New (to me) Polk Monitor 11's

xoaphexox
xoaphexox Posts: 246
edited August 2009 in Vintage Speakers
Picked up a pair tonight from craigslist. These guys are heavy! They are a bit taller than I remember my monitor 10's being. The serials are 1588 and 1589 with an "11" to the left.

They have a raised edge around the bottoms and an indented area that the grilles kind of rest on while they are on the speaker.

They are labeled LEFT and RIGHT on the back and have a fuse holder above the speaker posts.

I cannot find information about these speakers other than one thread on this forum and the obligatory polksda page which just lists specs (and oddly the pictures on this page dont look 100% like these speakers).

What are your opinions of these speakers? Are they worth recapping and keeping? What kind of tweeter does this use?

These are 100% functional but the cabinets have seen better days. I would give them a 6/10. Plastic vinyl veneer. Any suggestions on sprucing them up would also be appreciated...

I will clean them up and snap some pics tomorrow when the sun is out.

Thanks so much!
Rob

(edit) they look like this http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/Evilone318/polk.jpg

Burson HA-160D > Adcom GFA-5802 > Polk SDA-SRS 1.2tl w/ Mye Sound Spikes, Mills/Sonicap XO, Larry's Rings, Dynamat Extreme, Cardas CCGR Binding Posts and Jumpers, Custom 10ga interconnect, Custom Gaskets, RDO-198
Post edited by xoaphexox on
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Comments

  • kcoc321
    kcoc321 Posts: 1,788
    edited August 2009
    What kind of tweeter does this use?

    well I have not heard those personally, but I can tell you from the pic that those are Peerless tweeters, american version (dimple in dome) so you done good there. They are considered the best of the vintage tweeters, from what ppl say.
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  • AudioGenics
    AudioGenics Posts: 2,567
    edited August 2009
    very nice purchase !
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,985
    edited August 2009
    it's an LF-14 with a tweeter! ;-)

    The 11s aren't too common (even in the Baltimore area, as I recall). Cool find.
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  • xoaphexox
    xoaphexox Posts: 246
    edited August 2009
    Interesting, I had never seen nor heard of the LF-14 either. Do you still have those Polk 3's you picked up? They were pretty rare birds too so I've read!

    Burson HA-160D > Adcom GFA-5802 > Polk SDA-SRS 1.2tl w/ Mye Sound Spikes, Mills/Sonicap XO, Larry's Rings, Dynamat Extreme, Cardas CCGR Binding Posts and Jumpers, Custom 10ga interconnect, Custom Gaskets, RDO-198
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,985
    edited August 2009
    I have an LF-14 in lovely :-P rosewood vinyl... guess I should drag it out and photograph it sometime...

    no 3s here; never heard of 'em, actually.
    I do still have the 9As I got from you, though :-)
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  • xoaphexox
    xoaphexox Posts: 246
    edited August 2009
    Ahh, 9a. I knew it was some sort of single digit number :)

    Yes - the rosewood vinyl is an issue. I wish I had some woodworking skills - these monitor 11's would probably look great with some wood veneer but I have no skills with which to do that.

    That's why I asked if these speakers were worthwhile to restore and keep or if I should just get what I have in them ($80) and move along...

    I am about to bring them in from the garage and start the cleaning process. It amazes me how infrequently people run a damp cloth over things they are about to sell on eBay and craigslist. A little bit of elbow grease can really go a long way!!

    Burson HA-160D > Adcom GFA-5802 > Polk SDA-SRS 1.2tl w/ Mye Sound Spikes, Mills/Sonicap XO, Larry's Rings, Dynamat Extreme, Cardas CCGR Binding Posts and Jumpers, Custom 10ga interconnect, Custom Gaskets, RDO-198
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  • xoaphexox
    xoaphexox Posts: 246
    edited August 2009
    Here they are, wiped down with some ammonia-free glass cleaner and gone over with a toothbrush to get the dust out from the cracks in the peerless tweeters. New 1A fuses installed on the backs, the ones in there looked a bit "eh".

    I pulled a crossover out to judge what it would take to replace the fuse posts as they are kind of corroded. Holy crap - this is pretty much point-to-point soldering back here and I think it would be quite the feat to recap these crossovers! At least there are no electrolytic caps in this crossover - so I suppose I can let it slide...

    Here are the pics as promised:
    11.jpg 94.1K

    Burson HA-160D > Adcom GFA-5802 > Polk SDA-SRS 1.2tl w/ Mye Sound Spikes, Mills/Sonicap XO, Larry's Rings, Dynamat Extreme, Cardas CCGR Binding Posts and Jumpers, Custom 10ga interconnect, Custom Gaskets, RDO-198
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  • danz1906
    danz1906 Posts: 5,144
    edited August 2009
    Congrats!
    Linn AV5140 fronts
    Linn AV5120 Center
    Linn AV5140 Rears
    M&K MX-70 Sub for Music
    Odyssey Mono-Blocs
    SVS Ultra-13 Gloss Black:D
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  • xoaphexox
    xoaphexox Posts: 246
    edited August 2009
    I finally have them hooked up and am giving them a run through with some 'Shpongle' - they sound really nice!! Nicer than the Monitor 10's that I had (and subsequently got rid of).

    I think these are keepers... I am going to need to think of what to say to the wife...

    Burson HA-160D > Adcom GFA-5802 > Polk SDA-SRS 1.2tl w/ Mye Sound Spikes, Mills/Sonicap XO, Larry's Rings, Dynamat Extreme, Cardas CCGR Binding Posts and Jumpers, Custom 10ga interconnect, Custom Gaskets, RDO-198
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  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited August 2009
    Congrats!

    Those cabinets look almost exactly the same as the cabinets for my SDA 2A's. If they MW's and the tweeter were placed a few inches higher, they'd look identical.

    What are the dimensions of that cabinet, out of curiosity?
    The nirvana inducer-
    APC H10 Power Conditioner
    Marantz UD5005 universal player
    Parasound Halo P5 preamp
    Parasound HCA-1200II power amp
    PolkAudio LSi9's/PolkAudio SDA 2A's/PolkAudio Monitor 7A's
    Audioquest Speaker Cables and IC's
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  • xoaphexox
    xoaphexox Posts: 246
    edited August 2009
    comfortablycurt wrote: »
    What are the dimensions of that cabinet, out of curiosity?

    11" x 16" x 34"

    Burson HA-160D > Adcom GFA-5802 > Polk SDA-SRS 1.2tl w/ Mye Sound Spikes, Mills/Sonicap XO, Larry's Rings, Dynamat Extreme, Cardas CCGR Binding Posts and Jumpers, Custom 10ga interconnect, Custom Gaskets, RDO-198
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited August 2009
    Nice find!
    "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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  • danz1906
    danz1906 Posts: 5,144
    edited August 2009
    xoaphexox wrote: »
    I finally have them hooked up and am giving them a run through with some 'Shpongle' - they sound really nice!! Nicer than the Monitor 10's that I had (and subsequently got rid of).

    I think these are keepers... I am going to need to think of what to say to the wife...

    Its all about the Sound-Enjoy!
    Linn AV5140 fronts
    Linn AV5120 Center
    Linn AV5140 Rears
    M&K MX-70 Sub for Music
    Odyssey Mono-Blocs
    SVS Ultra-13 Gloss Black:D
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter