Monitor 5's? New to vintage gear...

[drummer86]

Have a chance to get a pair of Monitor 5's in very good condition for around $40. This would be my first adventure into older Polks. The veneer is peeling very slightly on the bottom corner of one.

Two part question:

1. Is this a good price range?

2. What would I realistically need to effectively drive these puppies? They would be the start of a new separate setup and I would be starting from square one with a very limited budget. The guy also has an old Harmon Kardon HK-560 in decent shape for what seems to be a reasonable price. Good starting point?

Are there any other questions I should be asking?

I know next to nothing about vintage gear so go easy on me :cheesygrin:

[drummer86]

63942

Here's a picture if it helps...

[falconcry72]

That's a good price. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better speaker for the money. Period. I paid twice that for mine, and they were worth every penny.:biggrin:

They are very easy to drive. I'm not familiar with that HK, but it appears to be rated at 40-45 WPC. It should be fine, just be careful with the volume knob until you can get better power on them.

As for that better power on a budget, I'd recommend the Adcom GFA-545. You should be able to find one for $150-200, and it will drive those speakers beautifully.

[skrol]

Very good price and they are very easy to drive. These are nice sounding speakers and respond well to upgrades if you so choose and Polk still has replacement drivers for these if needed. What a company!
Stan

[DracoAmericanus]

the only thing i would sugjest is replacing the eletrolictics in the cross over, but they are a very good buy. and should be easy to drive

[heiney9]

No brainer. 5B's were my first Polks back in 1985 and I recently bought a pair for my office rig and upgraded the x-overs and tweets and they sound fantastic.

H9

[pdxfj]

Good deal on the 5b's. Grab 'em.

Just recently reclaimed my 5b's from my parents. Upgraded to the RDO tweeter and rebuilt the XO's with clairty caps and mills resistors. Not even broken in yet and as Heiney says, they sound fantastic. Currently liking them better for music than my RTi-A7's but we shall see what happens when I finish the XO upgrades on the A7's.

[HTguru1982]

I just bought a pair for $50 and like others have said, they're worth every penny.