Great sound!!!!!

To some, the looks. They're sort of big.

I bought my second audio system back in 1982, which included a cheap Denon integrated amp, a Yamaha turntable with MC cartidge and Polk 10B speakers. Since then I have often wondered why my stereo always sounded better than most others that I heard. My friends were spending thousands of dollars on subwoofers and "studio monitors" and class A amps that should have put my $300 denon & co. to shame but they never did. There was always some magic that my system had that theirs lacked. Everyone told me that I had the best system they had ever heard. When my Denon recently died I worried that maybe the magic was going to go away. I replaced it with a Sony AV receiver that was getting rave reviews on this sight and sure enough, the magic was gone. Or maybe not. I started looking into vintage equipment since I was sure that my Denon was the reason for my old system sounding so good. I stumbled accross an old Dynaco ST-70 and WOW, the magic is back. In fact, it is better than ever! Which leaves me to conclude that the POLKS are the reason that my stereo has always sounded so good! I wouldn't get rid of these for anything. If you can come accross a pair of these and you're not hung up on needing a "stylish" looking loudspeaker, by all means pick them up!

Longevity and quality
Price (my price atleast)
Sound Quality - both bass and trebble

The bass can overwhelm a small bedroom (bad?)
The binding posts can cause connection problems.

I bought these speakers way back in the second grade in elementary school for use in my first real stereo. While my friends were lusting after boomboxes, I had my Polks, but they didn't know what they were. Anyway, I was lucky enough to find these speakers for $65 each at the Good Guy's Clearance Center in San Jose before they closed it down. Sure, they were open-boxed, one was black and one was brown. They had scratches and the woofer cones were punched in, nothing a little work couldn't fix. I am truly amazed with these speakers! Sure, they look like crap, but they still work and outperform any speaker I've heard under a grand. A few years ago, my cat was so fascinated with the tweeter that it pulled the tweeter cone off. So I ordered a new tweeter from Polk (for the same price I paid for the speaker) and it really helped the high frequencies. I think that older speakers may lose their crispness with age, so replacing tweeter every decade may be wise. As for the bass, it goes way doooooowwwwwwnnnnn. My friends are amazed when they hear bass from their CDs that they have never heard on their lesser speakers. As a warning, since these speakers are 4 ohms, make sure your receiver is really tough or can support 4 ohms. I have a Technics that has blown sever times at high volume (I should have guessed something when I realized that a reveiver with a fan may not be a good thing!). These would be great dorm speakers, wait, they can be too loud for that. Even today, I lust after those Polk Monitors with the 8 6.5" woofers, 4 tweeters, and a massive passive radiator!!! I heard people had to actually hook up sever amps to make the speaker cones move! 1000 watts RMS can do that. Anyhow, Monitor 10s are really fun to watch when driven hard because the woofers look like they are going to pop out, but they never do. An awesome speaker that will last for decades. Truly a classic.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity Kappa series, Cambridge Soundworks PCWorks (really, for $40 they sound very good)

I have owned a pair of Polk Monitor 10's for ten years, they still sound as good as they did when I took them out of the box. they lack low frequency bass response, but paired with a carver sub, the sounded great. I still think they can play most music without the sub. If anyone else has a pair of these or something that compares to them let me know. also just purchased a HK avr35 and want to know if someone else has heard them combined with a rear set of speakers in DD. I only have front.

Loud and durable

Sooo Large

I bought my Model 10A's in 83. And since I like to rock the tweeters did blow a couple of times. (My room mate was really hard on them). I bought a RT2000 for my rear center channel and even with it's built in sub it doesn't come close to producing the bass that these 10A's can. My only complaint is the original tweeters sounded much better than the new tweeters that polk replaced them with. I believe the sp1000 is the new replacement tweeter. Of course I had to buy a pair and they sound too bright. The old tweeters didn't produce any listening fatigue like the new ones do. I actually took the old tweeter apart and repaired the voice coil twice so I could use the old tweeters. I'm debating on buying some crossovers and new polk tweeters like the ones in my RT2000, FX500's surrounds and the CS400 center. The RT2000 didn't have any bass but the tweeters sounded a lot better than what I have now.
I would have given these speakers five stars if polk had come up with better tweeter replacement. The SL1500 in my dads newer model 7's sound great.

Similar Products Used:

Cerwin Vega, Polk RT2000, Dahquist, Mission,

I have had these since 1986 and only today did I call Polk and order replacement drivers. $110.00 for two! oh, the sound

Just the size. But the sound is still great

I purchased these while I was in the Airforce in Germany. I was in the barracks in a friend's room and heard his at low levels and was blown away at the clarity of them at such a low level. I mean you could hear all the highs & lows clearly. I was sold. The next day I went to the BX and procured myself a set and have had them ever since. I just upgraded to Definitive Technology's product line and was going to give the ol' monitor 10B's away when I went to Polk's website to see if I could purchase replacement drivers. I COULD! At $48.00/ driver too. So, now what a nice set of speakers for my extra room.

