Help with New to me Monitor 7 Speakers.

Hello everyone. I recently joined this forum to learn more about the Monitor 10, however, I wound up buying a pair of Monitor 7s after reading some of the discussions here.
The speakers I bought are about 3 hours away from here. They are original, and have never had the magnets glued. I know I have to be extremely careful transporting them and I will put plenty of padding down. Are their any other suggestions you can give as far as moving them?
Also, I will be building a set of stands for them, and have seen several posts about that. I have seen photos of Monitor 7s on a shorter stand, as well as one that looks to be closer to 11 or 12 inches tall. Are there any advantages to having a taller stand or are the shorter ones just as good? Thanks for your help.

Comments

  • dromunds
    dromunds Posts: 9,969
    The shorter stands are tilted back a few degrees (it’s either 3 or 6 degrees) for a time array purpose, so the tweeter hits your ear the same time as the woofers. I like the shorter stands myself. I think with good padding and them laying on their back you should ok. Are they Peerless tweeters? Good grab it’s a nice vintage speaker.
  • dmeffert
    dmeffert Posts: 14
    Thank you for your reply. They are Peerless. The guy who has them is the original owner, and they come with the original boxes, paperwork and owners manual. I'm not sure which 7 they are. They have 1 fuse on the crossover, the Peerless tweeter and a shorter grille with the bottom of the speaker showing. The Polk Audio emblem is on the lower part of the speaker, not the grill.
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,133
    My stands are 24" tall and that's the way I like it. I had the short, tilted stands for years and to me it is much better to have the tweeter + MW near ear height and not have the sensation of the sound coming from the floor. Much better soundstage as well IMO.
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Crown D150 amp
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    dmeffert wrote: »
    Hello everyone. I recently joined this forum to learn more about the Monitor 10, however, I wound up buying a pair of Monitor 7s after reading some of the discussions here.
    The speakers I bought are about 3 hours away from here. They are original, and have never had the magnets glued. I know I have to be extremely careful transporting them and I will put plenty of padding down. Are their any other suggestions you can give as far as moving them?
    Also, I will be building a set of stands for them, and have seen several posts about that. I have seen photos of Monitor 7s on a shorter stand, as well as one that looks to be closer to 11 or 12 inches tall. Are there any advantages to having a taller stand or are the shorter ones just as good? Thanks for your help.

    Transport on their back and use a short piece of speaker cable between the positive and negative binding posts.

    Polk sold the short tilted stands with the WAF in mind. IMO, a taller stand, which brings the tweeter up to ear height is better.
    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

  • Welcome to the forum, you have the model 7b which is a great sounding speaker in my opinion. Be sure and glue the magnets on the MWs once you get em home
    Yamaha RXA1030, Yamaha CD-S2100, Yamaha AS-2200, Bluesound node 2i
    Polk SDA2btl highly modded
    Polk SDA 1C modded
    Polk CS350 LS x2
    Kimber 8TC
    Sony 55" Bravia
    Wish list SVS sub

  • dmeffert
    dmeffert Posts: 14
    That's the plan. I will have all of the materials ready before I bring them home.
  • dmeffert
    dmeffert Posts: 14
    F1nut wrote: »
    dmeffert wrote: »
    Hello everyone. I recently joined this forum to learn more about the Monitor 10, however, I wound up buying a pair of Monitor 7s after reading some of the discussions here.
    The speakers I bought are about 3 hours away from here. They are original, and have never had the magnets glued. I know I have to be extremely careful transporting them and I will put plenty of padding down. Are their any other suggestions you can give as far as moving them?
    Also, I will be building a set of stands for them, and have seen several posts about that. I have seen photos of Monitor 7s on a shorter stand, as well as one that looks to be closer to 11 or 12 inches tall. Are there any advantages to having a taller stand or are the shorter ones just as good? Thanks for your help.

    Transport on their back and use a short piece of speaker cable between the positive and negative binding posts.

    Polk sold the short tilted stands with the WAF in mind. IMO, a taller stand, which brings the tweeter up to ear height is better.

