Good lordy! Them Monitor 5's sound perty decent

Refefer
Refefer Posts: 1,280
edited February 2007 in Vintage Speakers
Just snagged a pair from our venerable Brettw22, and I gotta say, these things are pretty dang good!

Right now I have them hooked up to a pretty crappy integrated (Technics SA-EX100), but I gotta say they have earned moving up the chain a little bit! I was especially surprised by the amount of bass these bookshelves put out, reminded me a bit of the lsi 9's in that respect, but they seem to dig a LOT deeper, 10 hz or so. I ran a sine sweep through them and was feeling subsonics at around 30 hz of all things, something completely unexpected.

They also image quite well, and sound good at low-low volume levels. Perfect addition to my computer.

Here's a pic of them setup in my computer rig.
Lovin that music year after year.

Main 2 Channel System

Polk SDA-1B,
Promitheus Audio TVC SE,
Rotel RB-980BX,
OPPO DV-970HD,
Lite Audio DAC AH,
IXOS XHA305 Interconnects

Computer Rig

Polk SDA CRS+,
Creek Audio 5350 SE,
Morrow Audio MA1 Interconnect,
HRT Music Streamer II
Post edited by Refefer on
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • Deadof_knight
    Deadof_knight Posts: 980
    edited February 2007
    Now thats a pair of computer speakers!
    :cool: " He who dies with the most equipment wins Right ? "

    Denon 3300 Adcom 535 BBe w/sub out 1 pr 4.6s 2 pr of 4 jrs Recent additions Samsung Lns-4095D LCD, Samsung hd-960 DVD, Monster HT-5000 Power center    ,HPSA-1000 18" sealed DiY home sub.:D
    Black Laquer 1.2tl's w/ upgraded x-overs and Tweets BI-Amped with 2 Carver tfm-35's Knukonceptz 10ga cables
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,203
    edited February 2007
    Back in 1985 the Monitor 5b’s were my first Polk speaker. I bought them slightly used and kept them for about a year or so because I had my sights set on the then brand new Rta-11T. I ended up selling the 5b’s to a friend and really have wanted a pair again ever since.

    Fast forward. My current computer/office rig consists of a Luxman R-113 receiver, AMC DAC-8 digital to analog converter and a pair of Athena AS-B1 bookies. I play FLAC files and my soundcard transmits a digital stream out directly into the Dac via a glass Toslink. I am growing very dissatisfied with the Athena’s now that I have Lsi’s for the main system.

    Within the next couple of weeks I will be getting a pair of 5b’s to replace the Athena’s and I am really looking forward to having them again. In time I will upgrade the x-overs and get the new RDO’s if it’s necessary.
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • dkg999
    dkg999 Posts: 5,647
    edited February 2007
    Run the 5b's with a good tube pre and a decent amp and they will scare you :)
    DKG999
    HT System: LSi9, LSiCx2, LSiFX, LSi7, SVS 20-39 PC+, B&K 507.s2 AVR, B&K Ref 125.2, Tripplite LCR-2400, Cambridge 650BD, Signal Cable PC/SC, BJC IC, Samsung 55" LED

    Music System: Magnepan 1.6QR, SVS SB12+, ARC pre, Parasound HCA1500 vertically bi-amped, Jolida CDP, Pro-Ject RM5.1SE TT, Pro-Ject TubeBox SE phono pre, SBT, PS Audio DLIII DAC
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,203
    edited February 2007
    dkg999 wrote:
    Run the 5b's with a good tube pre and a decent amp and they will scare you :)

    Now you tell me.......I see you took the 5b's out of your sig. in anticipation of letting them go to me. This maybe the ticket for me getting my feet wet in tubes..............eventually. A simple, inexpensive, low wattage tube integrated sounds sweet!
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • dkg999
    dkg999 Posts: 5,647
    edited February 2007
    I'll bring the Audcom tube pre when we get together. It even seemed to tame the SL2000's significantly. After hearing the 5b's on tubes, they were hard to give up :( I'm just overstocked on speakers and I want to keep my 10b's with the RDO tweeters. Doug.
    DKG999
    HT System: LSi9, LSiCx2, LSiFX, LSi7, SVS 20-39 PC+, B&K 507.s2 AVR, B&K Ref 125.2, Tripplite LCR-2400, Cambridge 650BD, Signal Cable PC/SC, BJC IC, Samsung 55" LED

    Music System: Magnepan 1.6QR, SVS SB12+, ARC pre, Parasound HCA1500 vertically bi-amped, Jolida CDP, Pro-Ject RM5.1SE TT, Pro-Ject TubeBox SE phono pre, SBT, PS Audio DLIII DAC
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Refefer
    Refefer Posts: 1,280
    edited February 2007
    I've been enjoying them, there's no doubt about that. I hooked it them up to my main system, and yes, they definitely sound much better with better components.

    I was very surprised at how nice their soundstage was, wasn't expecting them to do height very well, but once on decent stands they do quite well.

    I might take in the tube pre + SS amp idea, and hook these things up through a dac instead of a line out.

    Oh, H9, if you look at my original WTB thread, dorokusai was offer to sell me pair of mint B's with tweeter upgrades for a really good price. Shoot him a PM, and maybe you guys can work something out.

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49217
    Lovin that music year after year.

    Main 2 Channel System

    Polk SDA-1B,
    Promitheus Audio TVC SE,
    Rotel RB-980BX,
    OPPO DV-970HD,
    Lite Audio DAC AH,
    IXOS XHA305 Interconnects

    Computer Rig

    Polk SDA CRS+,
    Creek Audio 5350 SE,
    Morrow Audio MA1 Interconnect,
    HRT Music Streamer II
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited February 2007
    I had a pair of Monitor 5jrs in 1992, those suckers were hooked up to a 215 watt Soundcraftsment amp. They sounded great, and would play at rediculously high levels with no distortion. Great speaker.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Polk65
    Polk65 Posts: 1,405
    edited February 2007
    They can get pretty loud for their size with a decent amp. Kudos to Brett for keeping them in the family. I have a pair also and they aren't moving anytime soon.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,203
    edited February 2007
    Refefer wrote:
    Oh, H9, if you look at my original WTB thread, dorokusai was offer to sell me pair of mint B's with tweeter upgrades for a really good price. Shoot him a PM, and maybe you guys can work something out.

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49217

    Thanks, but I'm stealing these from DKG999 :D:p . Plus I look forward to doing the upgrades on the x-over, etc. If I wasn't getting these so reasonbly the upgrades wouldn't make much sense. Generally my computer /office rig is what I call my budget system and part of the fun is getting pieces on the cheap that sound great. If this was my main system the process would be a bit different.
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,960
    edited February 2007
    Now you need a pair of 7's.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter