PolkAudio Monotor 5 vs. Coral BX-1001

[Coomber]

Hi all,

A buddy just gave me his old pair of Coral BX-1001 speakers. How do these tend to compare to something like the PA Monitor 5? I'm quite the newbie, so any advice or insights would be much appreciated. BTW, my Monitor 5s are hooked up to a Marantz 2010.

Here's a couple of photos, if they help. Yes, I believe that may be paint on Coral.

Thanks!

 

[crazy-in-az]

Welcome to AK!

A lot of people ask viewpoint questions like this, but the only thing that matters is this- how do you think they compare? Since you have both sets of speakers why not hook them up and see what you think. A lot of us can give you personal opinions and viewpoints, but they are your speakers and you have to live with them.

I hope that I don't come across as a little rude, but that's some of the best advice you can get.

 

[Coomber]

Thanks, crazy-in-az. No, not rude at all, and you're spot on!
I've been switching them back and forth and doing just as you say. I'm more curious as to what others' experience with Corals of this type (or others) have been. Cheers!

Ps. And thanks for the welcome! I'm excited to be getting into vintage audio and so glad this site exists.

 

[Dswankey]

Welcome to AK!

A lot of people ask viewpoint questions like this, but the only thing that matters is this- how do you think they compare? Since you have both sets of speakers why not hook them up and see what you think. A lot of us can give you personal opinions and viewpoints, but they are your speakers and you have to live with them.

I hope that I don't come across as a little rude, but that's some of the best advice you can get.

Great reply and I couldn't agree more. Best of luck with your listening comparison and welcome to AK. FWIW I own a pair of 5's and they are a sweet set of speakers.

By the way your Polks have the highly esteemed and coveted Peerless tweeters, Congrats!

 

[bigaltx24]

I had a pair of the Corals for a while, and I've also had Polk Monitor 7s. The Corals while fairly well balanced across their frequency range don't dig very low and can be a ted harsh on the higher end. They pair better with tube amps than with solid state and will sound better on Jazz and Acoustic music. The Polks are a very nice speaker, they can hold their own against a lot of highly touted speakers. They do everything pretty well from Rap to Classical.

Both of these speakers will need their crossovers recapped to sound their best. If your Polks don't have the fuses on the back they will have a polyswitch in the crossover, I always replace the polyswitch with a .5 ohm resistor, it saves future trouble.

In the end it really comes down to which speakers you prefer. When trying to decide between two sets of speakers, I always run a set for a month, then swap to the other pair for a month. Rinse and repeat two or three times and you'll know which you prefer.

 

[Coomber]

Great reply and I couldn't agree more. Best of luck with your listening comparison and welcome to AK. FWIW I own a pair of 5's and they are a sweet set of speakers.

By the way your Polks have the highly esteemed and coveted Peerless tweeters, Congrats!

Thanks for the welcome and reply, Dswankey! Great to see another Deadhead on here, to boot
Glad to hear my Polks have an esteemed quality. What are Peerless tweeters, and do they have a certain quality folks look for?
Thanks, again!

 

[Coomber]

I had a pair of the Corals for a while, and I've also had Polk Monitor 7s. The Corals while fairly well balanced across their frequency range don't dig very low and can be a ted harsh on the higher end. They pair better with tube amps than with solid state and will sound better on Jazz and Acoustic music. The Polks are a very nice speaker, they can hold their own against a lot of highly touted speakers. They do everything pretty well from Rap to Classical.

Both of these speakers will need their crossovers recapped to sound their best. If your Polks don't have the fuses on the back they will have a polyswitch in the crossover, I always replace the polyswitch with a .5 ohm resistor, it saves future trouble.

In the end it really comes down to which speakers you prefer. When trying to decide between two sets of speakers, I always run a set for a month, then swap to the other pair for a month. Rinse and repeat two or three times and you'll know which you prefer.

Thanks a ton, bigaltx24! Yes, the Polks have treated me very well for the few months I've had them and sound great overall! Definitely not getting rid of them any time soon. And, yes, my Polks are the ones with the two fuses on the back; I'll look into the .5 ohm resistor. Cheers!

All that said, I've been doing some taste testing, and with my Marantz 2010, it seems like I'm getting better sound out of them at the moment. Maybe it's because they have higher accuracy and the 2010 is a pretty low power receiver(?). I do listen to quite a bit of jazz and acoustic, although a lot of indie rock, too

Great suggestion about switching between them for a month a piece. Will do!

 

[slimecity]

Coral made some great speaker drivers but in terms of an overall speaker system - you may prefer the sound of the newer speakers. The newer ones could well sound a bit more balanced across the spectrum and better at the lows and highs.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Hi all,

A buddy just gave me his old pair of Coral BX-1001 speakers. How do these tend to compare to something like the PA Monitor 5? I'm quite the newbie, so any advice or insights would be much appreciated. BTW, my Monitor 5s are hooked up to a Marantz 2010.

Here's a couple of photos, if they help. Yes, I believe that may be paint on Coral.

Thanks!

Your Marantz sounds better with Polks than all but late Corals. Now if you had an older 1960's Marantz like a Model 18, the Corals would sound better with it.

 

[Dswankey]

Thanks for the welcome and reply, Dswankey! Great to see another Deadhead on here, to boot
Glad to hear my Polks have an esteemed quality. What are Peerless tweeters, and do they have a certain quality folks look for?
Thanks, again!

Here's what a Peerless Tweeter looks like* as for certain quality, within the Polk community they are considered smoother and more pleasant to listen too compared to the ones that followed.



http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/99168/vintage-peerless-clarification

 

[Nightwisher]

Hi all,

A buddy just gave me his old pair of Coral BX-1001 speakers. How do these tend to compare to something like the PA Monitor 5? I'm quite the newbie, so any advice or insights would be much appreciated. BTW, my Monitor 5s are hooked up to a Marantz 2010.

Here's a couple of photos, if they help. Yes, I believe that may be paint on Coral.

Thanks!

The Polks should be better, no question. They should have better high extension, smoother highs, tighter lows, and better imaging - all around better than the Corals. Especially with the Peerless tweeter equipped. Worth noting that I am biased toward vintage Polk and I love them - I have SDA-2s in the main setup, as well as Monitor 10Bs, 7Cs, and 4s.

That's not to say the Corals aren't good, but it takes a really great speaker to beat vintage Polk, IMO. The Coral's ~3" paper cone tweeter is no match for one of those Peerless tweeters as far as I'm concerned. I also much prefer Polk's passive radiators over many ported designs.

That's my take. I can't say how your ears will like either one or how well they'll integrate into your system, but I'd take the Polk all day every day.

 

[Coomber]

Coral made some great speaker drivers but in terms of an overall speaker system - you may prefer the sound of the newer speakers. The newer ones could well sound a bit more balanced across the spectrum and better at the lows and highs.

Your Marantz sounds better with Polks than all but late Corals. Now if you had an older 1960's Marantz like a Model 18, the Corals would sound better with it.

Thanks for this, slimecity. What is different about the '60s Marantz?

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Lower damping factors than the newer Marantz models, also helps with bass control on older speakers. I think the Polks are superior overall myself.

 

[bigaltx24]

Thanks a ton, bigaltx24! Yes, the Polks have treated me very well for the few months I've had them and sound great overall! Definitely not getting rid of them any time soon. And, yes, my Polks are the ones with the two fuses on the back; I'll look into the .5 ohm resistor. Cheers!

If yours have the fuses they don't have the polyswitch, so no need to worry about it. The polyswitch is like a fuse that was used in later models.