Polk Audio

[aditya]

Polk Audio Monitor 30 Bookshelf Speaker System (Priced per pair) in Bookshelf Speakers at JR.com

i plan to buy these , as they are very reasonably priced compared to them in bombay,
i would like to know are they good enough for a small room and a DIY Chip amp based on TDA7294
thanks

 

[Jim Shearer]

I would think they would be OK for a small room. With a sensitivity of 89dB, the recommendation of 20 watts minimum is reasonable for moderate listening levels. But if you try to seriously rock out, a small amp will quickly reach its clipping point & blow the speakers.

And while I would normally recommend building speakers yourself, I doubt you could build anything at that sale price that would sound better.

Cheers, Jim

 

[Ty_Bower]

That's a two way design, not a full ranger. Unless the tweeter is just a plastic decoy, and the 5.25" driver does everything. From the photo, the tweeter looks a little fake to me.

 

[Jim Shearer]

The tweeter is no fake. Polk makes good mass market speakers at reasonable prices. The Monitor 30 is one of their lower end products, but still represents a good bang for the $$. And if he had a $200 budget, I could recommend a build that would blow away the Monitor 30--but that's twice what he wants to spend. And then there's the question as to whether or not he wants to do a speaker build (or has the capability to do so.)

Cheers, Jim

 

[aditya]

The tweeter is no fake. Polk makes good mass market speakers at reasonable prices. The Monitor 30 is one of their lower end products, but still represents a good bang for the $$. And if he had a $200 budget, I could recommend a build that would blow away the Monitor 30--but that's twice what he wants to spend. And then there's the question as to whether or not he wants to do a speaker build (or has the capability to do so.)

Cheers, Jim

hey thanks for the reply well the truth is i cant build speakers, 2) in bombay getting authentic drivers is 30% luck and company built speakers are very very expensive,
only option would be to buy some car speaker of good quailty,
i can build a amp but speakers is tooooo diffiuclt for me. and carpentry work is next to impossible .

so could you help decide how to go about it , i have 60Watt chip amp,

 

[aditya]

The tweeter is no fake. Polk makes good mass market speakers at reasonable prices. The Monitor 30 is one of their lower end products, but still represents a good bang for the $$. And if he had a $200 budget, I could recommend a build that would blow away the Monitor 30--but that's twice what he wants to spend. And then there's the question as to whether or not he wants to do a speaker build (or has the capability to do so.)

Cheers, Jim

my bedroom is only 13' X 12.5' and the speakers would be placed next to the bed , for night listening of soft music , and occasionally while watchin movie on the laptop,

 

[Jim Shearer]

I think for your room and requirements, you will probably be happy with the Polk speakers.

But if you ever decided to build, you might consider a full range, single driver. Check out some of these designs:
planet_10 hifi

Cheers, Jim

 

[Sangram]

The Cambridge Audio S30 is a better buy, costs 8.5K ex-Mumbai, I guess. You'll outgrow the Polks very soon, and the S30 is pretty much the best bang for the buck under 10K you'll get from branded hifi.

 

[aditya]

I think for your room and requirements, you will probably be happy with the Polk speakers.

But if you ever decided to build, you might consider a full range, single driver. Check out some of these designs:
planet_10 hifi

Cheers, Jim

hey thanks jim, i have some one coming over from states so i have a small request could you select and let me know which speaker i could purchase from Parts-Express for the fonken you suggested, i have one question can i use mdf instead of birch wood as its not available in india,( i dont know if it is) and i feel i will go with mfonken or the ufonken

 

[planet10]

Drivers for mFonken or uFonken will need to be had from Madisound or from me for treated drivers.

MDF has been used in the past, a thicker panel material will be required to get teh same stiffness. A good multi-ply is better by at least a little bit. Our favorite sonics wise is bamboo plywood, but it makes for a harder & more expensive build. Of notre is that uFonken flat-paks are available and the same for 4 different milli-sized boxes including mFonken shouldn't be far behind. We think of this as a way to get people just the amount of BB that they need for these small projects (a single sheet is good for 4 sets of uFonken)

dave

 

[quadtech]

In India, a suitable option is 19mm 13 ply void-free
marine grade ply (ask for IS:710 spec). I built a pair
of Sachikos with this.

