Helen retired.

GospelTruth
GospelTruth Posts: 403
in Vintage Speakers
Well, I decided to go and get some RDO-198s for my 3.1TLs. After all the Polk changeover stuff, I wanted to make sure that I got some of these in case the powers that be ever decide to no longer support the vintage Polk stuff.

I asked for Helen Yarbor as many have said to do only to find out that she retired two weeks ago. I was hoping to deal with her as so many folks have said such great things about her. Even so, the support guys there still did a great job in taking my order.

Thought some of you might want to know that Helen retired as most of you worked with her in the past.
Speakers
Energy RC-70 Mains, Energy RC-LRC Center, Energy RC-R (x4) Rear Channels, Energy RC-R (x2) Front Effects
Polk 5jr+
Polk SDA 2B
Polk SDS 3.1TL
Equipment
Panamax 5510 Re-generator Power Conditioner
Yamaha RX-V3800 Receiver
Digital Sources: Sony CDP-X339ES CD Player, HHB CDR830 BurnIt Professional CD Recorder, Sony PS3, Oppo DV-983H DVD Player
Analog Sources: Sony TC-K890ES Cassette, Nakamichi DR-1 Cassette, Technics SL-7 Turntable
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Comments

  • Mike Reeter
    Mike Reeter Posts: 4,315
    I guess she didn't like the forum layout either...Happy Retirement Helen!
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,441
    Happy retirement Helen you will be missed immensely, You are true Polk throughout
    Ivan
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  • gudnoyez
    gudnoyez Posts: 8,124
    Hope Helen enjoys her retirement. If I may ask what are those 198s running with the polkie discount I will need at least 4 for starts maybe 6, and do you think they will still support older models ?
    Home Theater
    Parasound Halo A 31 OnkyoTX-NR838 Sony XBR55X850B 55" 4K RtiA9 Fronts CsiA6 Center RtiA3 Rears FxiA6 Side Surrounds Dual Psw 111's Oppo 105D Signal Ultra Speaker Cables & IC's Signal Magic Power Cable Technics SL Q300 Panamax MR4300 Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables Audioquest Forest USB Cable

    2 Channel
    Adcom 555II Vincent SA-T1 Marantz SA 15S2 Denon DR-M11 Clearaudio Bluemotion SDA 2.3tl's (Z) edition MIT Terminator II Speaker Cables & IC's Adcom 545II Adcom Gtp-450 Marantz CD5004 Technics M245X SDA 2B's, SDA CRS+

    Stuff for the Head
    JD LABS C5 Headphone Amplifier, Sennheiser HD 598, Polk Audio Buckle, Polk Audio Hinge, Velodyne vPulse, Bose IE2, Sennheiser CX 200 Street II, Sennheiser MX 365

    Shower & Off the beaten path Rigs
    Polk Audio Boom Swimmer, Polk Audio Urchin B)
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  • GospelTruth
    GospelTruth Posts: 403
    The 198s are still $48 each as a member of Club Polk. Total cost for two was $103 with taxes. They had 122 when I called, of which I took two.
    Speakers
    Energy RC-70 Mains, Energy RC-LRC Center, Energy RC-R (x4) Rear Channels, Energy RC-R (x2) Front Effects
    Polk 5jr+
    Polk SDA 2B
    Polk SDS 3.1TL
    Equipment
    Panamax 5510 Re-generator Power Conditioner
    Yamaha RX-V3800 Receiver
    Digital Sources: Sony CDP-X339ES CD Player, HHB CDR830 BurnIt Professional CD Recorder, Sony PS3, Oppo DV-983H DVD Player
    Analog Sources: Sony TC-K890ES Cassette, Nakamichi DR-1 Cassette, Technics SL-7 Turntable
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  • Moose68Bash
    Moose68Bash Posts: 3,843
    I bought 8 to use in my SRSs because I also feared that when I decided to upgrade to TLs, the RD-0198s would not be available.

