Observations and Monitor 40s

polkfan38

Did some playing around with all the speakers I have and have come to some conclusions. I have some early 90s Infinity SL20s and SL50s and also some Polk Monitor 40s. I poped in Stereophiles Editors Choice and played some tracks and the test tracks. Now, I really liked my Infinitys. I have read how some of the songs are supposed to sound on some of the Mozart tracks and Ellingtons The Mooche. As clear as the Infinitys are, they didn't have that sparkle and detail I read about. But, they measured down to the published specs. 63 Hz on the SL20s and 40 Hz on the SL50s. Then I did the same thing with the Polk monitor 40s. About the same in the mids but, I was suprised at the highs and the lows. The highs had much more detail than My Infinitys. You can actually hear the cymbal shimmer in The Mooche! Not just the "white noise" I heard in the Infinitys. The lows suprised me. I was still getting 25 Hz out of the Polks! Not loud, but there.
My point to this is that I put my Infinitys on a high pedistal but now they have fallen off so to speak. As inexpensive as the Polk Monitors are, I think people need to give them more credit! I just placed a order for another pair of Monitor 40s.

thesurfer

You were getting 25,hz Hows that??? the lowest they go, is 47,HZ or so thats what the specs, on the monitor 40 claim,?????? jimmy.

polkfan38

It was barely perceptable, but it was there. Probably down 15-20 dB. 40 Hz was loud and proud! I know what the specs say but, that's what I got. No EQing was done.

polkfan38

BTW, 20kHz was absent in all speakers but, I suspect I can't hear it.

thesurfer

Wow,thats cool, and i hear folks say they dont have great bass,, Then again, a friend says his sound like small towers,, so who knows,, What do you power them with,

polkfan38

This was with a old Denon 1802 using a Sony DVD player as a source hooked up via digital cable. 14 awg speaker wire.
Also, speakers we placed about 18 inches out from the wall. I have found 24 inches optimal but it sticks out too far.

thesurfer

Do they tend to smear, at higher volumes,, being they have dual midbasses???

polkfan38

On a side note, I have posted in here how the M40s compare with higher end stuff. My take on this is that to justify spending more, you need to spend a lot more. The original msrp of the Monitor 40s was about $300. B&W CM5s or Focal 807vs or Paradigm S1s would be the next step up. 3-4 times what the 40s are. B&W 685s do not sound "twice as good".

polkfan38

They do smear a little. I never listen at high volumes to even worry about it however. 75-80 dB is as loud as I listen.

JimAckley

The first time I ever heard Monitor 40s was years ago in a Circuit City by my house, and they sounded a helluva lot better than everything else on the switcher. I was pretty surprised by them. I don't think I could ever top the sound of my LSi7s though. I freakin love those things.

thesurfer

JimAckley wrote: »

The first time I ever heard Monitor 40s was years ago in a Circuit City by my house, and they sounded a helluva lot better than everything else on the switcher. I was pretty surprised by them. I don't think I could ever top the sound of my LSi7s though. I freakin love those things.

Maybe a pair of rt7,s, i hear they were all the rage, in there day???

JimAckley

I've never heard the RT7 before, but a bookshelf that can dig to 35 can't be all bad

thesurfer

Okay, enough tom foolry,, Back to the thread, these monitor 40,s would be a lot better deal, than the tsi200,s which, it seems are the same speaker for the most part,,

polkfan38

They are. Cosmetic changes only. The towers however did recieve more work.