Why Polk?

TroyD

Because inquiring minds (me) want to know....

What was it or when was it, that turned you on to Polks? I mean, why not JBL or Paradigm or NHT...etc. etc.

I'm just curious.

Troy

TrappedUnder Ice

I had some decent speakers...and told myself for xmas last year that I was going to get better ones. My wife had already let me upgrade the a/v unit and cd player...and I wanted the speakers to match.

In my area.. you have this: cons, cc,bb, and a good high end retail only uness its on sale store.

the high end store carries paridigm,boston,b&w maggies etc... even bose (ack!@)... most at retail prices...thats were I got my yammie....

I dont like ordering too much off the internet... so the best spekears I could find for the price I wanted to pay was at cc... And they happened to be polks. I realy like the way these speakers sounded.... Not only that..but cc has a nice upgrade program.... thats why I have what I have today!

I listened to the JBLs...and realy did not care for the sound compared to the Polks. I have studio800's in my bedroom..and they are ok...but I wanted better for my main HT.

I will put the polks up to anything in its price range....and then some.

The quality is great,,,,not to mention that....

You wanted to know...thats why- Great sounding, quality built- affordable speakers! that will drive you crazy with amazement!:p

Ron-P

Many moons ago I walked into a CC sound room (if you want to call it that) put in a music CD and listened to all the speakers hooked up. Two hours later I walked out with my first pair of RT25s, then later upgraded to the RT35s then sold the 35s and bought the RT55s, added a CS245 then up graded that to a CS400. Bought a pair of fx300'is sold those and bought a pair of RT25i's. Damn, I need help.


Peace Out~:D

mikemokr

Originally posted by TroyD
What was it or when was it, that turned you on to Polks? I mean, why not JBL or Paradigm or NHT...etc. etc.

Peer pressure.

Mid-80s, a friend had a pair and raved about them. I listened to them, liked what I heard and thought they delivered good bang for the buck.

juice21

got a home theater in a box while in college. love the dolby digital/DTS 5.1 sound. the kenwood speakers were more than suffiecient for the dorm room, but after graduating i started looking around. it took me awhile to decide on polk, and i would have to say the speaker that made me go with polk over anything is the cs400i. knowing that the center has the biggest job in an HT set-up, i was mainly concentrating on the quality of this speaker. i looked at infinity, NHT,klipsch, paradigm, and JBL. polk's center blew all the rest out of the water. price for sound the polk's won out. hell, i think in sound quality it beat all that i tested. so just before last christmas i bought myself the cs400i. shortly after i moved into a place with about 3 times as much space, and a finished basement that allowed me to have a dedicated HT area. after buying all the neccesiteis of a new place(new couches, washer, dryer, etc.) i finally scraped up enough extra dough a month ago to get the 800i's. and i just got rt35's and rt25's as rears this week! the HT set-up is rocking now and i love my polks. now with the LSi series, i don't know if i'll ever look anywhere else...

Strong Bad

It was the sound! I bought my first pair of polks, the Monitor 10B's, in 1987. The price and sound were a no-brainer. Even not factoring in the price, the sound was what did it for me.

That still rings true today.


John

mjk91383

i had never heard of polk until like six months ago. could have had something to do with me living in the country without cable for 16 years... that **** can mess you up.

joe

jcaut

I had admired Polk speakers since the mid- or late '80's. I had a friend in high school who had a pair of Monitor 10's. At the time I didn't really have money to spend on stuff like that, and what electronics I had came mostly from Radio Shack ( ).

After I got out of college and started earning a little money, I started upgrading my equipment. The first Polks I bought were some RT3's. They are now the rears in my HT. Build quality, sound quality exceeding the price level, and value (not to mention the incredible customer service) are reasons I keep buying Polks. I've now got 800i's, 55i's, PSW1200 and 250, CS175i, and I'm considering a CS400i. I love these speakers. I've not found any speakers I'd rather have, even at substantially more money.

TroyD

I'm just curious that's all....I love my Polk's obviously and I happened on this hobby quite by accident. Time was, I had a junky Technics rack system and was happily oblivious....A friend of ours had a cool set up (RT7's, CS350LS, M5's PSW150) and I was just blown away. They had a baby who posed a serious threat to the RT7's on stands and he gave 'em to me. The rest is history. I then aquired (in order) Denon reciever, Paradigm sub, R10's for the rears, CS245i and then upgraded to the 400i. Latest addition is a Carver M1.5t power amp.

