Which do you guys prefer?

jax3822

Hey guys,
I have a common dilemma that seems to affect this crowd.... I have too much stuff and too little places to use it! I just bought a pair of Monitor 70's at a local high end shop because the price was 50 dollars cheaper than the ones on Newegg and I could not pass them up. (it was his last pair!)

The problem is that I also just picked up a really nice pair of Ls-70's about two weeks ago. I also invested about 50 dollars in a pair of sl-6000's for them as one of the original sl-6000's on them seems to have turned a gold color and I wanted them to match.

I like them both for different reasons, but only have room for one pair. (I am not even including the speakers I have in storage!!).

I need some opinions before I put them on CL and regret selling the wrong pair.

Thanks for your help!!
Jim

bluecomet

Hook both speakers up to your system and do an A/B speaker comparison with your favorite music. The speakers that sound best to you keep. It is really that simple. They are your speakers and you need to be happy with them. Let your ears be the judge. The Ls-70's were second only to the Ls-90's I believe in the day, so it is a quality speaker. I have not heard the new Monitors. Let us know what you decide.

Knucklehead

Or.....just sell me the L-70's really cheap!

Bubinga99

One thing about A/B testing is it's easy to decieve yourself into thinking one speaker sounds better than the other, but it turns out that it's the placement differences that are affecting the sound more than the speaker differences.

I proved this to myself recently by doing an A/B test that most people have probably never done: an A/B test of 2 pairs of the same speaker. The sonic differences are primarily because, even with 2 of the same speakers side by side, and seated in between, your ears are off axis relative to the tweeter by different amounts that are significant enough to make a notable difference.

There are a couple ways to deal with the placement-related differences. Since you have 2 different speakers, first you need to find your preferred placement for each one individually. If it turns out their ideal placements allow side by side placement without overlap, your AB test is just as easy as it sounds.

If their ideal placement overlaps, split the difference and put them side by side, around that point. Do the AB test, pick the one you like, then swap them and repeat. If you still like the same one, your decision is easy. If the other one becomes your favorite after the swap, it's a bit harder to choose. Either do more AB tests with the swap, or just realize that you consider them very close and you could be happy with either, and use some other criteria to choose.

jax3822

Bubinga99,
True on the a/b test. I did a test with the different sets of Sl-6000 tweeters in them and think you can hear a difference. I got the Monitor 70's as a floor model but do not know if they can be considered "broken in" yet. The owner of the shop was listening to the weather service on them, not excactly reference material if you know what i mean.

My listening room is small, and I am using a 100 wpc, Jvc AX-z911 digital pure class a receiver to drive them. I can only get them about 5 feet apart without blocking the doorway.

I found that when I seperated the Ls-70's they imaged a lot better. I think the Monitors have a better soundstage.

I will definitely be selling one of the pairs, but this is not the forum for that, and I do not want to violate any of the rules here. Maybe after my 25 posts.

Ron Temple

I'm told the LS70s aren't the preferred speaker of that line due to the 7.5" drivers not imaging as well as the 50s or 90s. That said, I would think the LS line would be obviously better. If not, then either the M70s are much better than I thought or there's something not quite right with your LS70s.

vc69

What he said ^^^^

jax3822

Ron,
The ls-70's do not image as well as I would like. I have had 2 pairs of RTA11t's, with the RDO upgrade, which i did not like, and with the sl-2000's, which I did. (love the vintage sound of the 2000). I also have a pair of RTA12b's, with the peerless tweeters. I think that the Ls-70s are too big for my room. It is only 17 by 15 with 7 foot ceilings. I changed the tweeters on them to see if they would sound any different, since one of the originals turned gold in appearance for some reason.

I dont want to pass judgement on the Monitor 70's as I want to see if they break in. I do not have any tone controls on my receiver to tweek the sound, except for some bass adjustments, which the Ls's do not need any help in that department, for sure.

I am looking as the Monitor 70's as a more of a HT type speaker, even though they can do 40hz with no problem from my testing. 30 hz is a bit of a stretch for them, but not for the Ls70's. I do not use a sub for stereo, I have a seperate system for movies and games.

I am finding out that the Monitors, do better with better source material as well. I hooked up a pair of Infinity reference 2000.6's I had lying around for comparison, and they have sweet top end, they do not have the bass of either pair of polks. I a/b tested the Ls-70's with a pair of Boston t-830's as well and had the same results.

I am trying to find out if the Ls-70's have a slight roll off to the top woofer or if they are strictly 2 way.

jax3822

Keep in mind, when i got the Ls70's about 8 feet apart, the difference in imaging was apparent immediately. I found this same scenario with a pair of Athena ASF2's with a similar set up to the Ls70's, with them having 2 eight inch woofers as well, in the same room. I swapped them out for a pair of smaller Energy c-500's with a tapered 2way crossover similar to the Monitor 70's, but with 2 6.5 inch drivers and found they worked better where they were positioned.

I think I need to move to a bigger house.

Ron Temple

jax3822 wrote: »

Ron,
The ls-70's do not image as well as I would like. I have had 2 pairs of RTA11t's, with the RDO upgrade, which i did not like, and with the sl-2000's, which I did. (love the vintage sound of the 2000). I also have a pair of RTA12b's, with the peerless tweeters. I think that the Ls-70s are too big for my room. It is only 17 by 15 with 7 foot ceilings. I changed the tweeters on them to see if they would sound any different, since one of the originals turned gold in appearance for some reason.

