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Polk 7b - Help a novice with his first buy

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chaisu

New Member
Hi all,

I'm a complete noob here and would appreciate your input. Tomorrow I'm going to look at these Polk Monitor 7b's. As far as I can tell, those are the "peerless" tweeters that most people rave about. Can anyone confirm based on the photos?

Also, does anyone have some tips of what I should be looking/listening/feeling for when I check these out? From what I've researched, $175 seems to be a 'fair' price, but not a bargain by any means. I'll probably offer $140 and see where it goes.

I don't have an amp yet (or any other equipment). The same guy is also selling this Dynaco SC-80 amp for $275, but that seems overpriced to me. Any opinions on that? Or recommended receivers to pair with these 7b's?
 
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The Dyna if not recapped it will need service. yea overpriced.
No experience with the Polks other that they need more than 40 watts to play loud without clipping.
 
One of them has busted binding posts. Going to be difficult to hook it up to say the least.

Spread your fingers evenly around the mid-driver cone and gently push in. It should move easily without any scratchy sounds.

Push the PR in and hold. The mid-driver will pop out and slowly recede. Anything less than 3 seconds means there's an air leak.
 
Take an empty paper towel roll (or something similar) to check the tweeters. Place one end over (or near) the tweeter) and the other end to your ear. That enables you to isolate the tweeter to determine if it's working. However, as @F1nut pointed out, the broken binding post would make me pass.
 
F1nut said:
One of them has busted binding posts. Going to be difficult to hook it up to say the least.

Spread your fingers evenly around the mid-driver cone and gently push in. It should move easily without any scratchy sounds.

Push the PR in and hold. The mid-driver will pop out and slowly recede. Anything less than 3 seconds means there's an air leak.
Click to expand...

I noticed those binding posts too. The seller said they are just missing the screw cap parts and that he would try and find some before I check out the speakers.

Thanks for the advice on checking the drivers and for air leaks. I found similarly helpful info from this thread.
 
rickb119 said:
Take an empty paper towel roll (or something similar) to check the tweeters. Place one end over (or near) the tweeter) and the other end to your ear. That enables you to isolate the tweeter to determine if it's working. However, as @F1nut pointed out, the broken binding post would make me pass.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips.

Regarding the binding posts, seller says they aren't broken but missing the screw/cap (what's that part called?). Am I naïve in thinking it's simply a matter of buying new caps and screwing them onto the posts?
 
Dswankey said:
While they are a great pair of speakers in proper working order $175 is too much.
Click to expand...

In your mind what would a fair price be? I've seen them listed on CL from $100-250 in various conditions. Ideally, I'd find something for $15 at a thrift store but I come up dry every time I look.
 
^ In proper working condition I'd be a buyer at the $100-$125 range. They are considered by Matthew Polk his favorite of the Monitor series from that era and a lot of folks agree compared to their little brothers the 5's of their big brother the 10's.

Having owned and listened to all I would say they were my favorites.

Another thing to consider, see if the seller is willing to let you listen to them first on top of that those speakers will really shine with amplification that has some oomph!
 
chaisu said:
In your mind what would a fair price be? I've seen them listed on CL from $100-250 in various conditions. Ideally, I'd find something for $15 at a thrift store but I come up dry every time I look.
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More like in my area, about $75-100 depending on condition.
 
Great speakers! I would recap the crossovers if you pick them up. My 7bs really shined after installing new caps. I used them with everything from my 24-watt Sansui AU-555 to a 70-watt Luxman R-115. I paid $100 for mine, but I've seen them go for $200 in my area. I think your original idea of offering $140 sounds about right for that pair. I wouldn't pay more than $150.
 
chaisu said:
Am I naïve in thinking it's simply a matter of buying new caps and screwing them onto the posts?
Click to expand...
There are lots of different thread sizes/pitches out there, so I wouldn't know. One possibility, if you do buy them, is to get a few nuts (about the same size) from the hardware store. Paying close attention to the thread nut size/pitch. If one of them fits, call Parts Express and explain the situation, telling them which size nut fits onto it. Ask if their binding posts are the same size. If so, you're good to go. If not, you could simply use the nut to hold the wire in place. Not the prettiest fix, but it would work.
 
chaisu said:
In your mind what would a fair price be? I've seen them listed on CL from $100-250 in various conditions. Ideally, I'd find something for $15 at a thrift store but I come up dry every time I look.
Click to expand...
A fair price is what you are willing to pay and what the seller is willing to take. Fixed up, cleaned up with upgraded crossovers and new binding posts you will have a speaker that is hard to beat. One of my favorites.
 
Update: I checked out the speakers and @F1nut was indeed correct; the binding posts are snapped off. The seller kind of played dumb and said "I thought the screw on piece was just missing," but the posts were snapped to the point of there being zero thread left. I wouldn't mind putting in the effort to replace them, but he wouldn't go below $150 so I left empty handed.

I did however manage to pick up a Sansui 881 today for $250! It's in really good condition cosmetically and functionally (as far as I can tell). I admit I don't know how to properly test a receiver, but I played with all the knobs, phono input, and the 3 speaker outputs (tested with two sets of speakers). All worked well and no hum. Seller said he hasn't done any work on it and thinks everything is original.
IMG_20201027_194620.jpg

Also, I came across some Pioneer CS-G403's at goodwill. It appears the mid and tweeter are not original, so I'm not sure what to make of that. I've read mixed reviews on them, but I think I may pick them up tomorrow as they're marked down to $15!
IMG_20201027_134759.jpg IMG_20201027_134750.jpg
Thanks for everyone's input even though the original deal didn't go through!
 
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The Polk 5jr's sell for between $50 and $100 in my area. The 7's between $75 and $150 depending on cosmetics. I payed $200 for a pair of very nice 10's recently. And thats right at the upper end for a nice clean pair here.
 
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