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Pioneer (pre- 1980 HPM Series)

Soundstage, Imaging, definition, clarity

Bass response dependent on placement

I purchased these speakers in the late 1970s.
These are the original Monitor 10s produced by Polk, at his
Baltimore factory.

Over time, I have added the LF-12 Polk subwoofer speaker, which adds more substantial low bass.

The Monitor 10s were the best value in their price range during the '70s. The imaging and soundstage are excellent and continue to amaze me to this day.

I drive these with a Hafler DH-200 modified amp, used with either a modified Dynaco modified PAT-4 or Adcom GTP-400 preamp, and a Marantz CD63 SE player, along with a Kenwood direct drive KD-500 concrete/resin turntable using a
British Audio tonearm and Sonus cartridge.

These speakers still shine, and will soon be in a home theatre system that includes a Polk CS245i center channel speaker, another pair of Polks for rear channels, and either
a Onkyo or Denon receiver.

If you can find these classic speakers for sale, and the tweeters are OK (I had one tweeter fail in over 25 years of ownership), buy them. These do well, regardless of the musical style (Classical, jazz, rock).

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Dahlquist, Magnepan's

The Polk Monitor 10s are STILL my main home theater speakers after 16 years of ownership! They sound awsome! I love the twin 6.5" mid-bass/10" sub bass radiator design. Definitely enough low end for me! In retrospect, I'm really glad I drove 50 miles to Beverly Hills Stereo to pick these up... back when Polk was just starting to gain their reputation. I had no idea I was buying such a classic speaker!

First of all, for the record, please disregard this being listed as a 1995 product. This site does not allow me to choose an older model year, as this speaker is circa 1986 or so.

Anyway, in short, these are FANTASTIC sounding speakers! I've had mine since 1986, and have cared for and 'babied' them all these years. I often try to get away with not having to spend a king's ransom to get high end sound, and have chosen my components very carefully to get the best band for my buck (I have to, since my other hobby and obsessions, ham radio and motorcycles drain my bank account!). My 10B's are used in conjunction with a Sound Valves SV-100 JFET preamp, an ONKYO M-504 amplifier, a Sony ES series CD player, and Monster Cable interconnects. All my components have been changed or upgraded throughout the years, and the one component that has stayed constant are my Polk Monitor 10B's. I too, keep falling in love with these magical speakers over and over again!!! I also have Magneplanars which are superb sounding speakers, but I hate having to sit in a very constricted 'sweet spot' to listen. I like to move about the couch or room a bit. The 10B's are very effortless and detailed sounding speakers with great imaging and a natural sounding soundstage. REALLY!!! To me, they sound spectacular, and the detail is surprising for a pair of (then at the time) $600 speakers!!! I have also spoken to several audophiles who believe that Polk products were much better sounding and better built back in the 80's, since Polk 'had something to prove', and was trying to gain respect and recognition in the cutthroat and ruthless audiophile world. I don't believe they make these anymore, but if you come across a pair that have been well taken care of and not abused, by all means, give them a good listen. You WON'T be dissapointed.

Realibility,deep bass,clear highs

Not quite as detailed highs as my psb stratus bronzes but half the price.

I have had these speakers since 1986 and they have been wonderful. They were my introduction to mid-fi and they have played all the classical, jazz, and contemporary music I could throw at them.
I have AB tested them with my psb bronzes and they sound nearly as good.They have more bass than the psb 600i(which are great speakers in their own right).
They have tremendous bass that is fairly tight with the 10 inch passive radiator. I now have them teamed with a Marantz sr7000 and an all polk audio surround system and the bass is seamless and awesome with the small psw250 100 watt sub. Mids and highs sound excellent as well.
I have considered upgrading, but they sound so good and have been so reliable that I can't.
Thanks to polk for a solid longterm relationship and the opportunity to enjoy the music. Jnd

Similar Products Used:

psb 600i, psb bronze

I too have owned my Polk Monitor 10B's for about 10 years and I am still falling in love with them. I just upgraded ( can't yet call it "decommisioned" ) my old Kenwood KA-V1000R integrated amp with McIntosh Labs' MA6450 integrated amp, and MAAAAN what a difference. I don't miss any bass on these. The 10 inch "sub-bass radiators" cross over at 90Hz I believe, and receive no power - the 2 6.5 inch bass-midrange drivers + the 1" poly-metal dome tweeter get all the juice and that built-in sub just does its job - radiation of energy from the cabinet. I HIGHLY recommend Miles Davis' "Live Around The World" 1988-1990 to really appreciate these studio class monitors. Great tone, soundstage and range puts Miles right in front of my papa-san for hours and hours.