Installing Tweeter in Monitor 5jr

NJHifi

Hi-

I am new to this forum. I have an old pair of Monitor 5jrs that I would like to put back into use. They have SL1000 tweeters. One tweeter is not working and I am looking to purchase the new replacement tweeter- RDO 194 - and replace both tweeters.

I am interested installing the tweeters myself by crimping the connections and could use some advice. Once I strip the white and black wires, could someone please recommend the proper connector I could use to connect each wire to the terminals on the tweeter?

Also, what gauge is the original wiring in the Monitor 5jr?

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

Gardenstater

The SL2000/RDO-194 are both the same size bezels and are about 12% larger than the SL1000 and also the mounting hole spacings are a bit off. You will have to either route out the cabinets a bit larger or you can sand down the bezels evenly as needed all around on the RDO replacement. A benchtop belt sander or disc sander would be ideal. A scribe or a large needle for a makeshift tool would be ideal for marking the black plastic bezel for where to sand to. The corners will have less radius than you need and you may need to round them to fit the cutouts in the cabinet. Another tool that could be used would be a dremel tool with a drum sander attachment. Just not as good really.
Best to remove the plate from the dome/magnet assy I would say, carefully, to avoid damage. You will also have to fill the holes with wood putty or JBWeld or the like and redrill them in the correct locations. Might be a good idea to do Hurricane Nuts at that time since you are going to all the trouble. The thread "Tale of 5 Tweeters" has the bezel dimensions. I don't think he gave the terminal sizes. Easy enough to wait until you receive them and measure. Sometimes a smaller gauge Faston connector than the gauge of the wire will actually fit. Crimp to the bare twisted copper and then backfill with just a little solder.

NJHifi

Thanks for the detailed information. Looking forward to working on the speakers and enjoying them again.

Gardenstater

The proper way to do it is to route out the cabinet a bit larger. Even better would be billet aluminum adapter bezels but I don't know if xschop on other forum is making those. My concern with cutting down the plastic bezel would be that you may entirely lose the lip around the perimeter, especially at the top and bottom. You could put washers at screw locations first to bring them up flush and fill the bezel with JB Weld or the like, prior to sanding the edges to the new size.

What is the production date of your speakers? Would be on the MW drivers and/or the crossovers. I am beginning to suspect more and more that when Polk went from the Peerless to the SL1000 in some of the monitor series speakers, they may have made no other changes. If so, it should be a no-brainer to go back to Peerless. Gotta verify that though, which may be tough.

NJHifi

Hi- the speakers are from August 29, 1984. Thanks again for the information. I am pretty sure they had SL 1000 tweeters originally.

westmassguy

The correct size female Faston/Quick Connect is .110.
Original internal wiring should be #16 gauge copper or tinned copper.

NJHifi

Thanks for the gauge and faston info.

Gardenstater

In my 7B's the MW wires were 19awg (16 strands, 0.009" ea.) and the tweeter wires were 20awg (16 strands, 0.008" ea.). Doubt yours would be larger gage unless they made the wires much larger in 1984 vs 1979. It would be a good idea to replace the tweeter wires with something better while you're at it. I used 15.5awg Cardas Litz. Most people use a solder pot to work with those wires. My Peerless tweeter fastons were 7/64" (0,109") but that doesn't really help you but westmassguy gave you that anyway.

PS: If you want to look into the billet aluminum tweeter bezels for the RDO-194, talk to xschop over at audiomilitia.proboards.com. I think he could cut down some billet ones for you and then all you would have to do is fill the holes and redrill in correct locations, in the particle board. It is possible you might be able to work something even better out with him because I know he wanted to do CNC adapter bezels at some point but his CNC may be in need of repair still.

NJHifi

Ok. Thanks again to everyone for all the information.

Gregorio

Necesito un tweeter SL 2000 para mis cajas monitor 5 jr. Si alguien lo tiene me gustaría contactar o indicarme dónde lo puedo conseguir. Vivo en Madrid-España.

pitdogg2

Gregorio wrote: »

Necesito un tweeter SL 2000 para mis cajas monitor 5 jr. Si alguien lo tiene me gustaría contactar o indicarme dónde lo puedo conseguir. Vivo en Madrid-España.

I need a tweeter SL 2000 for my monitor boxes 5 jr. If anyone has it I would like to contact or tell me where I can get it. I live in Madrid-Spain.

Best to buy two of the replacement RD-0194 tweeters from Polk direct. They're better tweeters than the old SL2000 tweeters.

Call Polk customer service

1-800-377-7655

NJHifi

Thank you all.

Gardenstater

Any progress? I would definitely go with the cut down billet aluminum bezels for the RDO-194's you will probably be getting.

NJHifi

After thinking about the cabinet work required to put in the larger tweeter, I wound up buying a well-maintained SL 1000 on EBay. Using the quick connect size WestMassGuy recommended and a crimper, along with some new fuses, the speakers sound as good as I remember. I also replaced grill pegs. Thanks to everyone for your advice.

Gardenstater

As per my previous post in this thread, it *may* have worked fine and dandy to just go back to the Peerless, which most say is a superior tweeter to the SL1000. You might want to try it in the future, on the supposition that Polk didn't make any other changes to the MW or the XO. Good that you are happy though.