Monitor 10 replacement drivers?

Hey Polk folks.

I'm on my second pair of Goodwill Polks. First pair I got a little over a year ago are S8's. They are great, best speakers I'd owned to date. But then a few days ago I found a pair of Monitor 10's out behind Goodwill- they were about to send them off to the dump or whatever. They were in less than mint condition- all four drivers and both passive radiators had at least one ugly puncture in them. And someone had scrawled "don't work" on the sides of the cabinets. But I asked them if they could sell them to me anyway, and they said yes- $15 bucks. I didn't have time to test them out, but I decided to take a chance on them. The more I read up on them the more excited I got about their potential. But I assumed that they wouldn't work to start with. Well, I was wrong. To my astonishment, even in their awful condition they sound better than the S8's! They're blowing me away. However, that doesn't put me off of my plan to refurbish them:-) So:

My main questions for now are what drivers I should look for to replace these 6503's? And what tweeters would I want if I decide to upgrade at some point?

Oh, the serial number is 10 161414. No A or B designation. (what does that say about which ones they are, and what years would they have been sold?)

I may have more questions later.wj25p1wgwlh8.jpg
And any other advice would be welcome too.

(for what it's worth, I'm not interested in messing with the crossovers at this point. I'm not sure I have the time or expertise to get into that.)

So anyway, that's my story, thanks for reading and thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

Comments

  • Also, what would be a reasonable price to ask for if I decide to sell the S8's to make way for/help fund the restoration of the 10's?

    xokuz0wt70rd.jpg
  • eponymous wrote: »
    Hey Polk folks.

    I'm on my second pair of Goodwill Polks. First pair I got a little over a year ago are S8's. They are great, best speakers I'd owned to date. But then a few days ago I found a pair of Monitor 10's out behind Goodwill- they were about to send them off to the dump or whatever. They were in less than mint condition- all four drivers and both passive radiators had at least one ugly puncture in them. And someone had scrawled "don't work" on the sides of the cabinets. But I asked them if they could sell them to me anyway, and they said yes- $15 bucks. I didn't have time to test them out, but I decided to take a chance on them. The more I read up on them the more excited I got about their potential. But I assumed that they wouldn't work to start with. Well, I was wrong. To my astonishment, even in their awful condition they sound better than the S8's! They're blowing me away. However, that doesn't put me off of my plan to refurbish them:-) So:

    My main questions for now are what drivers I should look for to replace these 6503's? And what tweeters would I want if I decide to upgrade at some point?

    Oh, the serial number is 10 161414. No A or B designation. (what does that say about which ones they are, and what years would they have been sold?)

    I may have more questions later.wj25p1wgwlh8.jpg
    And any other advice would be welcome too.

    (for what it's worth, I'm not interested in messing with the crossovers at this point. I'm not sure I have the time or expertise to get into that.)

    So anyway, that's my story, thanks for reading and thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

    That photo just makes me sad...: (
  • ken brydson
    ken brydson Posts: 8,638
    My .02, you can probably find a working pair for less than restoring those will cost you. Just sayin...
  • Ken, I discussed these speakers in a facebook "Audiophiles On A Budget" group and among the many responses I got were a couple saying the same thing. I realize that that may be true for many people, however, given what I see of the used audio market in LA where I live, I don't think it's true for me. Seems to me that stuff here tends to go for twice what it would go for in most of the country. And in any case, if I go with repairing these, I can pay bit by bit, which is a good thing on my budget.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    Your biggest problem and it is a big problem is the passive radiator is not available new and hard to find used. New replacement drivers will run $48.00 each. Even in LA you should be able to find a pair of 10's for less than that.
    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

