When is Polk releasing a new speaker line?
Comments
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It was Polk speakers that got me interested in building a decent set up back when I joined the forum and owning RT 1000 and 2000i"s then a few sets of SDA's before someone here told me " hey Johnny, there are much better speakers out there for not a whole lot more dough and at that point I slowly unloaded my Polks(well almost all of them) and made moves to get a couple of decent sets of towers..I never looked back.as both sets of towers I own are working great for my ears. That said..if Polk ever came out with something in a tower that would be better than anything they have ever made I just may jump. I.still keep.my.fx surrounds and a Polk center channel just to include polk in the home and remind me to never stop polking. 😂😂🎩"if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
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The new def tech lines are awful
I got a pair of sm45s for a really good price; I think they are a really nice sounding pair of inexpensive bookies. But several reviewers online have said that the little ported 45s sound better then the bigger PR bookies, which is odd to me. I thought the last SM line (350 etc) was solid...
Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1 Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
They showed us a glimpse of something in the works. it did look like it was past the prototype stage. We didn't get a full view or a listen to it.
Maybe Polk got a great deal on a massive production run of LSiM. Makes sense they have been selling them at a big discount. Only way to do that is if the cost per unit goes down.When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music -
The new def tech lines are awful
I got a pair of sm45s for a really good price; I think they are a really nice sounding pair of inexpensive bookies. But several reviewers online have said that the little ported 45s sound better then the bigger PR bookies, which is odd to me. I thought the last SM line (350 etc) was solid...
Definitive's build quality has gone drastically since they were bought out.
Take the 7000 series (or even 3000/2000) and compare them to the 8000 and now 9000 series, it truly is no contest. Every part of the new series, from the enclosure, to the crossovers, to the drivers, all far lower standard of quality. They don't even use wood caps anymore, all glossy plastic.
This transposes to the monitor lines... SM350/450 and PM500/700/900 compared to the newer stuff, simply no contest.
I am not saying Definitive is the end all be all of loudspeakers, but given their primary application of Home Theater/gaming, they were a spectacular product that was built extremely well. I can't say the same things about the newer products.- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
They showed us a glimpse of something in the works. it did look like it was past the prototype stage. We didn't get a full view or a listen to it.
Maybe Polk got a great deal on a massive production run of LSiM. Makes sense they have been selling them at a big discount. Only way to do that is if the cost per unit goes down.
One thing that may be a consideration is that at times manufacturers will sell products below their intended margin, even at a loss, just to keep the manufacturing plants open. Keep the workers employed, infrastructure flowing, etc., as it is way more expensive to shut down a plant, or manufacturing line, and then have to start it up again. With companies that have plants throughout the globe, as long as the overall bottom line is good, this happens.
Of course, every company wants all of their products to sell at a profit, huge profit, but if they balance it right, overall it's still good for the company. Just some more thoughts.Basement: Polk SDA SRS 1.2tl's, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,McIntosh MCD301 CD/SACD player, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2, Series2 Digital Cables, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Series2 XLR's, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, MIT Shotgun S3 IC's, MIT Shotgun S1 Bi-Wire speaker cables
Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, Northstar Designs Intenso DAC, Antique Sound Labs AV8 Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
Spare Room: Dayens Ampino Integrated Amp, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's, Shunyata Hydra 8 Power Conditioner
Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Rotel RCD-1072 CD player, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
Garage #1: Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amp, Project Box-E BT Streamer, Polk Tsi200 Bookies, Douglas Speaker Cables, Shunyata Power Conditioner
Garage #2: Cambridge Audio EVO150 Integrated Amplifier, Polk L200's, Analysis Plus Silver Oval 2 Speaker Cables, IC's TBD. -
In November '17, I was fortunate enough to be within inches of what was(is) supposed to be their next TOTL offering to surpass the LSiM, and everything about it screamed SDA except there was no PR. Footprint wise, it was deeper, and slightly taller than my SRS 2s, and the layout was that of an SRS 1 (2 tweets, 4 MWs, and a woofer).
It was hinted that it was to be unveiled the next year, but we all know what got dropped at CES... I'm hoping it just got pushed back a year for fine tuning... -
In November '17, I was fortunate enough to be within inches of what was(is) supposed to be their next TOTL offering to surpass the LSiM, and everything about it screamed SDA except there was no PR. Footprint wise, it was deeper, and slightly taller than my SRS 2s, and the layout was that of an SRS 1 (2 tweets, 4 MWs, and a woofer).
