Floorstanding
This product is a vintage Polk model and is not available for sale, but it may still be available in some stores as a closeout or used product. The following text is taken from the original sales brochure for this product and does not reflect current availability. If you happen to have any question or concerns about this product, or any other Polk Audio product, feel free to contact our Customer Service Department at 1-800-377-7655 Monday - Friday, 9am - 5:30pm EST
MONITOR5JR+
Classic Polk Loudspeaker, with built-in 6.5
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The Original, Second Generation Monitor Loudspeakers
"Our advice is not to buy speakers until you've heard the Polks." -- Musician Magazine
It's 1972. The first hand-held calculator costs $395. Mariner 9 sends back pictures from Mars. Nixon goes to China. The Beetle outsells the Model T. THE GODFATHER is released in theaters. "The Price is Right" premieres on TV. "School's Out" wins a Grammy. And Matthew Polk and George Klopfer, fresh out of Johns Hopkins with too much physics and mechanical engineering knowledge for their own good, develop the Monitor 7 Loudspeaker and change the way people think about home audio.
The original Monitor Series raised the bar for home audio sound quality, with 3-dimensional sound that went beyond the speaker box itself. They were highly efficient, and sound great even on the modest electronics of the time (yet they were able to handle a tremendous amount of power if you had it). They used Bass Radiator Technology, tuned to produce deep, musical bass, giving them a totally realistic, fully dynamic soundstage. And best of all, they were surprisingly reasonably priced. Audiogram Magazine gushed, "we were so impressed we could not believe the prices...they're simply a steal."
So it was with great fanfare that two decades later Polk Audio reintroduced the "Monitor" moniker with the Monitor Series 2. Seven new models, from the compact Monitor 4 to the awesome Monitor 12, all updated the original with a variety of sizes, power outputs and performance levels to match any environment or budget.
"Vastly superior to the competition in their price range." - Musician Magazine
"May well be the best high performance speaker value on the market today." - Off The Record
"This speaker is a real find!" - Audio Alternatives
MONITOR Series 2, circa 1990
Featuring the fluid-cooled SL2500 Tweeter
- Surprisingly open, "boxless," "three-dimensional" sound from a traditional loudspeaker.
- Tuned for flat frequency response, for extended listening pleasure with no fatigue.
- The ability to reproduce difficult transients, for crisp, lifelike clarity.
- Exceptionally deep, tight bass, the kind you can feel as well as hear.
- Wide, realistic dispersion of high- and mid-frequencies, for perfect sound in any listening position.
- SL2500 Tweeter design (Monitor 4.6, 5jr+, 5, 7, 10 and 12): A highly refined, technically advanced high frequency driver. Fluid-cooled with an exotic ULV (ultra-low viscocity) magnetic fluid, this tweeter effortlessly exceeds "normal" listening levels with no loss of performance or reliability. The use of the SL2500 Tweeter gives these Monitor Speakers a dramatic dynamic range, totally unique for speakers in this price range.
- SL1500 Hemispherical Tweeter (Monitor 4): A 1" soft dome driver that delivers superb definition and smooth extended response.
- Larger, internally-braced enclosures, bigger than the previous generation of Monitors, tuned for the deepest possible bookshelf speaker bass response, making them the biggest sounding bookshelf speakers ever. Larger models are capable of filling even the largest spaces with deep, musical bass energy.
- High efficiency, so they sound great even with modest electronics, as well as the ability to handle significant amounts of power, if you got it.
- Reasonably priced high performance audio; they only sound expensive.
- Built to last a lifetime. (And, indeed, Monitor Series 2 Loudspeakers regularly turn up at yard sales and in attics, sounding just as spectacular as they did right out of the box.)
Driver Complement | |
|---|---|
| Tweeter | |
| Quantity | 1 |
| Diameter | 1" (2.54cm) |
| Type | Polk SL2500 dome tweeter |
| Midrange | |
| Quantity | 1 |
| Diameter | 6 1/2" (16.51cm) |
| Mid / Woofer | |
| Quantity | 1 |
| Diameter | 6 1/2" (16.51cm) |
| Type | Bass radiator (passive) |
Electrical | |
|---|---|
| Total Frequency Response | 30Hz - 25kHz |
| Upper -3dB Limit | 23 kHz |
| Lower -3dB Limit | 48 Hz |
| Nominal Impedance | 8 ohms |
| Efficiency | 90 dB |
| Recommended Amplifier Power | 20-100 watts per channel |
Amplifier Specs | |
|---|---|
| Amplifier Type | 0 |
Dimensions | |
|---|---|
| Cabinet Dimensions | |
| Height | 19 1/2" (49.53cm) |
| Width | 9" (22.86cm) |
| Depth | 10" (25.40cm) |
Shipping | |
|---|---|
| Total Shipping Weight | 40.00 pounds |
Specifications, dimensions and features subject to change without notice. For more information call us at 1-800-377-7655 (USA and Canada). Outside of North America call +1 (410) 358-3600.
