Polk monitor 10a new here.
Atremb
Posts: 8
I’ve owned these monitor 10a speakers since new 1980 I believe. Recently had to replace my stereo amp after failing. I’ve noticed although the speakers sound fairly good they aren’t as impressive as they were. A little muddy with previous amp as well. I’d like to upgrade crossover’s but I’m not super handy. Have a guy that can replace capacitors I think. I don’t believe I have a shifted magnet but I did try lightly pushing on drivers and feel a little scratching although other driver moves as well as radiator. Is this normal? I remember in the old days when I cranked it up I would see all drivers and radiator moving in and out. Now at higher volume they seem mostly still.
Trying to decide what is needed or if it’s worth it. Are newer speakers better sounding? I’ve always cherished these speakers and knew I had something way back. Thanks for any advice.
Trying to decide what is needed or if it’s worth it. Are newer speakers better sounding? I’ve always cherished these speakers and knew I had something way back. Thanks for any advice.
Best Answers
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Ok, your integrated should have no problem driving the speakers.
Magnet and air leak tests seem good, so way past time to upgrade the caps and resistors.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 -
Change the caps and get rid of the sandcast resistors and youll be good.
Most have used Vishay-Mills 10 or 12 watt and you should be good to go.
Answers
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What are your driver MW65xx numbers?
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I’m not sure. They would be original to what was in a 10 a in 1980.
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What is your new amp?
When checking for shifted magnets apply even pressure to the cone surface. That is, fingers spread evenly.
Check for air leaks. Push the PR in and hold it in. The mid-drivers will pop out then slowly recede. Count the seconds. Less than 3 seconds means you have an air leak.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 -
I found a deal on a Yamaha as-1200. Still was more than I wanted to spend. It replaces a Yamaha A-960 purchased at the same time as the Polks. The balance pot failed on the 960. Slider. I tried the test and they definitely go down very slowly perhaps not completely.
When I applied pressure with three fingers it didn’t have the scratch. Maybe a tad on one but I was possibly pressing in more than necessary. -
Are you sure all the drivers actually work,sometimes a tweeter will get blown and it will make everything sound muddy and muffled.
If yours has fuses to protect the Tweeter which they should have, then there could be a problem at the fuse block as well. -
Near-instant responses from a couple of the forum Top Dogs! You're in good hands ...
Brian
One-owner Polk Audio RTA 15TL speakers refreshed w/ Sonicap, Vishay/Mills and Cardas components by "pitdogg2," "xschop" billet tweeter plates and BH5 | Stereo REL Acoustics T/5x subwoofers w/ Bassline Blue cables | Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III integrated tube amp | Technics SL-1210G turntable w/ Ortofon 2M Black LVB 250 MM cart | Teac VRDS-701T CD transport | LampizatOr Baltic 4 tube DAC | Nordost & DH Labs cables/interconnects | APC H15 Power Conditioner | GIK Acoustics room treatments | Degritter RCM -
The crossovers are original but the guy I have isn’t to interested in the upgrade and wants to change only the capacitors.
I’m pretty familiar with the fuse tweeter and I think they’re fine. Made the mistake of using the wrong fuse when they were new. Blown tweeter. They’re the peerless fine now but old. Thanks for all the feedback and help everyone. -
I’m not a tech and don’t want to mess these up. The guy I have is a good guy but doesn’t want to do more than the caps. I asked abouT the resistors and he said he’d leave them alone. Any idea of someone who does these or who to take them to? Central Florida.
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Resistors need done as well.
Many folks think a resistor is a resistor and have no effect on the sound. I'm here to tell you, they do! The sandcast or ceramic were "almost" junk they day they put them in. -
I’m not a tech and don’t want to mess these up. The guy I have is a good guy but doesn’t want to do more than the caps. I asked abouT the resistors and he said he’d leave them alone. Any idea of someone who does these or who to take them to? Central Florida.
This is a Monitor 10 crossover, yours might look a little different. FYI, this one has cooked resistors.
Anyway, as you can see there's not much to it. Those black Temple caps are horrible.
Do you have a brand of caps in mind? What about resistors? You might talk me into doing them.
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 -
I’m not familiar with the different brands of caps. I’d like whatever is compatible and makes them sound the best. Years ago hunting for the original stands I should have bought in 1980, I came across a crossover service on eBay. I think it’s gone now. I’d really like someone that knows what they’re doing to upgrade these if we could work something out. I know these speakers punched way above their weight in their prime , I’m not sure today with all the new Kef and Heresey Iv but I have nothing to compare them to. I have Bestbuy but that’s about it.
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I know what I'm doing, but only on Tuesdays and Thursdays...LOL
I'll send you a PMPolitical 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 -
What part of Central Florida? I'm in Orlando and re-did my Monitor 10B XO's (and glued the magnets) a few years ago. I wrote about my experience here; ignore the (bad) mechanical work, but it should definitely help you with the parts, etc.Any idea of someone who does these or who to take them to? Central Florida.
PS: the parts will cost a lot more today than what they did ~10 years ago!Yamaha RX-A2050 AVR (5.0.2); LG OLED77C2 4K TV(4) Polk Monitor 10B's w/SoniCaps, Mills, and RDO-194 tweets (R/L F/R)(2) Polk RC80i (Top Middle)Polk CS300 center channelAnalog: B&O TX2 Turntable, Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1Digital: Pioneer CLD-99 Elite LD, Panasonic DMP-UB900 UHD Blu-RayBedroom: Arylic Up2Stream AMPv3 driving Polk Monitor 4's w/peerless tweets -
I’m in Oviedo FL. Thanks
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Most of the ebay stuff is not much better than you have now. Most are basic parts. The one ebay member who is legit is @VR3 who is a member here. F1nut is legit, although not on ebay😉. Clarity and Sonicaps are well regarded here. Capacitors have sound signatures as well. Some can be in your face, the two I stated are not. The Clarity does have 3 or 4 price points. The Sonicaps we basically use the generation one only. The other Sonicaps are too large or not the correct values.
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Thank you. I’ve bugged F1nut a couple of times. I’m going to attempt to find the cap value’s tomorrow. And possibly attempt to add JB weld or the JB weld stick puddy like stuff to magnets tomorrow.
