I would like some info about the polk speakers shown below.

On is the front and the other is the back.

ng4epkigj9ev.jpg

Comments

  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited January 2022
    Monitor Series Model 9A. Like the Monitor Series Model Nine but with real tweeters and crossovers :)

    The original Model Nine used the hyper-cheap Motorola piezoelectric tweeter with absolutely no added crossover. In theory, the piezo tweeters don't need a crossover (they are capacitors & thus form their own first order 'crossover' high-pass filter) -- but in practice piezos' natural XO frequency is too low, and they're nasty and spitty sounding near the lower end of their frequency range.

    In my opinion the Model 9A is not bad at all (others here don't seem to agree)-- and I quite like those little CTS 4 inch "fullrange" (extended range drivers) -- essentially the same drivers used in very early versions of the Bose 901.

    What do you want to know about them?

    Here's some info on the original morph (i.e., the Nine).

    https://polksda.com/pdfs/ModelNineManual.pdf

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  • How come the tweeter is different? Could it be that they changed it? Oh and thank you for replying and the info as well..
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited January 2022
    The Nine used the Motorola piezo.

    5qicp2dv7bpz.png
    7ioky45k77lm.png

    The 9A used a soft dome tweeter (maybe the same Peerless used in the early versions of, at least, the Monitor 4, 5, 7, 10, and 12, or maybe made by Audax or other manufacturer) and a proper crossover.

    The 9A is, IMO, the better of the two, by a good margin.
    The tweeter visible on the front of the 9A in your photo is the original. The escutcheon of the tweeter is hidden/covered by a high-density foam (?) pad. That, too, was "factory standard" for the 9A.

  • OK.. so 9a's do you know what year those were made?
  • breeze76
    breeze76 Posts: 8
    edited January 2022
    I know I am asking a lot, are they worth getting? Are these speakers worth anything?? have a chance to pick them and do not want to over pay for them.
  • Also, they do not show up on the polk list of speakers:

    https://polksda.com/list.shtml
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,137
    edited January 2022
    breeze76 wrote: »
    OK.. so 9a's do you know what year those were made?

    Had to be sometime around Oct 1975.

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    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Crown D150 amp
    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
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    edited January 2022
    breeze76 wrote: »
    I know I am asking a lot, are they worth getting? Are these speakers worth anything?? have a chance to pick them and do not want to over pay for them.

    How much is the seller asking for them and what condition are the cabinet sides/tops in?
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited January 2022
    @F1nut & I are not totally in alignment on these -- although, absent nostalgia/Polk fanboy motivations (mine, that is), objectively, we're harmonious :) Hold out for a pair of Monitor 7A or 10/10A if'n you want a fine-sounding pair of vintage Polk "Monitors". :) Tonally, I like the 9A just fine -- but they have a different "presentation" than the 7 or 10 (or 5, for that matter) that is less aligned to typical modern tastes, I'd say.

    edit: They are (IIRC) a bit more sensitive than the 7, which might be handy if one were amplifier-constrained, or if one were disposed towards using low-power/flea-power amplification -- e.g., an old vacuum tube console hifi amp... as some otherwise normal folks are wont to do. B)

    In terms of value: 100 bucks the pair if they're in very good cosmetic & working condition wouldn't seem unreasonable from my perspective, FWIW. Less would be even better. ;)

    But, again, by all means -- manage your expectations.

  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,137
    Those are going to be made in Denmark Peerless from that vintage. Those are unholey ones (lol) from before Polk was doing the Aperture Tuning mod on them (or having Peerless do it for them?). I'd say those are worth $50 a piece easily if they are fully functional and not damaged, not that I am suggesting you part the speakers out if you buy them.
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Crown D150 amp
    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
  • mhardy6647 wrote: »
    @F1nut & I are not totally in alignment on these -- although, absent nostalgia/Polk fanboy motivations (mine, that is), objectively, we're harmonious :) Hold out for a pair of Monitor 7A or 10/10A if'n you want a fine-sounding pair of vintage Polk "Monitors". :) Tonally, I like the 9A just fine -- but they have a different "presentation" than the 7 or 10 (or 5, for that matter) that is less aligned to typical modern tastes, I'd say.

    edit: They are (IIRC) a bit more sensitive than the 7, which might be handy if one were amplifier-constrained, or if one were disposed towards using low-power/flea-power amplification -- e.g., an old vacuum tube console hifi amp... as some otherwise normal folks are wont to do. B)

    In terms of value: 100 bucks the pair if they're in very good cosmetic & working condition wouldn't seem unreasonable from my perspective, FWIW. Less would be even better. ;)

    But, again, by all means -- manage your expectations.

    I saw these close by and was interested in some info on them since I could not fine them.

    I am using a pair of Monitor 10A's myself and love them.. It is just I have not seen those before and info was hard to come by and figured this was the place to ask..

    Yes, he is selling them for $100, but not going to get them since I do not have any room for them. Since the other Polk's I have in my room, not hooked up, a pair of SRS 2.3 TL monsters sitting here..:)

  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,077
    I'd pick them up for cool/nostalgia factor.....they are pretty rare....but that's really about where the attraction ends....
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    breeze76 wrote: »
    [...

    Yes, he is selling them for $100, but not going to get them since I do not have any room for them. Since the other Polk's I have in my room, not hooked up, a pair of SRS 2.3 TL monsters sitting here..:)

    Well... I mean... umm... the 9A does have a very demure footprint.
    ;)