Polk Newbie - Monitor 10A's

chicks
chicks Posts: 4
edited January 2011 in Vintage Speakers
Hello, I picked up a pair of Monitor 10A's (at least I think they're 10A's) at the GW a couple of days ago. Never had Polks before, but have been a vintage collector for a couple of years now.

Put these on the main rig yesterday, in place of a pair of DCM TimeFrame TF-350's. Immediately noticed a good deal more bass, without any apparent boominess. They didn't come with stands, so put them on makeshift stands, tilted back at the same angle as the TF 350's.

I've been all over the web looking for specs, measurements and opinions on these. Opinions appear to be highly favorable, other than some comparison with the Monitor 7's. The 10's are considered to be a bit muddier in the midrange than the 7's?

These have the fake Rosewood veneer, chipped a bit on the back, and scratched on the top. Some say it looks "hideous", I dunno, I wish it were real Rosewood, but for $40/pr, I'm not complaining - and it sorta matches the Rosewood on my JVC TT. :)

They have (I think) the Peerless tweeters with the little pin-**** hole in the center.

So, I listened to these all day yesterday, liking what I hear so far; they may very well displace the TF-350's. I've been through NLA's, Avid 102's and AR-2a's before the TF-350's. The TF-350's were, IMO, the best of the lot other than bass output, but these Polks are, so far, matching the TF-350's for imaging, and besting them on bass.

Nice to see that Polk still has specs for these available, maybe even still makes replacement drivers?

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Comments

  • Conradicles
    Conradicles Posts: 6,082
    edited January 2011
    Nice. Those were my 1st Polk Audio speakers and still have a love for them. Great all around speaker. Welcome to the Forum!
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  • brgman
    brgman Posts: 2,859
    edited January 2011
    Good score.Welcome.You can get replacement drivers pretty easy for these.Call polk CS or wait for some to come up here or on ebay.
    Not so easy to get the peerless though.
    What are the stands they are on???
    Main Rig-Realistic AM/FM Record player 8 track boasting 4 WPC

    Backup Rig-2 CH-Rogue Audio Zeus w/Factory Special Dark Mods,Joule-Electra 300ME Platinum Preamp,OPPO-105 w/Modwright Tube Mod, Auralic Aries G2.1,Polk 2.3TL,3.1TL's,Dreadnought,RTA-15TL's,1C's All Fully Modded,2xRTA-12c's ,Benchmark DAC3 HGC,Synology NAS,VPI Scout w/Dynavector DV-20XH and Rogue Audio Ares Phono Preamp,Sony PCM-R500 DAT,HHB-850 Pro CDR,Tascam CC-222SLMKII Cassette/CDR,MIT S3.3 Shotgun Cables,Shunyata Hyra-8,Shunyata and Triode Labs Power Cords

    I’M OFFENDED!!!!
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  • chicks
    chicks Posts: 4
    edited January 2011
    brgman wrote: »
    Good score.Welcome.You can get replacement drivers pretty easy for these.Call polk CS or wait for some to come up here or on ebay.
    Not so easy to get the peerless though.
    What are the stands they are on???

    Heh, just a couple of bamboo kitchen utensil holders from WallyMart for now, 'til I can build something proper.

    Good to know the drivers are available, thankfully they're all working fine, and I'm not planning on blowing them any time soon.

    Playing a Virgil Fox direct-to-disk LP at the moment, the big pipe organ's bass is shaking the room, something I definitely did not experience on the TimeFrames. :biggrin:
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  • brgman
    brgman Posts: 2,859
    edited January 2011
    Sweet.I thought they looked....different.
    Main Rig-Realistic AM/FM Record player 8 track boasting 4 WPC

    Backup Rig-2 CH-Rogue Audio Zeus w/Factory Special Dark Mods,Joule-Electra 300ME Platinum Preamp,OPPO-105 w/Modwright Tube Mod, Auralic Aries G2.1,Polk 2.3TL,3.1TL's,Dreadnought,RTA-15TL's,1C's All Fully Modded,2xRTA-12c's ,Benchmark DAC3 HGC,Synology NAS,VPI Scout w/Dynavector DV-20XH and Rogue Audio Ares Phono Preamp,Sony PCM-R500 DAT,HHB-850 Pro CDR,Tascam CC-222SLMKII Cassette/CDR,MIT S3.3 Shotgun Cables,Shunyata Hyra-8,Shunyata and Triode Labs Power Cords

    I’M OFFENDED!!!!
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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,321
    edited January 2011
    Nice find and yes I think you do have the peerless.

