Monitor 5's? New to vintage gear...

drummer86
drummer86 Posts: 441
edited December 2011 in Vintage Speakers
Have a chance to get a pair of Monitor 5's in very good condition for around $40. This would be my first adventure into older Polks. The veneer is peeling very slightly on the bottom corner of one.

Two part question:

1. Is this a good price range?

2. What would I realistically need to effectively drive these puppies? They would be the start of a new separate setup and I would be starting from square one with a very limited budget. The guy also has an old Harmon Kardon HK-560 in decent shape for what seems to be a reasonable price. Good starting point?

Are there any other questions I should be asking?

I know next to nothing about vintage gear so go easy on me :cheesygrin:
Display: LG 47" LCD | AVR: Marantz SR5005 | BD: Panasonic BDT-210 | CD/SACD: Oppo 980 |
Amps: Rotel RB-990bx | Marantz MA-500 | Speakers: Totem Mite : Totem Mite-C : RC60i | Sub: HSU VTF-2 MKIV

HK AVR635 | Polk R30 | Sony DVD/SACD Player
Post edited by drummer86 on
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  • drummer86
    drummer86 Posts: 441
    edited December 2011
    monitor 5.jpg


    Here's a picture if it helps...
    Display: LG 47" LCD | AVR: Marantz SR5005 | BD: Panasonic BDT-210 | CD/SACD: Oppo 980 |
    Amps: Rotel RB-990bx | Marantz MA-500 | Speakers: Totem Mite : Totem Mite-C : RC60i | Sub: HSU VTF-2 MKIV

    HK AVR635 | Polk R30 | Sony DVD/SACD Player
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  • falconcry72
    falconcry72 Posts: 3,580
    edited December 2011
    That's a good price. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better speaker for the money. Period. I paid twice that for mine, and they were worth every penny.:biggrin:

    They are very easy to drive. I'm not familiar with that HK, but it appears to be rated at 40-45 WPC. It should be fine, just be careful with the volume knob until you can get better power on them.

    As for that better power on a budget, I'd recommend the Adcom GFA-545. You should be able to find one for $150-200, and it will drive those speakers beautifully.
    2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's

    Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses

    Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's
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  • skrol
    skrol Posts: 3,375
    edited December 2011
    Very good price and they are very easy to drive. These are nice sounding speakers and respond well to upgrades if you so choose and Polk still has replacement drivers for these if needed. What a company!
    Stan
    Stan

    Main 2ch:
    Polk LSi15 (DB840 upgrade), Parasound: P/LD-1100, HCA-1000A; Denon: DVD-2910, DRM-800A; Benchmark DAC1, Monster HTS3600-MKII, Grado SR-225i; Technics SL-J2, Parasound PPH-100.

    HT:
    Marantz SR7010, Polk: RTA11TL (RDO198-1, XO and Damping Upgrades), S4, CS250, PSW110 , Marantz UD5005, Pioneer PL-530, Panasonic TC-P42S60

    Other stuff:
    Denon: DRA-835R, AVR-888, DCD-660, DRM-700A, DRR-780; Polk: S8, Monitor 5A, 5B, TSi100, RM7, PSW10 (DXi104 upgrade); Pioneer: CT-6R; Onkyo CP-1046F; Ortofon OM5E, Marantz: PM5004, CD5004, CDR-615; Parasound C/PT-600, HCA-800ii, Sony CDP-650ESD, Technics SA 5070, B&W DM601
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  • DracoAmericanus
    DracoAmericanus Posts: 112
    edited December 2011
    the only thing i would sugjest is replacing the eletrolictics in the cross over, but they are a very good buy. and should be easy to drive
    There is no cure....
    Luxman M117, SDA SRS 2.3, rear monitor 10, back rear bose 4.2, valodyne sub and 2 Onkyo m-504 amps Onkyo TX-NR709
    8mm, 7.62x39mm
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited December 2011
    No brainer. 5B's were my first Polks back in 1985 and I recently bought a pair for my office rig and upgraded the x-overs and tweets and they sound fantastic.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • pdxfj
    pdxfj Posts: 376
    edited December 2011
    Good deal on the 5b's. Grab 'em.

    Just recently reclaimed my 5b's from my parents. Upgraded to the RDO tweeter and rebuilt the XO's with clairty caps and mills resistors. Not even broken in yet and as Heiney says, they sound fantastic. Currently liking them better for music than my RTi-A7's but we shall see what happens when I finish the XO upgrades on the A7's.
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  • HTguru1982
    HTguru1982 Posts: 1,066
    edited December 2011
    I just bought a pair for $50 and like others have said, they're worth every penny.
    Display: Sony 42" LCD
    Sources: Harman Kardon DVD-27,
    Panasonic DMP-BDT110 blu ray player
    AVR: Sony STR-DA2400ES
    Amps: Sonance Sonamp 260(fronts),
    Kenwood KM-894(surrounds)
    Fronts: NHT 2.5
    Center: NHT VS-1.2A
    Surrounds: NHT Super One
    Subwoofer: SVS PB10-ISD
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