Would RTA-12B's with Peerless tweeters be a step up from Monitor 70's?

Mitkraft

Thinking about getting a pair of RTA-12B's to replace the Monitor 70's in my stereo setup. I mostly use it for vinyl and play a mix of classical, rock and jazz. Would this be a decent upgrade, a lateral move, or a step down? Thanks!

F1nut

Defintely a step up.

Mitkraft

Thanks but now I have a delima. The seller hooked up his RTA's to demo and decided he liked them too much and was keeping them (I was planning on picking them up tonight). Now he's offering me his SDA-2B's instead for about the same pirce. How would those compare to my Monitor 70's or the RTA12's?

Thank you for the initial quick reply!

Nightfall

Well this is eerie. The 2Bs are better than the M70s and vs the RTAs it depends on if you like the SDA "effect" or not. Another thing to note is you can no longer buy new drivers for the RTAs but you can for the 2Bs.

Mitkraft

Thanks nightfall! LOL, what makes you say its "eerie"? Another bit of info: I hope to drive these with a Yamaha CR-1020 - any thoughts on whether the amp would handle them or be enough power? I still need to look up to see if its common ground. Also, my room is small-ish at 12x13 and the speakers would be close to the wall. Is that a no-go.

Nightfall

I am selling Peerless RTA-12s right now because I just got a pair of SDA 2Bs. I thought the OP was about my pair and then it got even more weird with your second post.

The Yamaha would run them okay. Not as good as a separate and more powerful amp but okay. SDAs should be close to the wall, 6" or so.

soundfreak1

Do you know the series of 12's? B'S? C'S? There is quite a difference between them.

Nightfall

It says in the first post.

Mitkraft

Doesn't matter since the seller pulled the 12's off the table but I believe they were RTA12B's. The SDA's which he's offering now are SDA-2B's according to the seller. I don't have a pic of the back but from the front they look like B's.

Mitkraft

Well that's some solace Nightfall. So you prefer the SDA's over the RTA's? And you think close to the wall is good? We may have a winner then. Hows do they compare size wise?

Nightfall

Get the SDAs and sell the M70s. That's what I would do in your situation myself, depending on the SDAs condition and price.

Mitkraft

The SDA price is under $180 and from the pictures the condition looks pretty dern good. I'll just need to do the "push on the passive radiator" test to make sure the drivers are all moving properly. I'd bet I could even sell my 70's for nearly as much. Of course I'll have to resist the urge to try them in the theater setup.

Nightfall

At that price, go for it. Are they studios?

Mitkraft

Not sure what you mean by "studios"? I think I saw that mentioned in a thread while searching, is that the black version? If so then no, these are wood grain (looks like veneer I think). If that's not what you mean give me the scoop and I'll try to find out. Any difference other than looks?

Nightfall

As far as I've been told, no. Looks and a bit of weight are the only difference.

dromunds

If you're anywhere near Nightfall, the package he's offering is a steal.

Mitkraft

If I was near him I would indeed take him up on the 12B's but sadly I am not
The 12B's I was going to buy locally were offered at $175. When the seller decided to keep the 12B's he offered me the SDA-2B's for $180. I think I'm going to take him up on them. All the advice in this thread has been VERY helpful! I've had my Monitor 70's for probably 10 years but never had any problem with them or occasion to research them till now. I couldn't have asked for a better response to my first thread on the Polk forums!

pitdogg2

Mitkraft wrote: »

Doesn't matter since the seller pulled the 12's off the table but I believe they were RTA12B's. The SDA's which he's offering now are SDA-2B's according to the seller. I don't have a pic of the back but from the front they look like B's.

make sure they are SDA2b's if they are a studio with the small riser on the bottom you need to make sure. If they are the studio version they could be SDA2a's and they would present a problem with what you're going to drive them with. The SDA2a would be a 4ohm load that dips lower and will be difficult for that Yamaha to drive. If they are studio version you will need to pull the mw drivers SDA2a will have both MW6510 drivers.

Mitkraft

Definitely not studio version.

