Polk RTA-12B (early 1980s)
Little is documented about the Polk RTA-12B outside of period reviews. What survives points to a serious floor-standing speaker. Hirsch-Houck Laboratories tested it in early 1982 and identified it as the new top model in Polk's Audio Monitor Series line. It was a full-size, floor-standing 4-ohm system with response flat within ±3 dB from 50 Hz to 20 kHz and a virtually uniform phase-versus-frequency characteristic. The crossover network lived in the high-frequency assembly, and the grille covered most of the front baffle (HiFi/Stereo Review, January 1982, p.36).
The RTA-12B also won an award. Audio (August 1982, p.14) called it the Hi Fi Grand Prix Award-winning RTA-12B, and noted the RTA 11 as a less expensive, less complex version of the same design. Past that, the record is thin. No driver complement, cabinet dimensions or original price appears in the surviving documentation.
Known from period test reports:
- Full-size, floor-standing speaker system
- Nominal impedance: 4 ohms
- Frequency response: ±3 dB, 50 Hz – 20 kHz
- Virtually uniform phase vs. frequency
- Crossover network housed in the high-frequency assembly
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