Polkfest 2014 ended up being quite fun

Jstas

Even though a bunch bailed, which was kinda not cool but hey, stuff happens, right?

We had fun and ate too much and drank a bunch as usual. The world's problems were solved, lies and tall tales were told and new friends were regaled with stories of Polkfests past.

Everyone was congenial and easy going. The neighbors of mine and friends that stopped by were welcomed and all of them said you were nice people.

I told them they didn't know you that well!

I'm not going to go into a long winded post about thank yous and stuff. Everyone has already been thanked and it's all good.

I'm posting to tell you that if you had come this weekend and talked with Mark Suskind about what the directions are for Polk Audio products and where they see things heading, you wouldn't be worried about how Polk Audio views you as a customer. Mark basically gave us trade show demos on some killer new product. He had pre-production samples of most of the new Omni series of stuff that uses the Play-Fi tech and that is something you all need to look in to. Especially if you are like me with multiple viewing/listening spaces.

But what else Mark was working hard at conveying is that Polk Audio is committed to the customer experience and they value all of you and want you involved. They want your opinions. They want your reviews. They want your honesty. They want you around and they want you to help bring in new people to support the new products so they can keep you in the products you look for. They know who you are. Mark even recognizes your forum user names.

There are some things coming down the pike for you all. Cool things that you will like. Might even bring a tear to your eye! They are intended to show you that you are valued and that even though they keep saying it over and over, they mean it every time.

So, seriously, I know the forum changes are a pain but they aren't any different from when we blew everything up years ago going from phpBB to vBulletin or whatever it was. Y'all freaked out then too. I know you all think Polk Audio is turning their backs on you and the DE corporate machine is going to chew you up and spit you out but, they aren't.

It's time to quit the whining and complaining. Lose the drama and attitudes and get proactive in your community that you helped build. If Polk Audio was uninterested in having you around, we wouldn't have a forum here to whine and complain about. They would have just shut down the old stuff and said "Oh well, too bad, so sad." and been done with it.

It's just software. The people make the difference.

So start making a difference.

voltz

Very Well said John! And thank you for making a difference and hosting

cnh

Thanks for hosting John! Sounds like it was a spectacular event! Now I'm even more bummed I had to stay home and miss everything!

cnh

mhardy6647

EDIT - Shoot, sorry; wrong thread! mea culpa.

boston1450

Glad you'all had a great time. I called Polk Friday & spoke with Gary. He was a awesome guy. I told him what i needed & he helped me. He also started talking about SDA's & RTA's & other Polk speakers from back in the day. Made me feel very comfortable. Every time i have called Polk the people there seem wicked (Mainer saying) kind & like they were sitting in same room with ya. There is alot of good people there & i feel that is a good thing. I also heard there was changes at Polk itself - that they themselves are trying to get a grip on. They feel the same pain as us. Change always takes time to get things settled down & im sure there will be more to come

vmaxer

Hate I missed it, maybe next year.

hochpt21

One day I will get myself to a PolkFest!

maximillian

Thanks for sharing. Pics would be great.

I considered coming but you scheduled it for my Birthday (and my youngest) and my Anniversary. It would have been cool to join, but then I would not have had a home to come home to.

mantis

I'm also very Disappointed I couldn't make it. Glad to hear you guys had a good time.

devani

sure was fun and John was a super host!!

My recap if anyone cares

Wife likes the idea of having portable speakers that can seemlessly work anywhere you are....I think Polk thought alot about how the music can flow from one room to another....they had alot of weight to the sound

the all-in-one box is a great idea and sounded very nice on LSiM703....too bad that we did't get a chance to listen to the Polk soundbar(I always thought they were inferior to dedicated setup)

I wish I had the chance to listen to carvers the way John had setup...maybe next time

having VR3 modded LSi9 and LSim703 side by side was interesting too....LSi series with different sound....I am still drooling over them!

love the LSi9 crossover box Lou!! interesting conversation starter

Peachtree was beautiful and had some serious sound

and thanks to Mark for showing all new stuff and can't wait to see where Polkfest 2015 will be...

Moose68Bash

John,

Congrats on hosting what appears to have been a successful PolkFest 2014! It is great that you went the extra mile to keep the spirit alive during a bit of a tough patch.

I'm sorry I wasn't able to attend, but it just wasn't meant to be this year.

Sincerely,

Phil

maximillian

devani wrote: »

having VR3 modded LSi9 and LSim703 side by side was interesting too....LSi series with different sound....I am still drooling over them!

Now you have peaked my interest.... Reading on the forum there is mixed impressions of which sounds "better". Perhaps there isn't a "better", but would like to get more thoughts from the group. I've got VR3 modded LS9's now, but have contemplated upgrading to LSiM's.

Big Dawg

First, John, thank you for the tremendous effort and expense of putting on a spectacular Polkfest 2014. It was great to spend some time seeing everybody, eating too much delicious food, and trying very hard to drink everything that came in bottles.

For those of you who missed it, John is an excellent host and even better with a smoker.

The new gear from Polk which Mark demonstrated is pretty interesting and very impressive. I didn't catch all of the model names, but a few pieces were particularly noteworthy: the wireless preamp, which allows the user to control his or her entire system via a tablet or smartphone while using the new or vintage gear of his or her choice, without adding any unwanted coloration to the sound; a similar "all-in-one" piece which adds a class D amplifier and even a phono preamp, and which drove the LSiM703s quite satisfyingly in John's office (we didn't hear the amp in a bigger room, but it was terrific where it was set up); and a rechargeable powered bluetooth speaker which seemed to have a vast range (think backyard) and extremely impressive bass, especially from such a compact unit. My only critique of the bluetooth speaker was that the highs sounded a bit rolled-off, but that may have more to do with bluetooth technology than anything else, and besides, who buys a bluetooth speaker for critical listening? For its designated purpose (fun), it was wonderful - loud and clear, very solid bass, and aside from the soft upper frequencies, was very balanced and pleasing. I didn't catch the price point, but if they are able to sell it at the right price, I can see the whole line being a strong winner.

