Polk Monitor 12's

[polkdaddy20]

Just discovered the forum last week as I have run across a pair of Monitor 12s for sale and didn't know too much about them. For the price ($175) I am going to pick them up but would like to know more about them. Great site and glad to see there is so much interest in Polks especially the vintage equip. I have a pair of SDA 2Bs a 5Jr center channel and 4.6s as a rear fill that I've been using for close to 16 years and I too have had similar experiences as posted here........Listened to the new stuff (both Polk and other) and leave the store wondering why I would spend $ to go backward.

I have searched both here and on the web but am not coming up with too much on the monitor 12s except they seem to be pretty rare. Will they compare favorably to the SDA 2Bs? What was the standard tweeter and should I look to upgrade? These came with stands correct? Any other info would be greatly appreciated, such as why a short production run? Differences in series? I'll add more once I've seen the speakers.
Thanks!
Paul

[NeilGabriel]

I have 10Bs and have loved them for 24 years (almost as long as my first wife). When I compare with anything else, including a $1000 pair, I still like the 10Bs....and I am sure this is because it is the sound I have listened to for years. I have always wanted to pick up 12s in the hopes that they would be just that much better, but no one here has reported any personal experience with these from what I can tell. This site has a parts list that shows what the various Monitor models have in them. I can send link if you cant find it. Another site has a manual that might contain the 12s (cant recall). Mike

[NeilGabriel]

http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/service/models/modelpartslist.php3?model=monitor

parts list

[NeilGabriel]

http://www.polksda.com/manuals.shtml

manuals...doesnt appear that 12's are included in any of these...

[dougr]

BTW, there are some Monitor 12s for sale on CL in the SF bay area... no affiliation, just thought $160 sounded like a good deal.

[engtaz]

I have the RTA 12B's. They sound great. I was really surprised how well the sound. I picked them up locally for $150.00 which I believe a really good deal.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51580

that the thread I started and got a lot of good info.

Good luck,
engtaz

[NeilGabriel]

I've listened to the new CRS+ I got for several days now. Finally got them positioned correctly....and I am thinking I should have spent the money on the M 12s. My listening space is just not well-suited for the CRS+. Maybe I can set up a pure 2 channel listening area in the house, but I find that I prefer to listen to my monitors. Guess it's just what you are used to.

[engtaz]

so what are you going to do with the CRS????

[Ron Temple]

BTW, there are some Monitor 12s for sale on CL in the SF bay area... no affiliation, just thought $160 sounded like a good deal.Those look nice...if I had the room, they'd be mine.

[Polk65]

Some useful links:
search (http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/search.php) (on the blue line above) for RTA* and SDA*
Polk Audio vintage tweeters (http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25377)
Polk Audio RTA12c manual (http://www.polkaudio.com/downloads/manuals/home/12CManual.pdf)
http://www.polksda.com

I prefer the original Monitor 12 (also known as Real Time Array 12) which were in production for several years. RTA 12's can be had for around $100-$200 and have a great reputation. These have a removable top grille with a tweeter underneath, a wide soundstage and clear midrange. IMO these are a notch above Monitor 12 series 2 but SDA 2B's are in a different league.

one 1" dome tweeter (HF1000/SL1000/SL2000)
two 6.5" mid-woofers (mw6500/mw6600/mw6501)
one 12" passive radiator (sw120)

Frequency response 17Hz-26kHz
Nominal 4 ohms
Recommended 10-500 w/ch
Efficiency 92 dB
fuse: external glass (3/4 amp fast blow)

(roughly)
shipping weight 75 lbs
H 33 1/2"
W 16"
D 11 1/2"

The Monitor 12 series 2 had a limited production but there were other models with short runs so your guess why is as good as anyone's. I have a pair dated February 1992 that I bought for use as front L&R in a home theater. The soundstage is tight but mid-bass is slightly forward. They are too bright and boomy for my taste but if you want a loud monitor these are for you. They have a rare (for vintage Polk) cone style passive radiator, standard issue vinyl cabinets, and the drivers will timbre match with many vintage models. The stands are short parallel rails on the bottom giving a slight tilt. The upgraded tweeters are favored and a search of the forum for "tweeter upgrade" has some good reading.

one 1" dome tweeter (sl2500)
four 6.5" mid-woofers (mw6503)
one 12" passive radiator (sw123)

Frequency Response 25Hz-25kHz
Nominal 8 ohms
Recommended 20-400 w/ch
Efficiency 91 dB
fuse: internal self-resetting (polyswitch)

