Just picked up a pair of 5As

mmadden28

With a heads up from Pycroft, I responded to the CL ad and picked them up a few hours ago. Actually I replied to 2 ads, I'm picking up the other set tomorrow (Mon 10s)

They were very responsive in their email and phone replies. Nice couple and they were willing to meet even though it was raining. I'm really not sure what the current market is for these 5A's but this pair is MINT-very well cared for-Nice shiny and sticky drivers. I was told the original owner used them only for classical music.

There are a couple small marks on the one side, but they appear to be on top and not through the vinyl, which looks to be the Rosewood finish (which is sweet by the way)-should be an easy fix. Oh and with Peerless tweets too :cool: Otherwise as I said MINT :cool:
So to me $85 was worth it.

It came with stands but I'm not sure they are original or not.
I was told the original owner used them only for classical music.

Hooking them up as we speak.

Question: Is it normal for the upper driver to not be recessed on this model? The lower driver is recessed.

I'll get some pics up in a few.

danz1906

Congrats!

Toolfan66

Congrats!! I just picked up a pair of M10's yesterday.

Pycroft

Can't wait to see the pics. Enjoy!

skrol

Congrats! sounds just like the pair I picked up. Very lovingly cared for by an elderly couple. That is normal for the MW not to be recessed and the PR to be recessed for the 5A's.

kcoc321

mmadden28 wrote: »

Question: Is it normal for the upper driver to not be recessed on this model? The lower driver is recessed.

yes the earlier Monitors had the MW surface mounted and the bottom one is actually a Passive Radiator, not an active driver.

stubby

Nice score! BTW, just because they listened to only classical doesn't necessarily mean those mid-woofers didn't get stressed! Many Telarc discs will make your drivers beg for mercy. Unless they only listened to piano.

dorokusai

Got a pic of the stands? There's only 3 or 4 versions of them.

bobman7

I picked up some 5s a month or two back and love em! Nice grab

mmadden28

stubby wrote: »

Nice score! BTW, just because they listened to only classical doesn't necessarily mean those mid-woofers didn't get stressed! Many Telarc discs will make your drivers beg for mercy. Unless they only listened to piano.

Yeah I know--but the way they described it, they presumes he listened to the soft stuff--not that it matters to me anyway? I mean they are either blown or not right? Except for stress on the XO which I'll probably be modding anyway.

mmadden28

bobman7 wrote: »

I picked up some 5s a month or two back and love em! Nice grab

They really do sound sweet--definitely need a little sub reinforcement though--switching back and forth between the SDA SRS 2's and these proves it .

cnh

What kind of tweeters do you have in the SRS-2's and how do their highs compare with the peerless on the 5s? Just curious. Been reading posts here for over a year...I have a set of SDA-2-Bs with the original tweeters...and I have not had the opportunity to hear RDOs or Peerless tweeters yet...

In any case...nice score...the 5As are a really nice bookshelf set.

cnh

mmadden28

dorokusai wrote: »

Got a pic of the stands? There's only 3 or 4 versions of them.

Here's a shot of them, They have a label that say's 'Plateau'.



Its obvious from the mismatch in finish they at least were not packaged with the 5's. Not nearly as in good a shape as the speakers themselves. They seem to fit the speakers well. They are all particle board black veneer (why can't I think of the name for that - M.. something ) the wood strip up front is solid wood.

Funny thing is when I was at an audio swap meet earlier today (Sunday), somebody was selling a set of stands that looked exactly like these minus the Plateau stickers. He mentioned somehing about generic stands.

Anyway, I also picked up a pair of 10B's on Sunday afternoon with stands, here are the stands (not so clean):

mmadden28

Oh yeah, pics of the 5A's--almost forgot
They need just a little dusting-And I unfortunately I did find one nick on the bottom corner--:(

ben62670

Very nice. I am surprised the MW is surface mounted. Could they be flush mounted? Does the MW overlap the PR? A 1/2" rabbit bit on a router make for a clean flush mount, then just paint the would black.
Ben

mmadden28

ben62670 wrote: »

Very nice. I am surprised the MW is surface mounted. Could they be flush mounted? Does the MW overlap the PR? A 1/2" rabbit bit on a router make for a clean flush mount, then just paint the would black.
Ben

I'll have to look closer-I'm not near them right now-from the pics they do look like they overlap a bit. Just doesn't look right--not sure what the designer was thinking with refraction and all--well I'm sure it was accounted for.

