ID old Polks

pave9000 · March 2005

Hi,
I've been browsing this forum a bit and I'm wondering if someone could help me identify some speakers. A friend gave them to me and they really need a lot of work. The guy who owned them had cats and they destroyed the screens. That seems easy to fix, but i'm wondering how I deal with the foam on the 12"--I think its rotting and bubbling a bit. Could anyone tell me the model of these speakers and maybe some specificiations? Are these worth restoring? I own a pair of Infinity 3500 speakers circa 1981 and I want to make sure that if i take the time and money to restore these Polk's that they're gonna sound better than the Infinity's. From what I've read in this forum everyone seems really knowledgeable and helpful. Pictures are below of one speaker, the other is pretty much in the same shape. So could anyone tell me: What are the model #'s and specs? Are they worth restoring? And how do i go about restoring them?

thanks a lot,
Eric

BlueMDPicker · March 2005

Your last picture holds the answer in the serial number - Monitor 12.

Edit - Yep, they appear to be RTA 12's. My bad.

nadams · March 2005

They are early Monitor 12's. The later monitor 12 had 4 active drivers along with the PR. Edit- could they be the RTA12 instead? Polk had so many similar-looking models during those years, and their naming conventions sucked.

They are DEFINATELY worth working with. No matter which they are, they're awesome speakers and I'm sure you'll love them.

Have you hooked them up yet? The foam on the PRs doesn't look too bad to me.

Loud & Clear · March 2005

Never seen any Monitors like that before.

Look like first generation RTA 12's to me. Peerless tweeters and no 'B' or 'C' designation. How do they sound? I'd fix the passives, make sure the box is sealed, and enjoy them. Good luck.

Toxis · March 2005

I agree, they look like RTA12's. Worth restoring? Yeah. Even if you don't like 'em, you could get $2-300 out of them and I doubt you'll be anywhere near that for restoration.

halo · March 2005

Definately RTA12's. Just FYI - RTA stands for Real Time Array. Nice Speakers - Enjoy them!!!

michael_w · March 2005

Where do you live cause I'll take them off your hands

Tour2ma · March 2005

RTA 12's they be...

If the drivers are all good, I'm not seeing any money outside of the grill cloths you mention... and that's minimal.

The loose bit around the PR is not the surround. The PR is bubbled, but there's a thread around here on repairing those.

BobMcG · April 2005

The RTAs were actually members of the Monitor family. But that small point aside, the Monitor 11s were very similar to the Monitor RTA 12s for those not familiar.

Scan of the front of an owner's manual and then to follow a scan of the same manual's spec page.

BobMcG · April 2005

for the manual.

BobMcG · April 2005

You will notice that among the differences the Mon 11s go 60lbs each where the RTA 12Bs and 12Cs (although having different top structures from each other) both go 75lbs each.

The above 12s use the SL1000 and the 11 uses an SL2000 but are all mounted horizontally rather than vertically.

dorokusai · April 2005

They were originally part of that line that's a given, as I have the same documentation. The RTA line eventually was created, and they were carried over.

I'm sorry, but why we keep on arguing the same point over and over is beyond me. I don't know any veteran Polkies that would call that a Monitor 11 or Monitor 12, as some have thought as well....but that's just my opinion.

There is also more than a few irregular RTA12's to say it had one tweeter or the other. I've owned 3 pairs of RTA12's...all of which were different.

BobMcG · April 2005

Agreed. The RTAs came into their own. For me, I was alluding to the earlier period in time closer to when the speakers asked about by pave9000 were newer. Wasn't trying to start an argument, only informing some of the newer members who maybe didn't realize the RTA had their roots in the Monitor series.

You have infinitely more experience with RTA 12s having had them in hand as I've never bought any so I'll take your word about irregular 12's tweeters. All I was going by is a lot of old Polk literature and owner's manuals I dug out for them saying what Polk put in the cabinets of the Bs and Cs. Very interesting.

BobMcG · April 2005

I have a question. In this one Polk says the 12B uses a 1" moving coil tweeter and not a silver coil. Could it possibly be using a Peerless then???

dorokusai · April 2005

They have had the Peerless tweeter as well. I sometimes get caught up in the "doesn't everyone know this already" mentality Bob

I know where you're coming from and it's certainly accurate.