    I hope Helen flourishes in her retirement. She was long been a customer service "STAR" for Polkies.
    Family Room, Innuos Statement streamer (Roon Core) with Morrow Audio USB cable to McIntosh MC 2700 pre with DC2 Digital Audio Module; AQ Sky XLRs to CAT 600.2 dualmono amp, Morrow Elite Speaker Cables to NOLA Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 speakers. Power source for all components: Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One with dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel.

    Exercise Room, Innuos Streamer via Cat 6 cable connection to PS Audio PerfectWave MkII DAC w/Bridge II, AQ King Cobra RCAs to Perreaux PMF3150 amp (fully restored and upgraded by Jeffrey Jackson, Precision Audio Labs), Supra Rondo 4x2.5 Speaker Cables to SDA 1Cs (Vr3 Mods Xovers and other mods.), Dreadnaught with Supra Rondo 4x2.5 interconnect cables by Vr3 Mods. Power for each component from dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel, except Innuos Statement powered from Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One.

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  • brgman
    brgman Posts: 2,859
    Nice lady.She will be missed.
    Who took care of you when you called?
    Did they get the Polkie discount thing?
    Main Rig-Realistic AM/FM Record player 8 track boasting 4 WPC

    Backup Rig-2 CH-Rogue Audio Zeus w/Factory Special Dark Mods,Joule-Electra 300ME Platinum Preamp,OPPO-105 w/Modwright Tube Mod, Auralic Aries G2.1,Polk 2.3TL,3.1TL's,Dreadnought,RTA-15TL's,1C's All Fully Modded,2xRTA-12c's ,Benchmark DAC3 HGC,Synology NAS,VPI Scout w/Dynavector DV-20XH and Rogue Audio Ares Phono Preamp,Sony PCM-R500 DAT,HHB-850 Pro CDR,Tascam CC-222SLMKII Cassette/CDR,MIT S3.3 Shotgun Cables,Shunyata Hyra-8,Shunyata and Triode Labs Power Cords

    I’M OFFENDED!!!!
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,962
    edited October 2014
    All our best Helen, one of the many unknown faces behind the curtain that made Polk CS what it is.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • PolkieMan
    PolkieMan Posts: 2,446
    Always enjoyed doing my orders with her.
    POLK SDA 2.3 TLS BOUGHT NEW IN 1990, Gimpod/Sonic Caps/Mills RDO-198
    POLK CSI-A6 POLK MONITOR 70'S ONKYO TX NR-808 SONY CDP-333ES
    PIONEER PL-510A SONY BDP S5100
    POLK SDA 1C BOUGHT USED 2011,Gimpod/Sonic Caps/Mills RDO-194
    ONKYO HT RC-360 SONY BDP S590 TECHNICS SL BD-1
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  • oldrocker
    oldrocker Posts: 2,590
    Best wishes to Helen.
    I'm ordering some goodies tomorrow.
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    Helen retired after 33 1/3 years at Polk Audio. When I found out about her retiring I asked her if I could make an announcement on CP, that there were many people who would want to wish her well. She asked me not to do that, she preferred a quiet farewell and didn't want her customers to feel she was deserting them.
    She plans to do volunteer mentoring at her local school and continue helping people as she has always done.
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,639
    Good for her. Wish her happiness from all of us. Thanks Ken
    ..
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  • headrott
    headrott Posts: 5,496
    Happy retirement Helen! I have placed many orders through her. Very nice lady!
    Relayer-Big-O-Poster.jpg
    Taken from a recent Audioholics reply regarding "Club Polk" and Polk speakers:
    "I'm yet to hear a Polk speaker that merits more than a sentence and 60 seconds discussion." :\
    My response is: If you need 60 seconds to respond in one sentence, you probably should't be evaluating Polk speakers.....

