Just Inherited a pair of Polk Audio 10a Monitors. Peerless Tweeters.

[AriusVision]

I just inherited these Polk 10a monitors from my parents. They wanted to give them away, and after a little research online I decided that I would take them. I believe that they have the peerless tweeters.

I know everyone has seen them before...but here they are:
http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr20/Ten21Entertainment/CIMG0929.jpg

They are fairly dirty, I will need to give them a nice clean.

I plan on re-doing the XO with Dayton caps and Mills resistors. From what I've seen in the shootouts, the Daytons are the best on a budget. Maybe someday I will upgrade to Sonicaps but for right now I don't plan to.

(4) 12uf Dayton Caps (~$20)
(2) 34uf Dayton Caps (2x 18uf + 2x 15uf) (~$21)
(2) 2.5 ohm mills resistors (?)
(2) 2.7 ohm mills resistors (?)

For the resistors what is the difference between the MRA-5 and the MRA-12?
http://www.soniccraft.com/mills_resistors.htm
I was thinking of going MRA-12 just as a precaution, will this make any difference in sound quality?

Thanks for taking a look!

[danger boy]

hey congrats.. you're parents have good taste.. this is the kind of hand me down I like. LOL

yeah clean them up.. this one looks pretty good condition to me. they look to be early Monitor 10's. nice that is has the peerless tweeters.

[heiney9]

Welcome to CP. Nice speakers! Fun project too. The MRA-5 and MRA-12 refer to the wattage rating of the resistor. Go with the 12. Not sure you'll hear a difference between the 2.

[geppy1]

Those look like mine. Monitor 10s Are they real walnut cabinets. Mine are (just beat up) What are the serial numbers on the tag on back?? Can you get me a picture of your croosover before you take it apart?? I suspect the tweeters are the orignal HF 1000 Peerless made in Denmark. The later 10a tweeters were Peerless made in the US for Peerless. They are probably 1979 to around late 1980 early 81 Keith

[skrol]

What is the differences between the ones made in Denmark vs the USA?

[zingo]

If you are using Mills resistors, I would use the MRA-12 as you will want the higher power rating. Most stock XO resistors are rated for around 10w.

I would also consider Mundorf resistors. I originally bought them because they were cheaper than the Mills ($2.50 each), but ended up keeping them because I think they sound better. :)

[heiney9]

I would also consider Mundorf resistors. I originally bought them because they were cheaper than the Mills ($2.50 each), but ended up keeping them because I think they sound better. :)

That's good to know because Madisound sells the Clarity caps I want to try and they sell Mundorf resistors not the Mills. This way I only pay shipping to one company.

I'm thinking of getting rid of the Solens on the high pass of my 5B's and then putting the proper resistor value in using a Mundorf. I have Mills now 2.0 ohm it really should be 2.7 ohm. I think it will blend the RD0's slightly better.

H9

[hearingimpared]

Welcome to Club Polk AriusVision. Those are nice speakers.

[cnh]

Great Way to Break into the Club Arius--with a vintage Peerless!

Welcome to CP! You're way ahead of the game with those in YOUR FIRST POST!!

cnh

[engtaz]

Congrats on the 10's. Sweet.

[AriusVision]

Thanks for all the welcomes everyone!

Both pictured, cleaned them up some. Could use more will do that another time.

http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr20/Ten21Entertainment/M1-5.jpg

Geppy1 - Here is the serial:
http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr20/Ten21Entertainment/M2-5.jpg
The other is just 2 less.

The XO untouched. Stock.
http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr20/Ten21Entertainment/M4-6.jpg

Zingo - Thanks for the advice. I sourced the 2.7 ohm resistors in the Mundorf flavor but am having trouble finding any 2.5 ohm ones. Are you just using 2.2 ohm resistors in place of the 2.5 ohm ones?

Thanks again for all the warm welcomes! I will take many pictures when upgrading the XO for future reference.

Forgot to add, what receivers are recommended for these speakers? Not looking to spend much.

[geppy1]

It amazes me how screwy the model and labeling system was back then. My RTA 12Bs were done in April of 84 yet I found a pair of RTA12Cs done in January of 84. Four months BEFORE the Bs Now here is another example. Your 10As are serial 68000 and from August of 79. Mine are 10s serial 72178 and from Nov of 79. We have 10As before 10s. I wonder if your tweeter is marked 7514____ (Denmark) or 5514___ (US made). My brothers 10As are from 1983. By the way my croosovers was redone by Ken (the MAN) at Polk about 12 years ago. Assuming mine looked like yours at one point I wonder(for educational reasons) what the differences are. Great speakers keith

[geppy1]

Here is the picture

[Mos Fete]

The Monitor Series are amongst my favorite Polks, I have two pais of the 5's, one pair of 7's, one pair of 10's and one pair of RTA-11T's.

You really lucked out with that inheritance.

Enjoy.

