FS: POLK RTA 15TL's Restored to MINT

F1nut
F1nut Posts: 51,687
edited September 2004 in Flea Market
PICTURES ARE UP!!!

I bought these off a forum member/friend awhile back for a rig that isn't going to happen, at least not the original way.

I recently completed a total restoration of them because I wanted to return them to like new, here's what I did.

All dents, chips and scratches have been repaired. The walnut side panels were then glazed with a dark brown glaze to bring them back to the original walnut color and finished with 5 coats of clear satin lacquer. The gloss black acrylic tops were replaced with matte black acrylic sheets (big improvement) and attached with the original style double sided sticky tape. The original SL3000 tweeters have been replaced with the new Polk replacement tweeters and all the drivers/PR's have been cleaned (not Armor All) to look new. The grills (perfect) were cleaned and the Polk logo's were cleaned, sanded and then repainted matte black, the gold highlights were reapplied and then sealed with a clear satin acrylic finish. Dynamat was added to the bottom sides of the cabinet interior as well as the passive radiator baskets. The crossovers, wiring and seals have been checked and all work perfectly. All the tre-loc grill snaps are in place.

PHOTOS: I can email hi-rez shots if you want.

SHIPPING: I have the original shipping cartons, but not the original packing material. However, they will be packed very well. These will ship via UPS, FedEx Ground or DHL. Local pick up is welcome or I can deliver, free of charge, within 100 miles or so.

PRICE: SOLD

These look new and with the slight mods, sound better than new!
Political Correctness'.........defined

"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

President of Club Polk

Post edited by F1nut on
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,576
    edited August 2004
    Jesse, showed me these the other day, and they look fantastic. The part I like the best is the Matte finish top plate, way better looking than silly Piano Black.

    I feel that with the work involved including tweeters, this is a solid deal for a pair of vintage RTA's. The Polk sound is a given, it's how good these speakers look that will get you wet.

    See J...if you would step into the 21st century....you would be digital by now :D
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • warlocks1
    warlocks1 Posts: 1,260
    edited August 2004
    I can't wait to see the photos. I still feel like I gave (sold) two of my children up for adoption when I sold these to Jesse. These speakers sound fantastic. I really hope these stay in the Polk family. Someone please buy these! I would hate to see these on Ebay. Good Luck Jesse!
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  • PolkWannabie
    PolkWannabie Posts: 2,763
    edited August 2004
    Do these have the original or replacement tweets in them ?
    Rick
    HT+ Sunfire TG IV, Dual CG Sig II's, CinePro 1K2, Oppo 981, Audio Technica PL120, Polk SRT's & F/X1000's, Samsung 71" DLP
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,576
    edited August 2004
    "The original SL3000 tweeters have been replaced with the new Polk replacement tweeters...." ;)
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 51,687
    edited August 2004
    They look even nicer in person. :D
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 51,687
    edited August 2004
    Front shot, naked.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 51,687
    edited August 2004
    Back shot.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 51,687
    edited August 2004
    Fronts, dressed.

    The spots are from the camera, not on the speakers.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 51,687
    edited August 2004
    The new matte black top with a little dust. Damn, dust! :(
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • warlocks1
    warlocks1 Posts: 1,260
    edited August 2004
    WOW!!!! Nice job.
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  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited August 2004
    Jesse,

    those are stunning looking. Nice work. If it were me.. i'd keep em. Cherrish your handy work.

    :D
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 51,687
    edited August 2004
    Thanks guys! I've got no where to use them, but I hope somebody here does.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • Strong Bad
    Strong Bad Posts: 4,278
    edited August 2004
    Good lord, if I only had the money!!! Please lord, let the cash drop into my lap!

    Jesse...STUNNING work my man. You got your craft down to an art form.


    John
    No excuses!
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  • I-SIG
    I-SIG Posts: 2,243
    edited August 2004
    pay off credit cards, pay off credit cards...

    Seriously, I've always wanted these for some reason, in spite of having some awesome 1C Studio's.

    Wes
    Link: http://polkarmy.com/forums

    Sony 75" Bravia 4K | Polk Audio SDA-SRS's (w/RDO's & Vampire Posts) + SVS PC+ 25-31 | AudioQuest Granite (mids) + BWA Silver (highs) | Cary Audio CAD-200 | Signal Cable Silver Resolution XLR's | Rotel Michi P5 | Signal Cable Silver Resolution XLR's | Cambridge Audio azur 840C--Wadia 170i + iPod jammed w/ lossless audio--Oppo 970 | Pure|AV PF31d
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  • dcarlson
    dcarlson Posts: 1,740
    edited August 2004
    Looking good for sure. :)
    SDA-2a, Anthem Pre-2L, Anthem Amp 1, MF A324 DAC, Rotel RCD1070

    Senn HD650 Cardas, Mapletree Audio Ear+ HD2, Kimber KS1030, Bel Canto DAC2, M-Audio Transit, Laptop.
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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited August 2004
    man!!! Those look awesome!! What's the frequerncy respoinse om those things? What's the size of those drivers? How many watts would it take to power those things?

    Man, I wish I had the money....

    Great job on nthe restoring, too!!!
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    Simple question. If you had a cool million bucks, what would you do with it?
    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
    In Use
    PS3, Yamaha CDR-HD1300, Plex, Amazon Fire TV Gen 2
    Pioneer Elite VSX-52, Parasound HCA-1000A
    Klipsch RF-82ii, RC-62ii, RS-42ii, RW-10d
    Epson 8700UB
    In Storage
    [Home Audio]
    Rotel RCD-02, Yamaha KX-W900U, Sony ST-S500ES, Denon DP-7F
    Pro-Ject Phono Box MKII, Parasound P/HP-850, ASL Wave 20 monoblocks
    Klipsch RF-35, RB-51ii
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    Pioneer Premier DEH-P860MP, Memphis 16-MCA3004, Boston Acoustic RC520
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  • trubluluc
    trubluluc Posts: 2,067
    edited August 2004
    Where on the polk site are the specs for these speakers?

