Monitor 5A vs 5B

skrol
skrol Posts: 3,375
edited July 2012 in Vintage Speakers
I have a pair of Monitor 5A w/ Peerless (1983) and a pair of 5B w/SL2000 (1984). There are things that I like about both but I need to thin the herd and am trying to figure which to keep. As most agree, the Peerless tweeters are sweeter than the SL-2000, however, I am not opposed to going RDO's in the 5B's. Which ever I keep, will get the XO upgrade. I like the bass of the 5B over the 5A but the 5A does seem to have excess Daycron damping material behind the PR's. I haven't played with removing some yet.

So, it boils down to 5A's w/Peerless (play with removing some Daycron) or 5B which would get w/RDO's. Any opinions?

Thanks
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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Comments

  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited July 2012
    5B's with the RD0's and a x-over refresh and fuse bypass if your 5B's have a fuse for the tweeter.

    If the RD0 wasn't available I'd say stick with the peerless, but I think the cabinets and the later driver in the 5B's are just a little bit better.

    Just my .02c as you will have people equally commenting on both sides.

    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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  • nhhiep
    nhhiep Posts: 877
    edited July 2012
    I am not sure how good the Peerless is but the new RD0 is really smooth compare to the SL2000 in my 1Cs
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  • canadianicon25
    canadianicon25 Posts: 200
    edited July 2012
    i guess it comes down to which sounds better: the RDO or the Peerless?

    Both speakers could do with xover upgrades which puts that at par. As far as bass, if you think you are lacking the best thing to do is add a small sub and not quibble over small measures of bass output.
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