    What is the short piece of speaker cable between the terminals for? Do you just connect the two terminals together?
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    Helps to minimize driver movement. Yes.
    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

  • dmeffert
    dmeffert Posts: 14
    Thank you. Its funny that the WAF has been an issue since the start of the audio hobby.
  • windstriker
    windstriker Posts: 136
    If anything the WAF overall has gotten better over the years. I think most women would prefer the modern tall and skinny speakers of today over the wide and boxy look of vintage speakers.
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,133
    Try some stands with concrete blocks for a base and a iron pipe column like I have. See how that flies :D
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Crown D150 amp
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
  • dmeffert
    dmeffert Posts: 14
    If anything the WAF overall has gotten better over the years. I think most women would prefer the modern tall and skinny speakers of today over the wide and boxy look of vintage speakers.

    I agree 100%. My current Triangle stand mount speakers are beautiful to look at and sound good too, but no real bass. I really don't want to add a sub as there are just too many things in that room and I don't need more clutter and cables. I was thinking about the new Wharfdale Linton 85, but at $1500 plus tax its a bit much to realize you don't like the look. They are very close in size to the Monitor 7, so I figured I could play around with these for a while and see how the overall dynamic works. Who knows, after upgrading the crossovers and doing some of the other tricks I have seen on here, seems like I might be able to stick with these.
  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 7,952
    edited March 2021
    If anything the WAF overall has gotten better over the years. I think most women would prefer the modern tall and skinny speakers of today over the wide and boxy look of vintage speakers.

    Yep pretty sure that was the motivation for tall skinny speakers that tend to be much more difficult to drive...
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es; Squeezebox Touch with Bolder Power Supply
    Game Room 5.1.4:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra

    Bedroom 2.1
    Cambridge Azur 551r; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,922
    edited March 2021
    rooftop59 wrote: »
    If anything the WAF overall has gotten better over the years. I think most women would prefer the modern tall and skinny speakers of today over the wide and boxy look of vintage speakers.

    Yep pretty sure that was the motivation for tall skinny speakers that tend to be much more difficult to drive...

    Very possibly. For the sake of historical context, though, it seems worth pointing out that 'tall skinny' loudspeakers have been around for a while. Some of them weren't particularly hard to drive -- but many if not most of them were... not great.

    lc80a9klxp93.png
    JBL

    a46imuovgmqa.png
    EPI

    14742055854_fc2a689348_c.jpgGMMlowpricehighperf by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
    AVID

    svqeyx9gxtyn.png
    umm... some Hoppie from B-more B)


    OK -- and some of the tall, skinny speakers were actually pretty good, even way back when. The EPI 1000, for example. ;)

    85wxqlx6bfhc.png
    qjkqy66fpuww.png
    (not particularly hard to drive, either)