It was hinted that it was to be unveiled the next year, but we all know what got dropped at CES... I'm hoping it just got pushed back a year for fine tuning...
Sounds like speakers of that type would be quite expensive. But there would be nothing else on the market like them.
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In November '17, I was fortunate enough to be within inches of what was(is) supposed to be their next TOTL offering to surpass the LSiM, and everything about it screamed SDA except there was no PR. Footprint wise, it was deeper, and slightly taller than my SRS 2s, and the layout was that of an SRS 1 (2 tweets, 4 MWs, and a woofer).
It was hinted that it was to be unveiled the next year, but we all know what got dropped at CES... I'm hoping it just got pushed back a year for fine tuning...
I would really like to see them offer something like this.Living Room
Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Oppo 103D, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, KLH Model 5s, Polk CSi A6, Samsung 65" LED
Office
Yamaha A-S501, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s
Douglas Connection ICs and Cables -
I always felt that Polk was a bit over priced, though I did like them and owned 3 different sets in the 80's and early 90's. The LsiM was on my short-list when I bought the PSB Imagine T2's, but I felt the LsiM was wildly over-priced. Now that they are selling at 1/2 off, it's MY opinion they are finally priced right. Saddens me to say it, but it is how I feel.Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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FWIW, they weren't 'a bit over priced' in the brand's early days -- Polk built its brand and reputation first and foremost on extremely high value. I am sure that I wasn't the only college student for whom the Monitor 7 was literally the best sound I/they could afford
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In the late 70's and early 80's I found offerings from Infinity and Acoustic Research better priced, and in my opinion, better sounding.Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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In the late 70's and early 80's I found offerings from Infinity and Acoustic Research better priced, and in my opinion, better sounding.
I'm about to help a friend re-foam his A/R TSW410 woofers and mids. I have the new surrounds here already. Just waiting for him to feel up to trying his 80 year old hands and eyes to attempt their 1st re-foaming job.
His 69 year old buddy wants to join us too. He's into speakers and audio as much as we are.
We don't drink so it might go ok.
Unfortunately, I have to say, my elderly friend didn't know ( I can't believe this! ) that he shouldn't play speakers when their surrounds are missing!
He played his 410's the other day quite loud and prolonged to listen to their sound BEFORE we renewed them. He said they sounded GREAT. Just like they used too. He KNEW they would sound better but he has/had no clue how much damage he was causing them.
He knows now though. But he doesn't know IF their damaged. I told what to do one night to check and the next night I asked him if he checked and he said no. Maybe he's afraid too.
Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them. -
Reminds me of my experience with some speakers that will remain nameless at an audio show. I walked in, stood there for a moment to get a listen. A rep walks over and asks me for my thoughts. I put my fingers in my ears and headed for the door.
Pretty much my experience in this room at Axpona. It was shocking how bad it sounded. Unlistenable.
Yes, I was very disappointed in Sonus faber's Aida loudspeaker demo at this year's AXPONA. Last year I spent several hours over three days listening to the Aida's. At this year's show, the hot top end was too much and I spent less than 30 minutes in the Aida room.
As shown in the picture below from the 2018 AXPONA show, the Aida's were much further out into the room. I think they were pushed back (too) close to the rear wall to accommodate more rows of seats, as the room was constantly crowded last year with lots of people standing in the rear. There are controls on the rear of the speakers to balance the sound for a particular room placement. It appeared that this was not done or not done properly. Cables and electronics were also different from last year's show.
Bass and tactile sensation were improved over last years presentation, but again, that top end sizzle was awful. I kept thinking someone would eventually make adjustments and set the Aidas up properly, but the situation persisted for the show's three day run.
Sonus faber Aida demo at the 2018 AXPONA show.Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country! -
The SM 350’s I have are really great for the price I got them for. I believe the original retail was $5-600 a pair, which IMO is too high. Same for the Lsi series when Hifibuys sold them here in Atl early 2000’s. Way overpriced.
