Polk trip today

rs159

hint.........erotic waveguides.............




Go ahead trey, just tell us all what they really are. I mean.....at the rate you're going you're going to end up doing that anyway

VR3

nope, all im gonna say...:cool:

dorokusai

Trey - I know what you are talking about, I have an excellent picture of them in my camera....first thing I saw when I walked in.

They look like an RT3000P type system:

Base Cab: 3 unknown type Polk woofers
Upper Cab: 4 LSi 5 1/4" drivers with a VIFA placed in the middle.

Micah said that it was just a prototype, some loose idea thrown together. Prototype or not, it looks real tight.

Frank Z

A possible SDA-LSI Hybred?!?

madmax

I'll add a few things here. (I'm so bad with names I'll leave them out). I was very impressed with everyone involved. The prototype area was extra awesome in my opinion! The proto-guru guy knows what he is doing. period. Absolutely top notch. The speaker prototyper can produce what you want in minutes. The in-wall guru knows the sound and compromises to look for. I get the feeling he is probably pretty distressed if the sound is not what he wants it to be at the end of the day. The QA guy is very impressive. Not only does he do the hum drum daily checks of material, he actually checks out products from the competition to insure polk is better at the same price point. I noticed this theme of being "better" throughout the departments. Ken had some crossovers laying on his desk. (Old ones). I'm not sure but I think he actually takes them home to play with them after work if someone is having a problem!

I almost forgot one of the more important people there. The guy who figures out what he wants the drivers to do. He decides what he wants and then goes over the prototypes, checks all the parameters and goes on from there. I wish I knew 1/100th of what this engineer does!

Let me sum this up. It appears to me that these people not only work at polk, they are truly polk enthusiasts! They design, listen, re-design, re-listen, check against everything else out there and when it is better, they sell it. It doesn't get any better than this!

madmax

VR3

Prototype or not........that speaker was a pure beaut!!

pjdami

Thanks for sharing more folks without divulging any secrecy technology that you guys signed off on the disclosure form.

Man, I feel like I talking to people that visited Area 51 or something!

check against everything else out there

So do they have the competition over there to compare to like Energy, Infinity, Paradigm, Axiom, NHT, etc. etc?? Or is this asking too much again from "Area 51"

PJ

Strong Bad

I think Micah said those speakers were some idea they toyed with, but said....NAHHHHH!

Those guys are constantly brainstorming with ideas of what to make next. I think sometimes they just say...hey, if we take an SRT sub and match it with something new, I wonder what that would sound like. Kind of like the old thread on SDA's where we kept trying to tell them to just throw some new drivers in an existing SDA cabinet and make it work.

Sorry, if you had been there you would understand that speakers just don't work that way. Everything has to be matched together. The cabinet has to match the drivers which have to match the crossover and so on...

Getting back to Trey...yeah...it was a cool combo. Yummy! Honestly, I still love my SDA's!


John

VR3

Yeah I remember what Micah said.....and I was like......heck i'd buy it! lol!

OH YES! THEY PUT IN *ALOT* of research, NO DOUBT! Makes me like my speakers alot more! lol!

fireshoes

I think I'd heard about those speakers before. Were they called LSi50's?

VR3

they are the holy $#$#_#@+@#+) _)#@)#@)+#@ speaker!

fireshoes

So you are saying I should build a couple of speaker cabinets and put all of my LSi drivers in them for a 'pretty good' 2 channel setup? Let's see: four 8" woofers, fourteen midrange drivers, and nine Vifa tweeters... would that be a good start?

I suppose I could order a tenth tweet. lol

dorokusai

It was very interesting to see the workings of each department. I echo Madmax's comments that all the employees were motivated, and seemed to be genuinely happy to talk with us for a few minutes...or even much much longer. Thank you so much Polk Audio

I can't get over how nice of a time it was to be involved for a day, in the process that created the speakers that I own. I now own both vintage and new Polk, and it really makes me appreciate them even more.

It is liberating to know that the consumer is taken so seriously. I am sure that many small companies also take this approach, but this is my favorite company, and always will be.

Fireshoes - I have no idea, it certainly looked cool. No names were given to them but "Oh, those are nothing, just prototypes"

PJ - I recall some "N" brand inwalls, and some "B" brand inwalls being tested...but we didn't get to A+B them. Who cares about them anyhow, they suck They new Polk inwalls were absolutely the highlight of my trip, they sound fantastic. The C245i I believe was the group favorite. It really had a great soundstage, and the clarity was excellent. Bass, was suprisingly quite noticeable, but is still an in-wall...but who in their right mind, wouldn't add a great sub anyhow The Polk designed enclosure for the in-walls will clear ALL that up I am sure. I won't reveal measurements, but it looks to be an extensively researched, tuned and baffled type enclosure. It is geared for new homes obviously. The Polk in-wall scene is the best IMO, and with this new stuff coming, I wouldnt build a home without it.

That's about all I have to say about the in-walls, I don't want to get killed.

More later on some other stuff.

pjdami

The Polk in-wall scene is the best IMO, and with this new stuff coming, I wouldnt build a home without it.

That's cool about the in-wall. I'm really interested in the in-ceiling LSi when they come out to add on to my system. Right now I have the in-walls that Polk offers right now and they are okay at best.

