Thought's on thirty year old Polk 5jr's connected to a Sonos Amp

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Thoughts on purchasing Amp to power an old set of Polk Audio 5jr's

Hey guys, new member here with a couple questions for you. Hopefully I'm okay with asking in this section.

So, probably not going to be a popular opinion here, but I've recently gone Sonos completely. More than anything I just got tired of tweaking amps and receivers, tripping over speaker wire, etc. There is some sacrificing in areas, specifically music, compared to my systems of past, but at this point in my life simplicity is more important. Overall though, I am fairly satisfied with the setup, especially HT. I was though, thinking of getting a couple Sonos 5's to improve the music, as right now I'm relying on the Arc and a couple Era 300's which actually sound great, although I think for my music the 5's are likely better from all reviews I've read. Maybe a toss up, I don't know.

Now though, I've dug out an old pair of Polk Audio 5jr's I've had from around 30 years ago. I haven't listened to them for probably 25 years, so I honestly don't know what to expect from them, but at the time I really enjoyed them, being young and broke. Now I'm old and broke so I'm thinking maybe, rather than purchasing more Sonos speakers, I could add them to the system with a Sonos Amp and save a few bucks.

My question for any of you that possibly remember these old speakers, how do you think they might compare to say a set of 5's or Era's connected to a Sonos Amp? They used to sound great and were quite powerful little things from what I can recall. At least in a small apartment. Anyone have these by any chance and still listening?

I suppose I could buy the Amp and if not satisfied return it within the return window, but thought I'd ask for opinions first. Thanks for any you might have!

These are the ones here. I can't seem to copy the picture and specs, but here is a link..

https://polksda.com/monitor5jrplus.shtml

Comments

  • xschop
    xschop Posts: 4,707
    edited January 22
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    Not Sure what Class D chip they use, but I can vouch for the TPA3251 and TPA3255 chips sounding excellent on Polk 5Jr's, 5B's, and 8-Tl's (All updated crossovers).
    Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,906
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    I've had the sonos amp and wasn't pleased with it's sound at all. The Polks would probley sound best on an old school receiver you could probably pick up on Facebook marketplace in your area for cheap. Just run the sonoa into the receiver either by coax cable or digital cable.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
  • TimTraveler
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    xschop wrote: »
    Not Sure what Class D chip they use, but I can vouch for the TPA3251 and TPA3255 chips sounding excellent on Polk 5Jr's, 5B's, and 8-Tl's (All updated crossovers).

    You have/had the 5Jr's then I take it? I found some old posts from years ago somewhere about swapping out the tweeters..and you mention the crossovers. Does this make quite a difference, and is it a relatively easy thing to do with a soldering iron? If you could still actually find the parts that it is.
  • TimTraveler
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    tonyb wrote: »
    I've had the sonos amp and wasn't pleased with it's sound at all. The Polks would probley sound best on an old school receiver you could probably pick up on Facebook marketplace in your area for cheap. Just run the sonoa into the receiver either by coax cable or digital cable.

    Do you mind describing the sound you did not care for? Also if you don't mind, what speakers were you connected with?
  • xschop
    xschop Posts: 4,707
    edited January 22
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    I had the Non-PR 5Jr's ...Easy-Peasy with a soldering iron and new 13.5 uf capacitors. Add some wire-wound resistors while you're in there. Many here have used Mills resistors. Clarity Cap makes a great sounding cap for the money too.

    899vzxul1lpr.png

    I can recommend the PX series. So you'd have to use 2ea in parallel for each speaker's tweeter circuit....

    https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/px-cap-250vdc/claritycap-6.8-mfd-px-range-polypropylene-caps/
    Post edited by xschop on
    Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.