My advice for those contemplating Monitor 4A or S4 crossover upgrade

printboy

The many posts on this forum regarding crossover upgrades usually concern the better and higher end vintage Polk Monitors, SDA Speakers and the like. But for those of us who own their little brother or cousins, 4As or S4s bookshelf speakers due to space limitations and/or like the sound and are not willing to part with them but are debating whether to take the plunge to update the crossover, I say do it. You will not be disappointed and that it will most likely bring new life to your old speakers.

Recently, David @westmassguy also known as DHS Speaker Service upgraded my Polk Monitor 4As (square tweeter) and S4s with a 2nd tier budget upgrade. (Claritycap PX and Mills resistors ). I was offered four different options depending on price. I would have loved to do the top option but alas…. it all comes down to budget.

My whole experience in dealing with David from start to finish was a joy and was effortless on my part; well except for my shipping him my crossovers. He is a great communicator, straight shooter in every way and advised me in detail every step of the way regarding the entire project. Several weeks later the crossovers arrived beautifully packaged and like others who have mentioned on this forum he does exceptional work.

So how do they sound? Even just after only about 10 hours of listening time I can truly say it was money well spent. I detect an increase in clarity-it is not night and day but I can definitely hear a difference. The bass is not as extensive as it once was but I do sense additional depth in the sound stage. I assume the bass will improve after the required minimum break in period of 200-300 hours. But even if it doesn’t that is fine with me as I am not big on a lot of bass and that is why tone controls were created. But instruments once in the background or buried are now a little more forward to my ear.

Now I run these two speaker pairs in tandem thru a speaker selection switch even though I know there are different ohms. I find 4As and S4s to match very well as they each make up for what the other lacks. S4s have a more open sound with a higher end but lacking midrange whereas the 4As have a nice midrange punch. Luckily, I stumbled upon this combination by accident when I was intrigued by the S Series only a few years ago and picked up some used ones for fun.

I must mention that anyone who decides to have David upgrade their 4As or S4s the new capacitors will be much larger than the old electrolytics. David will have to make a remote mount (wired to the original crossover PCB board, inductor coil and terminal cups should you want to reuse them) as the new caps will not fit on the small original crossover board. In addition, you will most likely have to modestly widen the opening in the back of the cabinet for the larger capacitors to fit. Anyone who is even a little bit handy can easily accomplish this with a Dremel tool and the right bit.

So kudos to David, a forum treasure. I now have speakers that I don’t have to worry about and will last for the remainder of my life.

westmassguy

Was my pleasure Quin. Enjoy them.