(roughly)
shipping weight 60 lbs
H 39
W 16"
D 11 1/2"

[NeilGabriel]

Engtaz: not sure. Thought about doing an ebay sale myself, but Stubby made some stands for them that are nice but would be a bugger to ship (made of heavy metal). I'm sure he would want his speakers to have a good home. I also hate to give up any audio equipment. still. I'll post a pic of what the fronts nightmare looks like with the CRS+ on the sides of the big screen with the 10Bs on the sides of the CRS+. During a Peter Gabriel DVD concert we watched last night, I actually ran all 4 as fronts (with A and B)...and my 5s as rears. I have cheap little JBL center...but sounded pretty damn good. Mike

[engtaz]

Let me know.

Thanks
engtaz

[heiney9]

I have the RTA 12B's. They sound great. I was really surprised how well the sound. I picked them up locally for $150.00 which I believe a really good deal.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51580

that the thread I started and got a lot of good info.

Good luck,
engtaz

Just to be clear the RTA 12's and Monitor 12's are completely different animals. They really have nothing in common design wise other than maybe using some of the same model drivers.

Both are definetly worthy, but not the same in any respect other than the Polk label.

The Monitor 12 was a short run and are fairly rare in that there weren't that many produced so they don't come up FS to often. I beleive it was just an extension of the Monitor 10's, a larger traditional (as opposed to SDA's) floor stander. The 1o's were very popular so I thing the thought was to build a similar design only larger.

H9

[engtaz]

True

[NeilGabriel]

Heiney9 and any others: the claim below has been made for the M 12s. Are you able to say if this is true or not. Someone wrote this on an ebay item and it has been carried over for other auctions. If the M 12s would be a worthy upgrade to my 10Bs, I would like to get a pair. My 10bs have SL 1000from what I can tell. Thanks. Mike

"If you like the M 10 speakers ,these take the sound to the next level, better high due to the SL2500 tweeter, more open soundstage thanks to 4 mid/woofers per speaker and 12" radiator will deliver lots of clean undistorted bass."

[heiney9]

Heiney9 and any others: the claim below has been made for the M 12s. Are you able to say if this is true or not. Someone wrote this on an ebay item and it has been carried over for other auctions. If the M 12s would be a worthy upgrade to my 10Bs, I would like to get a pair. My 10bs have SL 1000from what I can tell. Thanks. Mike

"If you like the M 10 speakers ,these take the sound to the next level, better high due to the SL2500 tweeter, more open soundstage thanks to 4 mid/woofers per speaker and 12" radiator will deliver lots of clean undistorted bass."

I suppose if the price was right for the Monitor 12’s, and they were all original and in minty shape, it might be worth it. However, if your 10’s are in good shape you’ll get more mileage out of refreshing the x-over and upgrading the tweeters with the new RD0194-1. Total cost will be around $150 and then you’ll have some very nice speakers. It’s a fairly straight forward project and it makes a big difference in sound.

[NeilGabriel]

Thanks a lot. Could you describe "refreshing the cross over"? I think another poster asked this about a tweeter upgrade, but does it require cutting the cabinet or does this new one fit into the same space as the SL 1000? If I can learn this from another posting or speaker diagram, please let me know. I get nervous just cleaning my electric shaver! Thanks again.

[heiney9]

Thanks a lot. Could you describe "refreshing the cross over"? I think another poster asked this about a tweeter upgrade, but does it require cutting the cabinet or does this new one fit into the same space as the SL 1000? If I can learn this from another posting or speaker diagram, please let me know. I get nervous just cleaning my electric shaver! Thanks again.

Here's what I recently did with my Monitor 5b's. Not difficult at all with proper planning and taking your time. I also recently got the RD0 tweeters and they are excellent. This whole thing really transformed the speakers. Parts get old and go out of spec and the new parts are nicer than the originals. There is a link (in my article) to the troubleshooting page here on CP that has most schematics for Polk speakers.

The RD0's are drop-ins no modification nec.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51420

H9

[polkdaddy20]

Thanks for all of the responses, I realize it was a little bit of a rambling thread. I hope to get the 12's in the next week or so, they're going to either replace the JBL 325As in my home office or go in the bedroom.

[NeilGabriel]

Polkdaddy...please give a report when you get them running. The price is a whole lot lower than ebay bids and the M 12s on ebay now look like they will likely go for a lot more. I'd like to get them, but seems risky with $150 shipping for an A-B comparison.