Recommendations for monitor 5 speaker surround repair
TweetTweet
Posts: 24
Hi, I recently got my monitor 5's running thanks to you all, and now I'm just crossing my T's and dotting my I's for down the road. One of the 6.5" speakers I got had a rip in the middle speaker's surround, probably why the original owner ditched it. I was able to mend the hole fairly easily, but it's probably just a temporary fix. Can anyone recommend a kit or replacement part that could be used to restore this speaker more permanently?
Comments
-
AFAIK, there are no repair kits except through Polk directly. I have a set of 10As and a driver in my 11Ts that need this repair as well. Hopefully a more prominent member here has better information.
-
TweetTweet wrote: »Hi, I recently got my monitor 5's running thanks to you all, and now I'm just crossing my T's and dotting my I's for down the road. One of the 6.5" speakers I got had a rip in the middle speaker's surround, probably why the original owner ditched it. I was able to mend the hole fairly easily, but it's probably just a temporary fix. Can anyone recommend a kit or replacement part that could be used to restore this speaker more permanently?
You're better off buying a replacement MW6502 (or match whatever's in there) from Polk, or a salvaged unit off eBay.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/ -
I've seen where people have used the glue from a bike tube repair kit for a pretty permanent repair...
-
The glue fix is more or less what I've already done. It has worked great so far, maybe some loss in fidelity but not something I would really notice. This is more a "just in case" question, since the fix might fail some day.
-
Drivers are available.
-
Drivers are available.
Yes, but the current drivers (and in my case, passives as well) are still good. I'd rather not have to replace and then burn in a new set of drivers when all that was needed was surrounds. I imagine @TweetTweet is of the same mindset. -
The surrounds are not available.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 -
Drivers are available.
Yes, but the current drivers (and in my case, passives as well) are still good. I'd rather not have to replace and then burn in a new set of drivers when all that was needed was surrounds. I imagine @TweetTweet is of the same mindset.
There is no difference with the exception that you will need to cut some of the surround at the screw hole to keep from twisting and peeling the surround. -
If it's a small tear or puncture in the butyl surround I've used 3M Weatherstrip adhesive to join the ends together.
http://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/3M-Black-Super-Weatherstrip-Adhesive?N=5002385+3292908126+3293850501&rt=rud
I suspect this would also work since they include it in their rubber surround replacement kits. They have several 6.5" butyl versions and sell Polk parts, perhaps that can tell you if one is the correct size.
https://www.midwestspeakerrepair.com/gp-glue-bottle-of-black-poly-glue
https://www.midwestspeakerrepair.com/speaker-repair-kits/rubber-surround-kits -
Thank you for input everyone, I'll look into one of the surround repair kits if the glue ever fails
-
As I stated, there are no surrounds available for Polk drivers. They are unique.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 I stated, there are no surrounds available for Polk drivers. They are unique.
And in being so unique and unavailable, any so damaged drivers become magnetic paperweights. Add to the fact that not all vintage models are being reproduced then shrinks the availability of repair or refurbishment of rare vintage models even further.
I do often wonder if Polk could be convinced to make a run of surround kits for those of us with such a predicament. It's not like they couldn't control the distribution... -
As I stated, there are no surrounds available for Polk drivers. They are unique.
And in being so unique and unavailable, any so damaged drivers become magnetic paperweights. Add to the fact that not all vintage models are being reproduced then shrinks the availability of repair or refurbishment of rare vintage models even further.
I do often wonder if Polk could be convinced to make a run of surround kits for those of us with such a predicament. It's not like they couldn't control the distribution...
Not going to happen. It would be way more trouble than its worth. Re edging foam is one thing but get and old polk driver and remove the rubber it is a big pain in the posterior when they are readily available used or new. Look a few posts back you made the comment on having to break in a new speaker... IF you just did the surround what would be the difference? Its the surround that would be stiffer not the rest of the speaker. So your break in comment new or new surrounds is one and the same.
