How loud is too loud?

chemist88
chemist88 Posts: 10
edited March 2010 in Vintage Speakers
Bought some monitor 7's on craigslist and they sounded great(listened to them at the previous owners house). I then purchased a new Denon AVR1610 (75watts) to power them. Within 5 minutes I blew one of the tweeters which was a SL2000. I ordered two replacement tweeters from polk, P/N RDO194-1. I replaced the blown tweeter with the new one and cranked it up. Sounded great and then 5 minutes later I blew the other tweeter! Since i ordered two new ones I simply swapped it out and now everything appears to be fine. So my question is what is too much for these speakers? I had the Denon up to about -4 db when the second tweeter blew. Should these new tweeters handle more than the old ones? I always assumed there was some sort of internal fuse to prevent them from blowing. I am very new to this hobby and obviously have much to learn. Thans for any replies.
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  • Zitro
    Zitro Posts: 864
    edited March 2010
    Is the fuse in place on the rear of the speakers?
    - Jeremy

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  • OldmanSRS
    OldmanSRS Posts: 419
    edited March 2010
    When your ears bleed around the earplugs :)
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  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited March 2010
    If you hear any distortion turn them down!
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
    Ben
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  • chemist88
    chemist88 Posts: 10
    edited March 2010
    There are no visible fuses on the speakers. Where the speaker wires connect to the back of the speaker there are only red and black posts. Thanks for the replies. Hopefully I will keep my ears from bleeding!
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  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited March 2010
    You're more likely to blow a speaker from having too little power than too much. The Monitor 7's don't really need a lot of power to sound great...but they aren't SPL kings either. A higher powered external amp will make a huge difference. I've run my Monitor 7A's off of my 100wpc Adcom GFA-545 with great success. I can drive them to levels higher than I ever care to listen at, without breaking a sweat. The 75 watts from your Denon isn't really sufficient power if you're trying to drive them at real high levels. There's a world of difference between AVR power, and the power from a good external amp.

    Do you have any pics of your 7's? Do they have fuses on the back(right above the binding posts)? If they do, check the fuses. These are the tweeters protection circuit, and should have prevented the tweeters from blowing. In the event of the speaker being overdriven, the fuses will blow and cut the signal to the tweeter. If the fuses look burnt out at all...it would be a good idea to replace them.

    If they don't have fuses, that means they have polyswitches in the crossovers. The poly's were used to replace the fuses, and served the same purpose. The poly's are actually in the crossovers though, rather than mounted on the back like the fuses.



    The RD0-194's will make a nice upgrade over the stock SL2000's either way. They need a couple hundred hours or so of break in time before they really sound their best. Just make sure to be careful with the volume knob...and if you really like to crank them, I'd look into an external amp. There are plenty of low cost options out there, that will give you HUGE increases in sound quality and performance.



    edit-Nevermind the fuse question. Sounds like your speakers have got poly's in the crossovers...and it sounds like they need to be replaced. Search the forum, there are plenty of threads around pertaining to that topic.:)

    By the way, welcome to Club Polk! Those Monitor 7's are some fantastic sounding speakers...I've got a pair of Monitor 7A's, equipped with Peerless tweeters, and I doubt I'll ever get rid of them!! In fact...I think it's about time I swap them back into my 2 channel rig for a while...:cool:
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  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 19,220
    edited March 2010
    ben62670 wrote: »
    If you hear any distortion turn them down!
    Hello and welcome to Club Polk. The quote above will help you and everybody determine when it is too loud, without fail.
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,136
    edited March 2010
    Welcome to Club Polk chemist88! My two cents; if it's not the polys you are driving your Denon to clipping which will blow the tweets and possibly damage the AVR power outputs.
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  • Midnite Mick
    Midnite Mick Posts: 1,591
    edited March 2010
    Sometimes there is no distortion and it is still too loud for your EARS.
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  • McLoki
    McLoki Posts: 5,231
    edited March 2010
    a larger amp will let them play at a high level with more clarity (and keep the tweeters alive) but if they were still not quite loud enough when you were turning it up - you really need to switch to a more efficient speaker.

    Michael
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  • Toolfan66
    Toolfan66 Posts: 17,334
    edited March 2010
    The monitor 7's and the monitor 10's I had I powered them with my 5802 and could not hurt those speakers they took everything I pushed them with and then some. But I did have upgraded crossovers, not sure if that made a big deal or not but I could not punish them.

    The drivers were dancing like crazy!!
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,755
    edited March 2010
    How loud is too loud?

    About -4 db on your Denon.
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  • chemist88
    chemist88 Posts: 10
    edited March 2010
    Thanks for all the comments. I will have to educate myself as far as crossovers go. Is that something I can purchase from polk? Or do i need to start checking for used parts?
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  • Knucklehead
    Knucklehead Posts: 3,602
    edited March 2010
    I could never listen to my modest set-up at even 2/3 volume.
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  • chemist88
    chemist88 Posts: 10
    edited March 2010
    Not sure if this is the place for this question, but what would be an ideal receiver to power these monitor 7's? I have no interest in surround sound, just two speakers hooked up to a receiver. I purchased my Denon from crutchfield so I still have a couple weeks to return it if I am not happy with it or it is not the right receiver for my needs.
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  • Conradicles
    Conradicles Posts: 6,134
    edited March 2010
    Is it possible you never blew any of the tweeters, but only tripped the polyswitch?
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  • cnh
    cnh Posts: 13,284
    edited March 2010
    Crutchfield is a good dealer...see if they sell any 'integrated amps' and what brands....I can't access their site from where I am? A good integrated would serve you well!

    cnh
    Currently orbiting Bowie's Blackstar.!

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  • chemist88
    chemist88 Posts: 10
    edited March 2010
    How would I know if I tripped the polyswitch? Do they reset automatically? Once I blew the tweeters they never went back to how they originally were.
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  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,136
    edited March 2010
    chemist88 wrote: »
    How would I know if I tripped the polyswitch? Do they reset automatically? Once I blew the tweeters they never went back to how they originally were.

    The older the polyswitch and how much they've tripped can cause them to remain open. I would remove them and try again at a low volume to see if they are the cause.
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  • jz0h4d
    jz0h4d Posts: 33
    edited March 2010
    How loud is to loud?

    Let's just say when you blow 2 tweeters in a week , it's probably to loud.
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  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited March 2010
    Conradicles wrote: »
    Is it possible you never blew any of the tweeters, but only tripped the polyswitch?

    That's a definite possibility too. If the poly's get tripped too many times, they'll just stay open.



    Either way, this is a definite sign that you need a more powerful amp. It sounds like you listen at really high levels, and the Denon just isn't capable of keeping up.

    I'm not familiar with that Denon, does it have preouts?
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  • PSOVLSK
    PSOVLSK Posts: 5,227
    edited March 2010
    Or you could get a H/K 7300. Plenty of power for those Monitor 7's.

    I believe there's one for sale in the FM...as a matter of fact, here's the link.:D:D

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98389
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  • AudioGenics
    AudioGenics Posts: 2,567
    edited March 2010
    question: How Loud is Too Loud

    Recommended maximum allowable exposure times are:

    16 hours for 80 dBA sound
    8 hours for 85 dBA sound
    4 hours for 90 dBA sound
    2 hours for 95 dBA sound
    1 hour for 100 dBA sound
    30 min for 105 dBA sound
    15 min for 110 dBA sound
    7.5 min for 115 dBA sound
    0 min for above 115 dBA sound (there should be no exposure at this level)

    possible result is permanent irreversible damage ie hearing loss
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