Customer Reviews
11 reviews with an average of 4.5
Write your own reviewby Carlton Simpson, February 10, 2007
6 out of 9 people found this review helpful.Strengths:
Open,boxless midrange that ONLY a died in the wool picky audiophile would have problems with.
Weaknesses:
Well they AIN'T floor standing speakers.So you AIN'T gonna get big floor standing speaker bass.
Review:
I have a pair of the older ones with the SL-2000 tweeter instead of the SL-2500 shown.However i recently replaced the tweeters with the RD-0194.The biggest improvement was in the midrange,believe it or not.Suddenly it wasn't as colored(and i didn't really notice it that much before i changed the tweeters)I am using these as the surrounds in a 5.1 channel system.I have the AUDACITY to have them set to LARGE.No problems with the woofers-active OR passive-bottoming out AT ALL.It might have something to do with all of the power i am driving them with.See associated equipment below. Parasound AVC-2500u 5.1 Pre/Pro/Tuner W/5.1VC volume control card and UBM-2500 bass management upgrades Pioneer DVL-919 Laserdisc/DVD combi player Meridian 519 RF demodulator Pioneer DV-45A DVD Audio/Video/SACD combi player Parasound CSE 6.1 surround expander Parasound Zphono phono preamp Technics SL-1200MKII tunrtable Shure V15 type VxMR phono cartridge Nakamichi BX-100 cassette deck 3-Carver TFM-45 amplifiers 375WPC each Monster power HTS-2500MKII power center Polk SDA-1C front Polk CS-400 center Polk Monitor 5jr+ rear Polk mini monitor back surround Polk PSW-150 sub Sony KV27FV16 monitor Note about the Proton AA-1150 amplifier mentioned in another review.That amp has TONS of headroom.On the order of about 7 DB of dynamic headroom.Which means for short term peaks it can produce MORE THAN FOUR TIMES it's rated output of 100 WPC(I.E you might as well have one of my Carvers driving your speakers)You shouldn't have ANY problems there driving these speakers. YES they seem to work better with MORE power instead of less.
by Wade Spradley, April 12, 2003
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.Strengths:
Clear Highs, very ambient mids make this a pleasant model to consider for their size and price.
Weaknesses:
Base punch it doesn't have, and they don't have to prove it. When balanced properly their detail makes up for it.
Review:
I am in the service, and I purchased my pair of 5jr's in 1992, This is the version with the silver dome tweeter. I was lucky that the BX had a sound room where you could sample speakers, and they had a a large selection of Polk's and other competitive brands. But the Polk's won out due to price, and size considerations when living in a dorm room with a roommate to boot. What won me over to them was the clarity of the midrange which I have always considered to be the strongest point to listening to voices in music. I like it to stand out and the Polk's delivered that. A balanced sound was what I was looking for and they sure deliver and I still have them. Currently they are being used by my parents until I can retreive them. They are definitely worth the investment. I recently rescued a pair of Monitor7's from a pawn shop and a bargain at what I paid for them. I can't wait to listen to them. The 5Jr's are still a bestbuy consideration for being a single guy and a fledgling stereophile. I have also found them to be great surround speakers. But its their sound that really delivers to me.
by Bryan, April 9, 2010
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.Strengths:
Snag them if you can!
Weaknesses:
Hmmm... considering that they have a sound imaging that compares with much higher priced cabinets, I can't think of any.
