Polk Monitor 7's

funcity

Just got these for 40 bucks. I'm actually contemplating selling my Klipsch Forte's I paid 350 for. Not that the forte's were bad but they don't match up as well with my vintage yamaha gear, and tubes are too expensive and too hard
to restore (I have little DIY skills).

Anyone else prefer vintage polk to klipsch?

funcity

Also what are some other classic Polk speakers to look out for (I'm new to polk speakers)? I thrift/craigslist/garage sale a lot.

falconcry72

funcity wrote: »

Anyone else prefer vintage polk to klipsch?

Well, I think the short answer is "sometimes".

As far as Polk goes, the speakers referred to as "vintage" generally include the Monitors, RTA's, and SDA's. These lines employed different designs, but they used similar components, were of similar quality, and all had a somewhat similar flavor, which I like a lot.

Vintage Klipsch's, on the other hand, included speakers of a more widely varying quality. I'm no vintage Klipschman by any means, but I know that some people love some of the designs and dislike others. I believe that the Klipschorns and La Scalas are among the more prized. The Fortes may not have been one of the top echelon vintage Klipsch speakers, but that doesn't mean that they don't sound great. I've never heard them.

I have heard the Monitor 7's, and they are a special speaker, for sure.:cool:

I love the vintage Polk sound, and the 7's have it in spades. It's been rumored that the 7's were Matt Polk's favorite, and it's easy to see why: using only (1) tweeter and (1) mid-woofer keeps them nice and clear with pin-point imaging, and the 10" passive lets them dig deep without the overly bassy bloatedness that the 10's can exhibit.

What tweeters are in your 7's???

If they are the SL-1000's or SL-2000's, replace them with immediately with the newer RD0-194's from Polk, and you will be in heaven. The RD0's are a specially designed replacement tweeter that were made solely for upgrading the tweeters in certain vintage Polk speaers. You can get them directly from Polk. They're about 100 bucks per pair and make a huge difference in SQ.

Here's what an SL-1000 looks like:

And an SL-2000:

If you have the Peerless tweeters, just keep them, as they're awesome already.

Peerless:

Enjoy your 7's, and, BTW:


WELCOME TO CLUB POLK!!!

falconcry72

funcity wrote: »

Also what are some other classic Polk speakers to look out for (I'm new to polk speakers)? I thrift/craigslist/garage sale a lot.

Use the search function on this site. There is a TON of great info.

As I mentioned in the post before this one, there were (3) Polk Audio lines that are generally considered to be "vintage":

- Monitor

- RTA

- SDA


There's not a bad sounding speaker in the bunch.

funcity

I have the 2500 tweeters (latest model), are those worth upgrading?

Yeah, I would prefer forte's but my lack of ability to afford tubes is a deal breaker. Plus I don't want to give up my Yamaha gear either. I have a C-4 Pre and a low output MC cartridge. So if I bought a tube amp I would have to: A. Buy a tube amp/receiver B. Restore the tube amp. C. Get a phono stage or get a new cartridge. Which would amount to a TON of money if I was to do it right.

falconcry72

funcity wrote: »

I have the 2500 tweeters (latest model), are those worth upgrading?

Yes, but I don't remember if it's the RD0-194 or RD0-198 that is the correct replacement. Call Polk at the number at the top right of this page, and they'll let you know. It's also likely that someone more knowledgeable than myself will chime in.

I would prefer forte's but my lack of ability to afford tubes is a deal breaker.

Why do you think you have to run tubes with the Forte's?

funcity

falconcry72 wrote: »

Yes, but I don't remember if it's the RD0-194 or RD0-198 that is the correct replacement. Call Polk at the number at the top right of this page, and they'll let you know. It's also likely that someone more knowledgeable than myself will chime in.



Why do you think you have to run tubes with the Forte's?

It seems to be a consensus that fortes are best with tubes. I have tried a few solid state receivers/amps with them without a ton of success and also started a couple forum posts to help guide me. Not that they sound bad, but it does seem like they could sound better. I would have to admit I am more of a record collector than an audiophile so my experience is somewhat limited.

I am being a bit dramatic, likely I will keep both speakers. I'll probably give the forte's another chance, maybe buy h/k 430 which can be had at a cheap price. Audio stuff can be so expensive, ready to go back to dedicating my money to records!

falconcry72

funcity wrote: »

It seems to be a consensus that fortes are best with tubes. I have tried a few solid state receivers/amps with them without a ton of success and also started a couple forum posts to help guide me. Not that they sound bad, but it does seem like they could sound better.

