Are my Monitor 10s obselete?

Flash21

I have a pair of Polk Monitor 10s I purchased in 1985. I have lived with them quite happily for years (obviously), but over the last year I have been upgrading my audio system, and have settled on the following:

Amp: Rotel RB-990BX
Preamp: Rotel RC-995
CD: Denon DCD-1650AR
Interconnects: Monster M1000
Speaker Cables: Analysis Plus Oval 9

So my questions are these

1. have I reached a point where the Monitor 10s are the weakest link? I am not sure about this, as the 10s have certainly been able to resolve the subtle differences in, say, speaker cables, and have shown to have a full range of the new bass capabilities the electronics and cables have unleashed.

2. How do the 10s compare with modern Polks or other speakers? They were $600 speakers in 1985.

If anybody has input on this question, I would appreciate it. I am very happy with the improved sound I have achieved, I just don't want to be "held back" by 17 year old speakers, if substantial further improvement is available for a reasonable price.

Steve

nascarmann

There are plenty of better speakers out there. But, you will need to spend 800-1000 to come close if you buy new. This is MO? The 10B's are great for music if you put a good 200 wpc amp with them. But they are also very good with just 70 wpc! I have 2 pair and probably will never sell them. One pair is just collecting dust, but can't bring myself to selling them.

mantis

I would check out the LSI line....my money is on the mating of the Lsi and Rotel.Very good sounding amps, I like Rotel All Day.

Flash21

Nascarmann and Mantis, thanks for your reply.

I realize that the obvious answer to my question is "go listen", but that is easier said than done. Listening in a showroom on a different system is tough to get more than a general idea of a speakers capability in YOUR home and with YOUR system. I was hoping to, by some stroke of luck, find somebody who has had both Monitor 10s and experience with newer speakers, and it sounds like nascarmann has done that.

My question arose from a time recently when I sat in a showroom while at an audio dealer on another matter, and listened to some speakers. I was not familiar with and don't recall the name. They were nice, though not significantly better than my 10s. I asked him how much and he said $5,700!!! Definitely not worth that kind of money.

So it was interesting to see your estimate of $800-1,000 to equal the 10s; that sounds like a reasonable estimate to me. I had been thinking $1,500 - 2,000 would be needed to significantly improve upon them, and wouldn't really be interested in spending more than that anyway.

If by MO you mean music only, then yes that is their primary function. I do run the TV through the system when renting a movie, but am not into home theater per se.

I didn't set out to get 200wpc, but simply found the sound to be fuller and more dynamic. I had been running 100wpc for many years, and that was plenty of course.

Anyway forgive the long rambling post, and I do welcome any more input you may have.

jrausch

I think compared to the 10's, the Lsi's will be much more detailed and smooth out the high end to where your not disturbed as much. The mid range will also be tighter and more detailed. If your looking for the kick in the pants bass you get with the 10's, you may have to look at the powered sub version. You will have to spend more than $600 to upgrade yourself. IMHO Keep your 10's. If it works, don't fix it. I still have my original SDA CRS+'s from 86'. They still get used everyday.

dan t

g.

Flash21

Hmm, interesting idea, Dan. According to parts chart, my M10Bs have SL-2000 tweeters. I have a friend who has M10As, and we have noticed the tweeters on the 10Bs are brighter than the 10As SL-1000 tweeters (maybe too bright). We have even tossed around the idea of switching mine to the SL-1000s.

So does anybody have firsthand knowledge (or secondhand, for that matter) about the differences between the SL-1000, SL-2000, and SL-2500 tweeters?

nascarmann

Stay with the 2000's. They are a better tweeter than the 1000's and 2500's.

gidrah

I love the SL2000! I wouldn't change anything. But then again I haven't heard the SL1000 or SL25000. I compare them to a hawk peacefully soaring high above, yet with talons sharp as needles ready to strike when need be. I have heard of people changing and not being happy with the results. Then again it's subjective and with too many variables.

If you haven't yet, get stands and good thick cables. It helps to tighten the bass and imaging. If you hook up a sub, consider the passive radiator and run your sub directly from your receiver. That radiator acts as part of the enclosure and it's very hard to block frequencies that are generated by cabinet design.

Flash21

Thanks, guys. nascarmann, would you be willing to elaborate on your statement? I would be interested to hear why you say the 2000s are better than the 1000s or 2500s.

Mark, I have the original Polk stands intended for Monitor 10s. And for cables, I am using Analysis Plus Oval 9s. Can't get much heavier than 9 gauge!

I can't imagine why a subwoofer would be needed with the Monitor 10s, I can rattle the house with the bass. Try the DVD of U-571, the sound of the depth charges is amazing.

nascarmann

I don't know if I can give a good answer? My brother has a pair of the M10B's with the 1000's in them and a pair M12 Series 2 (I sold him) with the 2500's in them and they just don't seem as smooth and detailed as the 2000's in my 1C's or 10B's. Or it could be all my speakers have the 2000's and I just want them to sound better? It could be all in my mind?

Flash21

Thanks nascarmann. It's good to understand the context of opinions.

And yes, there is something to be said for familiarity, perhaps the ear does gravitate toward what is familiar. Still, it's good to know you have heard all three tweeters. I have heard the 1000s and the 2000s but not the 2500s. (Hmmm, just remembered my buddy had a set of Monitor 12s for a while, wonder what tweeters they had. After comparing he decided to keep his 10As instead.)

dan t

That's what I thought, then I added a Velodyne SPL-1200 subwoofer to the Monitor 10's S2 and what a difference. The Velodyne made a HUGE difference for the better. Whether it's for music or DVD movies, buy a decent sub to compliment the M10's. You'll be glad you did.


Dan

Grafikguy

For reasons of room management, last year I purchased the RTi1000p's to replace my Monitor 10B set. If you're looking for a more detailed high and a bit tighter bottom end, the powered RTi's are a better set of speakers. However, as for being obsolete, the Monitor still stands tall as a super set for listening to your music. In fact, I recently pulled them out of storage after finishing my basement off and set them up and was still very impressed with the detailed imagery and punchy bass the 10B's deliver. Like a lot of others are saying, my belief is you're not going to significantly improve on them unless you're willing to shell well over a grand on another set.

nascarmann

and a bit tighter bottom end

Grafikguy.... welcome to the forum.....I was wondering what kind of amp you were using with the 10B's to compare the bottom end of the 1000's vs the 10's? Don't remember for sure....but the 1000p's had about a 50wpc amp for the woofer? Just wondering what you were using to compare.....

Once again..welcome:)