Polk Monitor 11 refinish

[jeffs 3,549]

I finally got around to re-veneering my Polk Monitor 11 speakers.  Did it fast, still came out good.

Speakers =$100, veneer job = about $120 for all materials.  Real cherry veneer, will darken with age.

While I had them out, I glued the midrange magnets.

 

I chose not to re-attach the bases. Did not refinish them.  Will eventually replace the bases with stands of solid cherry .... fall/winter project.

     

 

Edited yesterday at 12:02 AM by jeffs

[AndrewJohn 11,151]

Jeff, that is simply beautiful.  I love the look of cherry.

 

I have to ask, what is that sub in the corner..., is that a super junior or other sunfire sub?  Did you cover it in cherry veneer?  If it is, and you did, How did you roll the radius edges?

[jeffs 3,549]

43 minutes ago, AndrewJohn said:

I have to ask, what is that sub in the corner..., is that a super junior or other sunfire sub?  Did you cover it in cherry veneer?  If it is, and you did, How did you roll the radius edges?

The 2 subs are home made.  Passive.  Sunfire HRS10 drivers.  The boxes are Parts Express kits, 1 cuft.  Build is not quite a cube. The front is trimmed to achieve the same volume as a Sunfire HRS10 powered sub.  I did not use the face piece from the kit as I disliked the radius.  I made my own faces and threw away the radiused piece.

The pair is driven by the PM350 at the bottom of the rack. I won't use them with the Polks, but the Maggie LRS need them badly.  Want to love the LRS, tried hard. The Polks work great in the basement, but will probably live as shown.  LRS prolly on the chopping block.

These were my veneer guinea pigs several years ago.  My first veneer effort.  I've done 4 pairs of speakers in total and the subs came out the best.  Veneer on all 6 sides. I'm critical and it's difficult for me to find imperfections in these compared to the others.

[Receiver2000 4,936]

That's gorgeous.

[Half Life 1,431]

Those are beautiful, Jeff!  Love seeing projects like this.  Thanks for sharing it!

[Dennis47 1,027]

Nice work Jeff!   

Did you rebuild the x-overs on the Polk 11s?

[Jeff Stone 369]

Beautiful work! Gives me some other ideas for the Carverfst Subwoofer build project!

[stereo_dog 1,720]

The Polks look great! The sub looks great, too. Maybe this will inspire me to re-veneer my subs..... 

[madmike46 463]

I have a pair of Polk Audio 5b's that fake wood vinyl is looking a little tatter.  I might just have to redo them, I have had them since new.  Great job on the veneer looks better than original.  Were these originally veneer or were they the vinyl fake wood?

[AndrewJohn 11,151]

14 hours ago, jeffs said:

I won't use them with the Polks, but the Maggie LRS need them badly.  Want to love the LRS, tried hard

 

I've been listening to my Polk SDA 1C speakers all morning, driven by an m1.0t..., what a perfect combination - I am discovering things I missed on DSTOM tracks 2, 3, 4 and 5.  They (Polks, perhaps in general?) just don't need any more bass..., 

 

But I totally hear your thoughts on the Maggies.  I have a pair of IIIa's, and they are stunning, when supported by a subwoofer, or two.  I'm at a crossroads with them, they need to have some buzzing fixed - redone/refurb at Magnapan is almost $3000 - which would include a new tweeter ribbon assembly..., but perhaps I should just sell them as is, before the buzz is more noticeable.  ;-/  I want to love Maggies, but it's hard, sometimes. 

[jeffs 3,549]

3 hours ago, madmike46 said:

Were these originally veneer or were they the vinyl fake wood?

The worst looking fake wood vinyl that I've ever seen.

 

1 hour ago, AndrewJohn said:

I've been listening to my Polk SDA 1C speakers all morning, driven by an m1.0t..., what a perfect combination

I gave my brother a set of Polk SDA 2A speakers. I built him a m1.0t mkII.  He has a LARGE space.  It's a fantastic combo.  Six years later, he still raves about it.

[Half Life 1,431]

18 hours ago, AndrewJohn said:

I'm at a crossroads with them, they need to have some buzzing fixed - redone/refurb at Magnapan is almost $3000 - which would include a new tweeter ribbon assembly..., but perhaps I should just sell them as is, before the buzz is more noticeable

 

@AndrewJohn, you could do these yourself.  While not difficult, it is a time consuming task.  Going to be very similar job as I did on my MG 1's.  Process would be the same.  The buzzing is likely either coil loops lifted, hole/s in the mylar film or a combo of both.  To fix any holes in the mylar; you need some mylar tape (Scotch brand), 3M 77 spray adhesive (to hold down the tape and wires) and some Milloxane or 3M Fastbond (to seal the repairs).  Definitely doable.