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Reminds me of my experience with some speakers that will remain nameless at an audio show. I walked in, stood there for a moment to get a listen. A rep walks over and asks me for my thoughts. I put my fingers in my ears and headed for the door.
Pretty much my experience in this room at Axpona. It was shocking how bad it sounded. Unlistenable.
Really? I LOVE the SF sound, especially those. LOL To each his own, I guess.2-channelBelles 22A Pre, Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2, Marantz SA8005, Pro-Ject RPM-10 Turntable, Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3B, Polk Audio Legend L800's, AudioQuest Cable throughout. -
Really? I LOVE the SF sound, especially those. LOL To each his own, I guess.
The treble was physically uncomfortable, I had the instinctive response to plug my ears to protect them, and get out of the room as quickly as possible after I took that photo. -
Reminds me of my experience with some speakers that will remain nameless at an audio show. I walked in, stood there for a moment to get a listen. A rep walks over and asks me for my thoughts. I put my fingers in my ears and headed for the door.
Pretty much my experience in this room at Axpona. It was shocking how bad it sounded. Unlistenable.
Really? I LOVE the SF sound, especially those. LOL To each his own, I guess.
If you read @DarqueKnight's post above, it was apparently something about that particular room or setup, not necessarily the speakers themselves...Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1 Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
Reminds me of my experience with some speakers that will remain nameless at an audio show. I walked in, stood there for a moment to get a listen. A rep walks over and asks me for my thoughts. I put my fingers in my ears and headed for the door.
Pretty much my experience in this room at Axpona. It was shocking how bad it sounded. Unlistenable.
Really? I LOVE the SF sound, especially those. LOL To each his own, I guess.
If you read @DarqueKnight's post above, it was apparently something about that particular room or setup, not necessarily the speakers themselves...
I did...unfortunately after I posted. LOL2-channelBelles 22A Pre, Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2, Marantz SA8005, Pro-Ject RPM-10 Turntable, Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3B, Polk Audio Legend L800's, AudioQuest Cable throughout. -
Back to the original subject, I do wonder if Polk will release a new speaker. By new speaker, I mean something high end, not an entry or mid level speaker. There are plenty of those.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
It would be nice Bud
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Skip, based on the current business model, that is how I am thinking. Maybe they will surprise us, but I think they are just trying to milk every dollar from the Polk name, and then discontinue it. I guess time will tell.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
It would be nice Bud
It would be a failure. The name itself has no value in the high end community and Polk has proven with the release of the LSiM and Signatures that they either don't care about that community or don't know how to market it appropriately to that market. The Signatures had all the design and sound to corner the three-figure market but you don't even see reviews on them.
Interestingly enough I saw a newish HiFi shop by one of my appointments and walked in to check it out. Now I know I play at a lower level than many but we started talking shop and we were talking about my gear and I said I had Polk speakers, he was polite but dismissive. I might as well said I had bose cubes. I do like my 60s and 703s but it’s unfortunate there isn’t step up with Polk.Living Room
Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Oppo 103D, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, KLH Model 5s, Polk CSi A6, Samsung 65" LED
Office
Yamaha A-S501, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s
Douglas Connection ICs and Cables -
They were dismissive of the brand even back when Polk was at it's best. I remember Shelley's Stereo (still in business BTW) telling me that Polk speakers were nothing but a waste of money and time, and that Maggie MGII was a far superior product to anything Polk could offer.
They had been reps for the brand pretty much since it was founded, but the owner at the time was so put off by the SDA's and insulted by the concept itself that he refused to even properly show them.The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
nooshinjohn wrote: »They were dismissive of the brand even back when Polk was at it's best. I remember Shelley's Stereo (still in business BTW) telling me that Polk speakers were nothing but a waste of money and time, and that Maggie MGII was a far superior product to anything Polk could offer.
They had been reps for the brand pretty much since it was founded, but the owner at the time was so put off by the SDA's and insulted by the concept itself that he refused to even properly show them.
Polk speakers were rarely reviewed by stereophile back in the day, other than the fairly bad Rta11t review. It was not until the last 15 years that stereophile started to take Polk seriously with several reviews.
The SDA concept was not well received overall or by the audiphile community. Heck, in this forum, that is made up of Polks biggest fans there is no consensus on SDA. I see it as a great "idea" that at times could make a great sound, but not something that was overall seen as good by the audiophile community.
