Newbie looking for small to medium vintage speakers. Polk 5jr II vs. Infinity RS-325

sunvalleylaw

Hi guys,

I have been a member here, but never posted. I am a 50 something music enthusiast, both listening and playing. I cut my music listening teeth on old Marantz's and Speakerlabs, and other gear of the day, then bought my own set up featuring Dahlquist DQM-5's and a Denon DRA-550. There was a turntable, tape deck and CD player that went with that. I still have the old turntable, and otherwise input music via iphone or Blueray player playing CD's etc. Those speakers were re-foamed, and the receiver gone through a couple months ago. That is background so you know my taste in sound.

Now, I picked up very cheap an Onkyo TX-822 I want to use in my 20' x 12' office. Not at high volume most of the time. The office has light colored built in bookshelves and I would like to use either a set of Polk 5jr/5jr+'s (with the passive bass unit) OR a set of Infinity RS-325's with the front facing bass ports. I love the wood cabinets of both of those, and think they will suit my taste for hearing jazz, some rock, some alt, some classical, etc. in the office setting. As the receiver was only $10, I would like to keep the speakers close to $100 including shipping, and it seems if I am patient, I could find a decent set of either of these in that range.

Can you give my some thoughts if you would?

westmassguy

Hard to beat the 5jr+s for overall sound quality. The Infinity's polycell tweeter is like fingernails on a chalkboard to my ears.

sunvalleylaw

Thanks!

codycatalist

I second @westmassguy Monitor 5s in general sound fantastic and hard to beat for the price. They do make a front ported (no radiator) version also which I have heard good things about but my experience only lies with the versions with radiators.

tonyp063

I agree with the above. 5jr+

If the space lends itself to it properly, I'd even consider regular Monitor 5s.

They show up for around $100 or less at times, depending your location.
Your office is large enough that they could fill it *nicely*.

verb

I just picked up a minty pair of 5jr+'s not too long ago, and they are sweet sounding!

verb

Ignore the temporary placement, but these are my babies!

Jimbo18

Here's one of my M5jr+ series 2 speakers. They replaced my M7s just to save some space. Love them and one day will do the upgrade to RD-0198's.

dromunds

I’m quite familiar with the Dahlquist monitors and if it were me I’d keep my eyes open for a pair of Dahlquist DQM-9’s or 9C’s which are the “compact” 9’s. The DQM-5’s you have are 2-ways, the 9’s are 3-ways and will smoke the speakers you are considering. The thing about the 5’s and the 9’s is that the crossovers need to be re-done as those caps are now WAY out of spec. Dahlquist itself says it is necessary after this much time. I just did a pair of 9C’s and did top shelf caps and resistors and it was pretty pricey but you don’t have to go that top shelf route but even decent caps will be expensive. Dahlquists fly under the radar other than 10’s and 9’s that are already rebuilt are out there. If you have room for floorstanders the DQ-20’s and DQ-30’s are killer.

sunvalleylaw

dromunds wrote: »

I’m quite familiar with the Dahlquist monitors and if it were me I’d keep my eyes open for a pair of Dahlquist DQM-9’s or 9C’s which are the “compact” 9’s. The DQM-5’s you have are 2-ways, the 9’s are 3-ways and will smoke the speakers you are considering. The thing about the 5’s and the 9’s is that the crossovers need to be re-done as those caps are now WAY out of spec. Dahlquist itself says it is necessary after this much time. I just did a pair of 9C’s and did top shelf caps and resistors and it was pretty pricey but you don’t have to go that top shelf route but even decent caps will be expensive. Dahlquists fly under the radar other than 10’s and 9’s that are already rebuilt are out there. If you have room for floorstanders the DQ-20’s and DQ-30’s are killer.

Good idea. And yes, I should do those caps. Though the 5's are only two way, they sound great to me. I chose them (in 1985, from Magnolia in Seattle on Roosevelt, before it was a big chain) with the Denon I have, over some 3 ways if I recall. (Edit, maybe not, upon further review. I think I looked at mostly 2 way, but liked the Dahlquists the best). I think I was looking at some Advents, I think some Infinities, and not sure if I was looking at any Polks at the time. But hard to remember.

In any case, the deal I was working on for some 5jr+'s did not work, so I am still shopping. Will put the compact 9's in the search, though I am pretty sure that will be above budget for this project, which is just a little office, using an old, and obtained cheaply, little Onkyo.

sunvalleylaw

deleted

mhardy6647

Well, personally I far prefer the sound of that era of Polk Audio "monitors" -- but this is a Polk forum, after all.

I find any of the small(er), monkey coffin Infinity loudspeakers of that era to be bright to the point of unpleasantness for my ears -- but some folks do like them, and, as always de gustibus non est disputandum.

The big, big Infinity systems were better but were and are very expensive and many of them (perhaps most) were difficult amplifier loads to the point of being dangerous for many amplifiers (e.g., the Infinity IRS Beta).

