Monitor 5B Hidden Gems
xschop
Posts: 5,000
I was out of town, which always seems to be the case when vintage Polks appear in a local CL ad. Called up my FIL and being the trooper he is, goes and picks these up for me. 60 deflated dollars and next day later, they are in my possession. Hooked them up, SL2000's work but as always are hard to listen to for long periods. Cracked open the spare set of rebuilt and modded RDO-194s on hand and they dropped right in. MUCH better highs, smooth and balanced. Can't wait to rebuild the X-overs and and do some other mods. These things IMAGE. Last I remember hearing a set of 5Bs, they sounded better to me than the 7B's in the midrange dept. The mid base and low 30's hz are so accurate on these playing my favorite instrumental jazz, old school and new. Very happy to reminisce over these jewels...
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Best Answers
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Congrats on a nice pair of M5s, they should sound great with a small investment in up grades.Yamaha RXA1030, Yamaha CD-S2100, Yamaha AS-2200, Bluesound node 2i
Polk SDA2btl highly modded
Polk SDA 1C modded
Polk CS350 LS x2
Kimber 8TC
Sony 55" Bravia
Wish list SVS sub -
Thanks Randy. I wasn't trying to ask a question or was I lol.Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.
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Looks like those will need the spacer/washer behind the tweeter screws so the faceplace isn't distorted. I love my 5B's.
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I've got M5A and M5B and have wanted to try a pair of M5 Series 2.
I had the same problem with my post somehow becoming a question.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 -
Looks like those will need the spacer/washer behind the tweeter screws so the faceplace isn't distorted. I love my 5B's.
These were the burnt set I got from VSAT and rebuilt with aftermarket silk domes. These frames have been butyl-matted on the back sides. I believe that once they have been torqued down at the mount screws, those indentions are there to stay.
P.S. can someone please explain to Vanilla that I meant to say indentions, not intentions. Damn computers are getting dumber by the day.Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
I won't be going to this extreme with standoff cones, but this pic is the foam back-to-back.
Ok, nowhere near the thickness of BH5, so a 6x6 piece should be ok.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 -
Answers
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Would 3/4" dia. Hickory dowel rod be a good choice for front to back baffle bracing?
Just don't want to take up any significant airspace/volume in these cabs.
Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
Well what do you know, it's not the end of the world. I managed to locate my original thread using forum search.
Question is, can these be "officially" updated to RD-0198's? Anyone here done a set before?
Thanks
Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
There is a Monitor 5 SL3000 schematic in the vintage forum. The RD-0198 replace the SL3000 so it's a potential starting point.
https://us.v-cdn.net/5021930/uploads/attachments/4/6/7/2/8/18767.pdf
If you could find a M5b series 2 crossover I would expect you could use them directly with the RD-0198. -
Hey thanks, I thought it would just be an extra 5.8uf cap. I will get a set and mod them with the new billet tweeter plates I'm working on.
I'll see what it takes to modify the factory 5B crossovers.Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
Is there a benefit to adding 6x6" square sound barrier foam to the back wall directly behind MW when the Factory polyfill remains?
Also the 33uf Dayton film caps that shipped measured 33.3and 33.6uf FYI.Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
There is a benefit, but too much damping will kill the sound. 6x6 is likely too big, but that also depends on the thickness of the Sound Barrier.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 -
I just have 1/2" thick open cell foam with extra sticky backing. So once it's stuck, it's there.Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.
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I won't be going to this extreme with standoff cones, but this pic is the foam back-to-back.
Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
Rookie....
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Did you get hit by 3-phase 480 again?Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.
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Interesting how far out of range the Factory caps are... I'm going with a 2.2 ohm wire-wound resistor to make up for the polyswitch removal...
Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
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Factory MW tabs had to go... Probably about the same area removed that may be obstructed from the future backing rings (albeit radiused). The extra tabs on the fast-on mounts are also a moot point.
Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
The factory binding post-to-pcb wires looked whimpy, so I replaced with some leftover CRS-build wire after modifying the baffle cups to mount the billet terminal plates.....
CRS
Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
I won't mod these up with 5.8uf caps yet until I can thoroughly test out the RD-0194 diaphragms in the billet tweeter frames.
Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
Going the extra step on the phase plug modification to make them easy to remove/install.
Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
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Thanks F1, simplest mod yet....
Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
Has anyone compared nickle-plated vs gold-plated binding posts for sound difference? The satin nickel binding posts would look stealthy along with all the billet pieces going into this build....
Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
before I forget or loose my info....
Base plate ID.... 1.085"
Voice coil ID..... 1.010
Voice coil OD..... 1.060
Pole piece OD....0.995"
This all calculates to only 0.010" air gap on either side of VC and and confirms why a 0.020" thick plastic shim half the circumference of VC, inserted between VC and pole-piece will re-center the pole-piece, if you remove the dust cover to accomplish the task.Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
Has anyone compared nickle-plated vs gold-plated binding posts for sound difference? The satin nickel binding posts would look stealthy along with all the billet pieces going into this build....
The Cardas CCRR is rhodium plated; not satin in finish but not high-shine either. Got a set here waiting for me to get to work.
http://www.soniccraft.com/product_info.php/cardas-ccrr-binding-post-p-1669
Jay
SDA 2BTL * Musical Fidelity A5cr amp * Oppo BDP-93 * Modded Adcom GDA-600 DAC * Rythmik F8 (x2)
Micro Seiki DQ-50 * Hagerman Cornet 2 Phono * A hodgepodge of cabling * Belkin PF60
Preamp rotation: Krell KSL (SCompRacer recapped) * Manley Shrimp * PS Audio 5.0 -
I used these on mine. They work very well I like them.
http://www.soniccraft.com/product_info.php/cardas-ccgr-binding-post-p-1389
I've also used both the dayton gold and nickel plated. They both did the job I noticed no difference.
To be fair i used the gold for speaker cable input and the nickel for the interconnect cable on both my SDA 1 signature and SDA 2a speakers.