Monitor 5A

jmenorske

I have owned this set of Monitor 5A's for quite some time but have never really used them. I connected them to a receiver and one speaker sounds muffled or really limited. I couldn't find anything upon a visual inspection. I know it's not the receiver. I am pretty amazed at the quality of sound coming from the other though. Any thoughts or suggestions on how I can try and resolve this issue? I can find very little on the net. Thanks.

jakelm

Check out the little fuse on the back (if you have one), If the fuse is blown then your tweeter wont work. And make sure your mids are not frozen. The mw65xx series has a bad issue with freezing up. If so the new mw6503 is the replacement. To check the midwoofer, lightly push on the speaker or passive radiator and see if it moves. If it doesnt, its frozen. Also , put your ear to the tweeter and make sure it is woking. If eveything checks out, then its a crossover issue.

I know I'm forgeting something.

Jake

jmenorske

Thanks for the info. The fuse looks okay but I have not replaced it. I know this sounds ridiculous but what do you mean when you say it may be a "crossover issue?" I really know nothing about these speakers.

jakelm

Behind (the other side) of the black plastic where the speaker terminals are, there is whats called a crossover. The crossover should never be messed with other than a tech, but it takes the full range audio signal and spits it into highs (tweeters) and lows (bass). Now the system is alittle more complicated than that but that is the basics of what a crossover does. The tweeter is built for high piched sound and the woofer or midwoofer in your case is built for lower piched and bass. The crosover sends the correct sound to each speaker so there is no bass in the tweeter and no highs in the woofer, therefor the individual speaker does not have to produce a pich it is not built for. Sometimes different parts of the crossover fails and stops the correct audio signal from reaching the speaker, wether its the tweeter or the woofer, therefor stopping the speaker from working or sounding correctly.

Sometime a fuse can be blown inside the metal instead of the glass tube, so changing them out would be a very cheap way to nullinvoid problem, and extra fuses always come in handy. Just make sure you replace them with the correct (same) ampage and size.

Loud & Clear

Take the known good fuse and put in the other speaker.

Lowtech

I agree that sometimes fuses that look good are bad. Some times even new fuses are bad. Fuses are cheap - buy a box (of the correct fuse) and try more than one.

Happy listening!

jmenorske

Okay. I tried everything you folks suggested and narrowed the whole issue down to a bad tweeter. It doesn't work at all. Any ideas on where I can get a different one?

billbillw

jmenorske wrote:

Okay. I tried everything you folks suggested and narrowed the whole issue down to a bad tweeter. It doesn't work at all. Any ideas on where I can get a different one?

Figure out which tweeter you have from this thread

I suspect you either have the Peerless tweeters or the SL1000. Ebay is probably your best bet for a replacement for either of those.

jakelm

Ebay.

jmenorske

Thanks for the input again. The tweeter is a Peerless HF 1000. My understanding is that I can replace it with either a SL2000 or a SL2500. The guy said it would be best to replace both tweeters if I have to go that route and can't find a HF 1000 replacement. Dang it!

jakelm

Check ebay. I found 2 in mint condition. Check for a few days before getting the sl2000 or sl2500.

jakelm

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&from=R10&catref=C6&satitle=polk+tweeter&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&bs=Search&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=70555&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1&fsoo=1

Babamm!!!

danger boy

Peerless tweeters are easy to find.. as you've just found out. keep spares around too.

solarrdadd

I just got a pair of the 5A's off of ebay and wouldn't you know it, one of the woofers is f'd. it doesn't give that "open mike" sound when gently taped nor does it push in. the surround ring looks like a flat tire/inner tube. I just contacted the seller to see what we can do. I don't want to send them back since I have to pay for the shipping. I'm hoping he will give me a refund in the cost of advertised replacement woofers and we can call it a day. it must have happened during the packing because the picture of them they were both intact. thank goodness the tweeters both work. I want to keep them with serial numbers ending in 114 & 116 they were made close together. the cabinets are in very, very good shape too as are the grills.

here is a picture of the good one:



here is a picture of the bad one:


see how the bad one is kinda wrinkly looking, flat like?!? no thump when taped, no movement when pushed.

so far, i haven't seen an exact replacement driver (MW6500) anywhere, i did see one substitute replacement driver (MW6503) but the guy selling it admitted he dropped it and it had a tear in the fabric and i'm not taking any chances with that.

i'll keep you guys posted.

solarrdadd

I just sent an email directly to polk to see if they have any 6503's in stock and what the cost of them is. does anyone here know the cost of a 6503 driver from polk direct?