I think either of those are recognized as being among the best conventional Polks and superior to the LS70s. The 11Ts and LS90s are comparable with some favoring one or the other. Not sure if your room has anything to do with your LS70 impressions. They sound about par for the course from what I've read. The LS I've heard do have a nice smoothly rolled off top end, but the midrange of the 90s and 50s, which I find stellar, is what most find lacking in the 70s (they all have great bass). They don't image like RTAs or the other LS models. Note: I'm just rehashing other's impressions on the 70s...haven't heard them.

jax3822

I actually regret selling the RTA11t's. I disliked them so much with the Rd0 upgrade that posted them on CL. A fellow club polk member grabbed them fast. 2 days before I sold them, I put the SL-2000's back in them and the magic was back.

I think that the difference between the Ls models is that the 50's have smaller drivers which in my opinion, will have better midrange abliities, and the 90's had a dedicated mid range driver. Still, the 70's drivers are not very big, but I think they should have rolled off to that second mid woofer a little more. I am eyeing up a pair of RTA8ts on CL right now for 95 bucks, but may end up divorced soon if I keep buying before Xmas.

jax3822

Ron,
I actually expected similar performance of the Monitor 70's to the RTa11t's, being that they have similar size drivers, 6.5 inch woofers, with a one inch tweeter. The main difference is that instead of 2 passives, it has 2 additional woofers and the bass reflex design. I was hoping that the bass response of the 70's would be a little faster. But imho, the 11t's are better.

Ron Temple

jax3822 wrote: »

Ron,
I actually expected similar performance of the Monitor 70's to the RTa11t's, being that they have similar size drivers, 6.5 inch woofers, with a one inch tweeter. The main difference is that instead of 2 passives, it has 2 additional woofers and the bass reflex design. I was hoping that the bass response of the 70's would be a little faster. But imho, the 11t's are better.

It's tough to compare the modern lines with the vintage lines. The modern stuff is contract manufactured at similar pricepoints, but that's just it, similar pricepoints. Inflation has got to be factured in. The older stuff built with modern materials to equivalency would cost far more than the current Monitor lineup. Not saying they're bad, just a different measuring stick. Hell, doped paper drivers are still being used today with great results, just not by Polk. The difference in the build quality of the maligned SL 2000 and a modern silk dome in the Monitor and RTiA line is noticeable. BTW, you're one of the few that prefer the SL2000 to the RDO replacements. The old 2000s have some twang to them, but a susceptible to sibilance and hiss as they degrade.

jax3822

I know I am in the minority here on the Sl-2000's here. I sold them to a club polk member with both pairs and am curious to see what he thinks. When I first got them home, female vocals were harsh, but after the amp warmed up and they got re-broken in, after a few days, they smoothed out immensely. I preferred the imaging over the less peaky nature of the rdo.
Btw. the Monitor 70's are growing on me. I did hook up the ls-70's for a few minutes, but at 62 lbs each, i will be out of work if I keep playing with them.
I might contact the seller of the Rta8t's and see if he still has them.

geppy1

It has been my experience comparuing LS90s to RTA 12Bs sounded way more open and defined. Also faster and went deeper in the bass but the 90s had more bass. They reminded me more of a speaker tipped slightly toward home theater and the word PORT kept going through my mind. Nice smooth top end but seems rolled off. Not sure about the 70s keith

jax3822

If anyone wants to know, after listening to the Monitor 70's for a week straight, I hooked the Ls70's back up, and there is really no comparison. I wanted to like the Monitors so much more, but the LS70's are just sooo much better. Richer bass, better imaging and smoother highs. If I cant exchange the Monitors for the RT A8's, look for them on Philly craigslist for 50 dollars less than Neweggs price, or send me a PM if you are interested in them. I won't know about the exchange untill Monday the 28th.
If I cant exchange them, I will post them here first for a few dollars less for Club Polk members.

Ron Temple

jax3822 wrote: »

If anyone wants to know, after listening to the Monitor 70's for a week straight, I hooked the Ls70's back up, and there is really no comparison. I wanted to like the Monitors so much more, but the LS70's are just sooo much better. Richer bass, better imaging and smoother highs. If I cant exchange the Monitors for the RT A8's, look for them on Philly craigslist for 50 dollars less than Neweggs price, or send me a PM if you are interested in them. I won't know about the exchange untill Monday the 28th.
If I cant exchange them, I will post them here first for a few dollars less for Club Polk members.

There are no RTi A8s...just RTi8s...the A series equivalent are A5s (which are an improvement over the 8s IMO) better than the M70s. The 8s are good speakers, but not in the LS class.

jax3822

Ron,
My bad, I do mean the RTi8's. I am hoping since I took the Monitors on his recommendation, that he will let me return them without a hassle. I do not think he will since neither pair is bnib, rather, they were both floor models. My opinion on the Monitors, is that they would probably sound a little better with an AVR than the vintage high current integrated I am using it with. I am sure that with a little adjusting of the tone controls, and these would benefit greatly. Unfortunately, my integrated does not have any. I will update if I get the RTi8's on Monday.

NJPOLKER

I prefer Budweiser

jax3822

I love the high class group here. I am a Miller Lite guy myself.

everpress

jax3822 wrote: »

I love the high class group here. I am a Miller Lite guy myself.

Geeze... You guys have no taste....

PBR is THE beer.

(the beer budget is how I justify my expensive taste in bourbon)

jax3822

If I keep buying speakers, I will have to save up to afford PBR.

jax3822

Btw, Got rid of the Monitor 70's today. A good speaker, but definitely not a great speaker. I did trade them back to the store for the RTi8's. First impressions of the RTi8's are very favorable. The cherry wood veneer is fist rate. I know this is the vintage forum so I will keep updated with my comparisons to my LS70's. The 2 pairs are very similar in specs and performance on paper and somewhat in design and driver complement.