Where can I audition polk?

azsam

I am having a hard time finding where to audition the polk speakers. When I go to the dealer locator on the site, it mainly gives me Best Buy stores. I went to 5 Best Buy stores and they all had issues -- they have only the TSi100 and psw10. If they are hooked up, they play them through a crappy receiver with FM radio on. Speakers are either poorly connected and/or blown too.. It is a mess! All I want is to audition the monitor/TSi series and it should not be that hard as I am in the DC/MD/VA area.

Any suggestions?

[Deleted User]

Hello,
Send an email to polkcs@polkaudio.com and they will check with the factory representative for your area and find out where would be the best place for you to audition Polk's speakers.
Regards, Ken

azsam

Kenneth Swauger wrote: »

Hello,
Send an email to polkcs@polkaudio.com and they will check with the factory representative for your area and find out where would be the best place for you to audition Polk's speakers.
Regards, Ken

Thanks! I just sent them an email.

PubFiction

I should just mention that Polk should probably look into this at best buy a little. Having a rep go around to stores and make sure your product is working and in good shape is important. Best buy is a huge culprit they let just about anything get ruined, at my Best Buy they have a huge chip in one of the polk TSI 300s that shows the particle board and the rep said they basically never sell them.

OOsemka

I agree with some other comments above. Best Buy Magnolia room in my area is a mess. They also sell Polk Audio speakers, however most of them are not even hooked up.
Another thing is they only have to entry level Polk speakers like TSI series. I wish they could carry the latest and greatest gear from Polk.

specd_out

I can attest to the overall crappy condition of best buys audio demos. I work in the HT department. Fortunately for my store they have me and one other person who pride themselves in having quality audio demos. Every week we have to go through all the demos and reconnect speaker cables from employees/customers yanking them out, and fixing all the messed up sound bars and the like.

Best Buy as a whole does not care about quality of the demo or the sound. As long as it makes noise and its better sounding noise then another speaker, people will buy it. The only properly working demos are the ones that are paid for and that the company has a rep come out.


In my store Me and the other guy bring our own cables so we can properly demo things for customers from our phones. We use news casts from youtube, music and soundtracks from google play and will have a movie to demo as well. This way the customer will get a good idea of what they want.
We also created a makeshift HT demo area. It took some convincing but we got a 12' section in which we have 3 similar tvs.
They run the same feed through different connections:

TV1
HDMI
Samsung BDP5700
HK AVR
TSI400
CS10
TSI100
PSW10

TV2
Component Video
Samsung BDP5700
Sony HTIB Via optical

TV3
Composite Video
Samsung BDP5700
Polk 6000 soundbar via analog.

while its not perfect we take a lot of pride in this area as its our baby. Tvs are properly setup in movie mode, and the sound is done using the best configuration possible. Its used to show the difference between connection types, and theater sound possibilities. It works great, we have sold 3 or 4 complete polk systems since. I love what I do I hate where I work.

PubFiction

OOsemka wrote: »

I agree with some other comments above. Best Buy Magnolia room in my area is a mess. They also sell Polk Audio speakers, however most of them are not even hooked up.
Another thing is they only have to entry level Polk speakers like TSI series. I wish they could carry the latest and greatest gear from Polk.

You can forget about this, BB operates on mass market opinion and they also specifically select products based on price points. If say the polk RTI line sits a prices similar to Klipsch reference, BB will not take them simply because they are at the same price point and not as many people know about polk.

F1nut

If say the polk RTI line sits a prices similar to Klipsch reference, BB will not take them simply because they are at the same price point and not as many people know about polk.

Polk didn't get to be the second largest speaker company because people don't know about them.

PubFiction

Who do you think more people know about Polk or Klipsch? I mean maybe its different in your area but everywhere I have been alot more people know abotu Klipsch.

gce

PubFiction wrote: »

Who do you think more people know about Polk or Klipsch?

Polk!

gdb

Harbeth !!!

B Run

PubFiction wrote: »

Who do you think more people know about Polk or Klipsch? I mean maybe its different in your area but everywhere I have been alot more people know abotu Klipsch.

I can definitely say Polk around here, and i've owned several pairs of both brands and enjoy them both.

