I just scored a pair of vintage Polk Monitor 12 tower speakers, which I have not yet picked up; I paid a ridiculous price for them, but it's all good. I have coveted a pair of these babies for decades! They're much harder to find than other speakers in the Monitor series. I currently have a pair of Monitor 10's that I am running with a Denon DRA-825R receiver through a Parasound HCA-1000 power amp. My music source is an iPod Classic. My living room is large (17x24) and we do have our 55-inch flat-screen hooked up to the system as well. Should I use my current set-up for the 12's? I've compared the numbers, and what I have now should power them ok I hope. I like to throttle up Pink Floyd every now and then lol. OR, should I replace the receiver and amp with a 5-channel set-up and use my 10's as the back channels? If so, I'd love to hear some suggestions on what I need to look for. I'd like to stay with Denon and Parasound if possible. Thanks in advance for your input!
Polk Monitor 12 Speakers
- Thread starter dkm54
- Start date
Mystery
constantly upgrading...
Yes, monitor 10 themselves are quite big and heavy but 12's make them look like bookshelves.
Monitor 12's are on the outside and 10A's on the stands.
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So I'm no audiophile when it comes to hooking equipment up, I just know the basics. If I stick with the Denon and Parasound pieces I have now, how do I hook both the Monitor 12's and Monitor 10's up to them? The Denon receiver is pre-outed into the Parasound amp. Both are 2-channel. Will it all work if I hook the 12's up to the binding posts on the amp and hook the 10's up to the posts on the receiver? Or does having the receiver pre-outed into the amp mute the receiver's outputs?
Yes, this hobby certainly is costly, but worth it. I bought a pair of Monitor 7's new back in the 80's because that was what I could afford at the time, but I always had my eyes on the 12's. It has taken me 30 years to upgrade, but I got the 12's for what I paid new for the 7's. I will try running the 12's on the amp and the 10's on the receiver to see how that sounds. I know it won't be an ideal set-up, but if it's still not quite right I will get a speaker selector. I've never used one before; do I just hook it up to the amp and hook up all four speakers to it? Does that cut the amp's power to the speakers in any way?
Mystery
constantly upgrading...
Yes.
No but it changes impedance so get one with protection circuit built in.
That way, you can use both pairs at the same time without hurting the amp.
Or if the amp can handle low ohms (2 ohms load), it doesn't matter.
Ok, here's the part where I am in foreign territory. I don't understand about impedance at all. The specs say that the amp has continuous power output of 125 w/c into 8 ohms, and 200 w/c into 4 ohms. No mention of 2 ohms load. The speakers are rated at 8 ohms, so I would need a speaker selector with protection circuit, correct?
cubdog
banging through drywall
dkm54, don't take this the wrong way. I'm just relating my experience with Monitor 12s. I really enjoyed them as a part of my HT setup. I used Monitor 10s for the rear channels and ran two subs. The receiver was a fairly expensive Yamaha but I forget the model number.
Anyway, I rarely listened to music on this system unless it was a concert DVD. Where I had problems, with the 12s, was trying to use them in a two channel system. I tried tube amps, SS amps, Tripath amps. With a sub and without, different rooms, etc. I just couldn't get them to sound right. I thought the bass as poorly defined bordering on muddy.
Ultimately I switched to Klipsch speakers for my HT and the Polks went to new homes. I really did enjoy the Polks as a part of my HT. I think you will too. Hopefully you will have good luck matching the right amp to them. Good luck!
Anyway, I rarely listened to music on this system unless it was a concert DVD. Where I had problems, with the 12s, was trying to use them in a two channel system. I tried tube amps, SS amps, Tripath amps. With a sub and without, different rooms, etc. I just couldn't get them to sound right. I thought the bass as poorly defined bordering on muddy.
Ultimately I switched to Klipsch speakers for my HT and the Polks went to new homes. I really did enjoy the Polks as a part of my HT. I think you will too. Hopefully you will have good luck matching the right amp to them. Good luck!
Nothing taken the wrong way, cubdog! Every person knows what sounds best to them. I compared Klipsch to my original Polks before I bought the Polks. The Klipsch sounded harsh to me. I can't listen to any system using a Carver amp for the same reason. Mystery, I have no doubt you know your stuff. But I have no idea what hooking the speakers in parallel to the Parasound means. I want all the speakers on all the time, so I would not be switching any of them off.
Let us know what you think . Some times M12's don't get much luv ... But I luv mine ...
Here is some Polks to show 12's do not make 10's look like book shelves speakers
hear's my Polk room (Bed room)
Left SDA1b, SDA2 Originals, Monitor 12 ,
Monitor 10 above and monitor 7 series II on top
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17611327@N04/10008864663/in/set-72157636029967004
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17611327@N04/10320514156/in/set-72157636029967004
. Some times M12's don't get much luv ... But I luv mine ...Here is some Polks to show 12's do not make 10's look like book shelves speakers
hear's my Polk room (Bed room)
Left SDA1b, SDA2 Originals, Monitor 12 ,
Monitor 10 above and monitor 7 series II on top
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17611327@N04/10008864663/in/set-72157636029967004
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17611327@N04/10320514156/in/set-72157636029967004
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