Registering Vintage Speakers?

[everpress]

Hey guys,
This is my first post, so forgive me if this has been coverd; I did use the search button to no avail.
I'm a young guy that has been going down the slippery slope of vintage audio because everything new (erm... that I can afford) I've auditioned sounds terrible. And even the crappy Bose 501 Series 4 I grabbed for $25 sounded better than I could dream... I know, I know... Ignore the Bose... C'mon... $25...
Anyway, the same thrift store I picked the Bose up at had a pair of Polk Audio speakers sitting in the back without a price tag. I am not familiar with Polk products except to say that every record store I frequent uses them as the store speakers. So I saw these and I thought, if the price is low enough I'll buy them. They looked new, no scratches or dings. When I popped the grilles off, the rubber around the cones looked good, the little fish-eye tweeter wasn't pushed in or damaged... I thought, maybe 2 or 3 years old only because they are at a thrift store. Also, I thought they might be cheap because... They were at a thrift store...

I asked the lady at the counter about the price. She said $50 for the pair. Having known nothing about them, but hearing great sound out of much smaller ones, I asked my wife (shuddup) if I could get them.

I did some research on them and found that they are very nice indeed and I got more than a steal.

For $50 I found a pair of great sounding, perfect condition Polk RTA 11T.

Enough with the bragging and backstory and on to the "Can you guys help me" part:

First, my 11T's look different than most of the ones I've seen pics of; the tweeter has a small, upward pointing fin above it and the tweeter itself looks a bit 'cleaner' in it's design. The model badge on the back states RTA IIT though. Was this some sort of optional upgrade?

My next question:
(First I want to thank the service people at Polk for providing me a PDF Manual; invaluable!)
Why can you register and find information on this site for every other vintage speaker, except the RTA 11T? Polk has a whole section for Vintage and even a place in your profile you can register Vintage, but the RTA's are not available for these services.

Thanks in advance guys!

[cnh]

Welcome to club Polk. I think if you post some pics this would be a bit easier to answer. In the meantime....take a look at some pics of those models on this site:

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

http://www.polksda.com/rta11t.shtml

This might help?

cnh

[everpress]

Welcome to club Polk. I think if you post some pics this would be a bit easier to answer. In the meantime....take a look at some pics of those models on this site:

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

This might help?

cnh

Thanks for the welcome and the link; that link is actually one of the places I went to find my model... And one of the places that brought up the question of why mine look different.

Like I said, the model reads RTA IIT on the back, but only the RTA IITL have the tweeter mine has.. And instead of the "box" finish on the bottom (like the oak ones you link to) mine have round metal "feet". Do the TL's state "IITL" on the back?

Also, I'm still not sure how to register my vintage Polks when they aren't listed anywhere on the site.

I am, BTW, really stoked and excited about these things... got 'em in Black Ash finish too, so they a really discreet... for 39in beasts!

I'll get some pics up here tonight/tomorrow.

[cnh]

It seems to me that there has been a thread on this site about that very distinction. I'll see if I can dig that up 'later'.

Perhaps someone else who remembers can jump in here?

cnh

[skrol]

You got a pair of RTA11T(L)s for $50!:eek: Good show man!

It sounds like they are an early TL version. Early because they are the same as the later TL but only stamped T. Mine (also black) were mfg in 1991 and are stamped RTA11TL. Post a pic and we can tell you for sure.

That is one heck of a deal on a great pair of speakers. Do you know if all the drivers are working? Even if not, it can be fixed up and it is still a great deal.

The distinction between the RTA11T and RTA11TL:
The TL uses the SL-3000 tweeter vs the SL2000
The TL has the spoiler (plastic thingy between the tweeter and the top mid-bass driver) vs the T does not.
The T has chamfered edges to the cabinet vs the TL that has squared edges
The T has a small base at the bottom of the cabinet vs the TL has screw-in feet / spikes
The TL has been slightly re-tuned in the bass

The following link has even more into if you look at the "RTA TL" documents including the specs.
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80780&highlight=literature

Enjoy
Stan

[hearingimpared]

Welcome to Club Polk everpress.

[F1nut]

Register a vintage speaker? Why, it's long out of warranty.

[Bigbang]

I thought Polks had a lifetime warranty?

[everpress]

Thanks all.
I appreciate the info, skrol. I kept wondering if I stumbled on something good when I got them, then I was wondering what the hell I'd stumbled on when my supposed 11T's were so similar to the 11TL's.
And thanks for the welcome; I appreciate the friendliness to a new guy... It's turning out the members are as nice as the speakers.

(edit: skrol- all drivers are working fine as far as I can tell; like I said in an earlier post; I thought these things could only be a couple of years old to be in a thrift store and at this good of shape.)

As far as registering them, there is such a following and personal touch (notice the thread by Mr. Polk himself in the forum) that I imagine that Polk would love to know who has their speakers (no matter the age) and where they are. Who knows? Besides, I'm also taking some pretty high pride in just finding these things.

And on the PDF that the customer service rep emailed me, these only have a 5 year warranty... "Only"...

[BIZILL]

geat score, man.

[everpress]

geat score, man.

Thanks; the more I find out on these the more excited I am about finding them for such a great price.

I still haven't had the opportunity to crank them; I'm running them through a crappy box-brand HT receiver and I just got my vintage Harmon Kardon in today (delivered at work). It's not the biggest or best, but I've heard nothing but good things about it.
I've got a thing to do with the family tonight, so I won't be cranking it tonight either, but I'm sure it won't be long before I'm basking in the sound that everyone here seems to hold so dear...

