Which Monitor speaker is this?

izimbra
izimbra Posts: 3
edited May 2022 in Vintage Speakers
Hey there - picked up a beautiful pair for $30 in an auction yesterday. From the photos of the front grills I thought they looked like monitor 4 series 2's, but now that I can see the back I realize they don't have a number attached - just "monitor" which makes for a difficult google search!

They sound beautiful - incredible imaging for jazz and acoustic recordings, and surprising range, really eager to learn everything I can about them!

And as luck would have it, serials are consecutive: MR 37283 & MR 37284

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Post edited by izimbra on
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Answers

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,537
    Those are not the original Monitor 4. They are the series 2 version circa 1990 or so.
    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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  • izimbra
    izimbra Posts: 3
    Thank you - I was editting the post and didnt' realize you'd already answered. How do the series 2 compare to the original?
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  • izimbra
    izimbra Posts: 3
    Also, I'm a little confused, I found this photo of the Series 2 on ebay, and it is very clearly marked as Series 2 - did they label them differently across different years?

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  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,459
    edited May 2022
    I saw a post by skrol a while back were he identified them as just Monitor. Came out early 90s same time as the S Series

    https://us.v-cdn.net/5021930/uploads/editor/9y/7dohbpe2ybkn.pdf
    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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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,537
    I've not heard either model, so I can't say how they compare. Generally speaking, the original vintage models were better than the later models.

    Vintage Polk labels are iffy.
    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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  • skrol
    skrol Posts: 3,375
    Yep, "Monitors" from the early 90's
    Stan

    Main 2ch:
    Polk LSi15 (DB840 upgrade), Parasound: P/LD-1100, HCA-1000A; Denon: DVD-2910, DRM-800A; Benchmark DAC1, Monster HTS3600-MKII, Grado SR-225i; Technics SL-J2, Parasound PPH-100.

    HT:
    Marantz SR7010, Polk: RTA11TL (RDO198-1, XO and Damping Upgrades), S4, CS250, PSW110 , Marantz UD5005, Pioneer PL-530, Panasonic TC-P42S60

    Other stuff:
    Denon: DRA-835R, AVR-888, DCD-660, DRM-700A, DRR-780; Polk: S8, Monitor 5A, 5B, TSi100, RM7, PSW10 (DXi104 upgrade); Pioneer: CT-6R; Onkyo CP-1046F; Ortofon OM5E, Marantz: PM5004, CD5004, CDR-615; Parasound C/PT-600, HCA-800ii, Sony CDP-650ESD, Technics SA 5070, B&W DM601
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