The impedance of the mid/treble panel drops significantly below 4 ohms for much of the time, reaching minima of 3 ohms at 150Hz, 2.6 ohms at 720Hz, 1.5 ohms at 2750Hz, and approximately 1 ohm at 23kHz. It will therefore present any driving amplifier with an extremely demanding task in terms of being able to deliver current, particularly in the lower midrange where the bulk of musical energy lies. On the positive side, the extremely low moving masses involved in Infinity's EMI drive-units and the well-damped nature of the fundamental resonance of each unit will not give the driving amplifier any problems with back EMFs, as is the case with some conventional dynamic drivers.

An important point that should be noted is that the overall low nature of the impedance means that the speaker's frequency balance will be much more amplifier-sensitive than normal. Certainly, a traditional tube amplifier with a rising output impedance with frequency will produce a sound that is much mellower in the treble than will a modern high-performance solid-state design. This was certainly the case in my experience, where Mark Levinson No.20.5 amplifiers produced a sound from the Betas possessing considerably more HF energy than the VTL 300 tube amplifiers.

source: https://www.stereophile.com/content/infinity-irs-beta-loudspeaker-measurements (1989)

dromunds

I have a buddy who purchased Dahlquist DQM-5's brand new. He later re-capped with Solen capacitors he purchased from Dahlquist/Regnar. I am not a fan of the Solen caps and you can purchase the caps you need from a vendor yourself, plenty of advice around this forum on cap brands. I don't think the DQM-5's have too many caps to replace, and if you are going to re-cap your DQM-5's you should do the resistors right away too. I have some Polk Monitor 7's that the previous owner re-capped with budget-friendly Clarity Cap Px and Mundorf Mox resistors and they sound pretty darn good. As Mr. Hardy says, the Polk monitors of that era are good and the 7's are my favorite of the lot, very nice all-around speakers, but I have the 5jr. and 5 jr.+ and I also have the Dahlquist monitors and in my opinion the Dahlquist monitors are superior, the DQM-9 and DQM-9C are very fine speakers indeed. So I definitely would think carefully before I thought of replacing those DQM-5's with other than another pair of Dahlquists further up the chain. But there are lots of options. My buddy with the DQM-5's patiently waited and eventually a real nice pair of DQM-9C's became available. He said there was a startling improvement, but the 5's are no slouch for purposes such as you mention like an office or smaller room. I also have DQ-30i floorstanders and I have yet to have a speaker come through my place that images better - and huge soundstage. Right now I've rotated in a pair of Infinity Kappa 8's which have better low end for sure and are really impressive all-around but not the sound stage or imaging of the DQ-30i's. But those are floorstanders and a different sound than the monitors. The Dahlquist monitors are true monitors, they do not add anything or color the sound, in true monitor fashion. Good luck with your shopping - if you are proficient with a soldering iron, you may try to pop off a woofer and just take a look at the crossover. Also, there are good sales on caps from time to time from certain vendors so I'd wait for a big sale.

sunvalleylaw

dromunds wrote: »

So I definitely would think carefully before I thought of replacing those DQM-5's with other than another pair of Dahlquists further up the chain. But there are lots of options.

Thanks for all that info. And no, there is no way my Dahlquists are going anywhere. They fill my family room nicely. And I am too used to the sound when paired with my old Denon I bought with them.

The new speakers are intended for my even smaller office, to be driven by a small Onkyo I found very inexpensively. I think I will just keep my eyes open for a decent set of smaller Polk monitors from the era for a good value and call it a day, unless I run into some compact Dahlquists for cheap.

Though my 5's are sounding pretty darned good, will do some shopping and looking into the the upgrades you detail for me.

dromunds

Yeah, if you're using the new speakers for an even smaller office then even the DQM-9C's will probably be a bit large. In that case, the smaller Polks are good. Too bad you weren't around a few weeks ago, I sold a pair of very nice DALI Zensors cheap and those were VERY impressive to me for near field. Also, good bang for the buck can be had in Polk LSi-7's, which IIRC are supposedly 4 or 6 ohm speakers but I've never had any problem driving them with a receiver and I think they are really nice speakers also. LSi-9's are sweet too but a bit harder to drive. If you could find a pair of LSi-7's in good shape I think you'd be quite impressed for the low price they command these days. They may be twice what you mentioned for budget but for a couple hundy those and the DALI's are no-brainers in my opinion.

sunvalleylaw

dromunds wrote: »

Yeah, if you're using the new speakers for an even smaller office then even the DQM-9C's will probably be a bit large. In that case, the smaller Polks are good. Too bad you weren't around a few weeks ago, I sold a pair of very nice DALI Zensors cheap and those were VERY impressive to me for near field. Also, good bang for the buck can be had in Polk LSi-7's, which IIRC are supposedly 4 or 6 ohm speakers but I've never had any problem driving them with a receiver and I think they are really nice speakers also. LSi-9's are sweet too but a bit harder to drive. If you could find a pair of LSi-7's in good shape I think you'd be quite impressed for the low price they command these days. They may be twice what you mentioned for budget but for a couple hundy those and the DALI's are no-brainers in my opinion.

