Not-so-good Polk Monitor 10's
jkvw
Posts: 7
I picked up a set of Polk Monitor 10's for $50 the other weekend. They looked in rough shape in pictures but the drivers looked clean. So I figured I'd at least have some spare drivers. First thing I noticed was that the fuses were blown, so replaced those and plugged them in and surprisingly they sounded great.
Then I examined closer and noticed one of the SL-1000 tweeters was blown. When I pulled it out I noticed only one had a gasket (first hint). Then I noticed that the bottom of the speakers both had water damage (second hint). Not horrible, they still seem structurally sound so I decided to remove the ugly old peeling veneer, order new wood veneer instead of vinyl, and take a chance on some used peerless tweeters. My thinking at this point is that I'll have a sweet customized pair of 10's.
But to remove the veneer I pulled the rest of the drivers and crossover. The crossover matches the first / oldest schematic on the sticky thread in this forum. Looking up replacement caps I decided to check that the MW drivers are correct (though at this point I don't even know what "correct" is for these speakers). And sure enough they are mw 6600X which as far as I can tell are supposed to be in RTA 12b's.
At this point I'm trying to decide what to do, I could :
A ) Trash the cabinets and sell the drivers and crossovers on ebay for a small profit
B ) Trash the cabinets and buy a set of RTA 12b's. This way I'll have an extra set of mw's.
C ) Invest in the correct drivers and continue refinishing the cabinets to have an accurate set of 10's
D ) Do a ghetto refinish with spray paint, put the wrong drivers and the peerless back in, and have fun messing around with them to see what I can do with a hybrid 10.
A) no fun
i still wouldn't know what 10's sound like C) Might as well buy a clean set for $300 and sell these drivers to pay part of it D) it did sound awesome to me at first, with a rebuilt xo, 6600x, and peerless maybe i'll have an unusual gem.
Any other thoughts? FWIW - The same weekend I bought a mint set of Monitor 7's for $125 so overall I still feel like a came out ahead
Then I examined closer and noticed one of the SL-1000 tweeters was blown. When I pulled it out I noticed only one had a gasket (first hint). Then I noticed that the bottom of the speakers both had water damage (second hint). Not horrible, they still seem structurally sound so I decided to remove the ugly old peeling veneer, order new wood veneer instead of vinyl, and take a chance on some used peerless tweeters. My thinking at this point is that I'll have a sweet customized pair of 10's.
But to remove the veneer I pulled the rest of the drivers and crossover. The crossover matches the first / oldest schematic on the sticky thread in this forum. Looking up replacement caps I decided to check that the MW drivers are correct (though at this point I don't even know what "correct" is for these speakers). And sure enough they are mw 6600X which as far as I can tell are supposed to be in RTA 12b's.
At this point I'm trying to decide what to do, I could :
A ) Trash the cabinets and sell the drivers and crossovers on ebay for a small profit
B ) Trash the cabinets and buy a set of RTA 12b's. This way I'll have an extra set of mw's.
C ) Invest in the correct drivers and continue refinishing the cabinets to have an accurate set of 10's
D ) Do a ghetto refinish with spray paint, put the wrong drivers and the peerless back in, and have fun messing around with them to see what I can do with a hybrid 10.
A) no fun
i still wouldn't know what 10's sound like C) Might as well buy a clean set for $300 and sell these drivers to pay part of it D) it did sound awesome to me at first, with a rebuilt xo, 6600x, and peerless maybe i'll have an unusual gem.Any other thoughts? FWIW - The same weekend I bought a mint set of Monitor 7's for $125 so overall I still feel like a came out ahead
Comments
-
I find it funny that they sounded great without the SL1000 working.
I vote mod them into SDA-10s....
https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/129598/has-anyone-tried-this-before-sda-crs-10/p1Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
Congrats on the 7's. Part out the 10's & dont buy other 10's. Spend your money elsewhere (give the 7's crossovers a refresh). Enjoy..
-
I find it funny that they sounded great without the SL1000 working.
I vote mod them into SDA-10s....
https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/129598/has-anyone-tried-this-before-sda-crs-10/p1
I should say they had great potential. When I first listened to them the fuses were blown so I knew they'd be missing highs, but even with mids/bass only they had a certain impact and presence that I liked. Then I put in the fuses and I think hearing any high end at all made it sound "great". Until I noticed it was unbalanced and started pulling drivers. In hindsight they probably sounded pretty crappy. Especially after I heard the 7's.
I'm very tempted by the SDA-10 idea. Though I'd have to find an sda crossover and by new drivers anyway. I almost bid on a pair of sda crs speakers over the weekend. Not a cheap route though.Congrats on the 7's. Part out the 10's & dont buy other 10's. Spend your money elsewhere (give the 7's crossovers a refresh). Enjoy
I figured that would be a common sentiment. But how do I know I like 7's better than 10's if I've never heard 10's?
So far I've decided to use them as woodworking and veneer practice. If nothing else I'll put them back together with the 6600x and see what they sound like.
-
Turns out I'm a sucker for a speaker in need. I spent the last month restoring the 10s. While I was at it I rebuilt the 7 crossover with jentzen caps and rebuilt the 10 crossover with solen caps. For now I have the 6600x mw in them and they sound pretty good. Bass is tight and nice mid presence. Peerless tweeter is beautiful. So sweet.
Would I do it again? Doubt it. For the money and time I spent I could have bought a mint pair. But I can guarantee these will always be special speakers to me! Not sure if they made them in maple?
-
Oh, and original...
-
Nope they never made em in maple. It's a nice clean look and congratulations on resurrecting something good. So how do you compare the sound of the 7's vs the 10's? What drivers do your 7's have? Mine are the Danish Peerless and MW6500.
Someone with the same crossover as you can weigh in on what the proper MW driver is. Don't forget to glue the magnets on both edges. There's lots more mods to be done so get used to them sounding better with each mod!George / NJ
Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
Onkyo A-8017 integrated
Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
iFi nano iDSD DAC
iPurifier3
iDefender w/ iPower PS
Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform -
The 7's have 6502 mw, sl-2500 tweeters, jantzen caps. The 10's 6600x mw, peerless tweeters, and solen caps. As people say the 7's do have a more transparent open soundstage but really "in your face" which I think is due to the 2500 tweets. The 10's have a very big rich warm sound but i can see how people think it might be kind of muddy in the mids and more narrow soundstage.
I find myself listening to the 10's more fwiw. More fun sound. Not sure if you could draw a conclusion between 7s and 10s from my xp because neither is particularly stock.
According to the schematic for my xo I should have 6501 mw in the 10s. I have ordered 2 used from e bay. I plan to put both in one speaker to start. Will be interesting to hear if there is a difference between 6501 and 6600x. I may also try putting one in each to see what happens.
Magnets were glued while I did the restore. Wasnt actually sure if 6600 series woofers needed it but why not. -
Most of us talk about the original Monitor 7 not the series 2, which is a very different animal. The original 7 is anything but in your face.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 -
Interesting, what is the difference between series i and ii, hardware wise.
-
The original uses the Peerless tweeter and a completely different crossover.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 -
Ah, well I'm not averse to replacing the tweeter with peerless but dont want to toss my freshly rebuilt xo. I see the 098 is an "upgrade" for the 2500 so maybe i will try that.
I guess I will add series i 7's to my search. Is series one synonymous with 7a? -
You can't use the Peerless in the series 2.
7A, B and C are all series 1, but each is different.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
