Polk Monitor 10B vs Monitor 11

makaveli6103
makaveli6103 Posts: 33
edited October 2019 in Vintage Speakers
I have been using the 10B's with RDO-194 tweeters for the past few years and recently found a pair of Monitor 11s for really cheap. I hooked them both up to my Pioneer DX-D7000 that allows me to switch between the speakers easily to compare them. I think it has the peerless tweeters as it has the small hole in the middle. Immediately my wife and I noticed the highs are much clearer on the 11s than the 10s and the bass is much more refined compared to the 10s. One area I think the 10s are better are the mids. I am only allowed to keep one pair and currently am leaning towards the 11s. Any other opinions?

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Comments

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,541
    The 11's are hands down the better speaker. Polk corrected the inherent comb filter problem of the 10's with the 11's.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,086
    Sell them both and get a pair of Peerless RTA-12B's. ;)
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
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  • FestYboy
    FestYboy Posts: 3,861
    makaveli6103 wrote: »
    I am only allowed to keep one pair and currently am leaning towards the 11s. Any other opinions?

    ::Que the whip crack::

    Come on man, there's always room for another pair (unless you've lost yours ;) )






    J/K
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,636
    I have had both the 10's & 11's. 10's ended up leaving the herd. Really enjoyed them too. I put spikes to them & it really improved the bass quite a bit. Enjoy them gems
    ..
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  • makaveli6103
    makaveli6103 Posts: 33
    boston1450 wrote: »
    I have had both the 10's & 11's. 10's ended up leaving the herd. Really enjoyed them too. I put spikes to them & it really improved the bass quite a bit. Enjoy them gems

    I have wood floors. Any spikes you recommend?

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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,541
    Big ones.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,636
    If you decide to spike them, you can get disc to put under the spikes. Some come with the disc also. When I did mine I noticed a difference.
    ..
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  • xschop
    xschop Posts: 5,000
    How do the X-over components look in the 11's?
    A refresh will definitely clean up the mids in any old Polk set.
    Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,636
    So did you decide yet ? Just wondering if the Monitor 11 speakers are tagged R&L correctly for you.
    ..
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  • makaveli6103
    makaveli6103 Posts: 33
    boston1450 wrote: »
    So did you decide yet ? Just wondering if the Monitor 11 speakers are tagged R&L correctly for you.

    Selling the 10Bs. But my 11s are not marked L&R. How can I figure that out?
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,636
    https://polksda.com/manuals.shtml
    ..
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,636
    Im looking for it. I stumbled across it once. My 11's had the L&R stickers on them. They may be stamped on the cup on back. I cant remember. But very important. Maybe someone will chime in. Thx.... here is something interesting too. https://www.polkaudio.co.nz/blogs/reviews-resources/13947939-placing-your-speakers-for-the-best-performance
    ..
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,636
    edited November 2019
    This was a FS post from Jesse. He knows these speakers well. Borrowed pictures
    screenshot from CP of the tags from speakers thhbmxqlvsr0.jpg
    04mmiy2l8y15.jpg
    ..
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,636
    edited November 2019
    This may confuse you - as it still does for me. There is 2 different Monitor 11 speakers. The speakers you have are Monitor 11's & then there is RTA11 which some also call Monitor 11's. So be aware or this. If not already stated above. I can not find the article I read years back. I will browse again later when I get home. Hope some of this helps
    ..
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,636
    edited November 2019
    Try pulling your MW woofers. They may be stamped on the label iirc. Worth a try. May be a good time to make sure you have all the "correct" woofers also.
    ..
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  • Tony M
    Tony M Posts: 11,151
    boston1450 wrote: »
    https://polksda.com/manuals.shtml

    Great Link!

    That's amazing that Model 11 had mirror pairs. 2 cross-overs in them. :o

    COOL! B)
    Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
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  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,459
    boston1450 wrote: »
    This may confuse you - as it still does for me. There is 2 different Monitor 11 speakers. The speakers you have are Monitor 11's & then there is RTA11 which some also call Monitor 11's. So be aware or this. If not already stated above. I can not find the article I read years back. I will browse again later when I get home. Hope some of this helps

    And apparently the RTA 11 is the one that has different low pass frequencies for each of the midbass units and the crossover has 4 inductors, 4 capacitors, and 2 resistors. Even Polk was confused about what to call them each and they mistakenly called at least one of the M11 schematics that are in the forum reference section RTA 11. They also mistakenly label a couple of PCB layout diagrams that are clearly RTA 11, as M11's. :#
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
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    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
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  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,459
    edited May 2020
    OK upon further investigation, Polk may have originally been uncertain what to call the RTA 11, having referred to it as M11 on some drawings but they probably settled on RTA 11. This is the one that was vintage 1982 and has the more complicated crossover and was based loosely upon the RTA 12, presumably attempting to correct the lobing issues with the M10 (?). These were in mirror imaged pairs. Then around 1990 they came out with the RTA 11T, which does not have a complicated crossover network and is the tall, deep, narrow design of cabinet, and since they had a vertically linear array of drivers there was no problem with lobing or need for mirror imaged pairs.
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,437
    IIRC the T after the 11 in RTA11t stood for tower. Then the tl as we all know stood for tri-laminate when the better tweeter came along.
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