I am getting tempted by a pair of M905's I found near where I will be traveling in a few days, where I could pick them up. Hmm. Awfully big for what I was looking for, but still tempted.

dromunds

Not real familiar with the 905’s still two-way but 8” woofer IIRC. Depends on price and whether woofer surrounds in good shape. Not sure if Dahlquist recommends upgrading caps in The 905’s. Typically 905’s are not commanding much price at all so should VERY negotiable. Not sure how much better SQ you’d experience over 5’s but that’s mostly because I’ve never personally heard the 905’s and the fact that they’re still 2-ways. If the price was right and in real nice shape overall may be a nice pickup if you’re going there anyway.

sunvalleylaw

Yeah, it is pretty out of the way, and the cabinets have a stain or two. At only $120, if I were there, I would probably pick them up, but a ways out of the way, and probably physically bigger than I want for what I am using at the office. I read some reviews, and I do not think they would replace my DQM's. It may be better to just wait, save, and if I want some bigger Dalhquists, find some of the ones upstream from the ones I have. Though I don't need to. I really enjoyed them at as high a volume as I would go in that room for good jazz (was listening to George Benson, Beyond the Blue Horizon, when he was the next heir apparent to Wes Montgomery. great recording, amazing imaging. great contrast between bass sounds and high hats, higher notes on the guitar, etc.) and the 5's sounded amazing as always.

If I were to get something to create that sound at my office, it might be a set of the DQM-3's if I could find a good deal. Meanwhile, I will probably use Polks.

sunvalleylaw

Was also looking at a pair of B&W201i's.

pkquat

@sunvalleylaw As has been mentioned the 5jr+ is a sweet spot in size vs. range for a small speaker. In the small space at the lower volumes you are describing, I would not pass up a great deal on some regular monitor 5jrs or M4's. Like under $50. The ports whistle is only really noticeable for very low frequencies at higher volumes.

@Jimbo18 I would aim to replace the tweeters with RD0-198's sooner than later. I have some 5jr+ and M5's with the SL2500 tweeter. IMO I like the SL2000 better for overall detail. They can be fatiguing but I felt I was missing a lot with the SL2500's. They just sounded muffled. The RD0-198's made a big difference.

Jimbo18

pkquat wrote: »

@sunvalleylaw As has been mentioned the 5jr+ is a sweet spot in size vs. range for a small speaker. In the small space at the lower volumes you are describing, I would not pass up a great deal on some regular monitor 5jrs or M4's. Like under $50. The ports whistle is only really noticeable for very low frequencies at higher volumes.

@Jimbo18 I would aim to replace the tweeters with RD0-198's sooner than later. I have some 5jr+ and M5's with the SL2500 tweeter. IMO I like the SL2000 better for overall detail. They can be fatiguing but I felt I was missing a lot with the SL2500's. They just sounded muffled. The RD0-198's made a big difference.

I had planned to do the tweeter upgrade, but keep thinking rather than put money into them, I might want to get a pair from the Signature line next time there's a deal from Adorama. I would love to compare the S20's to the M5jr+ after the tweeter upgrade though, just not sure I want to spend the extra money for both.

[Deleted User]

The B&W 201's are a bit crispy for my ears. Not a bad bookie speaker but just too colorful. They do probably sound the best at lower volumes, though. I haven't heard the RS's from Infinity you mention but others I've heard with that tweeter are hard to listen to for long periods of time. The 5jrs with the radiator are a well balanced speaker. They are lacking a little in the low end but for a speaker of this size I don't think you can ask for more.

Polk could rarely get it wrong with passive radiators. I don't know of anyone else that did a better job.

K_M

Of the older vintage Polks always thought the 5jr+ was the smallest model that sounded fairly good.
All the smaller ones, tended to sound a bit boxy and lack any true deep bass (obviously due to just too small a box) and often had that square tweeter that was just not up to par with their other stuff.

Think the signature series does a better job with those size and smaller speakers honestly.
The older vintage polks the 6.5" woofer simply needed a good bit of box volume to produce bass well.

sunvalleylaw

As I had not found what I wanted in a 5jr+ I jumped on a good deal on a pair of Dahlquist m903's for now. Will keep an eye out for a good deal on some of the polks later.

dromunds

Would like to get my ears on that series sometime, I bet the 903's are a pretty good sounding bookie. Also, it appears Dahlquist does not recommend a capacitor upgrade as they do for some of their earlier models. Enjoy!

dromunds

By the way, did they go to the Vifa tweeters and Seas woofers for that model? I seem to recall after the Magnats they went that route. Should be real smooth, easy and uncolored sound