Hello all

Notenoughtaco

I have been a polk audio fan for 42 years, and can't seem to find flaws with my original M5jr monitor 2's, until now.
I do not have a sub and am asking to much of them for movies, and have a vintage svs pb12 ultra coming in 2 days, should be incredible. My issue is that one speaker bottoms out right now while the other does not. They are not played loudly, and its the driver bottoming out, not the bass radiator, (if thats even possible). It has happened once before, I put my finger on it, and it went away. Well its back. I know it overextended, but do I have to replace my speakers? Or just a driver? Thanks. If i can will upload pics.

Notenoughtaco

pitdogg2

Spider may have broke loose or you have an air leak in the cabinet.

Notenoughtaco

Oh sorry, center is a csia6, and i just have m10's as surrounds. Receiver is a Yammie Rxa 1030.
I made the shelves out of old chestnut wood from the 1920's. What can I say but I like my old speakers enough to make platforms for them, lol.

Notenoughtaco

F1nut

Remove the driver then check to see if the spider is separated from the cone. The spider is the round corrugated piece close to the magnet. It may also be torn.

audioluvr

Welcome to Club Polk!

Notenoughtaco

Welp I took the driver out and it all looks good, spider intact, found out they are from 1991. I then realized that the bottoming out started after I replaced the radiators! I bet it is because when you takes the screws out of mdf it leaves that little nub, am taking them off and do a little sanding, if that doesn't work I will make a gasket. So in summary it turns out it is an air leak, thank you very much for the help! I will be back for help when I undoubtedly mess up the new sub! Haha

F1nut

I then realized that the bottoming out started after I replaced the radiators!

Replaced them with what???

Notenoughtaco

Oh i found original ones on ebay, the radiators I had look like this from old age, I think. They didnt rip or blow the cones while playing them, happened in storage, very weird.

Notenoughtaco

They just fell apart like the old foam surrounds do.

Notenoughtaco

The rubber surrounds are still perfect, but very odd.
Also, the sl2500 tweeters are gone, but that may be because I was cranking them, I have been reading the posts, have new silk domes coming tomorrow as well. Luckily I do have a steady hand and went to school for electronics. The new tweeters are worth more than the speakers it seems, but I like em.

F1nut

WTF.....I have never seen a Polk PR that looked anything close to your two!!!

pitdogg2

Storage unit in a very hot climate and environmental temperature?

xschop

Those will take the whole bottle of Aileens to fix.

Notenoughtaco

Ha! I am just glad I found a new hobby.

Notenoughtaco

Oh the radiators have blown apart like that twice, amazingly both times ebay has had some, just luck.

Notenoughtaco

Oh I am in PA, dad bought them new and they were and are fun little mains. They were in a garage through a couole winters, so am fixing them.

TroyD

Used, abused, rode hard...put up wet

F1nut

Notenoughtaco wrote: »

Oh the radiators have blown apart like that twice, amazingly both times ebay has had some, just luck.

Not even close to normal.

Notenoughtaco

I agree, but they have been abused their whole life.
So I ventured down and bought the best sub I could find, it is an svs pb12 ultra, and is stupidly crazy awesome. Paid 300 for it.

Notenoughtaco

Notenoughtaco

Everything I have read has said to uprade your center channel and sub first, and the csia6 helped immensely. Going from no sub to this, and setting the speakers to small, crossed at 80, is just incredible. I have no idea how to set the peq knobs on it, just left them the way they were. I have much to learn. I don't have any equipment for measuring highs and lulls on frequencys, and suppose an app for my phone won't work?

Notenoughtaco

Also, I would like to say I am very humbled by your responses, I am very happy to have a hobby that I ignored for a long time, come back to life. Thank you.

Notenoughtaco

I should have said *best sub for 300* I could find. It is old but am very happy.

boston1450

I need a drink

BlueFox

boston1450 wrote: »

I need a drink

LOL. I think someone has already had a few.

Notenoughtaco

Nothing wrong with a libation or 3.
So I bought the silk domes for the Sl2500 tweeters, popped them in there, and they are sounding great. Not bad for 10 bucks. Not sure about the ferrofluid, so I just left the original stuff.
After some major all day adjustments, I have success. Mainly the sub overpowering everything else, as expected. YPAO microphone likes the fronts better now with tweeters that work, and have the sub set for -5.
I set the phase at a little over 90 using the spl meter with an 80 hz tone, it was the optimal setting, however I was sitting right in front of the speakers, not in my seat, so that is probably wrong. All in all, a good day, saved about 120 bucks on tweeters.

Notenoughtaco

If anyone is curious, this is what a burned sl2500 voice coil looks like.

xschop

Good work. Which diaphragm style did you use, and how did you "pop" them in the SL2500 bezels?

Notenoughtaco

Ah, xschop, I learned how to do it from reading your thread. They are a little different than 2000's. As long as you can get the dome centered when gluing them on, everything falls into place, they can only be put together one way. I used Goop marine contact cement, as I had some laying around. The only thing that worried me was the fluid in them, so we will see how long they last. It certainly was a little tricky, but so far so good.
I used these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2pcs-AFT-1-Tweeter-Diaphragm-for-Polk-Audio-RD0198-1-SL2500-for-Monitor-Series-/154882982392?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

I even managed to save the foam that goes around the dome.