Odd-looking RTA12s

polksda

Check these out. Third time they're being listed. There not in the greatest shape, hence probably why they're not selling. I've seen all sorts of RTA12s and I own a pair of 12Cs, but this is the first set I've seen on stands. Mine have an extension of the cabinet below the bottom of the grill.

Is that config legit? What iteration of 12s are they??

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5756130521

Loud & Clear

"YOU WATCHERS MAY AS WELL GO AHEAD AND BID ON THESE IF YOU HAVE NECER OWNES WHAT IS CONCIDERED HIGH END AUDIO EQIPMENT THIS IS YOU CHANCE THEY WILL TAKE YOU AWAY .!!!THE CROSSOVERS ALONE ON THES SPEAKERS... "


It really can't help to sell something when you put out an ad like that.

Peerless tweets mounted vertically without the diffraction shield. Interesting; as is the lack of a base but instead with stands.

The speakers probably sound great, but if you write up an ad like that, you're going to lose a lot of prospective buyers after they read the first sentence or two.

danger boy

i think this is the second or third time he's tried to sell them. no buyers I guess. I wonder why?

you're right. those don't look like any speakers i've ever seen.

Tour2ma

Third listing (now ended)... each one dropping the prices. Seller was asking too much the first two times. Had they been closer, I'd have loved to take a look at them and see if the bases were modified or if this is a very early model...

I've seen the 12's with vertical tweeters before, in the B and C series.

Only the crease in the tweeter dome is of any concern. Wrinkles in the "hat" are just due to the frame popping out of alignment... just pops back in. The PR bubbling is no biggie either...

Polk65

My RTA12's have the vertical black Peerless tweeter and same cabinet veneer. The 6.5" drivers and PR have the old style circular grey paper surrounds supporting the bond between the rubber surround and the metal casing of the speakers. I bought these used without any stands. The base of the cabinets are smooth so nothing was ripped off.

Here is another example with the Polk tweeter and taller stands. http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3612
Notice the left cabinet has the older grey surround mw6500's. The mw6500's on the right cabinet have been replaced with newer drivers.

I spoke with Ken a few weeks ago and he told me those with the black Peerless tweeters are RTA12's (before the 12a, 12b, 12c). My crossover circuit boards have this in white paint "RTA 12 Filter System".

Instead of a diffraction shield, the tweeter has a small ramp centered underneath it at roughly a 5 degree upward tilt up from the cabinet.

Tour2ma

Interesting... cause my RTA12's (with horizontal Peerless) are on a built in skirt ala the Mon 12's, old SDA 1's and 2's, etc...

Probably all attributable to the "seemless" line changes of Polk's yesteryear....

EDIT: another thought... Maybe the original RTA 12's were based on the short-lived Polk sub and when it died they moved to the skirted cabinets that were coming in at the time...

EDIT 2: Found old thread discussing the LF 14 sub, and in it Russman pointed out that the LF14 + tweeter = RTA 12...

ashuanipix

These speakers appear to be identical to the Model 12 R.T.A Reference Monitors that I have owned since 1980. The instruction manual does not assigned them a letter as Polk may not have known they were going to produce a B and a C version. If I had a scanner, I would post the cover of the instruction manual which shows a speaker on a stand very similar to the one in the photo but appears to be somewhat taller. The manual refers to the stands as "Polkstands III" (that I don't have) and the Polk manual also states "for the best performance we recommend the use of special speaker cables particularly those of the low-inductance transmission line type such as Polk Audio SoundCables."

I have used those speakers(hooked up to a NAD 370 during the last 4 years) on an amost daily basis for the past 24 1\2 years for music (mostly classical) and for television sound. I am satisfied with the sound and have not actively searched for replacements except for one exception when, about four years ago, I decided to audition some B&Ws costing over 3 grand. I found those a bit harsh or perhaps too revealing, but I was using an acoustic "audiophile" recording that I find very well recorded. Sometimes, I think one gets so used to a particular sound that we tend to not like a change from it. Perhaps that is why some people maintain that a break in period is required for equipment. Maybe the breaking is happening in the way the brain processes the sound and needs some time to get use to it.

My speakers are in mint condition, probably because I have kept all the original packing material .

Toxis

I just emailed the guy telling him he needs to revise his listing so you can understand what the hell he's trying to say. $135 isn't a bad price though...

Tour2ma

Original packing does help preserve 'em... You probably have the 12A... of course, as you say, they did not know it was an "A" at the time. Brochure I have refers to the RTA 12B which also looks to be identical.

There a parallel thread on the RTA 12 going on now in the Flea Market...

Polk65

My RTA12's have the metal guide pins on top for the 'hat'. The 'hat' sides are clear acrylic panels joined with screws. The base 'hat' panel is dark mdf and covering is black grille cloth with staples. There is no way to bend these out of shape, are these an original Polk part?

Paid a Franklin for mine three months ago, sound is terrific and I plan to keep these a long time. Some slight peeling of the rosewood vinyl and minor scratches from being dragged here and there over the years.

Though the Monitor 10 is much more popular, I am kind of surprised to see RTA12's selling cheaper than Monitor 10's on EB these past few months. Perhaps someone has some knowledge to share with us about the design of the RTA12 crossover? It has a boatload more components than the Monitor 10.

ashuanipix: My speakers are in mint condition, probably because I have kept all the original packing material

kudos ashuanipix!

nadams

The reason the crossover has so many more components is that the RTA 12 is a more advanced speaker. In order to truely time-align the drivers, you have to have some electronic trickery to get everything right (from my understanding). It cannot alone be done by just moving the tweeter back. But again, that's just the way I understand it...

Besides, if you were going to mount a crossover on top of a cab, wouldn't you want it to look cool?

BottomFeeder

Have had the Monitor 10's and now have the RTA12C's and like the 12's MUCH better!