New or old?

PFJ

Hi all, I'm looking at an old pair of monitor S4 speakers. Seem in top condition for their age. I can buy them for $150,or do I go new (Chinese probably) and get the discontinued RTi A3? I have heard these large standmounters and for the price of $549,I'm impressed.

xschop

Locate a set of Monitor 5's, dump the S4's.

dromunds

You should be able to get Peerless Monitor 4 for less than $150. They are real nice speakers. You can upgrade the old crossovers. Amazing sound comes from those little boxes.

PFJ

Thanks dromunds, sorry, I'm talking Australian dollars. These S4's are apparently from late '80s/ early '90s. They have banana plugs and no rear fuse that I can see. Peerless? Do you mean the tweeters? Badged as Polk Audio Monitor S4.

Emlyn

The S4 model like these?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ieakcyyuajs

If so, they'd compete with speakers at $350 and a bit above still. I'd shoot for paying $100 if they're in top condition. Personally, I'd look at the Signature ES20 as a longer term option at $399 a pair, but wait for a sale:

https://www.polkaudio.com/en-us/product/bookshelf-speakers/signature-elite-es20

PFJ

Yes,that looks like them,grills are magnetic apparently.

RTally

I have a pair of those S4 speakers. I got them for free and they are worth every penny I did not pay for them. I would not pay more than that for them. I use them as shop speakers for testing equipment.

I have slightly larger Polk Monitor 5 speakers that are a bazillion times better than the S4.

The S4 would perform best in a very small room. At low to mid volume levels they sound OK. At higher volume levels they get muddled and lose clarity (tested with both NAD and Pioneer amps). Their construction is not very good. The front bezel is plastic and has a tendency to crack (mine had to be epoxied to repair).

The S4 is the smallest of the S series. They were sold in the early '90s.

My grills have tabs on the left side and are held in place with a friction fit on the right side. To remove, lift on the right side and pivot out.

dromunds

Sorry, I inadvertently thought you said M4. Should read more carefully.

boston1450

Keep in mind the S series speakers were also prone to have shifted magnets also & finding replacements may be a issue. I had the bigger sized ones. Known for cracked plastic grills

K_M

RTally wrote: »

I have a pair of those S4 speakers. I got them for free and they are worth every penny I did not pay for them. I would not pay more than that for them. I use them as shop speakers for testing equipment.

I have slightly larger Polk Monitor 5 speakers that are a bazillion times better than the S4.

The S4 would perform best in a very small room. At low to mid volume levels they sound OK. At higher volume levels they get muddled and lose clarity (tested with both NAD and Pioneer amps). Their construction is not very good. The front bezel is plastic and has a tendency to crack (mine had to be epoxied to repair).

The S4 is the smallest of the S series. They were sold in the early '90s.

My grills have tabs on the left side and are held in place with a friction fit on the right side. To remove, lift on the right side and pivot out.

Having heard both, and pointing out the Monitor 5 is actually almost Twice as big in box volume, the Monitor 5 for sure has better deep bass, but the mids and highs if anything are fairly similar.

.6 cu ft for M4 and 1.18 cu ft for Monitor 5

A bazillion times better? Okay......lol

DaveHo

I'd say there are many vintage Polks of similar size which would better the s4. Given your location, maybe not as plentiful as here in the states?

dromunds

Or Peerless Monitor 4’s.

skrol

I have a pair of S8 and S4. The S8 actually sound pretty decent and I would compare them to my Monitor 5B with RD0194. They do not have the build quality though. The plastic facias are prone to crack. I got my S8s for free with a bad tweeter. I found the tweeter magnet in the bottom of the cabinet, snapped it in place and it was good to go. The S8 are not stand-out but are pleasant and non-fatiguing. I am not impress much with the S4. While the S6, S8 and S10 utilized PRs, the S4 is ported and it chuffs bad when pushed. That said, they do duty as surrounds in my HT where they are never pushed hard and do fine.

PFJ

Thanks for all your help everyone
I now think I'll go new, either the RTi A3 or Signiture S20. Thanks all.