:D

[wizzy]

I thought Polks had a lifetime warranty?

Sweet, in 80 years I'll get new crossovers :)

Nope, usually five years, though service has been known to fix something beyond that time period.

[BIZILL]

Thanks; the more I find out on these the more excited I am about finding them for such a great price.

I still haven't had the opportunity to crank them; I'm running them through a crappy box-brand HT receiver and I just got my vintage Harmon Kardon in today (delivered at work). It's not the biggest or best, but I've heard nothing but good things about it.
I've got a thing to do with the family tonight, so I won't be cranking it tonight either, but I'm sure it won't be long before I'm basking in the sound that everyone here seems to hold so dear...

:D

puh-leeze. spare me. let me give you some advice. make it seem FUN for the entire FAMILY and make them feel part of it and that it's a special family gathering. then they will LOVE taking part WITH you. :D

[seeclear]

The distinction between the RTA11T and RTA11TL:

The TL has the spoiler (plastic thingy between the tweeter and the top mid-bass driver) vs the T does not.


What is the deal with that little plastic spoiler thing. What is it for and what does it do?
THanks

[skrol]

Apparently it is supposed to help prevent the top MW from interfering with the tweeter.

[everpress]

Alright; my wife has the camera out and about today and we didn't get in until a bit late last night... But she popped out for work and I'm up trying these things out and really listening...
Holy sh!t. I'm serious. These are some serious speakers...
I still need a few cables and a few minutes to hook up my computer (my main source of audio), and my turntable (slowly replacing my main source of audio), but I hooked my xbox 360 up and my ipod to that.... Threw down on a little bit of Muse (great rock band, for those not in the know... lots of technical classical influences with pianos and full orchastras and whatnot...) and I'm so super impressed....
I'll be sticking around the forums for awhile to learn more about these and other speakers...
Thanks again to all... Keep an ear open as to why Polk doesn't have these listed anywhere on the site, please!

[NotaSuv]

Alright; my wife has the camera out and about today and we didn't get in until a bit late last night... But she popped out for work and I'm up trying these things out and really listening...
Holy sh!t. I'm serious. These are some serious speakers...
I still need a few cables and a few minutes to hook up my computer (my main source of audio), and my turntable (slowly replacing my main source of audio), but I hooked my xbox 360 up and my ipod to that.... Threw down on a little bit of Muse (great rock band, for those not in the know... lots of technical classical influences with pianos and full orchastras and whatnot...) and I'm so super impressed....
I'll be sticking around the forums for awhile to learn more about these and other speakers...
Thanks again to all... Keep an ear open as to why Polk doesn't have these listed anywhere on the site, please!

Great score and welcome....there is tons of great info on the boards and lots of members who are also are great resources to draw info from......enjoy em

[4kings1]

If you have any specific questions, the information line at Polk is very helpful. I have a pair of SRS and was able to get an estimated value and other info that I found useful.

I think another poster said this as well, but you should include your family! My dad had some awesome speakers and would crank them all of the time. I have a huge love and respect for music... at a much lower level, but I love it and had a great time getting to hang out with him!

[everpress]

Oh, I'd totally include my family! I'm not sure how I made it sound like I wouldn't!
We just were going to be out of the house, and my son is a toddler and needs his rest... So I can't crank them when we're all out of the house and then later when he's sleeping!

Last night I was able to finally hook up my HK AVR 55 with the RTA's up front and the 501's in the back... Just those four cabinets on surround at very low volumes (remember, the little guy's asleep!) were enough to impress her... Who is the staunchest of spend-thrifts... But a lovely, lovely lady indeed...

I was going to start searching out a cheap sub, but the rumble and clarity (at the same time?!?) that those 11TL's put out was breath taking.

Tonight I hope that we can all get in in enough time that my son and I can spend some loud-music-dancy-dance time in front of these things!

[skrol]

There may be better matches for a sub but this is what Polk suggested back a few years...

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80080&highlight=center

[everpress]

There may be better matches for a sub but this is what Polk suggested back a few years...

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80080&highlight=center

Thanks for the research; you are filled with tech documents, skrol!

I'll look into those, for sure, but I may fall even further back in time to see what else is out there... Or maybe look at a summer project of making my own? I'm not sure... Or maybe I'll just keep my eye on the place that I scored the RTA's for $50/pair! ;)

[skrol]

You may be surprised when you put the RTA11T's through their paces. They dig pretty low. I have a PSW10 that I have in another system. The PSW10 pack some good energy but the RTA11TLs dig deeper. I should try the PSW10 with the RTA11TLs one day.

[everpress]

Alright, I promised pictures, so I'm going to try to post them.
I'm posting with the grills off (in one shot you can see the grill) and the model number tag in the back (without the serial number; just the model number, I think...)

So here's the mystery of these: marked as 11T's but really 11TL's? Is that odd?

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/5841/p1080840.jpg

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/5020/p1080844.jpg

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/5914/p1080848.jpg

Again, thanks to everyone for your help and comments... Sorry about the image quality... Due to the Pabst (hey, bisches, it was a blue ribbon winner!) I can't tell if I'm fuzzy or the pics are fuzzy... :)

[skrol]

They look just like mine...before the surgery.

After you have listened to them for a while and human nature kicks in you may be interested in some tweaks and upgrades. I attached links for my RTA11TL upgrade project. There are others too if you do a search.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72689
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73017

[everpress]

So there isn't anything weird with the model number badge then? All is fine with that?
I just want to make sure that if i ever need parts or service of any sort, I can safely ignore that it reads as a RTA 11T, and is really a RTA 11TL...

If that makes sense..