Can You Identify These Polk Speakers?

Freak When C

I have never seen these Polk models before. They're on CL near me.
Any help with model numbers and if they're worth a look would be appreciated.

Pic 1

Pic 2

ben62670

They are model 7's in the first pic. One of the mids appears to have been replaced with an improper driver. The tweeter is an SL2000. In VG to excellent shape I would pay up to $125 if the mid drivers are stock.
Good luck.
Ben

danz1906

They look to be in fair shape.

george daniel

Err,, I think I would walk away and wait for something better,,unless they are darn cheap,,good luck though.

kcoc321

Freak, Welcome to the Club....
Regarding the Monitor 7's, they are worth maybe $50-60 at the most, as is...assuming the other driver and both the tweeters both work, and the cabinets aren't beat up.

It will be & you can tell him the "wrong" driver needs to be replaced and it will cost $20-$30min for the 'used' MW6502 (Look in the "for sale" section area).

New replacement ones (MW6503's) are available from Polk for $48ea with Club discount, only you would want to replace both.

I would also definitely pull the "correct" MW driver and check to make sure it is right.

the small ones look like R15's. Total different Speaker series...http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/recent/r15/
worth about $30-40. IMO....

You can look for other speaker 'matches' here:
http://www.polkaudio.com/search/older-models.php
(note: the mon7's in the link are the newer "series 2" with the upgraded SL2500 tweeters)

Good luck, & enjoy the hobby

NJPOLKER

I'd stay away from them. Take your time and find the "right" ones.

Freak When C

Thanks for the help and suggestions. I called the guy and didn't like his tone. He just sounded kind of strange and was giving me all these stories. Over explaining everything, if you know what I mean. Told him I'd call back if I wanted to come see them. I'm gona pass.

I really need a set of decent speakers. I just ordered a DAC as I'm wanting to try the computer as a music source. I guess I'll keep looking for some decent speakers.

kcoc321

Good luck....If you are looking for Mon7's, I would suggest posting a "wanted" thread.
I would bet there is someone in your area that has some....hence no shipping costs....

Where are you, btw?

Freak When C

Not really looking for only Monitor 7's.

I just want some nice speakers that can be easily driven by my Parasound Zamp v.3 which puts out 45 watts per channel into 8 Ω or 60 watts per channel into 4 Ω. The amp is going to be connected to my computer via the DAC I just ordered. I'm in the Detroit area.

I know that THESE aint Polk speakers. But anyone got an opinion or ever had a pair?

ben62670

I love store bought Infinity's. If it wasn't for them I would have never gotten into Polk's. All my Infinity's are long gone, and I do not miss them.


The Model 7's can be driven pretty hard with just 15 wpc sand, or 8wpc tube. Even if the guy is a **** still snag them up.

Freak When C

Yeah, I kinda thought the Infinity speakers were a stretch. Thanks for the advice, I'll steer clear.

I did mention that I was interested in connecting the speakers to my amp that's fed by my computer via a DAC. And my amp is not a monster at all (see post and link above). So may I ask your thoughts on these lil pups.

ben62670

I never heard them. It's a wee bit pricey for desktop speakers. Monitor audio, Focal's, and you may like NHT's. All of those make a nice compact speaker in that price range.

Freak When C

Damn, I didn't realize that the Monitor 7 has such a following. I think I will give the guy a call.

Freak When C

ben62670 wrote: »

you may like NHT's.

I almost bought a pair of NHT Classic 3's but I emailed a fellow who I was fairly sure had sold them to the guy that had them for sale now. I asked him a few questions regarding their history. What follows is his reply:

Here's the thing. He did buy them from me and is a great guy and I hate to cause him to lose a sale.

However... those are the worst sounding speakers I have ever heard. I've heard paradigm studios, definitive, polk, top end klipsch RF-7's, yamaha, infinity; going way back; technics, jensen, cerwin-vega, etc. You name it,I've heard it.

I read reviews saying they were as good or better than paradigm studios and wanted to email the reviewer and ask if they were paid by NHT to say those lies. I too never heard them and was going off of reviews.

Let me repeat it; they are THEE WORST sounding speakers I've ever heard. Do your self a favor and look elsewhere. It killed me because they are badass looking speakers with these amazing reviews and I thought I was going to love them. Instantly I was disapointed and breaking them in just makes them worse.

I honestly would sooner rather listen to a htib than those. They are that bad. They are so weak sounding. They have no detail in the treble, zero midrange, and a one note bass because the unported cabinet resonates at one small frequency range and it is an annoying frequency near male vocals and it's all you can hear after about 2 minutes.

If you're dead set on getting them, those are in mint condition and with the original boxes and the extra box I sent him a month ago and he's a good seller.

That all being said, if you're not a speaker snob and want the best bang for the buck on the planet, and a killer looking and sounding speaker, take a look at yamaha ns-555. I sold all my other high end crap and kept these in the end, after 8-9 months of hastle. They have everything, smooth non-fatiging bass, great mid, and the tweeters are 5-10% better than paradigm studio series imho. And no limit power handling with or without a sub.

ben62670

NHT's are kinda like an American car. They make some good and some bad. You need to filter out the bad from the good. Focal makes some real nice speakers too, but are like the NHT's when it comes to picking them out.

ViperZ

I love NHT speakers, but not the modern ones... I'd love to get a decently priced pair of 2.5i or 3.3 series...

Regarding Infinity speakers, they make some bottom-end dwellers and some decent speakers. I picked up the IL10/IL36c combination for my condo, and really like those big bookshelves. I actually like their whole IL line-up. IL36c went head to head with Polk CS400 without any problems.