The new in-wall / in-ceiling speakers sound like they will be a good market for Polk and a smart move to compete with the Bose cubes that appeal to many people for the WAF and concealability. In-wall / in-ceiling is the way to go for many because some people just don't want speakers cluttering their rooms.

VR3

That enclosure.......was nice....I think it was 15 3/4 -- 16 on center.......I wouldnt imagine it being any more......

dorokusai

PJ - The in-ceiling models that we were shown looked to be quite nice also. They seem to recognize the market, hopefully they will extend into the lead with good marketing. I think they have taken a different approach to the mounting of the woofer to allow a more rigid bracket for the angled tweeter. You would like these puppies.

The baskets on the newer in-ceilings also seem to be more robust, or at least stronger. They were heavy SOB's, and the pivoting tweeter is such a great idea for manufacturers to incorporate.

That enclosure.......was nice....I think it was 15 3/4 -- 16 on center.......I wouldnt imagine it being any more......

I don't want to quote specifics, and Trey rolls in an drops a set up for schematics... Silly bugger!

VR3

Well, if a builder builds anything over 16 on center he is building your house wrong. So i doubt Polk would make anything larger than 16 inches wide

F1nut

I think we need to be very careful about what is said about what, if we want to be able to go on future Polk tours.

rs159

Haha.......well, Trey was im'ing me and told me about the LSi prototypes, he said it was all good as long as I kept it under my hat...

Well no sooner did I say "erotic waveguide" (the vifa "nipple tweeter") did doro tell us the whole damn driver layout

VR3

Well, you mofos keep asking, I am saying as little as I can.....

the 16 inch on center is not a big thing - that is a given.

The reason why I did not want to talk about the trip is mainly this......yes I am sure we can talk about some things, but mainly the fact I dont know what we can NOT and CAN talk about. So better yet, I shall keep my mouth shut.

madmax

I'll bet they are less than 16" on center. That might rattle...
madmax

VR3

What do you mean Chuck?

In your house........there is a stud every 16 inches, plus 1 at the end. The enclosure will fit between them 16 inch spaces......as in, one enclosure per space...

Micah Cohen

You know, this is very cool. I'm really happy that you guys enjoyed the day at Polk, and got so much out of it and have so much to say about it. I certainly had fun meeting everyone, and it even jazzed me up to see not only your reaction to this stuff that we take for granted every day, but also to learn new stuff myself -- I had never seen Freeman put togther a prototype driver by hand, that was really cool!

So far, you haven't said anything that gets in the way of the "non-disclosures" you signed. The new LCi In-Walls are on the way -- the ones you heard were the LCi265, a Power Ported rectangular in-wall speaker in a custom in-wall enclosure, something Polk will be providing to custom installers, etc. Those unfinished boxes in the SRT room were just prototypes of nothing, messing around with driver arrays, seeing (hearing) what happens, something like an LSi "step-up" speaker. But they've been in there for a long while now, and are probably stillborn. You also saw the PSW808 cabinet, remember, and that's another slow-moving project, inching its way to completion.

Everyone was very well behaved. I think we panicked at one point that a bunch of you forum bozos would show up and start a bench-clearing brawl in a demo room. But everyone got along, which is testament to how we all really feel here, which is that this our hobby and it's fun and we all want to have fun when we're indulging our whims. (And you know how painful that can be.) And everyone must've been on a health food diet or sumptin, cause we were left with 2 whole boxes of fresh Krispy Kremes which the nice ladies in Inside Sales certainly did not need.

Sorry you couldn't make it Mike (hotwheelman). Glad all is well, and there will always be a next time.

And they still haven't fixed the AC in this dept. It's like a swamp. I'm getting sleepy... sleepy...

MC

Polk: What happens here, stays here.

madmax

Originally posted by Micah
And everyone must've been on a health food diet or sumptin, cause we were left with 2 whole boxes of fresh Krispy Kremes which the nice ladies in Inside Sales certainly did not need.

MC

Polk: What happens here, stays here.

Hopefully those nice ladies in inside sales do not read the forum. If they do, you may get the anticipated brawl after all!

madmax

Demiurge

Originally posted by Micah
Polk: What happens here, stays here.

I still can't believe that's vegas' new slogan.


Anyhow..here is my question.

What is driving all the speakers in the Demo rooms? What brands? Models? Ect? Anyone get intel on what the company men prefer to mate with their speakers?

F1nut

Check the bottom of page 2

Demiurge

Sources run from a Sony SCD 777ES SACD and a Marantz SA-1 SACD to a panny dvd/cd player. Amps are mostly big conrad-johnson's. Had a nice Theta Casablanca pre/pro in the main demo room. Not sure what kind of wire they were using, but it didn't look like Monster. No bi-wire jobs that I saw.

VR3

Please Note:

Although this may be different for you.....

It took 3 Polk Audio Employees to operate that Sony player, so I hope you have some wife and kids for the helping hand! :cool:

Tour2ma

Originally posted by Micah
Everyone was very well behaved. I think we panicked at one point that a bunch of you forum bozos would show up and start a bench-clearing brawl in a demo room.

Forum Bozos? Micah must be angling for a PR job...

madmax

Can you imagine the brawl? These speakers don't compete with my bose... Whack, bam, zook... One member ends up on the floor with 10 others kicking him. Micah is cowering in a corner behind a pair of SRT's while a receptionist is putting and end to the violence...

Ah, the mental pictures I'm having right now...
madmax