Early Monitor 10
jchilds
Posts: 5
I recently acquired a pair of Monitor 10's from our local CL. I wasn't really looking to get new speakers, just CL window shopping, and thought maybe I stumbled across a barn find set I could rehab, enjoy for a while and eventually sell. I gave the guy $50, and brought 'em home. 3 of the 4 woofers are coated - I figured maybe a magnet shifted, and the uncoated one was a DIY brand X replacement. Pulled all 4 of them, and they all have the exact same codes stamped on the back, and no Polk labeling.
I'm not familiar with the minutiae of Polk speakers - did some early Polk drivers have unpainted baskets, and no labeling? They have rubber surrounds, which, except for the white silicone caulk repair job by the PO (!), are still soft and pliable. An earlier owner had cats, judging by the thrashed grill cover fabric, and they may have damaged the surrounds at one point.
Do any of you Polk peeps recognize the codes stamped on the back? Each woofer measures 3 and some change ohms, so, whatever they are, I have my doubts they were intended for a model using two of them per speaker.
Are all 4 of them brand X that someone DIY coated (3 of them) to pass them off as Polk drivers?
Did early Polk service replacements sometimes not come coated?
I know some speaker companies used whatever was available in their early years, making substitutions and changing specs sometimes seemingly on a whim.
They actually sound pretty good at low levels - I didn't want to push my Denon HT receiver with a potential 2 ohm load.
Not the end of the world if they're phony...I spent $50 and probably got a $50 pair of speakers. If the woofers are worthless, I'll likely part them out and (hopefully) make most of my money back selling the tweeters and crossovers.
Thanks for any info you can provide!
-John
I'm not familiar with the minutiae of Polk speakers - did some early Polk drivers have unpainted baskets, and no labeling? They have rubber surrounds, which, except for the white silicone caulk repair job by the PO (!), are still soft and pliable. An earlier owner had cats, judging by the thrashed grill cover fabric, and they may have damaged the surrounds at one point.
Do any of you Polk peeps recognize the codes stamped on the back? Each woofer measures 3 and some change ohms, so, whatever they are, I have my doubts they were intended for a model using two of them per speaker.
Are all 4 of them brand X that someone DIY coated (3 of them) to pass them off as Polk drivers?
Did early Polk service replacements sometimes not come coated?
I know some speaker companies used whatever was available in their early years, making substitutions and changing specs sometimes seemingly on a whim.
They actually sound pretty good at low levels - I didn't want to push my Denon HT receiver with a potential 2 ohm load.
Not the end of the world if they're phony...I spent $50 and probably got a $50 pair of speakers. If the woofers are worthless, I'll likely part them out and (hopefully) make most of my money back selling the tweeters and crossovers.
Thanks for any info you can provide!
-John
Comments
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I have 1979 10's with Peerless. My 6.5's are the silver basket like yours with the gray cardboard ring on the face of the driver. But mine have the Polk label and are clearly marked as MW6500. Perhaps someone else can id yours.
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Nice. If both those Peerless tweets work ya got your money worth
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Randy/Maine -
I have 1979 10's with Peerless. My 6.5's are the silver basket like yours with the gray cardboard ring on the face of the driver. But mine have the Polk label and are clearly marked as MW6500. Perhaps someone else can id yours.
Thanks, that others have unpainted baskets is encouraging.
-John -
boston1450 wrote: »Nice. If both those Peerless tweets work ya got your money worth
That's also encouraging! They both work
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Does anyone know if Polk outsourced driver manufacturing in their early days?
On another forum (AK), a user identified them as likely being either Fisher or Gefco drivers, cross referencing the codes stamped on the backs to an EIA code list (whatever that is). A little internet research yielded that Gefco made OEM speakers for a number of companies back in the day. Maybe? -
Don't think I've ever heard or read that Gefco produced drivers for Polk.--Gary--
Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out. -
Don't think I've ever heard or read that Gefco produced drivers for Polk.
Yeah, it was a shot in the dark...
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i have a pair that are exactly the same . i noticed none of the drivers are recesse mounted
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The odd driver looks like typical early Polk -- it also looks like a mismatch to the rest of the drivers... it may have interchangeable T-S parameters, or it might not.
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I'm necroposting. Date code of "7215" which is 15th week in 1972........Did Polk even make a Monitor 10 that early? Highly doubtful that these drivers were OEM.George / NJ
Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
Crown D150 amp
Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
iFi nano iDSD DAC
iPurifier3
iDefender w/ iPower PS
Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform -
Gardenstater wrote: »I'm necroposting. Date code of "7215" which is 15th week in 1972........Did Polk even make a Monitor 10 that early? Highly doubtful that these drivers were OEM.
First Model 10 was in 1976, so Polk would've had to have purchased a batch of old drivers from Gefco or these were made for Polk and they had them in inventory for 4 years or so. Who knows.George / NJ
Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
Crown D150 amp
Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
iFi nano iDSD DAC
iPurifier3
iDefender w/ iPower PS
Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