 

[aditya]

In India, a suitable option is 19mm 13 ply void-free
marine grade ply (ask for IS:710 spec). I built a pair
of Sachikos with this.

those are abit tooo big for me to build i want some thing bookselfish, and not expensive.. for around 80watts

 

[planet10]

But the plywood is good to build whatever you build. Would make for a VERY solid milli or micro.

dave

 

[Jim Shearer]

Just to re-state what Dave already said:

The standard Fonkens require Fostex FE127e. The micro-Fonkens need Fostex FF85k. (And that is a really SWEET driver! Just know that the low end with the micro-Fonkens is about 100 Hz.) Both are available in the US from Madisound, while specially modified versions are available from Dave at Planet 10.

I would not consider trying to use different drivers,as the result may be unsatisfactory.

Cheers, Jim

 

[aditya]

Just to re-state what Dave already said:

The standard Fonkens require Fostex FE127e. The micro-Fonkens need Fostex FF85k. (And that is a really SWEET driver! Just know that the low end with the micro-Fonkens is about 100 Hz.) Both are available in the US from Madisound, while specially modified versions are available from Dave at Planet 10.

I would not consider trying to use different drivers,as the result may be unsatisfactory.

Cheers, Jim

hey jim
i finally managed to fund the FOSTEX 127E but i have a few questions
1) what kind of music can i listen in , quater wave desin using Tangband W3 315SE or W3 926 drivers, i saw some plan for it using MDF
2) for Fonken M can i use MDF, coz plywood i dont know i m not sure as in india we dont get birch plywood, MDF is yes in two quality I & II ,
3) would the Fostex survive in bombay's humid climate, during monsoons it would 38 deg centigrade humidity 50 to 80% i ask this coz its not a paper cone or pp or kevlar,
4) i see some kevlar drives of 3.5" by Tymphany, how good is it, its on parts express
i have i period of only 15 days befor i reach my deadline for placing order,
with regard
aditya

 

[planet10]

2) for Fonken M can i use MDF, coz plywood i dont know i m not sure as in india we dont get birch plywood, MDF is yes in two quality I & II ,
3) would the Fostex survive in bombay's humid climate, during monsoons it would 38 deg centigrade humidity 50 to 80% i ask this coz its not a paper cone or pp or kevlar,

2/The box will be better if you use plywood... but more than a few have used MDF.

3/ The Fostex cones are paper. If you do the pre-treatment it helps make them less likely to suck up water or mold.

Where i live the humidity is similar to yours, but the tempearatures are 3-15 C.

dave

 

[aditya]

pre treatment as in, and how is the sound if i use mdf, plywood quality is not so great here, as wood is not the primary construction material,
so i have to stick to mdf, hope it turns out fine,
thas for the relay but i still have tons of question as i m new to speaker making

 

[Jim Shearer]

<<1) what kind of music can i listen in , quater wave desin using Tangband W3 315SE or W3 926 drivers, i saw some plan for it using MDF>>

I don't have any experience with Tangband drivers. In general, single full range drivers are great for vocals and small groups. I think they are alright for large scale orchestral music, as long as you keep the volume down. For hard rock and loud volume, you need to look elsewhere.

<<2) for Fonken M can i use MDF, coz plywood i dont know i m not sure as in india we dont get birch plywood, MDF is yes in two quality I & II ,>>

While I agree that Baltic Birch plywood is the best choice, in some areas it just is not available. Second choice would be void free plywood of another kind. If that is not available, then I guess I would try MDF or oriented strand board; while not ideal, it is certainly better than nothing!

<<3) would the Fostex survive in bombay's humid climate, during monsoons it would 38 deg centigrade humidity 50 to 80% i ask this coz its not a paper cone or pp or kevlar,>>

Heat, humidity and air quality are certainly concerns. I think I would avoid drivers with foam surrounds--which includes the FF85k. The FE127e looks to me like a cloth surround, which I would expect to survive longer than the foam. Dave knows about treating cones, so I would defer to him on that.

<<4) i see some kevlar drives of 3.5" by Tymphany, how good is it, its on parts express >>

Again, I have no experience with those drivers.

Good luck! And let us know how things turn out.

Cheers, Jim

 

[Andrea:]

I have the Monitor 30 (bi-wired), and I recommend it warmly.

It's very transparent and tonally faithful, for the price. Give them a bit of break in and they gain bass impact and extension. Mid-treble is quite smooth and refined for the price.

The tweeter is a very real 🙂 silk/polymer dome with neodymium magnet. Sounds quite precise for the price, also thanks to the mylar/polyester high-pass cap in the crossover.

 

[planet10]

Dave knows about treating cones, so I would defer to him on that.

There is a thread for that. Do a title search with FE127 in it.

dave