This is just silly talk. -
Not my experience... It's the spider that needs the most break in in most cases. The butyl is very compliant as it is so thin. Foam is similar with it's low mass, no break in required. But the spider, with it's accordion shape and weave pattern and typical coating, needs to be broken in akin to a pair of jeans. Pro speakers which have the accordion surrounds take even longer, as the surround it also typically coated.
The above conversation is moot though... Those of us who prefer originality and or DIY have no choice in this matter. So we hunt for used units, hoping the magnets don't shift in transit, or buy not exact factory replacements and hope the same...
It's just mildly frustrating
-
Yea you have a point about the accordion.
I have used both new generation polk drivers as well as nos. Sound wise i find no difference that is my point. Yes magnet shift in shipping is very real. -
How would one go about removing the butyl surround and it's glue without damaging the cellulose cone?
A few months back I bought 2 pair butyl surrounds and the dimensions are the same as MW6502 drivers and mw6511s.
Luckily haven't torn any....yet.Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
I was never able to do it. It's not like foam that rots and comes apart by rubbing your finger on it. Small woofers are not the easiest. Larger woofers are easier to work with. I did some infinity 6.5" woofers made me swear off anything smaller than 10". A very sharp wood chisel will slide under foam easily but that didn't work for rubber. They are doped paper so they do not tear easily but they will tear.
-
I figured someone here has attempted it. Maybe heat gun? Would be a fun exercise to determine the melting point of the glue vs. cellulose hehe.
The 6511s surrounds are more loose than 6502s of the pairs I have and thought that is what contributes to their pronounced movement vs. 6502s. I prefer the midrange of the 6502s vs 6511s albeit the 6511s dig deeper in lower hz.
Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
^ there's also the spider compliance and coil interaction with the magnetic flux...
-
Just curious ... is this more directed at the older models, or all Polk? SimplySpeakers claims compatibility with "LS50 and many more" ... any of their claim true? Worth a call, or folks here already run that to ground?As I stated, there are no surrounds available for Polk drivers. They are unique.
https://www.simplyspeakers.com/polk-audio-speaker-rubber-edge-repair-kit-rsk-6.5.html
-
The rubber surrounds on the vintage Polks (MW65**), are paper thin. This, added to the extremely flexible spiders and generous Xmax, resulted in very unusual T/S Parameters. It is nearly impossible to find any non-Polk drivers that even come close.
Replacing rubber surround are a whole nother animal compared to foam.
Special cold vulcanization solvent glues, or slow setting cyanoacrylates must be used.
Once set, you have essentially zero working time to align the surrounds. It's like trying to move a postage stamp. I've done them many times, and they are truly a PITA.
I deal with one of the largest wholesale suppliers for replacement surrounds, voice coils, re-cone parts and kits in the US. They supply many the retail shops around the country. I ordered several rubber surround samples from them, and NONE were even close to the original Polks. They were all much too thick to be usable. The paper thin surrounds Polk used, were installed in an automated production facility, not by human hands.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/ -
Well, there goes my billet basket mod.Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.
-
I'll plug the used route. There are plenty of used, already broken in MW6502's out there, assuming that is what you have. A few of the SDA MW's and original MW6500's are tougher to find. IMO in some cases you can buy a set of complete donor speakers. M4A's, 5Jr's etc. and just swap one driver. The new speakers could be garage or alternate location speakers.
-
Can't say if they're as good as OEM or practical to replace, but goodhifi.nl has *these* in case they've not been tried by those of you far more knowledgable and experienced. I used theirs for Vifa's that are quite light and flexible.Expect that there will be bumps in the road. Choose to not let them rattle you.
Polk - Monitor 10As, SDA 2Bs, LSi9s, White RTi4s, S4s, M3s, various centers.
Boston - CR7, CR6s, CR4s.
Subs - M&K V4, M&K VX-7B, JBL SUB150P, Jamo Sub 250, and others.
Thompson Adventures, Inc.
