Vintage 5b's

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gitwitit101e
gitwitit101e Posts: 16
edited March 2006 in Vintage Speakers
What kind of overall speakers are the 5b's? Do they sound like anything? How about the lows? thinking about buying a pair. g
Post edited by gitwitit101e on
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  • BSUfbfan
    BSUfbfan Posts: 201
    edited March 2006
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    gitwitit101e wrote:
    What kind of overall speakers are the 5b's? Do they sound like anything? How about the lows? thinking about buying a pair. g

    They are a good little bookshelf. I've had a pair for 18 years and they still sound great. If they are in a fairly small listening room the bass response is very good also. They use a Silver Coil dome tweeter, 6" midbass, and 8" passive radiator.

    If you buy them, upgrade to the Polk Silk tweeters and make sure you put them on stands to get them up off the ground a little bit.

    Mike
    SDA SRS 2.3
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  • gitwitit101e
    gitwitit101e Posts: 16
    edited March 2006
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    thanks for the info. I has helped.
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,082
    edited March 2006
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    Phenominal sounding speakers for their size. Very open and detailed and a suprising amount of soild bass. They are book shelfs, but they are on the larger side of normal. If they are in good overall shape go for it. They typically sell for $85-140 pr. depending on generation and condition. It would be very hard, possibly impossible to find a speaker of that caliber for those prices new today. I owned some for several years and I would own them again had I had a need for them. One of Polk's classics, IMO.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 6,196
    edited March 2006
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    A few weeks ago, I picked up a minty pair of 5A in original boxes for just over $100 delivered. I think $100 is an average price, but Ebay bidding sometimes gets them up towards $150. I think they are a fantastic sounding speaker for the size and price range. You would be hard pressed to find a better sounding smallish speaker for $100. Are these a local deal or what? They are definetly worth checking out, but don't pay more than $100ish.
    For rig details, see my profile. Nothing here anymore...
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  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited March 2006
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    The 5 is most definitly a giant killer. I really enjoy mine.

    HBomb
    ***WAREMTAE***
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  • riglehart
    riglehart Posts: 276
    edited March 2006
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    I had a pair of 5's several years ago and everyone who heard them (including me) thought they were awsome. Unfortunately, I ended up hawking them for cash. Big mistake.
    Jolida Tube
    Polk 11T, 7, 5, 5jr, 4
    Standard equip not worth bragging about.
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  • MrBuhl
    MrBuhl Posts: 2,419
    edited March 2006
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    Have a pair - paid about $75 but they were damaged in shipping - so cost of a mid-driver and a ding and they were free. They do sound great... much larger and deeper than you would expect for a speaker as cheap as they can be had...
    VA HT HK AVR20II, Sony S9000ES CD/DVD/SACD, Polk Audio RC80i / Polk Audio CSi3, 60" Panasonic Plasma, Nordost / Signal Cable A2 / Wireworld / Pangea / Magic Power
    VA 2 Channel Focal Electra 926 speakers, Pass Labs X150.5 Amp, Eastern Electric MiniMax Preamp (Tutay mods), Eastern Electric Minimax CDP (Scott Nixon mods), Music Hall mmf 5.1 Turntable, Parks Audio Budgie Phono Pre , Audioengine B1 streamer, MIT S3 IC's / MIT Shotgun S3 Speaker Cables / PS Audio power cables
    Noggin Schiit Valhalla, Pangea, Phillips Fidelio X1, Polk UF8000

    Polk SDA1c modded
    Polk CRS+ 4.1TL modded (need veneer)
    Polk SDA2BTL (fully modded)
    A/L 1000VA Dreadnought Canare 4s11 SDA cable
    SACD Marantz DV8300
    Sony S9000ES CD/DVD/SACD
    Yamaha YP-D6
    Soundcraftsmen PCR800
    Audible Illusions L1 Preamp
    Vincent MFA based Cocci Tube Preamp
    Pho-700 Phono Pre
    Signal Cable Silver Resolution IC's






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  • gitwitit101e
    gitwitit101e Posts: 16
    edited March 2006
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    Thanks for all the feedback. Because it was so strong I bought them and man, they are tremendous for their size. I am thinking about changing the cabinet color to black. Any suggestions on the best way to do this?
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,082
    edited March 2006
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    gitwitit101e wrote:
    Thanks for all the feedback. Because it was so strong I bought them and man, they are tremendous for their size. I am thinking about changing the cabinet color to black. Any suggestions on the best way to do this?

    Buy a pair of Black 5b's ;) . I know not helpful. About the only competent way is to strip the existing veneer and put new black veneer on. No kind of painting will ever look good. You may be able to veneer over the exsisting but I'm not sure. You need to be fairly technical to do this properly. We've talked about this in other threads before, maybe doing a search will give you a step by step process.

    Good Luck and enjoy those speaks

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • gitwitit101e
    gitwitit101e Posts: 16
    edited March 2006
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    Coo'. I sho' nuff want them to look good, so I won't jack leg them. I am considering taking them to a professional store and have them looked at. At any rate, thanks for the feedback.
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  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 6,196
    edited March 2006
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    heiney9 wrote:
    Buy a pair of Black 5b's ;) . I know not helpful. About the only competent way is to strip the existing veneer and put new black veneer on. No kind of painting will ever look good. You may be able to veneer over the exsisting but I'm not sure. You need to be fairly technical to do this properly. We've talked about this in other threads before, maybe doing a search will give you a step by step process.

    Good Luck and enjoy those speaks

    H9

    I'm pretty sure that 5b were only available in walnut or rosewood vinyl. I think that Black was limited to the Series 2. Even at that, they are rare as hell.

    I have seen a spray paint that supposedly is designed for use on vinyl. I have no experience with it to say whether it works or not. I'm sure if you prep the surface properly, follow the directions, and are good at spray painting, then you might get a decent flat black or gloss black. It won't look like piano finish vinyl or wood grain vinyl though.

    If you really want to do it right, you need to peel off the existing vinyl and re-do it. With speakers this age, I'd be worried about pulling off too much of the existing MDF especially around the corners and
    edges.

    Edit: I see his last post. Taking them to a pro is your best bet, but be prepared to spend more than you originally invested on the speakers.
    For rig details, see my profile. Nothing here anymore...
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