Review:
Look... I got a set of the enclosures for a steal from a thrift shop for $3.99 each. The 6.5 inch drivers were shot so I have temp drivers installed from a set of bookshelves I purchased from Best Buy Insignia bookshelves and the imagining is amazing. The silver coil dome tweeter is fresh and adds a great deal of pop with and excellent clarity. I am using them with a 25 yo JVC 40 wpc R-X220 receiver and they pound even without a sub. For the first time in years I am enjoying genres of music that I haven't let myself listen to because of the quality of the cabinet design. They are very forgiving to replacement drivers and the passive radiator design is very fun to listen to. They don't hit the bottom end of the spectrum too low to make them sound tweaked or boomy as a ported design yet adds enough punch to not sound as flat as a sealed enclosure. If you do push them they will distort on the bottom but with proper attenuation get loud as hell with amazing response and clarity. I'm in the midst of playing with the idea of using the components, finding the proper radiators and drivers and use the specs to build me a set of monitor 7's to accompany them. I am extremely pleased with the quality that these monitors yield even for 25+ year old cabinets.
by Elton Wallace, August 10, 2002
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.Strengths:
Good enough to feel the music where it counts.
Weaknesses:
Colored midrange. Could not score over 85% on my midrange fidelity tests.
Review:
My first pair of Polk Audio loudspeakers. The claims for open, boxless sound were met to a large degree. The midrange was colored, but communicated the music. Tweeter/midrange integration seemed to be at fault, as a better crossover helped. Even without such tinkering, I really enjoyed listening to music through the Polk Audio Monitor 5jr+. Whatta name!
by tony, September 23, 2002
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.Strengths:
they REALLY shine on hot rock/blues, very spacious and open with brilliant highs
Weaknesses:
a little weak on the bass response under higher volumes, passive radiator likes to bottom out on bigger bass hits... easily avoidable once you learn the limits of the speaker
Review:
this speaker (which I still use on a daily basis) was purchased in 1987 by me and was the first pair my local dealer (since out of business) ever recieved... even 15 years later these guys STILL impress... when it comes to hard driving rock and hot blues, they just sound GREAT... maybe not the most "accurate" speak around, but when in their element there is not a finer pair of bookshelf speaker made, which is why I refuse to get rid of them, even with my desire for something newer... the 5jr+ has made me a live long polk fan and I've had polk's in several of my cars/trucks and have reccomended them to all my friends (most of which became happy polk owners as well...
by Kurt, October 16, 2003
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.Strengths:
Great sound from a very small source. Good, tight mid bass without sacrificing high end clarity.
Weaknesses:
By today's standards...maybe lack of thunderous bass.
Review:
I need to preface my review with: I gave five stars, not so much because they are that good by today's standards, but rather given the size, (One single 6" powered driver and a tweeter), and the original price, they can't be beat. Notwithstanding the technical jargon of other reviews on them, they just plain work. Yes, it is true they lack earth shattering bass, but I was very impressed with the bass they produce when I got them. One thing I noticed with these speakers is that they prefer more, rather than less power. When hooked up to a Proton AA1150 and driven at their theoretical limit of around 100 watts of CLEAN, TRUE, continuous power, they rock!
by fishman487, December 24, 2005
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.Strengths:
well defined spatial prefomance between the high and mid-range speakers. crisp, clear, detailed.
Weaknesses:
bass responce in a large room. but then again, they were never ment for that! great soundingn in a small to medium small room.