Also Polk back in the day were adamant that everything had to be based on the same 6.5" woofer and basically the same tweeters in most all models. To those that loved Polk that was seen as a plus, but those that were more on the fence, it looked to be a cost cutting measure to simply inplement the same basic drivers in everything to just save money, but not to reach higher into audiophile quality.
(Not a jab against Polk or the older vintage speakers, but how others tend to see this stuff) -
Polk has always marketed itself (what little marketing they did) as a company that makes speakers that the average person can afford. Most of us that get them end up feeling that we got more speaker for the money we paid for them.
I couldn't care less about what the "audiophile" snobs think about Polk speakers, and with 40+ years in the business, I doubt Polk cares either.
Somehow without buying the approval of the audiophile crowd and magazines, they found a very large, loyal following of Polk owners who keep coming back to get new speakers and recommending them to their friends.
That's all that matters.Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2 -
nooshinjohn wrote: »They were dismissive of the brand even back when Polk was at it's best. I remember Shelley's Stereo (still in business BTW) telling me that Polk speakers were nothing but a waste of money and time, and that Maggie MGII was a far superior product to anything Polk could offer.
They had been reps for the brand pretty much since it was founded, but the owner at the time was so put off by the SDA's and insulted by the concept itself that he refused to even properly show them.
Polk speakers were rarely reviewed by stereophile back in the day, other than the fairly bad Rta11t review. It was not until the last 15 years that stereophile started to take Polk seriously with several reviews.
The SDA concept was not well received overall or by the audiphile community. Heck, in this forum, that is made up of Polks biggest fans there is no consensus on SDA. I see it as a great "idea" that at times could make a great sound, but not something that was overall seen as good by the audiophile community.
Also Polk back in the day were adamant that everything had to be based on the same 6.5" woofer and basically the same tweeters in most all models. To those that loved Polk that was seen as a plus, but those that were more on the fence, it looked to be a cost cutting measure to simply inplement the same basic drivers in everything to just save money, but not to reach higher into audiophile quality.
(Not a jab against Polk or the older vintage speakers, but how others tend to see this stuff)
The doped cone mid-woofers may look the same, but they are in fact different drivers. I am certain that as with most manufacturers, they were going for a cohesive look between series in much the same way as Infinity did.
SDA’s we’re reviewed often back in the day, and the reviews were favorable. As Matt said in a post about why they stopped making them, the dealers could not be bothered with them to set them up for a proper demo, especially since they took up so much real estate in what was mostly a common speaker room. Typically they were toed in, too close to a wall, and generally sounded bad in the typical sound room of the time. And sales people would take the easy way out and disparage the brand rather than move a 100 to 200 pound refrigerator for best effect.
Please do me a favor KM and get your facts right before quoting me, or better yet, just don’t quote me at all...The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
I’m thinking the Signature line is “good enough” for the Polk brand in today’s market. They check the box on being affordable, plenty of choices for size, easily powered by the receiver brands Sound United now owns, and they look and perform well for their price. The only curious omission I am seeing is no Atmos support with a speaker module.
A conservative corporation is going to go for the guaranteed money maker backed up by market data and analysis. Since they have not brought a two channel SDA speaker to market for many years now, they probably have good reasons for not doing it. -
They also own Classe... what speakers would you buy from any of Sound United’s portfolio to complement them?The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
I've met a guy who was a reg. guy but didn't know his set of gifted to his wife sda-crs+'s needed an interconnecting cable to sound their best. I'm sure most don't UNDERSTAND this style of speaker that uses another cable beside the 2 reg. speaker wires. Shoot, most people today don't even comprehend how to hook up a surround sound receiver. They AVOID the challenge at all costs!
The dealer back in the early 80's I think it was, had the SRS big boys 4' apart. One on each side of the TV cabinet they framed. It was "ROSS audio" records and TV in Fredericksburg Va.. He helped me establish a CREDIT HISTORY for my first time. He co-signed my loan! I owe a hell-of-a lot to that kind man!
And everybody here knows my dislike of that sales phrase "fluid coupled bass radiator". This one phrase alone turned me off from pursuing any further interest in buying a set on credit at Mr. Ross's store!
But Polk sold a ton of the Monitor series to stay profitable didn't they.
Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