  • dmeffert
    dmeffert Posts: 14
    Hey guys. I picked up the speakers today. Much to my disappointment, the magnets seemed to have shifted on the 3 hour ride home despite all of the padding I put in the car. They are in gorgeous physical condition. I pulled the drivers and connected them to an old receiver and then ran a sine wave from a tone generator app to each one. Both of them have a rubbing sound at about 160 hz, one at all volumes, the other only at high volume. This is really disappointing.
    Anyway, no use crying over spilled milk. I am uncomfortable doing the realignment myself. Does anyone know anyone who does this work?
  • dmeffert
    dmeffert Posts: 14
    Good afternoon all. The saga of my new to me Monitor 7Bs continues. It turns out that the magnet did not shift on my driver. Further investigation revealed that a small tear occurred in the spider around the voice coil, that allowed a tiny rim sof adhesive and spider material adhered to the voice coil to make a scraping sound as it moved in and out of the spider with the speaker. Lawless and F1nut guided me here, and recommended using Aleens Tacky Glue to try to glue it back. It has dried 24 hours and I have tested it with a tone generator and music and it seems like it is repaired. Thanks to both of them for the help.
    Next, I'm going to glue the magnets and get it put back together.
  • windstriker
    windstriker Posts: 136
    What do you think about them? Did you update the crossover?
  • dmeffert
    dmeffert Posts: 14
    I really like the sound, but it is a little on the dull side. Bass is really good. Im hoping the recap will breathe new life into them. I haven't done anything with them yet other than the repairs and gluing the magnets. I bought a set of early Monitor 4s with MW6500s that were locked and Peerless tweeters for $14. The drivers looked beautiful and the spiders were intact. I sent them to Lawdogg for realignment, and I have Dynamat Xtreme to put on them when they get back. That way, all of the drivers will be good. I am going to order the caps and resistors this week, along with new binding posts. I have been studying the Monitor 4 crossover and see how it is put together, so I have an idea of how to proceed.
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,133
    $14......wow!! Those MW6500s should be interchangeable with the MWs in your 7Bs as well. When you finish the XO mods (depending upon components), and especially if you upgrade the interior wiring to Cardas Litz, those speakers will be anything BUT dull. Upgraded tellurium copper binding posts and fuse elimination are also important options. I kept my fuse to play it safe but that was a tedious rewiring issue, although worth it. After all this, I found mine a bit on the bright side, which has since been toned down with the anti-diffraction wool pads and the Edge Diffraction treatments I am working on. You shouldn't be disappointed. I should add that vibration isolation, mass loaded speaker stands that get the tweeter+MW up around ear height is important too. Small vibrations really do effect the motion of the tweeter voice coils. Most people have a hard time believing that until they prove it to themselves.
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Crown D150 amp
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
  • dmeffert
    dmeffert Posts: 14
    The $14 was the opening bid. He had them listed for parts or restoration. No one else even was watching the auction. I should add that the speakers had damaged cabinets, locked drivers and he mistakenly listed the Peerless tweeters as being damaged because they had holes in the domes(with pics of the correct holes). Lastly, the prior owner was a serious smoker. The grills are mint appearance wise but are far too nasty smelling to re use. The drivers didn't smell, so that was good. I figured any chance to grab a spare set of drivers and tweeters was one I needed to take.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    Febreze will cure the smoke smell.
    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

  • dmeffert
    dmeffert Posts: 14
    F1nut, I am going to try the Febreeze, but these are really bad. I went into the workshop in my barn this morning where I had left the cabinets and grills on my workbench and the shop reeked so badly of cigarette smoke that I took them up into the attic and left them up there.
    In my opinion, if you are a smoker and you are selling your stuff on an auction site, you should warn people about that in your listing.
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,474
    edited April 2021
    If it doesn't say from a non smoker, it's up to you to ask or take a chance. Many and I mean MANY state from pet/smoke free home.

    Totally Awesome Cleaner straight eats nicotine for breakfast. It is however a little harsh on the lungs or it least it is on mine.
    My father smoked three packs of camel non filtered cigarettes a day. The basement I now live in to take care of my mother look like it had a severe fire on all the walls around every outlet light fixture everything electrical. I went through gallons of totally awesome cleaner, it melted the nicotine right off the walls by the time it got to the lower floorboards that look like tar.
    Even after all the cleaning the best primer we could find for smoke and stain sealing went on like snot on an ice cube. It took about four coats of primer before we could start painting.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    dmeffert wrote: »
    F1nut, I am going to try the Febreeze, but these are really bad. I went into the workshop in my barn this morning where I had left the cabinets and grills on my workbench and the shop reeked so badly of cigarette smoke that I took them up into the attic and left them up there.
    In my opinion, if you are a smoker and you are selling your stuff on an auction site, you should warn people about that in your listing.

    The heat in an attic is going to make it even harder to get rid of the odor. Heat locks in.
    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

  • Hansvelton
    Hansvelton Posts: 151
    edited April 2021
    dmeffert wrote: »
    F1nut, I am going to try the Febreeze, but these are really bad. I went into the workshop in my barn this morning where I had left the cabinets and grills on my workbench and the shop reeked so badly of cigarette smoke that I took them up into the attic and left them up there.
    In my opinion, if you are a smoker and you are selling your stuff on an auction site, you should warn people about that in your listing.

    I have had things smell of smoke, but put them outside in the sun on a sunny hot day, all day long, and presto the smell was greatly minimized. I forget the reasoning why, but it worked!

    https://www.bobvila.com/articles/smoke-smell-removal/#:~:text=Air it out.&text=Set smoke-ridden furniture, books,can also help neutralize odors.