Identiying some RTA 12s

steelglam
steelglam Posts: 33
edited February 2011 in Vintage Speakers
I picked up a pair of second-hand RTA 12s a while ago, and am a bit confused about which version they are: 12 or 12a. From doing a search on this forum and the net in general, I've been able to deduce that they are definitely not the 12b or 12c. But I'm not sure if they are the original 12 or the 12a.

They have the Peerless tweeter, and the tweeter is vertically positioned, with no ramp attached to it. The grill goes all the way to the floor, in the sense that there is no bare wooden piece below the grill on the cabinet. The serial numbers are 12- 02771 and 12- 02116. There are no left and right markings on the cabinets, nor near the binding posts.

Unfortunately, I can't upload pix, or I would. Anyone have any insight as to which model they would be?
Post edited by steelglam on
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Comments

  • Joe08867
    Joe08867 Posts: 3,919
    edited February 2011
    Sound like original RTA12's. I believe they switched the tweeter to Horizontal for the A models.
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  • brgman
    brgman Posts: 2,859
    edited February 2011
    I'd agree.RTA12's.
    Have you pulled a driver to see what number is on them?
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  • geppy1
    geppy1 Posts: 3,075
    edited February 2011
    Those are very early RTA12s from 1978-79. They should be on a stand that is about 6 inches tall and hard to find. The tweeter is the Denmark made Peerless and the drivers are 6500s and I would suspect have the grey stuff around them. The crossovers do not roll
    one of the 6500s off like the RTA 12B and 12C so they are not mirror image units. In fact there is not a second crossover inside like a B or C has. keith
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  • steelglam
    steelglam Posts: 33
    edited February 2011
    geppy1 wrote: »
    Those are very early RTA12s from 1978-79. They should be on a stand that is about 6 inches tall and hard to find. The tweeter is the Denmark made Peerless and the drivers are 6500s and I would suspect have the grey stuff around them. The crossovers do not roll
    one of the 6500s off like the RTA 12B and 12C so they are not mirror image units. In fact there is not a second crossover inside like a B or C has. keith

    I did not know that. I suppose, then, that these are inferior to the later model RTA12s. Though I've heard some say that the Peerless tweeter is their favorite Polk tweeter.

    Thanks, everyone!
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  • geppy1
    geppy1 Posts: 3,075
    edited February 2011
    Those are still very good speakers
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  • joelll
    joelll Posts: 120
    edited February 2011
    "Inferior" is such a strong word... *grin*

    I have a pair of the same early RTA-12's (with lower serial numbers) and absolutely love their sound.

    I'm not sure with RTA-12's how much the rolling-off of a woofer to make marked Right and Left was a response to some other manufacturer's marketing trends or for market differentiation and being able to say "New, Improved!", and how much because it was thought another step along the path to better sound.
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  • steelglam
    steelglam Posts: 33
    edited February 2011
    So, how do you think these RTA 12's compare to RTA 15TL's, sound-wise?
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