Old is Gold

gprabu

Iam having Monitor 10A and it looks like it has better sound quality than the newer once. Am i biased or is it true?

hoosier21

You will see many who agree, Alot of monitor series owners and SDA series and RTS series owners here.

The new Polks are good also.

I-SIG

Old is indeed gold, but I'm not quite sure of the purity of this gold. I love my SDA 1C's, but upon recent listening of my new RT55i's, there seems to be a bit of clarity that these older speakers can't match. Obviously, the SDA's have many things going for them that would sway me in overall favor of the SDA's. (Any one listening?) In many cases, things aren't necessarily better, just different. YMMV

Wes

wangotango68

in my opinion my sda 2b sound just as good as my 2.3's did,just on a smaller scale,but it also helps to have a carver m4.0t powering them.

scott:cool:

rskarvan

Scott,

Let me know when you'll be in Indy for the F1 race and it might work out that we can hook up and let you listen to the 3.1's.
Then, you can take a look at that Sony Turntable too (if ya want).

I agree about the same... but, slightly smaller scale comment.
Thats exactly what I thought when comparing the 1.2's 2.3's and 3.1's when I purchased mine new.

Ron

wangotango68

ill be down on sunday just for the race my tickets are in turn one.
i just bought a mint pioneer pl-s30 tonight. man its nice to hear all my old albums that have been colecting dust for 8 years.
deep purple "perfect strangers" man that sounds good and
reo speedwagon ten years of rock and roll 1970-80 sounds good too.ill let you know closer to next sunday.

scott:cool:

rskarvan

Turn 1 is definitely the place to be.
Thats where I sat last year.

Your gonna see a lot of curvey stuff, brake lights, and loose rear ends. Good racing.
The speedway really gets an international flair to it for F1. Lots of Ferrari flags and stuff.
Lots of europeans fly in special for this too.
Its different.

I'm sure your Pioneer TT is probably much better than the Sony I have (which, I would have given you for, oh, about $20 or so).

joelll

Hello,

I own a pair of Monitor 12's, a model which was also called RTA12. I bought them for $200 from a used-stereo store that had very little space and wanted to get rid of these large speakers.

The 12's were the top-of-the-line Polks for a while, back in the 1980's, and the 10's were just one step down, though I'd guess they were much more affordable, because they seem to be more common.

The Monitor 12 design is a little different than the Monitor 10; the tweeters and crossovers are mounted on the top of the speaker cabinet, under a grille that sits on top like a hat.

I believe these were the designs that were adapted into the SDA series. Great speakers, though I can't turn them up too much due to living in an old three-apartment house with my landlords in one of the apartments.

I somehow manage to collect speakers; I have seven pairs of vintage speakers scattered around my apartment, including such brand names as EPI, JBL, Genesis (the first speaker company by that name, not the current Genesis Physics), and Advent, in addition to my Polks.


Enjoy!

Joel

I-SIG

Joel,

If George finds you with all those vintage speaks, you might have a crazy man on your hands!

Wes

George Grand

Speakers In Active Use

---

Carver Platinum Amazing's (He-Man Stereo rig)
Polk RTA11TL (HT fronts)
PolkRTA11t (HT rears)
Electro-Voice "Marquis" (garage rig)
KLH Model 6 (Tiffany's bedroom)
KLH Model 17 (Stephanie's bedroom)
ADC 303ax (office rig)
Polk Computer Spkrs (no model #, recording only rig)

Speakers Laying Around Not In Use

---

KLH Model 6
KLH Model 30
Polk RT 5
Dynaco A-25
Dynaco A-10
Lafayette Criterion 2ax
Radio Shack LX-4 (Linaeum Tweeter)
Radio Shack Minimus 7 (two pair)
Advent Model 3
Fisher XP-55B
HeathKit AS-41
Auratone 5C
Audiofile Cubes
Fuzzy Grey Wool Disco Jobs (8" two-way)

There are more, I know it. Joel, see anything you like?

George Grand (of the Jersey Grand's)

I knew it. These junkers attached to my computer. MLI sat's and woofer module. I never turn them on.

joelll

George,

Mmmmm.... Polk RTA11's...

I bow to your much more extensive collection.

All I can say is that Tiffany and Stephanie are being spoiled, and you must have much, much more storage space than me in my 3rd-floor walkup apartment...