I love listening to different kinds of speakers though and seeing the differences...I have some OLD Pioneers, Sansuis, Boston Acoustics...all have different sounds...I just think it is a neat hobby all around and it amazes me how quickly it becomes almost an obsession.

Troy

jcaut

And it's a hobby that requires an understanding spouse.

TroyD

it does make life easier....Wendi is pretty good but she is pretty frugal. The way I see it, other than golf, I don't have any other real hobbies. I am not much into computers, boats, motorcycles, cars, guns, boobie bars etc. etc....I think she is relatively lucky in that respect.

Troy

jcaut

My wife is pretty frugal, too. I consider myself to be frugal, also, but I'm into cars, as well as electronics. Two of the more expensive hobbies. At least I'm not into golf!

What bothers my wife more than the money spent, is the fact that I rarely part with any of my older equipment. When I upgrade, the old stuff just gets moved. (I did sell my old Corvette a couple of years ago when I bought a new car--- can't afford to have extra cars sitting around)

joelll

I really don't know how I managed to miss out on Polk for a whole bunch of years.

I'd had the chance to listen to them from time to time in used-audio stores, but never quite managed to.

I've also been an EPI (Epicure, and their cousins Genesis Physics) speaker enthusiast since 1979. Right now I have two pairs of Genesis Physics and three pairs of EPI speakers.

But then, a little over a two years ago, I walked into a little hole-in-the-wall new-and-used stereo store in Harvard Square (Cambridge, MA), and saw a largish pair of speakers sitting in the middle of the floor, with their top and front grilles off, exposing the midranges and 12" passive radiator on the front, and the free-air tweeter and the big hand-made crossover that sits on top of the cabinet. No Polk symbols were visible. Ooo look! Weird drivers!

They had been traded in by a customer who "didn't want big speakers anymore"; he picked up a pair of Jamo tower speakers. The Polks were just sitting out in the middle of the floor, not really on display or anything; this store really prefers small or at least narrow speakers because they have so little space.

I just wanted to hear the wild-looking drivers, I wasn't going to buy anything, really! They moved the speakers toward the corners... this place is small, maybe seven feet of separation between the speakers on the floor. The guys working there hooked together a big Nakamichi power amp, a Yamaha pre-amp, and a CD player that I can't remember. While I prepared to listen, one of the guys went digging for the grilles.

In my bag I had Stevie Ray Vaughn, Pink Floyd, and Dire Straits. They supplied some Beethoven and Mozart, some African drums, and a bit of techno. I listened at quiet volumes, I listened at building-shaking volumes, I listened to the little machine go "beep" as my credit card was approved.

Since there was no model number anywhere on the speakers, I had fun calling up Polk's customer service number and asking "So I just bought this old pair of kinda big kinda heavy speakers with Polk logos on them and this wierd looking top-mounted tweeter... what *are* they?".

Monitor 12's. Early series, apparently. I'm a total convert. The only new speaker I've bought since then was a CS400 (on sale ridiculously cheap at Circuit City when they replaced their demo with a CS400i).

TroyD

that shop wouldn't be Q-Audio would it?

I just think it's funny how we happen into these kind of things. ESL's are very cool, that is my next purchase..

Troy

joelll

Originally posted by TroyD
that shop wouldn't be Q-Audio would it?

Nope... The store I was in is (or was) called Audio Replay, on Bow Street very near Harvard Square.

Q Audio (www.qaudio.com) is a good store, they're great to talk to and deal with. They're right by MIT and close to Central Square (Cambridge, MA).

slapnts9

When I first walked into CC, I listened to every speaker they had. It finally came down to Infinity and Polk. Polk won, I started off with RT400's and have since moved up to RT600's, you cant beat the sound or price. (be gentle guys its my first time!)

TroyD

Like I said, I was just curious about how folks got into all this....

I think the RT600's are sweet personally.