[Deleted User]

Hello,
If anyone is aware of a less-than-ideal demonstration of any Polk product let me know. I'll pass this information along to the right people and they'll work to correct the problem. Sometimes all it takes is for the local representative to drop by and work with the department manager. Missing grilles, damaged cabinets can be replaced. Conversely, if anyone has encountered a well done demo or a knowledgeable sales person let me know and I'll make sure it gets to Polk.
Cheers, Ken

cnh

specd_out wrote: »

I can attest to the overall crappy condition of best buys audio demos. I work in the HT department. Fortunately for my store they have me and one other person who pride themselves in having quality audio demos. Every week we have to go through all the demos and reconnect speaker cables from employees/customers yanking them out, and fixing all the messed up sound bars and the like.

Best Buy as a whole does not care about quality of the demo or the sound. As long as it makes noise and its better sounding noise then another speaker, people will buy it. The only properly working demos are the ones that are paid for and that the company has a rep come out.


In my store Me and the other guy bring our own cables so we can properly demo things for customers from our phones. We use news casts from youtube, music and soundtracks from google play and will have a movie to demo as well. This way the customer will get a good idea of what they want.
We also created a makeshift HT demo area. It took some convincing but we got a 12' section in which we have 3 similar tvs.
They run the same feed through different connections:

TV1
HDMI
Samsung BDP5700
HK AVR
TSI400
CS10
TSI100
PSW10

TV2
Component Video
Samsung BDP5700
Sony HTIB Via optical

TV3
Composite Video
Samsung BDP5700
Polk 6000 soundbar via analog.

while its not perfect we take a lot of pride in this area as its our baby. Tvs are properly setup in movie mode, and the sound is done using the best configuration possible. Its used to show the difference between connection types, and theater sound possibilities. It works great, we have sold 3 or 4 complete polk systems since. I love what I do I hate where I work.

Got to agree with this. Here's what you do. You walk into a BB, ignore their staff and just start hooking up the equipment yourself, then figuring out their switching boards if you want to give them a "wake up" call. Then when they catch you in the act you give them a lecture on the equipment they have in the room, how they could better pair it up with their receivers and subs and suggest other brands they might consider. I can tell you that I've done this more than once with no qualms whatsoever. And BB gets some FREE labor they should be thankful for! lol

Sometimes, if you want to "really" hear something. You just have to do it "yourself"! I've even accidentally helped sell a couple of Pioneer Elites there--describing advantages and features then "finding" a salesperson to close the deal!

cnh

gdb

Try here: 406 West Cold Spring Lane | Baltimore, Maryland 21210 | 410-889-1134

Drenis

PubFiction wrote: »

I should just mention that Polk should probably look into this at best buy a little. Having a rep go around to stores and make sure your product is working and in good shape is important. Best buy is a huge culprit they let just about anything get ruined, at my Best Buy they have a huge chip in one of the polk TSI 300s that shows the particle board and the rep said they basically never sell them.

Happens everywhere. It's terrible up here. Notifying a rep did squat. I think some stores up here simply just dont care.

F1nut wrote: »

Polk didn't get to be the second largest speaker company because people don't know about them.

Maybe in the US, sure. Polk isn't actively advertised up here. A shame.

cnh wrote: »

Got to agree with this. Here's what you do. You walk into a BB, ignore their staff and just start hooking up the equipment yourself, then figuring out their switching boards if you want to give them a "wake up" call. Then when they catch you in the act you give them a lecture on the equipment they have in the room, how they could better pair it up with their receivers and subs and suggest other brands they might consider. I can tell you that I've done this more than once with no qualms whatsoever. And BB gets some FREE labor they should be thankful for! lol

Sometimes, if you want to "really" hear something. You just have to do it "yourself"! I've even accidentally helped sell a couple of Pioneer Elites there--describing advantages and features then "finding" a salesperson to close the deal!

cnh

Right...

PubFiction

2020 W Grand River Rd
Okemos, MI 48864
Phone: 517-347-2741

Well the rep can check into that store.


IMO it will never work to have the community report things because most people do not ever go to the polk forums. If polk truely is the second biggest speaker maker in America then they should be able to afford reps that go around at least once every 6 months and hit every authorized polk store and make sure that things are in good condition. If a speaker is damaged pull it and replace it with a new one then send the old one back to be refurbished.


Keeping the image up will help polk become the number 1 speaker maker. Even up here in the midwest.

specd_out

If a local rep wants to come to Best Buy 885 Port Richey Fl. I would love to meet them. PM me for details on who to talk to and what the condition of the demos are.

disneyjoe7

Well not a place where you can audition them, but for the customer service and return policy I would recommand http://www.crutchfield.com/ too anyone.


Other then that buy the biggest Polk speaker you can afford. Then drive it well.