Polk 12's - MINT Condition. I love garage sale season. See pics

benzlo
benzlo Posts: 28
edited July 2008 in Speakers
Newbie here with lots of Polk speakers.

I just picked up what I think is my favorite pair. A vintage set of Polk 12's in mint condition. Found them at a garage sale for $50. I hooked them up to my Yamah B-2 amp and the sound is extremely dynamic. They produce a beautiful full range well defined response.

They have a very unique look with the oversized crossover mounted on top of the cabinet behind the exposed tweeter. Check out the pics.

I also have a set of RTA-11TL monitors. So far the 12's sound better to me but I haven't driven them with the same amp yet.

This is the first pair of 12's I have ever seen. You guys have probably seen more but I thought you might like the pics.

Let me know what you think. Anyone know what year these were made? What they retailed for?
Post edited by benzlo on
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Comments

  • McLoki
    McLoki Posts: 5,231
    edited July 2008
    Hard to tell in the picture, but looks like it may be a peerless tweeter. (1st generation) Very sought after and a steal at what you paid. Congrats.

    I bet they sound great and they certainly look fantastic.

    Welcome to Club Polk

    Michael
    Mains.............Polk LSi15 (Cherry)
    Center............Polk LSiC (Crossover upgraded)
    Surrounds.......Polk LSi7 (Gloss Black - wood sides removed and crossovers upgraded)
    Subwoofers.....SVS 25-31 CS+ and PC+ (both 20hz tune)
    Pre\Pro...........NAD T163 (Modded with LM4562 opamps)
    Amplifier.........Cinepro 3k6 (6-channel, 500wpc@4ohms)
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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited July 2008
    shame on you for stealing them for $50 ;)

    nice snag... those are nice.. and quickly becoming a favorite of a lot of people around here.

    welcome to da club
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited July 2008
    Great find!

    The woofer surrounds will clean up nicely with some windex.

    Mike, I agree, they do appear to be Peerless tweeters.
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • benzlo
    benzlo Posts: 28
    edited July 2008
    Hi Michael.

    I think you are right - they are first generation. I've seen pics of others that have added deflectors around the tweeter. I believe those models are more recent.
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  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited July 2008
    First Welcome to Club Polk!
    Great find!
    Change some of the caps, and resistors, and you have a great set of speakers.
    Ben
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
    Ben
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  • McLoki
    McLoki Posts: 5,231
    edited July 2008
    ben62670 wrote: »
    First Welcome to Club Polk!
    Great find!
    Change some of the caps, and resistors, and you have a great set of speakers.
    Ben

    Let him at least get his listen on a little before he starts upgrading... :p;)
    Mains.............Polk LSi15 (Cherry)
    Center............Polk LSiC (Crossover upgraded)
    Surrounds.......Polk LSi7 (Gloss Black - wood sides removed and crossovers upgraded)
    Subwoofers.....SVS 25-31 CS+ and PC+ (both 20hz tune)
    Pre\Pro...........NAD T163 (Modded with LM4562 opamps)
    Amplifier.........Cinepro 3k6 (6-channel, 500wpc@4ohms)
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  • schwarcw
    schwarcw Posts: 7,341
    edited July 2008
    Welcome to Club Polk!

    Congrats on your nice find!:D Those are very nice sounding speakers and you should get a lot of enjoyment from them. Thanks for posting and letting us know of your good fortune.
    Carl

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  • jon s
    jon s Posts: 905
    edited July 2008
    These look like the RTA-12As... the cabinets are shorter than the later modules so they required the stand to get them back up to ear level...
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  • benzlo
    benzlo Posts: 28
    edited July 2008
    What should I upgrade first - the 12's or my RTA 11TL's?

    I haven't given them equal amplification yet but so far I like the sound of the 12's better. There is a unique characteristic to the sound produced by these speakers. They really breathe life into the music. IMHO they are not a flat response speaker. They are a speaker with a beautiful and subtly colored response that breathes new life into my music. This makes them extremely enjoyable to listen to. The sound seems to be lively and unrestrained as it leaves the speakers - it really jumps out at you.

    The speaker takes advantage of the open top. There is a lot of sound from the tweeter projecting straight upward. I debated building some custom glass tops to showcase the tweeters until I heard the change in sound.

    I'm impressed with them so far.
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  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited July 2008
    Which do you use/like more?
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
    Ben
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