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MillerLiteScott
03-02-2010, 06:47 PM
No Affiliation

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/ele/1625391357.html

Scott
nikolas812
03-02-2010, 06:58 PM
Very interesting. Sure would like to have them and know more about them...




Nik
comfortablycurt
03-02-2010, 07:46 PM
Interesting...

But, I'm not seeing much that looks different from a standard RTA12.:confused:
anton.chigurh
03-02-2010, 08:01 PM
Interesting...

But, I'm not seeing much that looks different from a standard RTA12.:confused:

Cherry?
comfortablycurt
03-02-2010, 08:04 PM
Cherry?

I'm not sure if the originals came in cherry...I think some of them did.

Most of them were a walnut vinyl veneer though.



Either way...it would be easy enough to wrap a pair of RTA12's with some different veneer and pass them off as "custom built". I'd want some kind of proof of the custom built status...
nikolas812
03-02-2010, 08:05 PM
Interesting...

But, I'm not seeing much that looks different from a standard RTA12.:confused:


Who knows. I'm thinking maybe its just the wood. He says its Real Cherry. I don't recall seeing any with that type of grain/character in the wood either. I thought they were all walnut veneer or something like. Not cherry.


Wouldn't really matter to me how much is done to them as long as they were truly one offs for one reason or another. I've always wanted a pair of those speakers also...


EDIT: YOU GUYS BEAT ME TO IT!:D



Nik
nooshinjohn
03-02-2010, 08:07 PM
I thought the all were Walnut veneer. If they are real wood(cherry) that would certainly make them a bit of a rarity. I would love to have them form my collection.
nikolas812
03-02-2010, 08:08 PM
Either way...it would be easy enough to wrap a pair of RTA12's with some different veneer and pass them off as "custom built". I'd want some kind of proof of the custom built status...



That was my first thought as soon as I seen them.


I wrapped my Lsi9's in Maple...





Nik
BottomFeeder
03-02-2010, 08:31 PM
Cherry? Huh. Never heard of a pair being built in cherry. Wonder if he's got some walnuts that he thinks is cherry? From the camera angle, they look like walnut to me.

Anyone axe him?
stubby
03-02-2010, 10:17 PM
Fairly sure they came in either walnut vinyl or oak veneer. Not cherry.

stubby
F1nut
03-02-2010, 11:08 PM
Custom what? Cherry what? Those pics are so bad how could anyone tell?

BTW, aged walnut can look like mahogany, even cherry depending on the original stain color used.
skrol
03-02-2010, 11:41 PM
I just emailed the guy to get more info. They are just about 15 minutes from my house. I am also wondering if I know his friend.
mmadden28
03-03-2010, 01:28 AM
Here's an older thread discussing wood veneer on some RTA-12's
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51997
comfortablycurt
03-03-2010, 02:47 AM
Does the fact that they may or may not have been wrapped in some different veneer by a Polk employee really make them any more valuable?

IMO? Not in the slightest bit.

That's assuming that the only differences are cosmetic. If there are actual differences in the crossover architecture, or custom/different drivers or something of that nature, they may very well be worth a bit more.

It's hard to tell in the pictures though really. Structurally, they look the same as an RTA12 normally would. The veneer looks like it could be cherry...but, there again, with the pics it's hard to tell.
heiney9
03-03-2010, 10:45 AM
Perhaps at the time it was made it was in pre-production and this is a pre-production RTA12, before the model was part of the Polk line up.

Wasn't Stu involved heavily with the RTA12 design?

or perhaps the seller is full of doo...doo

H9
skrol
03-03-2010, 12:27 PM
I did receive an email response. The seller is not sure what is custom about his particular speakers. His friend did indeed work for Polk but is tragically no longer with us.

I asked the seller if he could send additional info including pictures.

Would the RTA12's be considered an upgrade to my RTA11TL?
concealer404
03-03-2010, 12:28 PM
I did receive an email response. The seller is not sure what is custom about his particular speakers. His friend did indeed work for Polk but is tragically no longer with us.

I asked the seller if he could send additional info including pictures.

Would the RTA12's be considered an upgrade to my RTA11TL?

Some may disagree, but i'd say... no.

But not a downgrade either. Just different.
skrol
03-03-2010, 12:32 PM
Apparently the Polk engineers were given some liberty to play and develop some of their own creations. I have not seen them since they are in storage, but apparently the guy I know has his own SDA "signature" series, signed by himself of course. Some of our common friends have custom Monitors. I believe the difference is mainly in the XO.

The speaker business always seems to become a balance between engineering and marketing and economics. You would not want your lower end product to sound too close to the higher end. There are some things that went into the prototypes that were good ideas but never made it into production mainly due to cost or marketing. That is why things like electrolytics are used in the XO and PR's were not damped. But this is how you produce a very good sounding speaker at an affordable price. It also gives us more room to play and enjoy the improvements brought out by our tinkering.
skrol
03-03-2010, 05:06 PM
The speakers are RTA12Bs with the Peerless tweeters. The seller says, "The serial number is R12B16101. On the very top speaker the number is 75141081, the two mid speakers are, SR142/17, and the bottom speaker is SR278/6."

The numbers for the two MWs and the PR don't register anything with me. I am wondering if the XO is custom as it does not seem to match either of the RTA12B schematics listed in the forum. It uses a fuse vs a polyswitch and I don't see any resistor.
MillerLiteScott
03-03-2010, 05:45 PM
The Xover components look better than the one normally seen in stock Xovers.

Maybe Mark may have some insight?

Scott
stubby
03-03-2010, 05:47 PM
He got the MW and PR numbers off the rubber surrounds.

stubby
comfortablycurt
03-03-2010, 06:03 PM
He got the MW and PR numbers off the rubber surrounds.

stubby


+1

The drivers model numbers will be on the back of the magnet. I believe that number is simply a stock number for the rubber surrounds. Don't quote me on that though.



With this new info...this is becoming a bit more interesting. Sounds like the differences are a bit more than simply cosmetic. I wonder how they sound.:confused:
F1nut
03-03-2010, 06:11 PM
That is, without question, walnut.
comfortablycurt
03-03-2010, 07:56 PM
That is, without question, walnut.

Forgot to mention that in my last post. That's definitely not cherry. I agree, it's walnut.
Bad Maxx
03-03-2010, 08:42 PM
I have to ask, what makes anyone state that they are not cherry veneered? Cherry and Walnut are nearly impossible to distinguish from a picture, and this is a mighty poor picture. Here is Cherry wood stained with walnut lite which is a very light color, I don't have any cherry wood stained darker, but is it possible that the speaker is cherry?
F1nut
03-03-2010, 08:48 PM
If you look at the picture skrol posted in #19, it is clear from the grain pattern and the pores that it is walnut. Cherry does not have open pores like walnut does.
Bad Maxx
03-03-2010, 09:10 PM
Looking at skrol's picture I would agree, it is walnut. (my bad) Grain pattern is a tough call on it's own, I built custom cabinets for quite a few years and cherry wood is my all around favorite furniture wood, but you would be surprised how many people misidentify cherry depending on the stain used. But you are correct the "pores" are a give-away in this case.