Troy

schumach

My wife worked for HP before we had kids and got a great discount on Polk speakers. I got my RT1000p's over two years ago and paid $624.00/pair delivered to my door. Now I have a complete set.

gidrah

I was stationed (Army) in South Korea. The PX on my post was pretty small. I used to take a 1 hour bus ride to a larger post just to check out their electronics. Then one day I went to my PX and of course to the electronics section which was about the size of a walk-in closet. I saw some 10Bs at a close-out steal. Somebody probably got shipped out and didn't want to take them along. I RAN over the the NCO club and borrowed some money from a friend and RAN back. I was in shape then. I still have my 10Bs. They have seen Korea, Saudi Arabia, and a 3 states. I hope they see many more.

TroyD: Polkazoid ay! And you say your not into computers.

gidrah

I forgot to say that I hadn't even heard them. They were stacked up to conserve space. I just went by ads and MSRP in Audio and Stereo Review. Man, did I ever luck out.

Lee Bailey

Originally posted by TroyD
Because inquiring minds (me) want to know....

What was it or when was it, that turned you on to Polks? I mean, why not JBL or Paradigm or NHT...etc. etc.

Both the sound and the price was right. The look was also a big factor. Lean towers instead of my old boxy speakers.

trubluluc

Ultimately it was the sound.
They sounded warmer, yet clear and clean.
But also it was looks, a very clean and durable design.
There was the warranty, awesome .
And then there was the dream.
The dream of a regular guy to make awesome yet affordable speakers. He put his own name on the line, and made it happen. I like that.

What makes me so loyal to Polk?
This place is like an extended family, customer service is freaking awesome.
That's why whenever I'm within earshot of a conversation about speakers, one word comes to mind, polk.

-luc

TroyD

2 ID, Warrior Country, eh? What camp were you at my friend? I spent a year in Korea not all that long ago, 98-99 at Osan. Yongsan had just built a new PX when I left. That's something about AAFEES (Army/AirForce Exchange Service) that sucks, they USED to carry decent electronics Carver, Polk etc. Now it is just Sony and Blose.....

Really, I am not a computer geek to be honest, I am just isolated most of the day at work so I keep this site up most of the day and post wise **** remarks. Other than here, I check ebay and some other used audio equipment websites from time to time.

Troy

rmh1

One day back in the eighties I walked into a high end audio store on a whim. I was shown various high end speakers and was impressed with most. Then, with a gleam of religious ferver in his eyes, the owner quietly told me that I MUST listen to a pair he had gotten in some weeks before. So, wondering what type of black majic he had in mind, I drew myself up and met his eyes with a determined unblinking stare and told him to lead on. I knew I could withstand the cunning of this knave of a salesman.

We entered the utter quiet of the inner sanctum of the AUDIOPHILE room. I was immeadeately shocked to a standstill by huge size of the speakers. The owner looked at me smiled and removed the front cover of one of the speakers. Still trying to recover from the size of the speakers, I beheld one 18" woofer, 8 mid-range and 4 tweeters all in ONE cabinet! But, knowing that it could all be a clever trick, I smoothly said, "yes, but how do they sound?" The owner was not taken aback as expected and said for me to sit down. He told me he was going to save the best part for last and went behind the speaker and dis-connected a wire he said that connected to two speakers together.

He then played various genre of music. Each one of which I was absoulely amazed at the clarity and lack of speaker sound coloration. Then he went to the back of the speaker and re-connected the wire. The speakers DISAPPEARED! The soundstage widened and the sound took on a 3 dimentional aspect. Fearing I was losing my mind I opened my eyes and to my relief the speakers were still physically there, I simply could not place them where they were by listening.

This was not black majic, this was a God send. I decided that who ever made these that angels must have blessed him.

I continued to come back over and over to the store and after a year of saving money, I became the proud owner of a pair of SDA-SRS 1.2's. Today these speakers are still with me. Those and now along with f/x 500's for rear speakers and Monitor 3's for front effects speakers for the surround sound room I made.

Why, the question was asked. Because Polk Audio speakers are the best sound available in this solar system. I would would put them up (and win) against any other.

