Monitor 4s late 80s verses S4 which one??

geph0007
geph0007 Posts: 9
edited March 2012 in Vintage Speakers
Looking at Monitor 4s fromm the late 80s or S4s. Any thoughts on the sonic differences???? Thanks,keith
OOPS signed in under my old name.
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  • skrol
    skrol Posts: 3,375
    edited March 2012
    Tough call. Is it the Monitor 4 with the Peerless tweeter or the one with the acoustic lens?

    I have never heard the Monitor 4 or the S4. However, I have the S8 which always impresses me with its pleasant character. I believe the S4 uses the same tweeter as the S8. The Monitor 4 with the Peerless should also sound sweet.

    S4 Specs:
    1x 1" dome tweeter
    1x 6.5" mid-woofer
    Freq Resp: 32Hz - 25KHz (50Hz-23KHz -3dB limits)
    Recommended power: 20-100Watts
    Impedance: 8 Ohm
    Efficiency: 91dB
    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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  • teekay0007
    teekay0007 Posts: 2,289
    edited March 2012
    To my ear, they are very similar and are outstanding choices as far as nice looking and sweet sounding affordable bookshelf speakers goes. The cabinets are also about the same size. I've always been partial to the Monitor line, probably just since that was my first Polk experience, but was pleasantly surprised a few years ago by a minty pair - had been in storage for the prior 15 years, or so, and looked brand new - of S4s that a friend gave me for a sweet price. I had them hooked up in a spare bedroom for a while and in my workout/puttering room for a while on a vintage Onkyo TX-2000 receiver - 27 WPC - and got compliments from just about everyone who ever heard them about the incredibly pure sound they put out.

    Just a few months back, I had to thin the herd - had 19 (all Polk Audio!) speakers in the house - and the S4s lost out to my also new-appearing Monitor 5jr's, as surrounds to my Monitor 10B fronts. The 5jr's fit the space a little better and the finish is a near-exact match to the 10Bs. Was kind of sad to see them go - I tend to get a little attached to all my Polks, kind of like those old ladies and their cats on that Hoaders show - but I passed them on to another Polk fan friend of mine who loves them as surrounds to his Monitor 7 fronts.

    All this being said, I'd consider them pretty much being equals and would just look for the best deal, and more importantly, the best condition pair I could find. The price for a good pair of either line should be about the same and what's a few bucks extra for something you'll get great satisfaction from using for hopefully many years to come?

    Good luck.
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  • geph0007
    geph0007 Posts: 9
    edited March 2012
    I was able to compare them and the S4 sounds more refined and sounds like a largr speaker. Yes the M4 is the one with the little tweeter. Thanks,keiht
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