    "Green leaves reveal the heart spoken Khatru"- Jon Anderson

    "Have A Little Faith! And Everything You'll Face, Will Jump From Out Right On Into Place! Yeah! Take A Little Time! And Everything You'll Find, Will Move From Gloom Right On Into Shine!"- Arthur Lee
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,552
    All the best!
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • ken brydson
    ken brydson Posts: 8,759
    She has always been helpful to me with my orders Happy Retirement Helen!
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 1,225
    Back in the day, Helen ran the warranty department and one day Matthew Polk came in and needed a pair of tweeters. She gave him the tweeters but made him pay for them, employee price of course. Now mind you this is when he owned the company and his name is on the building. Needless to say she ran a very tight ship. Later when things were moving to the west coast, she made a home as part of Customer Service where she had been for the past 15 - 20 years. She is a great lady and a good friend and will be missed. Happy Retirement Helen.
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  • drumminman
    drumminman Posts: 3,396
    Happy retirement Helen - hope it's long and sweet!
    "Science is suppose to explain observations not dismiss them as impossible" - Norm on AA; 2.3TL's w/sonicaps/mills/jantzen inductors, Gimpod's boards, Lg Solen SDA inductors, RD-0198's, MW's dynamatted, Armaflex speaker gaskets, H-nuts, brass spikes, Cardas CCGR BP's, upgraded IC Cable, Black Hole Damping Sheet strips, interior of cabinets sealed with Loctite Power Grab, AI-1 interface with 1000VA A-L transformer
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  • zane77
    zane77 Posts: 1,696
    Class act, Happy Retirement!
    Home Theater
    Onkyo PR-SC5508 Sharp LC-70LE847U
    Emotiva XPA-5 Emotiva XPA-2 Emotiva UPA-2
    Front RTi-A9 Wide RTi-A7 Center CSi-A6 Surround FXi-A6 Rear RTi-A3 Sub 2x PSW505
    Sony BDP-S790 Dishnetwork Hopper/Joey Logitech Harmony One Apple TV
    Two Channel
    Oppo 105D BAT VK-500 w/BatPack SDA SRS 2.3 Dreadnought Squeezebox Touch Apple TV
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    Happy retirement Helen! Thanks for all the help!!!
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    nap wrote: »
    Back in the day, Helen ran the warranty department and one day Matthew Polk came in and needed a pair of tweeters. She gave him the tweeters but made him pay for them, employee price of course. Now mind you this is when he owned the company and his name is on the building. Needless to say she ran a very tight ship. Later when things were moving to the west coast, she made a home as part of Customer Service where she had been for the past 15 - 20 years. She is a great lady and a good friend and will be missed. Happy Retirement Helen.

    Now that is a great anecdote!
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  • voltz
    voltz Posts: 5,384
    All the Very Best Helen!!!
    2 ch- Polk CRS+ * Vincent SA-31MK Preamp * Vincent Sp-331 Amp * Marantz SA8005 SACD * Project Xperience Classic TT * Sumiko Blue Point #2 MC cartridge

    HT - Polk 703's * NAD T-758 * Adcom 5503 * Oppo 103 * Samsung 60" series 8 LCD
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  • vcwatkins
    vcwatkins Posts: 1,993
    Excellent. Cheers, Helen!
    b]Beach Audio[/b]: Rega RP6 (mods) - AT33PTG/II - Parks Budgie SUT - PSAudio NPC * Eversolo DMP-A6 * Topping D90iii * Joule-Electra LA-100 mkIII * Pass Aleph 30 * MIT S3 * Polk SRS 2.3tl (mods) * PSAudio PPP3
    Beach Study: Pro-Ject Stream Box S2 Ultra & Pre Box S2 * Pass ACA * DH Labs SS Q10 * Brines Folded ML-TQWT RS 40-1354 * PSA Dectet
    Beach Master: WiiM Pro * Dayens Menuetto * Zu Libtec * Dynaudio Audience 50
    Beach Den: Bluesound Powernode 2i * DH Labs SS Q10 * Zu Omen DWII * Richard Gray RGPC
    Town Study: WiiM Pro * Chord Qute (Pardo) * Elekit TU-8600 * MIT S3 * Revel M22 * Beyer DT-990 * Shunyata Hydra 2
    Town Den: Music Hall mm5.1se - Denon DL-103r - Jolida JD9ii (mods) * WiiM Pro * Cary xCiter * Rogue 99 Magnum * Schiit Aegir * MIT S3 * Polk SRS 1.2tl (mods) * Dectet * Bottlehead Crack - Senn 600
    Town Porch: WiiM Pro Plus * Sunfire Sig II * Canare 4S11 * Magnepan 1.6 * Dectet
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,802
    Ken, make sure she sees this thread (if you can), please! ;- )

