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Polk Monitor 10 or HPM-60

stevepaige

stevepaige

Active Member
Hey fellas. I've posted here before but this is my 1st thread.

Bought a nice Yamaha CR-820 yesterday. The guy was demoing the unit with a pair of HPM-60s and it sounded really nice. The problem I have is that the Boston HD 9s I have, while sounding better with the 820 than they do on my SX-1000TW, just don't sound like what I heard at the demo.

A local audio dealer in the area has just listed a pair of Polk Monitor 10s with Peerless tweeters and the original stands. I will stop by his shop next time we are mutually available for a demo on what I hope is a similar receiver for a limited comparison.

My question is this: price independent, what are the opinions and thoughts of the good members of AK concerning these 2 seemingly well regarded speakers?

Thanks in advance.
 
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(The information regarding the10's below is from others and is not from my experience since I have only owned 5's and 7's.)

The 10's have dual mid-woofer drivers which cause interference patterns that are a slight but noticeable (to many) detriment to the imaging and overall experience. Sometimes this is called "combing". The 7's have single mid-woofer drivers and don't have that issue. If you like more bass the 10's have more of it, but many support the idea that the Polk 7's are the sweet spot in the monitor line. (Especially with the Peerless tweeters.) I have a pair of 7B's with the Peerless tweeters now, but they aren't currently in rotation. I may gift them to a family member soon. I recently gave a set of 7A's with Peerless tweeters to a good friend. I'm not giving them away because I don't like them, but I'm into the Kloss speakers (East Coast sound) and the Polks just don't get the playing time they deserve.

Not saying the 10's are bad - only that the 7's are better via the testimony from many others. You can't go wrong with any in the Polk Monitor line. If you go with the Polks there is plenty of help available here and especially on the Polk site forums. F1nut is one of the knowledgeable experts in Polk. Following is some things to consider with the Polks and then you can decide for yourself.

- The mid-woofers tend to have problems with the adhesive that holds on the magnets. If you buy them you will want to read up and address any issues. If the magnets come loose that can be a bad thing.
- Polks didn't generally come in real wood veneer. They used a good quality vinyl wood grain pattern that fools most people into thinking it is real wood (unless you look real close) and is easy to clean. If you desire real wood veneer this might be a consideration. For me, I'd like to have real wood, but Polk did a good job with the vinyl and it is easy to clean. As long as you don't ding it up it will last a long long time - perhaps forever like twinkies!
- The 10's came in several different sub-versions. The ones with the Peerless tweeters are the most sought after, but there are replacements and upgrades to make any of them sing very well.
- Parts are still available from Polk at great prices! (No affiliation.) This includes mid-woofers and some very nice replacement tweeters.

Oh. One last thing..... I don't see anyone defending the HPM's. Don't know why, but I don't personally have experience with them. Maybe someone else can speak to that.
 
Well you have heard the HPM60's and you thought they sounded very nice with the receiver you just bought, correct?

I have not heard the HPM60 or Polk 10's. I've heard the HPM 100, and other varieties of the Pioneer brand (DSS-9 and S-510). I like the Pioneer sound as you do it seems.
 
F1nut said:
Polk Monitor 7's.
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+1 (FWIW)... or a 10 if there are no 7s to be found -- either one over the HPMs, relative to my ears and tastes.

There's a pair of HPM-1100s here (again, FWIW) -- they are OK with empathetic amplification but they have neither the tone nor the sophistication of the Monitor Series Model 7 (as the Polks were originally known) -- again, to my ears and tastes. I keep the HPM-1100s mostly as a point of reference for loudspeaker comparisons/assessment; they're not bad, but not really my cuppa chai.

HPM1100 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

Finally, as to the 10 vs. 7 -- my issue with the 10 (and, again FWIW) is a certain heaviness to the sound. The issues related to the unfortunate juxtaposition of the two "midbass" drivers don't bother me as much as what I've long called the phat sound of the 10*. The 7 is considerably more neutral (to my ears and tastes) -- astonishingly in line with many of the much more expensive British consumer hifi "monitors" of their era, which puts them in some pretty fast company, indeed.