PolkieMan

since your a member $48+tax f/s

boston1450

I would call there Monday. Calls go quicker & you will know if they do have some in stock. Like PolkieMan said TELL them you a member & youll save $$$. Congrats on your new speakers. Hope you can work out deal with honest seller. Things happen. Be a good time to Locktite those magnets on the woofers. If you dont mind post some pictures of them wuc. I love the sounds of the 5a's

solarrdadd

PolkieMan wrote: »

since your a member $48+tax f/s

thanks for the response! now, the final question, is it recommended to buy and replace both even though one works perfectly? if not, does the replacement once "burnt in" balance itself to the sound of the original?

I'd rather not purchase 2 unless it's absolutely recommended. the other thing is, I'm only going to use one of them. I have a pair of Monitor 10A's for Front L & R and the 5A is being used as the center, all have peerless tweeters. on the one hand, I could just do nothing for the failed woofer since it's a spare. of course, I'd rather have a fully working spare than not.

got the 5A in place between the two 10A's and they sound and look great with The Hobbit The Battle of The Five Armies playing!




yes, I'm very happy!

soundfreak1

Just to be anal switch good rweet with "bad one" to be sure before spending money. Still could be xover. If the good rweet sounds OK that it the other tweet. Just saying.

PolkieMan

Ebay is a mess, a bunch of people going around to estate sales and buying items they know nothing about. I like the ones that say "sold as is" no way to test.

solarrdadd

soundfreak1 wrote: »

Just to be anal switch good rweet with "bad one" to be sure before spending money. Still could be xover. If the good rweet sounds OK that it the other tweet. Just saying.

it's not the crossover, did you not see the post I did that shows the woofers on each speaker? the bad one is flat dead on the thump test and won't budge on the press test. the ring around the driver is also flat as a pancake!

there is nothing wrong with the tweeter on either speaker. it's the woofer on one speaker.

solarrdadd

PolkieMan wrote: »

Ebay is a mess, a bunch of people going around to estate sales and buying items they know nothing about. I like the ones that say "sold as is" no way to test.

that may be true sometimes, but, this seller was very good about it. we came to an agreed price for a refund for me. i'll use it to buy a new driver. he did offer the 14 day return, but, I didn't want to return them because the cabinets are in excellent condition, the one driver that I need works and I can get a replacement woofer for the other not to mention he is giving me a partial refund. it's just hard to find a 5A with peerless tweeters in such overall good condition.

and yes, I do trust him and he accepted my compromise so it's all good.

boston1450

Just the one

solarrdadd

boston1450 wrote: »

Just the one

yes, just one of them had a bad woofer. the other one is in place in the bedroom 5.1 as the center as shown in the picture I posted a couple of post back. works like a champ and sounds great too!

sorry, I just realized you were answering my question about whether to replace both or not!

boston1450

Yes. Ive ordered from Polk with great results. Usually 5-7 days where im at. Ive also been pretty lucky buying Polk woofers of the bay. Knock on the wood...... Ive never emailed Polk & Ive heard some say they may have had to wait for response. Ive called-ordered-received with great experience. Great bunch of people there

solarrdadd

boston1450 wrote: »

Yes. Ive ordered from Polk with great results. Usually 5-7 days where im at. Ive also been pretty lucky buying Polk woofers of the bay. Knock on the wood...... Ive never emailed Polk & Ive heard some say they may have had to wait for response. Ive called-ordered-received with great experience. Great bunch of people there

i'll be giving them a call Tuesday, Monday is a holiday.

solarrdadd

is the outer surround ring of the MW6500 pressurized, I mean, is it filled with air or something? when a good one pressed gently it gives and pops right back out. on my bad one, it looks flat like a flat inner tube on an old bike. I posted pictures of both drives. can anyone tell me what might have caused that?

boston1450

The cabinet is sealed. If it was dropped the magnet shifted & froze up. Just my opinion

boston1450

If the magnet shifts its out of line. That may cause the ripple effect

solarrdadd

took a closer look at it and not knowing a lot about this, I'd say it was driven backwards and is stuck back there. that appears why there's not give in the surround because the thing is pulled back so far, it looks like it's flat. i am realizing now that it's not an issue of the thing losing pressure or something, just possibly overdriven somehow; not by me either. does that make any sense?

solarrdadd

boston1450 wrote: »

If the magnet shifts its out of line. That may cause the ripple effect

based on your two replies, one, the cabinet shows no signs of being dropped or damaged it's in excellent shape, but, if the magnet somehow shifts out of line, is that something that is user adjustable? how does one know that the magnet is aligned or not aligned?