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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    I'll forward everyone's comments to Polk CS who can forward it to her.
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  • teekay0007
    teekay0007 Posts: 2,289
    Usually I don't enjoy talking to anyone from a CS department as that usually comes hand-in-hand with needing a product replacement or having a product failure, etc. Polk Audio, and specifically Helen, were a very welcome exception to that. Always enjoyed our interactions and was smiling by the end of the call.

    Thanks for all your help over the years, Helen. Hope you have a wonderful retirement. B)
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  • hochpt21
    hochpt21 Posts: 5,423
    A happy part of this place, although I never worked with her or knew her. The threads started on behalf of her service said it all.
    2 ChannelTurntable - VPI Classic 2/Ortofon 2M BlueAmplification - Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II, Parks Audio Budgie PhonoSpeakers - GoldenEar Triton 17.2 Home TheaterDenon AVR-X3300W; Rotel RMB-1066; Klipsch RP-280F's, Klipsch RP-450C, Polk FXi3's, Polk RC60i; Dual SVS PB 2000's; BenQ HT2050; Elite Screens 120"Man CaveTurntable - Pro-Ject 2.9 Wood/Grado GoldAmplification - Dared SL2000a, McCormack DNA 0.5 DeluxeCD: Cambridge AudioSpeakers - Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary; LSiM 703; SDA 2A
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  • markamerica
    markamerica Posts: 203
    I never got to deal with Helen. It was with sadness that I found out here, just before my first order(today,) that Helen had retired before I got to meet her. From all reports over the time I've been in this forum, she's always been described in thoroughly glowing terms by all concerned. I surely hope Helen has a long, happy, prosperous, and healthy retirement. Anybody who can earn such great respect from such a crowd of such first-rate, exacting folks of the high standards I've met here, and over such a long period gets my fullest respect and well-wishes all around. No, I didn't know Helen, except by reputation, but all reports of her here had convinced me of her status as pure gold. Thanks to Helen for helping make PolkAudio the brand that I have loved for most all of my adult life!

    SDA SRS, SDA SRS1.2TL, SDA-1C,SDA 2B, Soundcraftsmen Amplification (A5002s, MA5002s, MA5002As)
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  • skrol
    skrol Posts: 3,375
    Thank you Helen. You have been a huge part of what has made Polk Audio Customer Service so fantastic.
    Stan

    Main 2ch:
    Polk LSi15 (DB840 upgrade), Parasound: P/LD-1100, HCA-1000A; Denon: DVD-2910, DRM-800A; Benchmark DAC1, Monster HTS3600-MKII, Grado SR-225i; Technics SL-J2, Parasound PPH-100.

    HT:
    Marantz SR7010, Polk: RTA11TL (RDO198-1, XO and Damping Upgrades), S4, CS250, PSW110 , Marantz UD5005, Pioneer PL-530, Panasonic TC-P42S60

    Other stuff:
    Denon: DRA-835R, AVR-888, DCD-660, DRM-700A, DRR-780; Polk: S8, Monitor 5A, 5B, TSi100, RM7, PSW10 (DXi104 upgrade); Pioneer: CT-6R; Onkyo CP-1046F; Ortofon OM5E, Marantz: PM5004, CD5004, CDR-615; Parasound C/PT-600, HCA-800ii, Sony CDP-650ESD, Technics SA 5070, B&W DM601
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  • Polkie2009
    Polkie2009 Posts: 3,834
    Thank you Kenneth , I never had to contact Helen, but from what everyone here that knew her, sounds like she is a wonderful,wonderful lady and an exceptional loyal employee. Blessings to ya' Helen, hope you'll read all of posts here!
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  • tophatjohnny
    tophatjohnny Posts: 4,182
    She was nothing but sweet to me, and will be missed!
    "if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
    *****************************
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