RDO-198 vs. 2500 in Monitor 5 Jr.+
dromunds
Posts: 10,009
I picked up a pretty nice pair of stock Monitor 5 Jr.+ I'm understanding these are already TL and I can simply replace the 2500 tweets with the RDO-198's. How much of an improvement can I expect with just this mod? Monitor 5 Peerless preferable?
Comments
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I picked up a pretty nice pair of stock Monitor 5 Jr.+ I'm understanding these are already TL and I can simply replace the 2500 tweets with the RDO-198's. How much of an improvement can I expect with just this mod? Monitor 5 Peerless preferable?
Most people say the RD-0198's are the best of the tweeters available, better than the Peerless, and are a drop in for the 2500's. I have been wanting to make the change to my M5's but just haven't gotten around to ordering them yet. -
Thanks. Anybody have an opinion on Monitor 5 Jr.+ with RDO-198 upgrade vs. Monitor 5 Peerless as far as the total sound?
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I have both the 5Jr+ with the RD-0198 and M5's with the USA Peerless (not the SL-1000). IMO the SL2500's SUCK! The highs were almost muffled, and therefore not fatiguing. I actually prefer the SL2000's over them. The SL3000's are decent. The RD-0198's made a world of difference. They are different yet comparable to the peerless. I noticed one issue (as have some others) with the peerless tweeters on my M5's however I have not rebuilt the crossovers yet. Even with the issue, I find the peerless sound pleasing, maybe a little more so than the RD-0198's in the 5Jr+.
I also have some RD-0198's in some M5 Series 2. The overall top end is similar, but I think the crossover design for the M5 is a little better than the 5Jr+.
It could me nostalgia or just being familiar with the sound, but overall I like the M6500 MW - Peerless combo.
The M5 Peerless and the 5Jr+ both need some help in the bass dept. I think the M5's can go a little deeper, but the roll off is faster in the Jr's. The M5's will fill a little larger room, but for closer listening, I think they are similar. With the right bass boost (to the tears of others) the M5's do better than the Jr's. The M5's have more bass for sure. For their size and in a closer space, the Jr's are hard to beat. I doubled the amount of polyfill in the Jr's. It helped the bass and IMO the midrange sounded smoother.
I plan on keeping both.
On a side note the original M5 passives tend to get cracks in the surrounds. A different rubber compound was used. I think they may have also gotten a stiffer with age. I passive from a newer M5 does not sound the same, or near as good IMO. It does extend the bass a little more before the rolloff, but I think the rolloff is steeper. The newer M5's have a little bump before the rolloff and therefore dig a little deeper than the originals without any bass compensation.
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Thanks, very insightful.