One last point about this new line, as I walked from room to room, there was no latency in the sound. Music playing in one room meshed perfectly with the music playing in the next room. Sadly, more things to desire....

maximillian wrote: »

devani wrote: »

having VR3 modded LSi9 and LSim703 side by side was interesting too....LSi series with different sound....I am still drooling over them!

Now you have peaked my interest.... Reading on the forum there is mixed impressions of which sounds "better". Perhaps there isn't a "better", but would like to get more thoughts from the group. I've got VR3 modded LS9's now, but have contemplated upgrading to LSiM's.

From moment to moment, song to song, my opinion kept changing. I listened to others experiencing the same waffling preference. I even heard observations that, if I heard correctly, were completely opposite what I was hearing, so ymmv with my conclusions. The LSi9s with modded crossovers are very nice, articulate, laid-back speakers that are always pleasing and very natural sounding. If I never again heard any other speaker, I could be quite satisfied and happy. I think I heard others call the speakers "forward," but I didn't hear that.

The LSiM703s, while still having a similar Polk "family" sound and voicing, were at the same time dramatically different. In some ways, I think they sound less natural and more like reproduced sound than the earlier model, and yet, the PRaT is just there. They are flat out exciting speakers to listen to for extended periods, and the imaging and soundstage is nothing less than spectacular! My next speakers may very well be a pair of LSiMs.

I had a chance to hear and compare the LSiM 703 and 705 next to each other in the same room using the same Audio Research gear at the 2012 Polkfest, where everyone was loving the bookies but blown away by the 705 floorstanders. IMHO, the whole line is a worthy successor to the older Polks that all of us have prized (and many of us still do). Kudos to Stu, Mark, and the rest of the development team on creating speakers that can truly be lifetime speakers.

Ok, a longer post than intended! Thanks again John for giving your time and opening your home to all of us nuts. It was a blast hanging with everyone fortunate enough to be there.

Lanie_Polk

Hey everyone! Would love to see some pictures of the event! Does anyone have any to share?

Jstas

I don't have many pictures 'cause I spent a bunch of time cooking but I know that ohskigod, Lasaerath and devani were snapping shots.

I'll share what little I have when I get home but if everyone else could step up, that'd be awesome.

Jstas

Sorry, I got tied up last night when I got home and totally spaced on this.

devani

ones I have are not good either....most of my pictures are taken with my stomach!

Jstas

Share them anyway, dude.

Mikey081057

devani wrote: »

sure was fun and John was a super host!!

My recap if anyone cares

Wife likes the idea of having portable speakers that can seemlessly work anywhere you are....I think Polk thought alot about how the music can flow from one room to another....they had alot of weight to the sound

the all-in-one box is a great idea and sounded very nice on LSiM703....too bad that we did't get a chance to listen to the Polk soundbar(I always thought they were inferior to dedicated setup)

I wish I had the chance to listen to carvers the way John had setup...maybe next time

having VR3 modded LSi9 and LSim703 side by side was interesting too....LSi series with different sound....I am still drooling over them!

love the LSi9 crossover box Lou!! interesting conversation starter

Peachtree was beautiful and had some serious sound

and thanks to Mark for showing all new stuff and can't wait to see where Polkfest 2015 will be...

Sounds like it was a great time and wish i was there... I would have liked to hear all the cool stuff and would have brung my LSIM 703's with VR3 mods in the mix to compare... Great job John! Congrats to all who make the Polk community special.

Jstas

So....ummmm....yeah....my neighbors are actually asking me if we are having it again next year and one family that was away for the weekend is kinda sore that they missed it. I think that's a first for a Polkfest?

Polkfest usually travels around so if someone else is snagging it for 2015, that's fine with me but would anyone be interested in coming to my place again if I throw the party?

Yes, I will do some BBQ again.

Jstas

Man....they're serious.

I told them that it might not be an "official Polkfest" and what Polkfest is about and one said "That's fine. Call it something else, like Polk-O-Ween 2015! Hey! It even rhymes!"

tonyb

Glad you guys had a good time. John, can you maybe post up what the systems were that you had up and running ? Inquiring minds and all that.

drumminman

Thanks for posting Jstas, especially all the stuff about Polk valuing the forum and its members. Change is always difficult and it helps to know the company still has some good mojo.

Mikey081057

Any pics?

Jstas

tonyb wrote: »

Glad you guys had a good time. John, can you maybe post up what the systems were that you had up and running ? Inquiring minds and all that.

Yeah, yeah, gettin' to it.

Big Dawg

Some delicious food shots (sorry but that's all I've got).

voltz

wow did Jstas smoke that with Cherry wood? look at that smoke ring & bark!!

Big Dawg

I think it was hickory charcoal, but John will have to chime in.

Mikey081057

voltz wrote: »

wow did Jstas smoke that with Cherry wood? look at that smoke ring & bark!!

I thought the same thing... Hot diggity

Jstas

No cherry.

Hardwood lump charcoal with hickory, mesquite and pecan woods.

Mikey081057

Jstas wrote: »

No cherry.

Hardwood lump charcoal with hickory, mesquite and pecan woods.

man that sounds delish...Tomorrow I am going to do ribeye steak bones with whiskey barrel oak smoke... I might throw some mesquite in there too...