Review:
back in the early 70's when, i first discoverd real music, (rock & roll) hey! i was only 7 at the time. i had just switched over from am to fm broadcasting. i found that there was life beyond the top 40 stuff am was pushing. good bye frankie vallei, goodbye fith demension, goodbye niel sedaka, hello pink floyd, jimmie, stones, dylan, velvet underground allman brothers band. apex had just taken cassettes main stream as the new medium. my oldest brother was at least twice my age at the time. after working for 3 or 4 years at his job, he saved enough money to buy a bell & howeel stereo cassette deck. complete with a built in amplifier and 2 stereo speakers. at that time buying that was like buying a plasma tv 5 years ago.sinnce that interduction to music and fine equipment, i have never looked back. i remember the first add i saw for polk audio speakers. mathew polk in a lab coat standing next to his flagship speaker, thr sda-srs. that is the first speaker i ever heard jean michell jarre on. (oxygen album)followed by taj mahal, and pink floyd. i sat in that sound room for 4.5 hours in total bliss. my problem was the money. i was 16 and worked part time. sda-srs speakers sold for thousands of dollars. almost 10,000 if i remember correctly. at the time the salesman knew i would never be able to afford them. i guess he thought it would be a kick just to see my face lisening to something i would never own. after the music was over he asked me what i thought. i told him it was like being stoned 24/7. hey! i was 16 in the mid 70's all we did was get high. he laughed at me. he took me into the next sound room. then he played mike oldfields tubular bells album on the monitor 5jr's. my face lit up after i heard this album and he told me i could own them for 500 bucks. but it was still to expensive for me. he made me a deal, he said go to work for 3 weeks. don't spend any of the money. and i will give them to you for 300 dollars. well... here it is year 2005. and i still own them. polk made sure that these speakers sound as good as the sda-srs speakers for my small & tight listening space. true, they can not reproduce deep bass in a large room like my von schwiekert research vr3's. but, in my den i will never have anothe set of speakers.. the passive radiator is more than enough to give good bass responce, the mid range driver was so well designed, that i think ther reallywas no reason to add a p.r.s.. the high end of this speaker is one of the first, to use a aluminum ferrofluid cooled drivers, that was not to harsh on the ears. it is a crisp and defined sound needed for smaller rooms, without being overly brash.the mid-range and p.r.s. are constructed of heavy paper with a polycarbonate coating to insure siffness. hence better sound reproduction. the soundstage of these speakers are comparable to jbl's l-77 studio monitors. the monitor of choice in recording studios for most of the 70's and 80's.ha, go ahead and try to find a pair of l-77's today! just like trying to find a pair of monitor 5's or 5 jr's. if you are lucky enough to find a pair in working order, pay what evere is being asked for them. but not more than 2,000. they are a true find of gold. mark levinson
by birspot, December 30, 2005
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.Strengths:
Sound clarity is a definite strength. Handle 100 watts with ease and sound full and loud.
Weaknesses:
Can't seem to find any stores that still carry them.
Review:
These speakers are some of the best I have ever owned. Sound clarity is superb- very clear and handle high volumes well. Bass response is great for a 6" speaker. Overall I would give them a very high score.
by Pete, January 3, 2008
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.Strengths:
High quality sound and construction - they were built to last.
Weaknesses:
The bass is weak when compared to the Monitor 7s, but still good for this size speaker.
Review:
I have owned these speakers since 1989 when they were purchased to match the sound quality provided by my first CD player. I've pushed them to the limit with everything from classic rock to hip hop for the past 18 years and they still sound incredible. I've upgraded my system several times over the years, but I will never get rid of the Monitor 5s. Visitors to my home have always been impressed with the sound that comes from such small speakers.
by Tim, December 1, 2009
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.Strengths:
Throw a big soundstage. Sound bigger than they are. Impressive but colored midrange.
Weaknesses:
Inability to resolve a lot of detail in the high frequencies and what little bass they have is woolly.
Review:
I bought a pair in 1987 when I was a freshman in college to replace a pair of huge Radio Shack something-or-others. Still have them, and in fact dug them out of the basement today and hooked them up just for yucks. My rig is a PC running iTunes (Apple Lossless files) running through a USB DAC straight into a Parasound HCA750 power amp. I immediately remembered why I liked the 5jrs but never loved them. They do not rock. They're from the British school -- all midrange, with the top and bottom rolled off significantly and probably too much. They don't offer a lot of detail or really any bass. And they don't compare well with today's bookshelf speakers. My Athena AS-B1s (which I got on closeout for $100/pair) blow them away in every respect -- resolution is better, bass goes deeper, midrange is uncolored, and they're smaller. But what do you expect? The Monitors are a more than 25-year-old design.
by Shaun, April 12, 2013
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.Strengths:
Soundstage, image.
Weaknesses:
None, remember they are small and from the 70s!
Review:
I bought these just trying to get something built. Man I couldn't have done better. Paired to a Marantz pm6004 and a Project essential turntable. Simply put, wide stage, incredible image, loud and clear. The peerless tweeter is way ahead of its time, and the bass is pretty good considering the age and size of the boxes. They seem to correct any room faults you have. I really love them, for the price? Unbeatable.
Vintage Product
This product is considered a "Recent" or "Vintage" Polk Audio model. It is not a part of our current product lineup. It may still be available in some stores as a "close out" or "used" product. Information provided here about this product may not reflect current realities and does not imply availability. If you happen to have a question or concern about this product, contact our Customer Service Department at 1-800-377-7655 M-F 9am - 5:30pm EST. Chances are we remember it.
MONITOR5JR+ Media
MONITOR5JR+ Literature
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