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Polk audio Monitor 10/amp

C

Catfishky

New Member
I recently bought a redone pair of Polk Audio Monitor 10 series 2. These are beautiful, you’d think they are brand new!!
My question is around powering them. I have 3 different options and wanted to get some opinions
1. Yamaha CR820. (55w/ch at 8ohms)
2. Yamaha AX-490 (85w/ch at 8ohms)
3. Harman Kardon pm665 (100w/ch at 8ohms)

looking at the specs for the speakers, Im seeing that they are 250w @6ohms (not sure it matters)

is one of the amps/receiver going to be better than the others for these speakers. I don’t want to under power them
 

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Catfishky said:
I recently bought a redone pair of Polk Audio Monitor 10 series 2.
My question is around powering them. I have 3 different options and wanted to get some opinions

1. Yamaha CR820. (55w/ch at 8ohms)
2. Yamaha AX-490 (85w/ch at 8ohms)
3. Harman Kardon pn665 (100w/ch at 8ohms)

looking at the specs for the speakers, Im seeing that they are 250w @6ohms (not sure it matters)
Click to expand...

How do they sound with the Yamaha CR-820 that you have?

What is it you're trying to accomplish? you have a receiver listed along with 2 integrated amps if you meant PM 665.

Do you want/need AM/FM capabilities of a receiver?

How loud or not loud to you plan on listening to your music?
 
Dswankey said:
How do they sound with the Yamaha CR-820 that you have?

What is it you're trying to accomplish? you have a receiver listed along with 2 integrated amps if you meant PM 665.




Do you want/need AM/FM capabilities of a receiver?

How loud or not loud to you plan on listening to your music?
Click to expand...


sorry, it is the PM 665. I edited the top post.
I’ve had the Yamaha receiver hooked up originally. I felt it wasn’t pushing the polks that great. The Yamaha amp seems to do a bit better.

I do not need the FM capability at all.

I’m looking to have them get the most punch they can, keep clarity and have the ability to get loud.
 
Catfishky said:
I’ve had the Yamaha receiver hooked up originally. I felt it wasn’t pushing the polks that great. The Yamaha amp seems to do a bit better.

I’m looking to have them get the most punch they can, keep clarity and have the ability to get loud.
Click to expand...

I had for a brief period of time owned a Yamaha integrated (CA-1010) and I really liked it. I'm sure at some point I had it connected to a pair Polk Audio Monitors (5's or 7's maybe both) and I liked the synergy.

I don't think you can go wrong with a Yamaha from that era as to the H/K I have no experience so I defer to @swechsler. Seeing as you have already tried the 2 Yamaha's do you have the ability to try out the H/K? I ask because this way you can make a decision based on what you're hearing and how the Polks are responding.

If not and it's the beefiest (WPC) of your options why not go for it as long as you're comfortable with the seller, the description of the unit and that he price is reasonable

As to AM/FM you can always add a tuner at a later date.

The H/K has pre-outs which is a bonus so that you could use it as a pre-amplifier or as a Power amplifier

The AX-490 doesn't have that ability but is remote controlled.

^ Just a couple of things to add into your equation
 
Polk and Yamaha of that era were (are) a classic match.
I used a pair Monitor Series Model 7A ("Monitor 7A") for three-plus decades with a CA-610II and would still have that system set up if there were space for it.
Also commonly paired with h/k when new, as well.
 
I recommend highest watt and current amplifier probably the H/K in that group. I have a pair of Polk 8t basically the two woofer and tweeter yours have. I was recommended a Nakamichi receiver at time of purchase it is a 50 watts . Then I purchased a H/K citation 22 200 watts and those speakers came alive for many parties over the years . Still have them just refreshed the caps and good to go... hope this helps cheers.
 
I had a pair for over a year. During that time, I tried them with a Sansui AU-9900, McIntosh MA6200, Kenwood KA-8006, and a few other receivers that didn't cut it. Also tried a Sansui 800, which wasn't bad, considering. The best was with the Kenwood and the McIntosh. I like Yamaha gear and it tends to have a fair amount of power when needed. But I would take the HK over either Yamaha's even having never heard that model before. HK really did it right in those days.
 
We sold them before they became wildly popular, The 10s always sounded good with something that had a lot of headroom. They favor Rock. The 7's are better imho
 
HK .. especially the PM665 ..

Never a fan of Yamaha gear which always sounded a bit sterile to me ..
Owned many HK's and still have a PM 660 (similar but predates the 665) .. in my secondary system upstairs ..
It's a very neutral, natural sounding high current amp .. a lot more more powerful than the Yamahas and plenty of power into a 6ohm load..

I own multiple amps (B&K, Aragon, tubes) and have other HK integrateds .. The 665 is a good 90's HK amp .. it has a neutral output stage and good bass control ..
Because of it's high current design the HK will likely have a much punchier bass than the Yamahas ..
 
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I have had a couple of pairs of Monitor 10's over the years and I agree that they seem to benefit from a bit of power. However I would not say that it is a requirement to get great sound quality from them. Grab a couple of your favorite pieces of Music that has a wide range of sound. Audition the amps/receivers and see which one you like best. Congrats and good luck!! BTW from what you have posted as your options you are not going to do any damage to the Polks.
 
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