Mitkraft wrote: »

Not sure what you mean by "studios"? I think I saw that mentioned in a thread while searching, is that the black version? If so then no, these are wood grain (looks like veneer I think). If that's not what you mean give me the scoop and I'll try to find out. Any difference other than looks?

Mitkraft

Just got a picture of the back and I'm thinking these might be 2A's and not 2B's. They also don't have the wood end caps which I think the 2B's have.

westmassguy

Mitkraft wrote: »

Just got a picture of the back and I'm thinking these might be 2A's and not 2B's. They also don't have the wood end caps which I think the 2B's have.

Those could be either. Need to pull the PR and have a look. Some early 2Bs were made from leftover 2A parts, cabinets, grills, even the blade/blade IC.
I'm inclined to believe they're 2As, due to the three rivets in the binding post cup.

Mitkraft

I'm under the impression that 2A or 2B would still be a good deal at that price and should still be a great sounding speaker? And the end result is the same if down the road I intend to perform the upgrades to these particularly if I redo the crossover and upgrade the tweeter correct?

Rex81

These could be 2Bs. They were offered in black and natural. 2Bs are an upgrade over 12Bs, even if you don't get the full SDA effect due to not having enough space on the outside of each speaker (3'). Get 'em. $180 is a good deal and they'll sound better than anything else you can get for the money by far.

The CR 1020 isn't really enough to drive them, though. It will do it and will even get them to loud volumes, but they'll probably sound floppy and lack dynamics. You need 200+ wpc to fully enjoy them. Get a Crown XLS 1500 off ebay for a couple hundred bucks and put 500 watts through them and they'll come to life.

westmassguy

Mitkraft wrote: »

I'm under the impression that 2A or 2B would still be a good deal at that price and should still be a great sounding speaker? And the end result is the same if down the road I intend to perform the upgrades to these particularly if I redo the crossover and upgrade the tweeter correct?

They are on par SQ-wise. The 2As are 3rd generation and can only use a common ground amp with at least a 4 ohm rating. The 2Bs can use a common ground or non-common ground with a Dreadnaught. The 2As will be more expensive to upgrade due to the large value Caps in the Sub Base Drive Circuit.

pitdogg2

westmassguy wrote: »

Mitkraft wrote: »

I'm under the impression that 2A or 2B would still be a good deal at that price and should still be a great sounding speaker? And the end result is the same if down the road I intend to perform the upgrades to these particularly if I redo the crossover and upgrade the tweeter correct?

They are on par SQ-wise. The 2As are 3rd generation and can only use a common ground amp with at least a 4 ohm rating. The 2Bs can use a common ground or non-common ground with a Dreadnaught. The 2As will be more expensive to upgrade due to the large value Caps in the Sub Base Drive Circuit.

This^^^^^

like I said pull mid woofers SDA2a will be both MW6510 SDA2b will be MW6503 on inside and MW6511 on outside IIRC

F1nut

Get a Crown XLS 1500 off ebay for a couple hundred bucks and put 500 watts through them and they'll come to life.

Ugh, bad advice.

F1nut

Look like 2A's to me.

scootr

I was running 12c's before I got SDA's, huge improvement in soundstage! Grab those puppies.

pitdogg2

westmassguy wrote: »

I'm inclined to believe they're 2As, due to the three rivets in the binding post cup.

F1nut wrote: »

Look like 2A's to me.

Look just like my 2A's. I personally have not seen SDA2B's in that finish with vinyl. I'm not saying they were not just I have not seen. That Yamaha may not do well with those. My Yamaha 992 would shut down within minutes and I was not driving it hard what so ever. My Denon 3805 would get very hot trying to drive 2A's. Those do dip very low into 3 ohm and lower iirc

Rex81

F1nut wrote: »

Get a Crown XLS 1500 off ebay for a couple hundred bucks and put 500 watts through them and they'll come to life.

Ugh, bad advice.

Since the XLS 1500 is more than capable of handling even the big SDAs from a power and impedance standpoint, I assume you're saying it's bad advice because of sound quality? When you heard the XLS 1500 driving SDAs, what didn't you like about it?

soundfreak1

Oh boy!