Monitor 5b

[Van_Isle]

Hello all .... my 1st post to this site. Here is my new acquisition today from the original owner - a pair of 5b's.

Enclosures are pretty rough but all the drivers work and the grills / badges are intact. They are fused, rather than a protection circuit - I think that makes them early versions? Maybe about 1984?

I've always wanted Polks - ever since seeing and hearing them in a small local shop in the mid 80's powered by NAD equipment.

Has anyone refinished this or similar models with wood veneer?

I'll initally run these on my Sansui AU-4400 (1975-vintage integrated with 25ish wpc). Hopefully as my inlaws are downsizing their home I will acquire my father-in-laws Sansui AU-7700 / TU-7700 combo (1975-vintage with 55 wpc)

[ben62670]

Very nice and welcome to Club Polk. Those are very nice little speakers. I am pretty sure you have vinyl on them now. Stripping the vinyl isn't too bad, but the beveled edge can be hard to veneer for a beginner. I would try to veneer some scrap mdf before taking on the task. There are two things those old speakers really benefit from. One is replace the tweeters, and second is redo the crossover. Yes the fuse makes them a fairly older model.
Stick around.
Ben

[Van_Isle]

Well, I have a friend who is a custom cabinet maker .... I'll discuss it with him and see if he can help me out.

[ben62670]

That would go a long way. I have a few friends that are not near, but the advice they gave helped me a lot.
Have fun.
Ben

Edit: I think we have a few Polkies in British Columbia. Hopefully they chime in.

[Van_Isle]

My cross-overs have a date stamp of 1985.