Polk monitor 10 frozen driver and amp help

jakebake
jakebake Posts: 26
in Vintage Speakers
My buddy has had a pair of ADS l880 speakers for years that he got from his dad and be always thought they sounded really good. Today I was looking for some but came across the Polk monitor series and saw a monitor 10 with the good tweeter on offerup. As you can see in the pics they are in very good condition. I went and heard them and I thought they sounded great!

Unfortunately when I got home I was checking the drivers and it seems like the top right driver on both speakers is frozen. Weird that it’s the same side on both. The left drivers are fine I think. Not sure if they work like this or happened in transit. I picked them up for $200.

Pretty big bummer… is there anything I can do to fix them?

Also, what amps do you guys recommend for these? Doesn’t need to be vintage… in fact I’d prefer something modern with possible wifi /airplay capabilities, etc. not sure if I just want these with an integrated amp or a receiver that I can also connect Xbox series x etc to it or not yet.

Lastly, wondering if I should have tried to find a pair of SDA or there’s also a guy here selling the monitor 7 and I’m reading people like those more?

Thanks for any help!

https://imgur.com/a/5FPAPtu
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Comments

  • joebass3
    joebass3 Posts: 284
    edited February 2022
    Here is some good info...

    https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/188108/stuck-voice-coil-magnet-shift/p1

    The jig can be made for a few bucks. I modified my jig by adding some "windows" that allow me to apply some JB Weld while the jig is still attached and after the magnet is centered. Once the epoxy has cured, take the jig off and completely glue the perimeter of the magnet.

    lccdbca5wt2g.jpg
    2fn364itb7lz.jpg
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  • jakebake
    jakebake Posts: 26
    edited February 2022
    joebass3 wrote: »
    Here is some good info...

    https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/188108/stuck-voice-coil-magnet-shift/p1

    The jig can be made for a few bucks. I modified my jig by adding some "windows" that allow me to apply some JB Weld while the jig is still attached and after the magnet is centered. Once the epoxy has cured, take the jig off and completely glue the perimeter of the magnet.

    lccdbca5wt2g.jpg
    2fn364itb7lz.jpg

    Thank you for the help! But honestly this seems like a lot of work and I don’t really have time for it right now. If I can call up polk and buy two new drivers and put them in I’d rather just do that. I think they are like $50 each? Is it worth it? I’ll be in this for $300 at that point… or should I cut my losses and get something else 🥺
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,552
    Polk doesn't sell those drivers.
    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

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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    edited February 2022
    They are extremely vintage :)
    (as are some of us -- but I digress)

    The driver can, and should (I'd opine) be rescued -- i.e., a pair of 10s, especially relatively early ones with the Peerless dome tweeter (which is, indeed, peerless ;) ) is worthy of rescue.
    No pressure. ;)

    h7uwz60cmefn.png

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  • jakebake
    jakebake Posts: 26
    F1nut wrote: »
    Polk doesn't sell those drivers.

    I thought i've seen in other threads that you can get replacments from Polk
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  • jakebake
    jakebake Posts: 26
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    They are extremely vintage :)
    (as are some of us -- but I digress)

    The driver can, and should (I'd opine) be rescued -- i.e., a pair of 10s, especially relatively early ones with the Peerless dome tweeter (which is, indeed, peerless ;) ) is worthy of rescue.
    No pressure. ;)

    h7uwz60cmefn.png

    haha well I guess I am going to have to find a replacement driver.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,552
    jakebake wrote: »
    F1nut wrote: »
    Polk doesn't sell those drivers.

    I thought i've seen in other threads that you can get replacments from Polk

    Not any longer.
    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

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  • xschop
    xschop Posts: 5,000
    I can loan you a precision MW jig if you'd like, just PM
    Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,441
    @lawdogg
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  • jakebake
    jakebake Posts: 26
    xschop wrote: »
    I can loan you a precision MW jig if you'd like, just PM

    Thats super nice of you... PM sent.
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  • jakebake
    jakebake Posts: 26
    F1nut wrote: »
    jakebake wrote: »
    F1nut wrote: »
    Polk doesn't sell those drivers.