I just noticed that on both the 10A and 10B's that all the drivers are surface mounted. Odd.

bobman7

cnh wrote: »

What kind of tweeters do you have in the SRS-2's and how do their highs compare with the peerless on the 5s? Just curious. Been reading posts here for over a year...I have a set of SDA-2-Bs with the original tweeters...and I have not had the opportunity to hear RDOs or Peerless tweeters yet...

In any case...nice score...the 5As are a really nice bookshelf set.

cnh

I'm not sure which tweeters your sdas have, but the sl-2000s in my Monitor 5s are much harsher/excessively bright sounding compared to the peerless tweets in my rta-12bs

cnh

Thanks bobman..

That's what I've read....I still have the original SL-2000s...OK but can be bright as you mention--on some recordings they are far harsher than the pure titanium domes on my JBL Monitors--which to be frank..are not really harsh at all for a metal dome?

But I'd really like to put my ears on a set of peerless and actually here that difference. I do believe what everyone has said about them...just haven't heard any! Don't mean to digress from the post but m..28s 5As do have the peerless.

cnh

sTiLlLeArNiNg

Nice! Is the word you're looking for medium density fiber board? MDMF

mmadden28

cnh wrote: »

Thanks bobman..

That's what I've read....I still have the original SL-2000s...OK but can be bright as you mention--on some recordings they are far harsher than the pure titanium domes on my JBL Monitors--which to be frank..are not really harsh at all for a metal dome?

But I'd really like to put my ears on a set of peerless and actually here that difference. I do believe what everyone has said about them...just haven't heard any! Don't mean to digress from the post but m..28s 5As do have the peerless.

cnh

My SRS 2's still have the SL-2000's. I'll be upgrading them to the RDO-194s soon enough, or based on InspiredSport's experimenting, TL them and put in RDO-198's. I haven't yet found the SL-2000's to be overly harsh, well maybe I have, but until I compare them I can't say for sure it's the tweets or something else in my system--I really just need to find the right test song to try out.

mmadden28

sTiLlLeArNiNg wrote: »

Nice! Is the word you're looking for medium density fiber board? MDMF

Nope, but that somehow did trigger the memory: Melamine.

Pycroft

Great pics! They look VERY nice!

skrol

Hey they look just like my 5A's. Are those stands original? mine look a little different. I know the previous owner modified mine to raise them up a little so I am not sure what the original height was.

IrishNiner

Congrats on you new pick up! Beautiful set of vintage polks. Alot of good deals on CL these days if your patient.

NJPOLKER

mmadden
Do you have the Jr's yet? If not what are you waiting for :rolleyes: I have read where they make awesome auto speakers if room allows.

george daniel

The 5a's are like little mini SDA's to me, small but image quite well, jusy my .02 worth.

heiney9

george daniel wrote: »

The 5a's are like little mini SDA's to me, small but image quite well, jusy my .02 worth.

I'd agree 100% George. I have a modded pair in my office/computer room toed in slightly and I sit dead center in the equilateral triangle. Using an outboard dac, FLAC computer files and a 13wpc tube hybrid amp with NOS tubes and Signal Cable Analog II's and Shotgun style Canare Star Quad speaker cables.

I am amazed at how much they sound like mini SDA's. The only thing they lack is the absolute depth of sound stage my 1C's provide in spades. Even the bass is great from the 5B's when set-up properly. I could possibly see a sub needing to be added in a larger room, but I get all the bass I need. I enjoy my secondary system as much as the primary.

Synergy is fantastic!!!!!!

To the OP....enjiy the Monitor 5's and once you redo the x-overs they will blow you away.

H9

skrol

If you open them up, look for excess glue fragments. Mine had a bunch rattling around inside. Also, if you open them up, please get the XO values for the caps and resistors and the date they were mfg'd. I have seen variations in the values used even for 5A's using the same MW6500 and Peerless tweeters.