Eventually, I will have a house. And then, I'll probably have an even more difficult time keeping random old audio gear from following me home.


joel

George Grand

Thanks Joel. When you get that house, you'll find it very easy to fill it up. When you get a couple daughters, you'll see how easy it is to spoil them. They're both REALLY nice girls.

What are your model numbers? EPI "TE" series I'll wager (either 70's, 100's or 120's). JBL L100's? Genesis 44's no doubt? (My buddy Harold had a pair of those. Then he stepped up to Polk CRS's. Then he heard my Platinum Amazing's and managed to find a pair of Silver's). Which Advents? Right now, I know a thrift shop that has ONE original Advent "Smaller" loudspeaker. $20. Woof surround is shot naturally. If there were two it would be worth buying and refoaming. What the hell could they have possibly done with the other? Kind of makes you wonder. Post more often, I love a real collector. Where are you from?

George GRand (of the Jersey Grand's)

gidrah

I am having 10Bs, and I LOVE them. I cannot honestly compare them to the newer Polks as I have no reason to. I would be interested in hearing the 12s or some of the SDAs. 10Bs + "this one goes to eleven". Spinal Tap. I would say decide for yourself. I have.

George: You have more than all the pawnshops around me combined. Now, about those RT5s, I wouldn't want you to trip over 'em.......!

joelll

Hrmmm...

I haven't thought about all these model numbers together for a while... let's see if I can catalog them all (all in pairs, unless otherwise noted):

Advent: "Large Advent" (11" woofer, orange tweeter)

EPI (Epicure): A70, 105, 120C

Genesis Physics Corp: Model I, Model 10

JBL: 2800

Polk: Monitor 12, CS400 (center channel)


I live on the top floor of a three-story apartment house in Somerville, MA, and none of the rooms here are very large -- most modern sofas wouldn't fit up the stairs and through the door.

My living room has the Monitor 12's and the EPI 105's hooked up to an old Sansui Eight receiver that I inherited. CD player is a Marantz CC65SE, turntable is a old Technics that I've had for 22 years (though with new Audio Technica cartridge). Great sound, even if i can't turn it up as much as I'd like.

My home theater has the Polk CS400 in the center, EPI 120C's in the front, and the EPI A70's in the rear, driven by a Sony STRDB945 receiver (I really should buy a decent replacment for it, it's on loan from a friend and isn't that good to start with). TV is a 32" Sony, VCR is a Philips cheapie, DVD is an Apex cheapie.

My study has the Advents and the Genesis I's connected to an old Sansui 4000 receiver. This system has great sound at bargain prices: the Genesis speakers cost $15, the Advents $40, the receiver $30. CD player is a Sony CA9ES, bought used. I sometimes run this system as multimedia speakers for my computer.

My bedroom has the Genesis 10's, a NAD 3020 integrated amp, and a trusty old Denon 1520 CD player.

The JBL's aren't in use right now, they're the least favorite of all the speakers I have.

I'd love to own some of the larger classic speakers, but there's not all that much space in my apartment. Someday I'd like JBL L100's, Genesis 66's, Polk SDA-SRS... I've never had the chance to listen to Carver's speakers, but I'm sure the Platinum Amazings sound as good as their name.

joel

CHRIS

I like the sound of the older Monitors better. I have the Monitor Seies 2. The 2s Monitor 12s have the tweeter inside and 4-6¾" mids and a 12" bass radiator, along with others. To date I have the following-
3 pair M12s(eBay replacing stolen pairs)
looking fo M10s
2 pair M7s(1 pair new '91 2nd ebay)
1pair M5s(new in '91)
2 pair M5jr+s(new in '91)
1 pair M4.6s(new in '91)
1 M4(it was the center for a system bought in '91 when there were no dedicated centers)
Power comes from Adcom-
7-GFA-555s(4 bought new in '91 3 at eBay)
4-GFA-565s mono blocks(bought new in '91)
2-GFA-545s(new in '91)
Sub-bass is handled by two Velodyne ULD 18s one bought new in '91 andone from eBay. The 12s are great at reproducing every part of the the bandwidth with authority, clarity, good low end, and no colorization. The can really pump out the sound when hooked to the monos and pushed hard and still sound great.
Chris