    I thought i've seen in other threads that you can get replacments from Polk

    Not any longer.

    bummer... any chance you can point me in the right direction on a replacement? I'm looking on eBay but not sure which is the correct one and it also seems like the speaker could easily get damaged in shipping?
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,441
    edited February 2022
    @lawdogg
    jakebake wrote: »
    F1nut wrote: »
    jakebake wrote: »
    F1nut wrote: »
    Polk doesn't sell those drivers.

    I thought i've seen in other threads that you can get replacments from Polk

    Not any longer.

    bummer... any chance you can point me in the right direction on a replacement? I'm looking on eBay but not sure which is the correct one and it also seems like the speaker could easily get damaged in shipping?

    You'll need to pull the drivers and see which one they used MW6500 or MW6503, then search the MW number on eBay.
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  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,468
    It will probably turn out that you have MW6500 with those Peerless. I believe after that they went to MW6501 paired with the SL1000 as per the most recent schematic (that is available) in our archive dated 11/26/1984.

    You probably have what he has here:

    https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/comment/2670527#Comment_2670527

    Just make sure to ask the eBay seller to make sure there is no voice coil rubbing/scraping and to pack the drivers with plenty of shock absorption cushioning.
    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
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  • xschop
    xschop Posts: 5,000
    jakebake wrote: »
    xschop wrote: »
    I can loan you a precision MW jig if you'd like, just PM

    Thats super nice of you... PM sent.

    You can get those 10s up and running in no time.

    https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/184474/magnet-shift-repair-solved-for-me-that-is/p3
    Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.
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  • jakebake
    jakebake Posts: 26
    xschop wrote: »
    jakebake wrote: »
    xschop wrote: »
    I can loan you a precision MW jig if you'd like, just PM

    Thats super nice of you... PM sent.

    You can get those 10s up and running in no time.

    https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/184474/magnet-shift-repair-solved-for-me-that-is/p3

    Incredible... just sent you another message.
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,441
    Silver baskets and gaskets should be MW6500, can be very difficult to find.
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  • RTally
    RTally Posts: 15
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    Silver baskets and gaskets should be MW6500, can be very difficult to find.

    They do show up on ebay. You need to check frequently or create a search with email notification.

    I just bought a single MW6500 for my Monitor 10. I paid about $55 for one (that price included shipping). It was worth it to get them running again.
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  • Gary2913
    Gary2913 Posts: 8
    For anyone needing an MW6503 and unable to find an original working unit quickly enough, I was chatting with Brian recently at MSR or MWSR if you prefer, (that's MidWest Speaker Repair), and he pointed out that for those willing to take a chance on the copy woofer they offer, you would buy a pair (in lieu of all 4) to retain driver symmetry for the one cabinet reasoning that a change on one channel may not be as noticeable to you as compared to the difference of changing only one tweeter due to the lower frequencies involved. It's not a huge cash outlay to experiment, and if it works out, you'll have the working MW6503 that you took out as a spare for the other cabinet, maybe the bad driver is worth trying to repair after the fact (?). I was almost tempted to buy a pair myself to do the experiment, but I have working speakers and cash is so tight here. Btw, I'm not affiliated with MidWest, nor will I benefit if you buy anything from them. Also, I am not liable for any issues resulting from this line of thinking, so you may proceed at your own risk. (I had to say that).
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  • Mr. Sharpe
    Mr. Sharpe Posts: 1,354
    I had a pair of these speakers also and they’ve been sitting at my parents for a good two years. I went and grabbed them today and one of the speakers both woofers were frozen, the magnet came loose. Really unfortunate because i was going to let my son put them in his room. They don’t have the peerless tweeters but im fixing them regardless so glad I came across your thread. I remember replacing them as my main listening speakers with my dads RTA-12’s and even my wife said “wow those sound really good babe”.
    Home theater:
    43” Westinghouse Displayer
    Marantz UD-7007 Player
    Emotiva MC-700 Processor
    Adcom GFA-5006 Amplifier
    Parasound Zamp Amplifier
    Ethereal ESO-1 Power Conditioner
    Klipsch RC-10 Center
    Klipsch R34c Fronts
    Klipsch RB-41 Surrounds
    Polk audio PSW-505

    Stereo:
    Polk audio RTA-12c’s fully upgraded crossovers
    DIY 12tc braided speaker cables
    Denon DVD-5910ci Spinner
    Parasound P6 Preamplifer
    Parasound HCA -1500a Amplifier
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