Listen. If you don't like the speakers without tubes, you won't like them with tubes.

ready to go back to dedicating my money to records!

Good call. I, myslef, am currently returning to the music collecting side of the hobby; it can be a lot less expensive and a lot more rewarding!

funcity

I agree Falconcry. Still going to give them another try with a different receiver. I def. don't dislike them at all. It's just amazing that the polks are are as good or almost as good for a small fraction of the price.

Thanks again, good info. I'll likely upgrade the tweets.

kcoc321

funcity, the correct upgrade tweeter for the SL-2500's are the RDO-198's.

agfrost

kcoc321 wrote: »

funcity, the correct upgrade tweeter for the SL-2500's are the RDO-198's.

And these would provide a definite improvement over the stock 2500 tweeter. I have replaced the SL2500 with the RDO198 tweeter in a pair of Series II Monitor 5jr+, and I never looked back.

cnh

+1, Monitor 7s (SL 2500s) and RDO-198s replacements, you can't do much better than that in the Monitor series. I'm currently listening to my 'smaller' Monitor 5As (Peerless). Although they don't hit the bottom that the 7s do, they are a very 'pleasing' and 'musical' speaker. And they sound good with a lot of different sources of amplification. At the moment a Vintage Yammie CR-800 receiver is performing that duty and it's surprising how good the Monitors sound with the old boy?

Enjoy!

cnh

gdpeck

I should have never opened this can of worms, er thread, but now you all have me wondering... I have a pair of Monitor 5 Series IIs with SL2500, that I bought new in 1991. I always thought that the SL2500 was supposed to be good. I used to think the speakers sounded a little harsh. That turned out to be more of a factor of the AVR that I was powering them with at the time. Currently they are in my bedroom system being driven by an NAD 720BEE stereo receiver, and I love the sound. What kind of improvements could I expect with the RDO-198s?

agfrost

If you love the sound, you needn't rush off to change things up. I may have had a similar issue (was running cheap receiver at time of replacement), but I found the RDOs to be significantly smoother and I no longer had issues with listening fatigue.

If the ~$100 won't break you, try out the RDOs--they're pretty much universally loved, and for good reason!

Jay

rromeo923

I have Monitor 5,7,and 10's along w/ SDA 1C's

The SDA's are head and shoulders above the Monitor series imo. Monitors are sweet but the SDA's are the cats meow!

mlhm5

I love my 7c's with the Peerless. Only speakers I listen to. Wish I had a brand new pair.

cnh

Double post, sorry!

cnh

rromeo923 wrote: »

I have Monitor 5,7,and 10's along w/ SDA 1C's

The SDA's are head and shoulders above the Monitor series imo. Monitors are sweet but the SDA's are the cats meow!

That's true, but SDAs require a lot more maintenance and tweaking...and in some ways, although I own a set, I think they're a better fit for the DIY crowd. Those whom like to open things up, rewire, replace drivers, solder crossovers, insert rings, mortite--or better equivalents, Dynamat, various forms of 'damping', cardas posts, upgraded SDA cables, and lastly, have the entire SDA compendium 'memorized'! lol

Let's not also forget about how finicky SDAs are about placement. You have to have at least 14' of 'clear' wall space to even position these properly. Although I like my set....all of the above means that they spend a lot of time in my Audio closet, whereas my Peerless Monitors get a lot of day to day use.

cnh

cincycat13

Just when I about convince myself to move my 7's with peeless down the road because I am out of space...someone always does a thread like this LOL. I pulled them upstairs by my 15TLs a couple of weeks ago during some amp issues and they almost stayed out. Guess they stay a little longer. Definately an easy to listen to speaker with great range for the size.

rromeo923

Hmmm...

Maybe I am doing something wrong. I have SDA 1C's w/RDO 194's, Spikes, Larrys Rings, Armacell. I have Monitor 5's w/Peerless, Monitor 7 w/ Peerless and Monitor 10's w/ SL2500.

I rate them.

SDA 1C's just awesome in so many ways.
Monitor 10 very nice and clear highs and good lows
Monitor 7 very warm and have a certain something
Monitor 5 not bad.

Anyway that is what I think about my speakers. The 1C,7,5 are in nice shape. The 10's have a bashed top on one of them and the tweeters are finger pushed in and even slightly torn (but they still sound great!)