  • F1nut, you helped me decide to pull the trigger on these even though I can't really afford them at the moment :

    http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=191475890021
  • scotvl
    scotvl Posts: 88
    eponymous wrote: »
    F1nut, you helped me decide to pull the trigger on these even though I can't really afford them at the moment :

    http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=191475890021

    Nice find, those should get you started in the right direction. Good luck
  • drumminman
    drumminman Posts: 3,396
    Sad to see speakers that were intentionally destroyed. Good luck with your project. You might find 6503's on ebay for less than news ones.
    "Science is suppose to explain observations not dismiss them as impossible" - Norm on AA; 2.3TL's w/sonicaps/mills/jantzen inductors, Gimpod's boards, Lg Solen SDA inductors, RD-0198's, MW's dynamatted, Armaflex speaker gaskets, H-nuts, brass spikes, Cardas CCGR BP's, upgraded IC Cable, Black Hole Damping Sheet strips, interior of cabinets sealed with Loctite Power Grab, AI-1 interface with 1000VA A-L transformer
  • So are there other drivers besides the 6503's that will work? Would they be any better or worse?
  • pongshi
    pongshi Posts: 376
    I am a rookie, but a long time lurker. From what I have read MW6510 is close to the specs of a MW6503 and could work as a replacement. One of the sages may chime in on this.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    Mint condition with the original stands and cartons, those are an effing steal at the asking price.
    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

  • skrol
    skrol Posts: 3,330
    Who would do such a thing to those speakers...animals! Good to see they are now in good hands.

    What mid-woofers are in your Monitor 10's? If you remove them, there should be a sticker on the back with the number (MW-65??)? I have a MW6500 and a MW6502 available if you need either.
    http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/164440/mw6500-and-mw6502

    Those are some pretty cool looking S8's.

    Stan
    Stan

    Main 2ch:
    Polk LSi15 (DB840 upgrade), Parasound: P/LD-1100, HCA-1000A; Denon: DVD-2910, DRM-800A; Benchmark DAC1, Monster HTS3600-MKII, Grado SR-225i; Technics SL-J2, Parasound PPH-100.

    HT:
    Marantz SR7010, Polk: RTA11TL (RDO198-1, XO and Damping Upgrades), S4, CS250, PSW110 , Marantz UD5005, Pioneer PL-530, Panasonic TC-P42S60

    Other stuff:
    Denon: DRA-835R, AVR-888, DCD-660, DRM-700A, DRR-780; Polk: S8, Monitor 5A, 5B, TSi100, RM7, PSW10 (DXi104 upgrade); Pioneer: CT-6R; Onkyo CP-1046F; Ortofon OM5E, Marantz: PM5004, CD5004, CDR-615; Parasound C/PT-600, HCA-800ii, Sony CDP-650ESD, Technics SA 5070, B&W DM601
  • Skroll, my guess is an angry wife or a bratty 3-year-old :-/

    Know what's weird though? They both have the same damage pattern- one woofer torn to shreds, one woofer with only one puncture, and a similar level of damage to the PRS. And none to the tweeters.

    My woofers are 6503's. But I understand that the 6500's are equivalent, so I'll definitely take that one if you still have it once I have $30 to spare. Which will probably be around a week.

    Thanks for the compliment on the S8's. I'm quite happy with the look myself. Now I'm trying to come up with a good color scheme for the 10's... I almost want to do the same thing, but I like variety...
  • What should I do with these woofers that are totally trashed?
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    My woofers are 6503's. But I understand that the 6500's are equivalent

    The closest to the 6503 is the 6510, but I strongly recommend you replace with the same.
    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

  • headrott
    headrott Posts: 5,484
    Jesse knows his stuff. I would follow his advice.
    Relayer-Big-O-Poster.jpg
    Taken from a recent Audioholics reply regarding "Club Polk" and Polk speakers:
    "I'm yet to hear a Polk speaker that merits more than a sentence and 60 seconds discussion." :\
    My response is: If you need 60 seconds to respond in one sentence, you probably should't be evaluating Polk speakers.....


    "Green leaves reveal the heart spoken Khatru"- Jon Anderson

    "Have A Little Faith! And Everything You'll Face, Will Jump From Out Right On Into Place! Yeah! Take A Little Time! And Everything You'll Find, Will Move From Gloom Right On Into Shine!"- Arthur Lee
  • Jesse being F1nut?
  • ken brydson
    ken brydson Posts: 8,638
    eponymous wrote: »
    Jesse being F1nut?