BlueMDPickle has some literature as well that puts things in an odd perspective when it comes to "traditional" thinking of models and their respective lines.

The RTA certainly fits into the Monitor line in the fact that they are all over the place in spec's, driver usage and construction. What a motley bunch they are eh?

BobMcG · April 2005

for the info.

A motley bunch indeed. Looking through some of my old stuff I see the MONs and the RTAs phys. specs wandering around a bit.

A side topic. I have a sister who lives in your neck of the woods. Germantown, MD. Right now she's right across town here in upstae NY at my father's house and I'm off to see her for a bit before she heads back home. We don't see each other very often but she flew up on the quick for a brief visit due to my father undergoing heart surgery Friday.

George Grand · April 2005

Hope everything goes okay with your dad Bob.

George

Tour2ma · April 2005

Ditto...

And in that last brochure scan posted, those are Peerless tweeters across the board...

dorokusai · April 2005

Bob - First of all, I hope that everything goes well for your father...and I'm sure it will.

Yes, Germantown is 10 minutes away from me. If you ever make it down this way, please let me know as the door is open and I would enjoy meeting you....as well as making you some good food

danger boy · April 2005

in general terms. in the original monitor series... will the earlier they were made will they tend to sound better.

say for instance.. a monitor 10 will for most part sound better than a monitor 10B?

just curious.

dorokusai · April 2005

I personally think the older they are, the better they sound when it comes to the Monitor series.

BlueMDPicker · April 2005

Originally posted by BobMcG
The RTAs were actually members of the Monitor family. But that small point aside, the Monitor 11s were very similar to the Monitor RTA 12s for those not familiar.

Bob,

Best wishes to your Dad for a speedy recovery.

Here is the "other" Monitor 11 which Polk called the "Reference Monitor System - R.T.A. 11" in its instruction manual. It has completely different specs than any "Monitor 11" I've seen so far:

31 3/4" x 15 7/8" x 10 7/8"
60 lbs.
Peerless HF1000 tweeter
2 x MW6600 driver
12" PR (D-1200-A)
4.5 ohm nominal impedence
Efficiency unspecified

BTW - the dog has turned into a complete ham since she saw the Cain & Cain Abby ad, and cannot be lured out of a photo op with anything.

halo · April 2005

Blue - Those look like the same speakers mentioned in this thread:http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27384&highlight=monitor+11s Yes?

dorokusai · April 2005

You are correct.

BlueMDPicker · April 2005

Yes, the speakers in that post appear to be the same as my "other" Monitor 11s.

BobMcG · April 2005

First off thanks for wishing my father well. He's doing fine.

Doro, Thanks, I'll take you up on your offer if I'm in the neighborhood.

It was around 3:00pm-ish when I got home from visiting with my sister and I was just about to respond to George's thoughful words when all hell broke loose. Everything in the room started to move randomly and my eyes couldn't keep up. My head started spinning and I was feeling woosey quickly. I left the computer and wobbled over to lay down on the couch but it didn't clear up. Then things went steadily down hill. I wouldn't listen to my girlfriend who wanted to take me to the ER of the hospital untill around 6:45pm. Nothing was getting better and I really didn't know what else to do. They found I was having a violent bout with vertigo. Lovely. Heard of it but was never introduced to it personally. No fun. They released me at 12:30am full of meds and a slip for more and told to stay still for a couple of days. Normally I'd get up at 1:30am and leave for work at 2:00am so that was a given I wan't getting to work today. So I guess I'll take it easy.

halo · April 2005

I suffer from positional vertigo. The first time I got it was THE MOST VIOLENT episode. It scared the hell out of me. It settles down after a while & there are excercises you can do to lessen or possibly eliminate it. The thing that sucks is that you have to instigate the vertigo until it fatigues. Then you'll perform different manuevers/positions until it gets to be less and less. I've had it since '96 & was originally told that there was nothing that could be done. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. e-mail me or pm me & I'll round up what I've got for ya.

BobMcG · April 2005

Thanks, I'll get some info from you.

halo · April 2005

No problem at all.

ID old Polks

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