And yeah, those are R15 in the 2nd photo.

ben62670

BTW Infinity home audio subs in general suck. Especially the ones with the "powerful" BASH amps.

Freak When C

You guys really know speakers so let me ask you this; the Parasound amp I listed puts out 45 watts per channel into 8 Ω, would that be enough to drive speakers rated at 88db sensitivity? The manufacturer recommends amplifiers rated at 30 to 150 watts per channel. So my Parsound Zamp fills this requirement. But I'm just wondering if I should look for speakers with 90db sensitivity or higher.

ben62670

Remember that doubling the watts only gives you 3db of gain. The Parasound has plenty of clean current. That is what matters.

Freak When C

Thanks Ben, good to know. I reckon I wouldn't want to choose speakers with a very low sensitivity rating though. I know some speakers are very hard to drive. With my Parasound I don't think I'd want to go much lower than 88db.

Kex

ben62670 wrote: »

Remember that doubling the watts only gives you 3db of gain. The Parasound has plenty of clean current. That is what matters.

I wish people would remember this more often ...

Freak When C

Well, I found what looks like a better pair of Polk Monitor 7's for the same price as the first ones I linked to, and this pair includes the stands and looks like it has all the proper components. Monitor 7's are decent speakers from what I can gather so I'm going to go check these out tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Freak When C

Hey, just came across THIS thread here on Club Polk. These look identical to the pic I just posted, no? What's this peerless tweets talk all about? Does the pic I posted have the peerless tweets?

kcoc321

The Peerless tweeters where the first tweeters that Polk put in the monitor series. They are refuted to be 'the best' although that will have differing opinions. It appears that those do, although it is hard to be certain without seeing a better picture.
Here is a picture of the Peerless tweeter.
Note: The "American" one has a small dimple in the dome."Danish" version does not.

comfortablycurt

Freak When C wrote: »

Well, I found what looks like a better pair of Polk Monitor 7's for the same price as the first ones I linked to, and this pair includes the stands and looks like it has all the proper components. Monitor 7's are decent speakers from what I can gather so I'm going to go check these out tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Very nice! I'd snag those. They appear to be 7B's.

Freak When C

yeah, glad other Polksters told me to wait until better ones surfaced. I'm heading out FTITM to go check em out. Hopefully he can hook em up so I can hear they function properly. Funny thing, I offered $275 for a pair of Monitor Audio Silver S1's today and the guy turned me down (someone else met his asking price on Audiogon). Peculiar how things work out sometimes.

Thanks kcoc for the detailed pic of the peerless tweeters. I appreciate that, helps alot.

Freak When C

One question regarding the Monitor 7's. They don't appear to be "monitors" or near field speakers. Are they more like full-range speakers and meant to be set rather far apart and away from you?

concealer404

Freak When C wrote: »

One question regarding the Monitor 7's. They don't appear to be "monitors" or near field speakers. Are they more like full-range speakers and meant to be set rather far apart and away from you?

Yep.

Monitor was just the name of the line for whatever reason. I run mine about 8 feet apart and 10 feet in front of me.

I have 7Cs.... i'm jealous of your stands. I need stands.

Freak When C

OK, I got em, woo hoo! They're in very nice shape (of course I haven't actually got them hooked up yet). But they look to be in fine condition and by the looks of the house and the lady I met today, I can't imagine they don't function properly. I'm sure they would have stated so if there were problems.

The fellow who was selling them wasn't there and his wife was the one who answered the phone. She didn't want to have to deal with the sale and preferred I talk with her husband, but he wouldn't be back until tomorrow. I asked if I could just swing by and take a look at them. She wanted her husband to be there but you know how CL is, you snooze ya loose. So I explained that I just wanted to see them and if they look good I'd probably buy them. She said OK and gave he her address. She was really nice though and so was her (hot) daughter. :eek:

Anyway, I snagged em, The guy had the original receipt (purchased 1/31/1981 for $395 from Absolute Sound in Ann Arbor, Michigan and the guys address that's on the receipt is the address I went to today to pick them up!). He also had the original Polk promotional brochure, the Polk Instructional Manual and they came with stands and speaker wire. Total cost: $50.

According to the manual, the speakers are the "Polk Model 7B Studio Monitor System". They have a fuse located on the rear panel; that was rather surprising. The binding posts leave little to be desired. I kind of doubt they'll accept banana plugs. In the manual it states:

"We recommend that you minimally use #16 gauge lampcord. Use of lighter than 16 gauge line, such as the thin clear coated line often sold as speaker hookup wire, will result in line losses and an attendant drop in performance. First twist the loose copper strands into a stiff wire, then wrap it clockwise around the terminal post, then tighten the screw, making sure the connections are not shorted against one another. For best result we recommend the use of special speaker cables particularly those of the low-inductance transmission line type such as Polk Audio SoundCables."

Well of course the thin clear coated speaker wire is what were on these when I got them. Any suggestions on what speaker wire to use for my Monitor 7B's? Also, suggestions on what to use to clean them with? The outside of the cabinets feel a little sticky. The speaker grills are in excellent shape but could also use a good cleaning, as well as the panel behind the grills where the drivers are housed. What should I use to make these babies shine?

madmike

Use windex and a soft lint free clothe to clean the dust off the mid woofers and PR's. For the cabinets if they are the vinyl (mack tack) you can use the windex there too. If they are wood laminate the I would use a quality furniture cleaner.

ben62670

Great score. Send pics of the daughter.