[george daniel]

congrats on the speakers,, now what are you going to power them with?

[AriusVision]

congrats on the speakers,, now what are you going to power them with?

Thanks, not sure what I will power them with, any ideas? I searched a bit but couldn't find any amps/receivers that people are using with these in my price range. I might just see if my parents have the old amp that they powered it with.

Forgot to answer the question on the wood. It is laminated wood, still looks very nice though after a good wood oil polish, has a nice cherry accent to it. :)

I might just go with Mills Resistors to get exact values instead of the Mundorfs.

I cleaned the speakers with windex, from what I have read it is fine as long as it is in moderation. Now they really look nice. Thinking of getting some black wet look paint to put on it not sure though.

I will check out the tweeter number later tonight.

[AriusVision]

Update:

I am being offered a Pioneer VSX-9500S for 40+ shipping that I can fix up. Or I have an older NAD 7045 receiver in my possession that works fine. I'm not sure if the switch is worth it...any thoughts?

Edit: Forgot to mention I got in the parts today, starting work on the Monitor's soon.

[Tony M]

I wouldn't use paint on those:eek:. Keep them original!!! they're classic....

[AriusVision]

Installed the new Crossovers, pretty easy install. Sound and work great. Unfortunately I did not test these speakers before hand and one has a blown tweeter.

The good news is that I went on Ebay and found two peerless tweeters for the Polk 10a that were made in Denmark. :)

Here are pictures of the new caps on the board.

http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr20/Ten21Entertainment/IMG_2585.jpg
http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr20/Ten21Entertainment/IMG_2586.jpg

[leroyjr1]

very nice!!

[hearingimpared]

Nice work however I have one suggestion; get the hot glue off of the Mills resistors in that it will make them overheat.

[AriusVision]

Thanks I will do that when I replace the tweeters.

[RandyWilliamson]

Lucky you ..on those peerless tweets...get a reliable amp....something solid to drive them with...trust me you won't regret it and you won't pop your fuses or tweets.....

Congrats!

[Mother Mooch]

Nice speakers and nice clean up job...

[Lasareath]

Welcome to Club Polk AriusVision. Those are nice speakers.

LOL!!! Joe, he joined 1 month before you! :D

[hearingimpared]

LOL!!! Joe, he joined 1 month before you! :D

With six posts he gets a new welcome.:p

[AriusVision]

Found out the problem was not my tweeters...I spent so much time focusing on the Crossovers I missed checking the fuse! The fuse on the speaker where the tweeter wasn't working was bad...hence the mids/lows were working but the highs were not.

While it was stupid to overlook such a crucial thing, I'm not too mad as it did lead me to these Danish babies:

http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr20/Ten21Entertainment/Twe1.jpg
http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/rr20/Ten21Entertainment/Twe2.jpg


The original Peerless tweeters I will let go for $60 shipped by Paypal. (Not the ones pictured above) PM if interested. I will also make a sale thread in a couple days or so, want to give those following the thread the first opportunity though.

[geppy1]

What is the number on the back of your original tweeters 5514---- or 7514 ----- ? The 7514---- will sound more like the ones above as both are made in Denmark. Tweeters marked 5514---- were nade in the US for Peerless and sound slightly different. Most people assume any vintage Polk Peerless is the same as any other and do not realize there are two different ones. keith

[comfortablycurt]

It's easy to tell the difference between the Peerless tweet's even without model numbers.

Here's a pic of the American Peerless tweeter. Note the small hole in the center of the dome. This supposedly relieves the tension on the dome, and gives it a slightly smoother sound.

http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww160/comfortably_curt/peerless_2.jpg

The Denmark Peerless tweeter lacks this hole in the dome. Whether or not it sounds better, I can't say, as I've never heard the Denmarks. I've heard that they do sound different/better though. I'd like to get a pair of the Denmarks to make a comparison sometime.




Arius-Just so you know, as per forum rules, you're required to have at least 25 posts before selling anything on the forum. You seem to mean well though.

Stick around and contribute for a while, and then throw those tweets up in the FM if you still want to move them along. I'm sure you won't have much trouble finding a buyer for them.;)

[AriusVision]

Oh, I did not know that! Thank you ComfortablyCurt for letting me know.

So the American made sound better than the ones made in Denmark?

[comfortablycurt]

So the American made sound better than the ones made in Denmark?

Like I said, I've never compared the two, so I can't really say. Better is kind of a subjective term, but from everything I've ever gathered, it's not so much that it sounds "better", just a bit "different".

Like I said, I'd like to compare the two sometime myself. Since you're going to have a pair of each, and take some time to compare the two. You may prefer one over the other. When/if you decide you prefer one type, you won't have much trouble moving the other pair. The Peerless tweets are pretty desirable, whether it's the American or Denmark version.