    -Luc
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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,986
    edited August 2004
    Four 6.5 inch drivers, a single 1 inch dome (upgraded in this case), and two 10 inch passive radiators, 1 front and 1 rear firing, both tuned to different frequencies.

    Casual listening, 60-100 w/cont will suffice, however I suggest a minimum of 180 w/cont if you plan on putting the spurs to em at all. On that note, at TPGII (system showcase), we put INSANE amounts of Sunfire / Rotel / Carver power on them, and they took everything we could give them, and almost seemed to ask for more.

    Great deal, one of kind, fully restored man speakers. Someone better sell some of their 'junk' and close escrow on these.

    Cheers,
    Russ
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 29,394
    edited August 2004
    Those look awesome man!!!

    What did you use to clean the drivers? I might have to go out and buy some to clean my definitives....

    Simply awesome work! Look mint, probally better than when they left the factory...
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 51,687
    edited August 2004
    Ok, I thought I had a manual for these, but have since realized that I gave it to a former member, Har. I will contact Ken to get another one and post the specs.

    I do have a manual for the RTA 11T which lists the overall frequency response as 22Hz to 26kHz. I know the 15TL's go lower than that and I'm certain that the highs are same.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited August 2004
    That is amazing!! lower than 22Hz from a full-range speaker!! wow.....
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    Simple question. If you had a cool million bucks, what would you do with it?
    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
    In Use
    PS3, Yamaha CDR-HD1300, Plex, Amazon Fire TV Gen 2
    Pioneer Elite VSX-52, Parasound HCA-1000A
    Klipsch RF-82ii, RC-62ii, RS-42ii, RW-10d
    Epson 8700UB
    In Storage
    [Home Audio]
    Rotel RCD-02, Yamaha KX-W900U, Sony ST-S500ES, Denon DP-7F
    Pro-Ject Phono Box MKII, Parasound P/HP-850, ASL Wave 20 monoblocks
    Klipsch RF-35, RB-51ii
    [Car Audio]
    Pioneer Premier DEH-P860MP, Memphis 16-MCA3004, Boston Acoustic RC520
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  • jawhog
    jawhog Posts: 444
    edited August 2004
    I've still got 2 original manuals for these (the RTA 8/11/15 TLs were all on the same manual). I can look up the specs later tonight if still needed.

    Just to help the cause here, I'll mail my extra original manual to whoever picks these up!
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 51,687
    edited August 2004
    Ken (the best) emailed me the specs and is sending me a copy of the manual, so I'll include that with the speakers, of course.

    The frequency response is from 20 Hz to 26 kHz with the -3dB limits of 27 Hz to 25 kHz. Power handling is 250 watts/channel. The impedance is compatible with 8 ohm outputs and the efficiency is 90 dB. They were produced from 1990 until 1992 and sold for $1,400.00 per pair.




    Jawhog, thanks for the offer anyway. You're probably right about all 3 in the same manual as I just realized that the manual I have is for the 8T/11T and not the 11TL. Sorry for the confusion folks.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • shack
    shack Posts: 11,154
    edited August 2004
    Just out of curiosity, in your mind how do these compare to your SDA's?
    "Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right." - Ricky Gervais

    "For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." - Stuart Chase

    "Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." - Bernard Berenson
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 51,687
    edited August 2004
    From my limited listening to them on my shop rig (Rotel gear) I would say they have the classic sonic signature of the SDA series without the SDA effect. They had no problem reaching clean, loud volume levels with plenty of bass on the 120 wpc Rotel amp. I was going to use these as surround speakers with my SDA 2.3TL's for HT, but have since changed my mind about doing a HT set up.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,576
    edited August 2004
    I listened to these at TPGII on Tour2Ma's Sunfire....these can get really loud and have no problems in the bass department. Ask Russman's neighbors :D
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    edited August 2004
    Would it be possible to scan in your manual & post it? I have all the manuals for all of my equipment except for my beloved 8T's.

    BTW your speakers are beautiful, I wish I could buy them.

    Originally posted by F1nut
    Ken (the best) emailed me the specs and is sending me a copy of the manual, so I'll include that with the speakers, of course.

    The frequency response is from 20 Hz to 26 kHz with the -3dB limits of 35 Hz to 25 kHz. Power handling is 250 watts/channel. The impedance is compatible with 8 ohm outputs and the efficiency is 90 dB. They were produced from 1990 until 1992 and sold for $1,400.00 per pair.




    Jawhog, thanks for the offer anyway. You're probably right about all 3 in the same manual as I just realized that the manual I have is for the 8T/11T and not the 11TL. Sorry for the confusion folks.
    Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 51,687
    edited August 2004
    Cfrizz, send me your address via PM or email and I'll mail you the manual I have as I'm never going to have a need for it. I actually don't even remember how I got it...lol.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    edited August 2004
    You have PM.

    Cathy
    Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 51,687
    edited August 2004
    Here is the shipping info for the interested parties.

    The cartons are 47" x 15" x 21" and the shipping weight is 80lbs.

    You can check the cost at www.ups.com, www.fedex.com or www.dhl.com

    Thanks for your interest.

    EDIT: The -3dB specs that I originally received (35 Hz to 25 kHz) were incorrect. The correct -3dB specs are 27 Hz to 25 kHz, much better!
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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