Tried Monitor 12s ah ya

geppy1

Well I bought the pair that was for sale localy. They were cheap and he delivered them. Turns out we worked in the consumer electronics b1z around the same time (80s) at different stores. He looked familiar. Anway I got them just to hear them as I had never heard a pair before. I compared them to SDA1c, Monior 10s and RTA12Bs. As predicted they are heavy and slow in the bass but not as bad as I thought. I listened to them for quit a while. The high end is ok and fairly smooth (SL2500) but sound slightly dirty or grainy but not bad at all. Easy to listen to. I then hooked up the RTA 12Bs and game over. much more open and faster. more balanced sound and they do go lower with better control. The very bottom is more solid. The monitor 12s sound almost muddy. They are better then I thought and look nice but outclassed here . Even the 10s sounds better to my ears. I wonder if this was added to the line just to hit a price point or something. Well I bought I listened and now I get rid of. I put them on Ebay. If for any reason some here wants them let me know but I suspect not. . keith

concealer404

Where are you located?

I kindof want a set to mod, but i was pretty sure they'd sound like you described.

jjwm27

i have a pair, i stoked them with sonicaps and rdo 198 tweeters and they sound so much better than before, it made them sound great. i also thought they didnt sound right until i did the upgraded caps and tweeters and now i will most likley keep them for a very long time, at least until i can get my hands on some some BIG SDAs, already got some small ones. speakers i mean.

geppy1

I am in Minnesota. Minneapolis- St Paul. keith

bobman7

ah, so you bought those ones on craigslist then. I was eyeing those for awhile...

concealer404

Thats far.

comfortablycurt

I've always wondered how the Monitor 12's sound. My predictions were about the same as your thoughts on them.

I may have to pick up a pair sometime down the line. I plan to eventually need a storage room to contain all of my vintage Polks...lol

I'm thinking some modded Monitor 12's would make some really badass garage speakers.

ozzy21236

The bass on the Monitor 12 is a little slow and muddy but tightens up considerably just getting them off the floor. Get some 1x2 or 2x2 oak stock and taper from 1 1/2" to 1" and screw that to the bottom .

Russ

thsmith

That was my experience as well.

dorokusai

They should have stopped at the Monitor10. The Mon12 just doesn't have the magic and sounds bloated in the midrange/bass region. The RTA12 is the only one that's a genuine time alignment design and the gem of the RTA lineup.

NeilGabriel

These RTA) always looked "delicate" to me with the separate tweeter and wiring on top....any issues there? I just bought some 12s and have a chance for RTA 12s as well....

Mike

dorokusai

The most common thing I've seen in my travels is the top grill assemblies are usually broken or dented. I've owned 4 pairs, covering all model variations and would probably buy another pair if I found minty fresh ones. As far as the exposed components, never an issue.

geppy1

Did you have a favorite version??? keith

halo71

Many may laugh at me for admitting this but....In my teenage years I ran across a pair of these in a pawn shop. I thought someone had done some homemade hack/mod job on them and I passed on buying them. They were missing the top covers.

Hamatym

My pops has a pair of RTA12b's and if you put them in the right size room, they are awesome! Bigger room ended up recently getting original SRS's...Not even a fair comparison, but the smaller basement pool table room do the RTA's justice. They are great speakers and sound great. He never had an issue with crossover or anything up top, only my mom telling him to turn it down all the while I grew up....ha ha