    Si

  • Anyone know anything about these? Do they only copy the looks of the Peerless tweeter, or the sound too?

    http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=150364380186
  • westmassguy
    westmassguy Posts: 6,850
    eponymous wrote: »
    Anyone know anything about these? Do they only copy the looks of the Peerless tweeter, or the sound too?

    http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=150364380186
    They were copied from the original Peerless Specs. Several CP Members have used them, and say they sound great. You can also buy them directly from Midwest Speaker. You want the 8 ohm version.

    Home Theater/2 Channel:
    Front: SDA-2ATL forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/143984/my-2as-finally-finished-almost/p1
    Center: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/150760/my-center-channel-project/p1
    Surrounds & Rears: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/151647/my-surround-project/p1
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    Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXV, Carver PM-600, SVS PB2-Plus Subwoofer

    dhsspeakerservice.com/
  • Faustin
    Faustin Posts: 1,149
    I have a set of the Peerless clones that I used until I found a pair of used Peerless tweeters for my 10a's. They are a good substitute but I prefer the Peerless. Here is a pair of Peerless currently for sale on fleabay.

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/181656291428?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
  • Ah man, if I had seen your post while the auction was still live, I definitely would have been bidding.

    But since I wasnt: do you want to sell your clones?
  • msg
    msg Posts: 9,307
    edited February 2015
    eponymous wrote: »
    Like I said, they're more expensive here:
    http://sandiego.craigslist.org/ssd/ele/4847296813.html
    F1nut wrote: »
    Mint condition with the original stands and cartons, those are an effing steal at the asking price.
    would have liked to have seen this ad - what was the asking price, anyway?

    epo - hear you on things being relatively expensive. I'm on the opposite coast and I swear, around here, it seems like people want double for maybe just average condition. and they call it very good to excellent. I read about some of the deals people get elsewhere and it can be maddening. I have to drive 3-6hrs for most anything decent.

    re: the speaker damage... yeah, what drummin and others said - that's just tragic. hope you get 'em set up to your liking!

    I disabled signatures.
  • deronb1
    deronb1 Posts: 5,021
    I have four 6503s with only a few hours on them that i may move. Looking at around 100.00 plus ship.
  • I know this is an older comment thread, but was hoping someone could give me some advice. I have a line on a pair of Monitor 10s that are in mint condition except for a shifted magnet on one mid-woofer of one speaker. They have been at a local consignment shop for over a year, and the owner just offered them to me for $40.00. I would buy them at that price, just for the parts, but I'm hoping to rehab them for use instead. I see that the original mid-woofers are MW-6503, and also see that the recommended replacement for them is the MW-6510. If I replace the one bad speaker with a 6510, do you recommend that I replace all four? I also have a pair of MW-6502 speakers that came from another pair of speakers (maybe Monitor 4s?). Would the 6502 be interchangeable with the 6503? Thanks for any assistance you can provide.
  • motorhead43026
    motorhead43026 Posts: 3,892
    edited September 2020
    6503’s are readily available on eBay.

    2 channel: Anthem 225 Integrated amp; Parasound Ztuner; TechnicsTT SL1350; Vincent PHO-8 phono pre; Marantz CD6005 spinner; Polk SDA2BTL's; LAT International speaker cables, ZU Mission IC's and power cables all into a PS Audio Dectet Power center.

    Other; M10 series II, M7C's, Hafler XL600 amp, RB-980BX, Parasound HCA-1500 amp , P5 preamp, all in storage. All vintage Polk have had crossover rebuilds and tweeter upgrades.

    The best way to predict the future is to invent it.

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  • ptrask wrote: »
    I know this is an older comment thread, but was hoping someone could give me some advice. I have a line on a pair of Monitor 10s that are in mint condition except for a shifted magnet on one mid-woofer of one speaker. They have been at a local consignment shop for over a year, and the owner just offered them to me for $40.00. I would buy them at that price, just for the parts, but I'm hoping to rehab them for use instead. I see that the original mid-woofers are MW-6503, and also see that the recommended replacement for them is the MW-6510. If I replace the one bad speaker with a 6510, do you recommend that I replace all four? I also have a pair of MW-6502 speakers that came from another pair of speakers (maybe Monitor 4s?). Would the 6502 be interchangeable with the 6503? Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

    Part of my question was answered with a simple google search. The MW-6503 is an 8 Ohm speaker, and the MW-6502 is a 4 Ohm Speaker.