GZ

OK my friend, here's my story.
I originally had a pair of Infinity 2000II's in my stereo system for about 18 years. I bought them because I loved their sound. After 18 years of alot of use the foam rings around the woofers had finally crapped out. I could have had them reconed but after 18 years I figured they didn't owe me anything and speaker design and efficiency had changed alot over the years. I went into a local store up here in Wisconsin to audition some new Infinity speakers. The wife wanted something smaller than the old speakers, you guys know what I'm talkin' about. Luckily I got a salesman that knew his stuff. He let me listen to my hearts content to many different brands. THEN he switched on a pair of Polk RT7's. That was all it took. I couldn't believe all that excellent sound was coming out of a box that was about one third the size of my old Infinities. Teresa liked that part.
To my ears they were the best bang for our buck.
When it was time to retire the old Onkyo stereo reciever and 27" Mits to the recroom downstairs (used mainly by the kids) and go HT I checked out
Polk's website to see what would match my RT7's
(I wasn't going to move those downstairs). I found
this sight very helpful and ended up with the 245i center, PSW350, and Polk threw in a free pair of R10's at the time. I power them with a Denon 1801. Since then I recently upgraded the rears to the RT25i's. I'm sold on Polk's. I've heard alot of friends systems who use Paradigm, Klipsch, and others. When I get home I power up my Polk's, open a cold one, and smile knowing I made the right choice. The end. Or at least until I pop for a 400i center some day.

I-SIG

I guess the engineer in me got the best of me. I didn't really know that much about audio at the time. I did know that my father's Marantz 4270 receiver and speakers I "inherited" could hang with any of the new stuff my buddies had, so I wasn't worried about HS/HT.

Then, a buddy of mine introduced me to Crutchfield. I got a couple or three catalogs in order and I noticed that Polk Audio was the only manufacturer in the whole damn catalog that had little technical tidbits written about their speakers and all the patents they had recieved.

Like I said, being of an engineering mind, I thought, "There must be something really good about these since some other speakers cost more and nothing is mentioned about them." So I decided that I was going to get a Polk Mobile Monitor (MM3056) component system for me new truck. I had a little Kenwood 40Wx2 amp from my old truck. So, out came the factory stuff, in came a Polk component system. "Wow!" was all I could say. The highs' of the Tri-lam tweeter were incredible and the 5 1/4" mids were much fuller than the factory 6 1/2" coaxials they replaced. I was hooked. I replaced the factory 4x6's with some 1st gen EX's.

I knew I still wanted some Polk's for the HS. Then Circuit **** had a sale on the RT55's. (no "i") I snapped up the last pair that my CC had and was completely stoked. But then the good news arrived...

Another buddy's stepdad had acquired a pair of (at the time) "mystery" Polk speakers. I knew they had 2 tweeter's per speaker and 4 mids and a 12" "sub". After a nice discussion on the old Forum of what they were, it was determined that they were in fact, SDA 1C Studio's. And the kicker...my buddy's step dad only wanted $300!!!!!

I said I'd take it. I picked them up, got around to adding my current Carver M1.0-t and AA DLC, and wah-lah, I had the start of a He-Man Rig!!!

When I finally got he SDA's set up somewhat properly in my room here at the PiKapp house, I just about **** myself at the incredible sound stage and full sound. Can't wait to hook up the 1C's with all my new cables and interconnects.

Wes

soupbone

SDA SDA SDA SDA SDA SDA SDA SDA SDA SDA SDA Did I mention SDA! In 1985 I bought my first pair, the SDA 2. I still have them. I'm also
the proud owner of a pair of SDA SRS1.2tl's I know am looking for a stereo pair of SRT'S What can I say........ I'm hooked!!!!!!! Soupbone

Strong Bad

I hear you on the SDA's! Got my SRS 2.3's a little over a year ago and I'm still drooling over them. Let me not forget my CS400 and FX500's to go with them. I love them all!!!!

John

stubby

While I was stationed in Bitburg Germany I had the opportunity to audition (and buy) several brands of speakers. Klipsch, JBL, AR were all duely considered. I ended up sticking with Polk. They simply have the best overall sound quality out there. I bought my 1.2 TL's over there and still have them. And they still sound great.

Stubby

ashuanipix

In 1980, I moved from one Canadian province to another and sold my previous stereo to simplify the move. So I was looking for new gear and heard the Polk RTA 12s in a store and liked them. I used them with Hafler amp and pre-amp until this year. I was no longer seriously listening to much music---just using my stereo for background music. One day, after a concert at the symphony (Rac 3 played by Seltzer) I decided to listen to that piece at home and wasn't happy with the sound. I thought the problem might be the speakers but brought home a NAD 370 integrated amp on a trial basis. The old Polks just came to life! Am listening to a lot more music now but have discovered that a lot of cds have flaws.