    I have a set of 10B the bass is surprising out of them that is for sure.
    Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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  • wayne3burk
    wayne3burk Posts: 939
    edited January 2011
    Nice Speakers -- I got mine from GW as well -- 10Bs that someone else modded with peerless tweeters. I agree the bass in these are very deep, low and responsive without being muddy or sloppy.
    Yamaha RX-V2700, EMI 711As (front), RCA K-16 (rear), Magnavox Console (Center & TV Stand), Sony SMP-N200 media streamer, Dual 1249 TT =--- Sharp Aquas 60" LCD tellie
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  • Tour2ma
    Tour2ma Posts: 10,177
    edited January 2011
    $40 the pair??? Great find...

    I also have 10A's in the collection as well as 7A's (loves me my Peerless). As you're noticed the 10's dig deep... deeper than the 7's, but I wouldn't say they are muddier, just more bass heavy. The 7's are a more balanced speaker.

    The 7's do image better, IMO. I attribute this to their single MW vs. the 10's two. I have heard some folk say they think the 10's 2nd MW "muddies" up its soundstage.

    I may be wrong, but I don't believe the replacement MW from Polk CS is identical to the originals. That said, I'd still lean toward them vs. any old ebay seller hawking the “proper”, used MW's. A lot of broken, used MW’s out there. On the other hand if a trusted member posts some here for sale, I’d go with the original.

    Welcome to the Club…
    More later,
    Tour...
    Vox Copuli
    Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Old English Proverb

    "Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
    "It's easy to get lost in price vs performance vs ego vs illusion." - doro
    "There is a certain entertainment value in ripping the occaisonal (sic) buttmunch..." - TroyD
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  • DON73
    DON73 Posts: 516
    edited January 2011
    These speakers would never make it into a GW store here! Nice find! I do like the black boxes but for $40 I could live with the Rosewood.
    TO ERR IS HUMAN. TO FORGIVE IS CANINE.
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  • gdb
    gdb Posts: 6,012
    edited January 2011
    Did'ya know that that bass comes from a passive radiator and not an active woofer? :wink:
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  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited January 2011
    Welcome to Club Polk. Nice gear.
    Ben
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
    Ben
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  • Tony M
    Tony M Posts: 11,151
    edited January 2011
    great find!!

    That's the model that got me back into this hobby 12 yrs or so ago.

    Next stop, Polk audio SDA LAND..:wink:
    Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
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  • chandler9a
    chandler9a Posts: 878
    edited January 2011
    Nice speakers and welcome to the Club! Can't wait to see what you get into next around here.:smile:
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  • TNHNDYMAN
    TNHNDYMAN Posts: 2,145
    edited January 2011
    Nice find! I'm running a pair of 10b's as my front stage w/ a CS1 as center. I love these old monitors and will snap any up I can find if $ allows.
    2-ch System: Parasound P/LD 2000 pre, Parasound HCA-1000 amp, Parasound T/DQ Tuner, Phase Technology PC-100 Tower speakers, Technics SL-1600 Turntable, Denon 2910 SACD/CD player, Peachtree DAC iT and X1asynchorus USB converter, HSU VTF-3 subwoofer.

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  • Libertyc
    Libertyc Posts: 915
    edited January 2011
    You got a great deal. They were also my first Polks and still have them in the closet.
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  • helipilotdoug
    helipilotdoug Posts: 1,229
    edited January 2011
    Congrats on the great find, and at such a good price!
    Sunfire Theater Grand IV
    Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature
    SRS 2.1TL
    SDA 2BTL's
    CSiA6
    FXiA4
    FXiA6
    SDA 2A's
    Monitor 10A's
    http://www.douglasconnection.com
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  • chicks
    chicks Posts: 4
    edited January 2011
    Thanks for all the great comments, I'm tickled Polk, er, pink...
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