts: 15
    Thank you, my goal is for the treble, mid range and bass to be linear.
    I have a 10" Polk floor sub. I'm driving with a late 80's sansui amp and preamp combo.
    I'm looking at buying a cleaner amp and have found some nice parasounds and Haflers at a decent price
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  • WTS
    WTS Posts: 170
    I'm not familiar with that Sansui amp. Others can tell you if it's good. My guess is that it should be able to drive the Model 10 speakers, especially if the low bass frequencies are rolled off by the preamp (which may or may not be the case). Assuming, of course, that the amp is in proper working order, and the preamp is doing its job as well.

    Another thing to check is the condition of the speakers. You can search the forum for easy diagnostics for making sure that they're in good working order.

    Also, you can upgrade them, if you like and if you have a budget for it. Here's a thread about it:

    http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/149215/monitor-10-rebuild-with-tl-mod/p1

    I'm in the final stages of doing basically this with my own Model 7 speakers.
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