____________
* I've used that terminology for so long that it was still somewhat in vogue when I started using it! ;)
 
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If you go with the Monitor 10's, turn them on their sides, on stands, tweeters pointing in. This puts the midwoofers in alignment with each other. An instant MTM layout. That should alleviate much of the side-to-side interference, experienced in their normal, upright configuration. Plus, Peerless Polks are just plain sweet!

Good luck.
 
Gibsonian said:
Well you have heard the HPM60's and you thought they sounded very nice with the receiver you just bought, correct?

I have not heard the HPM60 or Polk 10's. I've heard the HPM 100, and other varieties of the Pioneer brand (DSS-9 and S-510). I like the Pioneer sound as you do it seems.
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Point taken. They did sound very good, but it wasn't a long listen. The guy was asking $350. I'd like to spend less. The Monitor 10s are at $300.

StimpyWan said:
If you go with the Monitor 10's, turn them on their sides, on stands, tweeters pointing in. This puts the midwoofers in alignment with each other. An instant MTM layout. That should alleviate much of the side-to-side interference, experienced in their normal, upright configuration. Plus, Peerless Polks are just plain sweet!

Good luck.
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Interesting. I'll need to see how large these are and whether or not them being on their side is an option. He has the stands but I'll need to see if they are conducive to being used if the speakers are on their side.

But now it seems that quite a few new items have popped up on the local CL that I need to research: Klipsch 3.2, Dynaco A35, Sansui SP-2000, Jamo E550, Nova 5, Interaudio 4000, B&W DM302 bookshelves with B&W ASW300 subwoofer, and a pair of Cerwin Vega D-3s.

I've heard good and not as good concerning Klipsch, Sansui (good SP-XXXX, not as good SP-PXXXX), Cerwin Vegas (good rock speaker), the Bose-backed Interaudio line (had some 1000s 15 years ago...not bad) and various Radio Shack products.

Good for Dynaco (hard to find sensitivity specs) and B&W.

And nothing concerning Jamo.

I'm glad I've got a long weekend coming up. Much to look up.

I appreciate the info guys. Very helpful.
 
The Dynaco A-25 loudspeakers are very easy to drive, if that helps any. Personally I prefer the Polk Monitor 7 to the A25, but the A25 is a profoundly musical and honest little loudspeaker; I'll always own a pair.
 
mhardy6647 said:
The Dynaco A-25 loudspeakers are very easy to drive, if that helps any. Personally I prefer the Polk Monitor 7 to the A25, but the A25 is a profoundly musical and honest little loudspeaker; I'll always own a pair.
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I've never heard the A25 nor the A35. From what I've read the A35 is a little smoother in it's delivery. The receivers I have run from 20 to 55 wpc. Would this be enough to run the A25, and probably the A35, well?
 
StimpyWan said:
If you go with the Monitor 10's, turn them on their sides, on stands, tweeters pointing in. This puts the midwoofers in alignment with each other. An instant MTM layout. That should alleviate much of the side-to-side interference, experienced in their normal, upright configuration. Plus, Peerless Polks are just plain sweet!

Good luck.
Click to expand...

I don't know what to call that, but it is not an MTM arrangement.
 
F1nut said:
I don't know what to call that, but it is not an MTM arrangement.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure that I agree with you. I really don't see any difference between the Monitor 10's on their side, than something like this?

attachment.php


The 10's are a little bigger...!

Heck, it's not hard to find pictures, of a Monitor 10 with a sideways orientation.

IMG_20160720_210606659.jpg
 
For me, I would take Polk Monitor 10's over the HPM-60's.While the Pioneer HPM's are quite good, I don't feel they are in the same league as the Monitor 7 and 10. Price wise, I have seen Monitor 10's go for as little as $150 and listed as high as $350 on the auction site. I just won an auction for a pair on Shopgoodwill.com for cheap that I will be picking up later this week. My buddy and I are into stacking vintage bookshelf speakers and one of the best combos we have found is stacking a Monitor 7 above a Monitor 10. Just glorious sounding. Also, vintage Yamaha receivers/amps are an excellent match with Polk Monitors.
 
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