[geppy1]

The ones made in Denmark that Polk used from around 1977 to about 1980 also have the hole. Polk put it in. The only ones that do not have the hole are the non originals or aftermarket replacements. (You could actually get the ones made in Denmark up until about 7 years ago when the tooling cracked and broke, game over) The original was called an HF1000. The later American made (Peerless (1980 to about 1983) were actualy called SL1000s in the Polk brochure and pictured as such. As we know around 83 and into 84 the change over happened to the silver colored faceplate and clear dome and that also became the SL1000. I myself have no real problem with the silver faced SL1000s.If in good shape they are very silkey and pretty matural sounding. The SL2000s on the other hand sound like timfoil(my wifes thoughts)

[geppy1]

comfortablycurt is right. Its a matter of different. I have compared them on three different speakers to point of wearing out the screw holes. The orignal Denmark made ones are very defined yet smooth and musical with an almost 3D effect to the sound with a real feeling of depth and an elevated stage HOWEVER the stge feels smaller from left to right and things more congested and sometimes a little squeezed. It is a very appealing sound. The American made or later ones.seem to have more dispersion but the stage backs up a little and seems slightly more distant but larger and the sounds is slightly more relaxed. The degree of these differences stays relative to each other in the different speakers I tried it in many many times but were they are on the scale can shift. Also I have had the ones you just pictured. They are aftermarket replacemts. i found them to be alittle intense. Never did poke a hole in them. to see what would happen but i bet it makes them sound like the originals. keith

[ANWKLO]

The American made or later ones.seem to have more dispersion but the stage backs up a little and seems slightly more distant but larger and the sounds is slightly more relaxed.


Keith, Do you means this SL1000?


http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43496&highlight=SL1000

[ANWKLO]

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=19209&d=1157192606

[geppy1]

I am talking about the two original Peerless tweeters Maybe this will help

HF1000 Black, Made in Denmark by Peerless . Hole in the dome. Used by Polk late 70s through around 1980 Usualy marked on back 7514----

Early SL1000 Black. Made in USA for Peerless. Hole in dome. Used by Polk 1981 through around 1983. Marked on back 5514------

Sl1000 The real deal. Looks like a Peerless but has silver face with clear dome (the one you have pictured) Used by Polk 1983 to 1986. Have seen them marked 5514----

KD01 or something like that. Aftermrket replacement Peerless made in Denmark until the tooling broke several years ago. No Hole in dome. The ones you have pictured above in boxes with the blue labels on back.

[geppy1]

By the way is that silver SL1000 you have pictured for sale?? keith

[skrol]

Pics of the Made in USA Peerless from my Monitor 5A (1983) in posts #18 and #20.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83521

[ANWKLO]

Keith,


"The American made or later ones.seem to have more dispersion but the stage backs up a little and seems slightly more distant but larger and the sounds is slightly more relaxed."

Is the about what you describes for SL1000, which has silver face with clear dome (the one I have pictured):confused:

This is the backside picture. I can't see any marked 5514----. Sorry, the SL1000 is not for sale. I just replaced the bad Peerlees with this SL1000:)

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=40461&d=1243132469

[geppy1]

Yes but you will need to replace one or the other so they are matchedas they do not sound the same.

[AriusVision]

Thanks for all of the clarifications on the different tweeters, I never knew there was such a complicated history among these tweeters! Yikes!

[RandyWilliamson]

Nice tweet pics!
How do you guys think the RDO198's sound in comparison to the older denmark tweeters?...I have heard them...maybe 20 yrs ago now..still remember their stellar perfection.

Arius awesome and lucky buy...those look great! good luck with the project.

[ANWKLO]

Yes but you will need to replace one or the other so they are matchedas they do not sound the same.


Yes, both are replaced.:)

[AriusVision]

Long time no posts! I am buying a Luxman R-115 for these Monitor's.

I also managed to snag another pair of Monitor 10 speaker's for $25 from a garage sale, they have mismatched tweeters but for $25 how can I pass them up?

I plan on putting the tablesaw to work and build stands for my Polk Monitor 10a's. I found the plans here on the forums and they look pretty easy.

I haven't had much time at all to use these as they were moved to my new house and setup there.

I also plan on redoing the back input terminals, they don't really fit well as-is with 12 gauge speaker wire which is what I want to use.

If anyone has any insight on redoing the terminals please speak up otherwise I will be buying some terminals off of Ebay and going at it blindly. :)

[dcmeigs]

Check with Parts Express for the posts.

[dcmeigs]

Or switch to banana plugs.

[Quagh]

I picked up a pair of these yesterday from a guy that was moving. So far no one has mentioned the X-over upgrade just yet. (at least in that post)

These have the SL1000's in them too. The Blind Squirrel every once in a while.......

My serials are 10b-126578 & 126420. Any info is appreciated. I'm new to the Polk scene and have just recently (5 years or so) started picking up vintage gear to play with. Having a blast too! Going to get some HD-77's and a 2235b receiver now.

Here's a link to my find.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86882