When is Polk releasing a new speaker line?

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Comments

  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    Worth a listen, especially towards the end where the stated business goal for Sound United is more acquisitions and defining brands so product lines do not cannibalize the business...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-4qoEF59BM

    Buying out Classe was a good idea because it was basically bankrupt but still enjoyed great name recognition in the luxury end of the market. They also possessed some pretty cool technology that could be used elsewhere for home integration stuff. I doubt Sound United bought Classe's brand so they could use it with Polk. Different markets entirely. Polk is good performance for a budget, and has been since they started appearing in big box stores.

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,711
    Note his words, "they're highly interested in getting their microphones into homes."

    Think about that.

    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

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,711
    I doubt Sound United bought Classe's brand so they could use it with Polk. Different markets entirely.

    Sound United used Polk Signature 60's for the unveiling of the Marantz KI Ruby Reference gear. That's $8000.00 worth of gear driving $900.00 speakers.
    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

  • DarqueKnight
    DarqueKnight Posts: 6,760
    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.

    My experiences with Polk's dealers during the SDA era was exactly the opposite. With regard to Shelley's, I wouldn't trust any word or recommendation from a dealer who sells a brand he deemed "a waste of money and time".

    It's really interesting that someone in the business of selling stereo loudspeakers would be "put off" and "insulted" by the concept of SDAs, when actually, SDAs come closest to the original sound localization and interaural crosstalk cancellation specifications of the original three channel, three speaker stereo system invented by Dr. Harvey Fletcher's research team at Bell Laboratories in the late circa 1930.

    In historical perspective, two Bell Telephone Laboratories scientists, F. K. Harvey and M. R. Schroeder, presented a paper at the 12th Annual Convention the the Audio Engineering Society on October 11, 1960 which stated:

    "Critical listeners were sought in these tests because of a desire to set permanent standards. At the moment, only a small percentage of people fully appreciate high fidelity. Even less appreciate or understand stereo. However, there is a growing sophistication evidenced among users of stereo equipment. Anticipating the future, it seemed wise to avoid naive or unconcerned personnel in these tests to prevent establishing loose standards which eventually might have to be abandoned.

    The listeners chosen were sophisticated in the art of sound localization either by working in this field or by education before testing. They were felt to be the equal of any serious listener who is accustomed to playing the same records many times and thus becomes familiar with the more subtle artistic and technical effects."


    Reference: Harvey, F. K. and Schroeder, M. R., "Subjective Evaluation of Factors Affecting Two-Channel Stereophony", Journal of The Audio Engineering Society, Vol. 9, No. 1, January 1961, pp. 19-28.

    The truth is that conventional, two channel, two speaker stereo systems are a "gimmick" that was necessitated by the commercial impracticality of recording and re-producing three channel stereo media.
    Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    Sound United may not have bought Classe so they could use it with Polk, but my Signature 60s as well as all my other speakers sound just fine with the Classe amp I have powering them. That's the problem with the audiophile crowd, they get so caught up in the "Name" and price and being able to afford them that they promptly start looking down their noses at everything else.

    I very rarely buy something because of the name on the label, I look for the ratings of the quality of the product, the longevity of the product, whether they have good customer service, and if they stand behind their product. Polk checks all those boxes for me, as does Marantz, Rotel, Parasound, Outlaw, etc.

    Buy whatever you like and be happy.
    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
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,927
    1975

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    1979

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    1980

    qidqa7sb9maw.png


  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,927
    Stereo Review Nov. 1985

    z50uy6dm86k2.png

    all scans taken from the scanned periodical collection at www.americanradiohistory.com (a phenomenal resource!)
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,927
    If anyone perusing this thread would like to read the whole text from which the scan above was taken, see:
    https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-HiFI-Stereo/80s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1985-11.pdf

    The Editorial in that issue is a pretty interesting read, too :|

  • BlueFox
    BlueFox Posts: 15,251
    Tony M wrote: »
    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.

    What is a 'reg. guy'?

    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.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,711
    B)
    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

  • Tony M
    Tony M Posts: 11,009
    edited May 2019
    BlueFox wrote: »
    Tony M wrote: »
    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.

    What is a 'reg. guy'?

    I've worked with a thousands of people.

    There's regular people and then there are "special" people. People who stand out from the regular people.

    Common sense was lacking with this fellow. ;)
    Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
  • K_M
    K_M Posts: 1,627
    K_M 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...

    Or better yet put you back on Ignore where you belong.
    Not really in the mood for jerks that are only here to argue.
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,053
    K_M 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)

    1C's and SRS's were reviewed by Julian Hisrch back in the day and they got pretty high marks. Audio magazine did a couple reviews as well.

    The thing with the rags back then is there were only about 3-4 audio mags and they could only devote so much space for gear, and there was lots of gear back then so you won't see a lot of any one brand reviewed in the 80's and 90's.

    https://polksda.com/srsreview.shtml

    https://polksda.com/sda1creview.shtml

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,053
    edited May 2019
    I sold SDA's back in the mid 90's. We were a mid level dealer and had a special room upstairs set up with all Nakamichi separates PA7; CA7; OMS7, Dragon, etc. Demoing a pair of the big boys and also a pair of 1C's (not at the same time, obviously). 1C's and especially 2B studio's were a ridiculously easy sale after a proper demo.

    We sat people in the sweet spot and blew most people away with the sound. Sold a lot of SDA's with the proper demo. But we had sale people that hated Polk and never sold it unless the customer insisted on it.

    H9
    Post edited by heiney9 on
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,053
    I have a pair of RT25i's and I bought them based on the Stereophile review DK makes reference to.

    They are excellent sounding speakers and I feel (unmodded) they do voice reproduction slightly better than my modded 5B's w/RD0's. Fantastic bookie by any standards.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
  • DarqueKnight
    DarqueKnight Posts: 6,760
    edited May 2019
    heiney9 wrote: »
    Sold a lot of SDA's with the proper demo. But we had sale people that hated Polk and never sold it unless the customer insisted on it.

    Why did they hate Polk?

    There are audio brands that I don't particularly care for due to various reasons (sound quality, reliability issues, poor customer service, etc.), but there isn't a brand that I hate, not even the ones I've had issues with (e.g. Cary, Graham, Pioneer).

    I completely understand an audio product not being to a particular person's liking, but some of the vitriol spewed toward Polk just seems like envy and jealousy due to their success. Some of it bears similarities to mental illness.

    During the 80s and 90s, "high end" "audiophile" companies were not particularly known for making reliable products nor for providing good customer service. Many of them operated on the verge of financial insolvency and many of them are no longer around today.

    Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,053
    heiney9 wrote: »
    Sold a lot of SDA's with the proper demo. But we had sale people that hated Polk and never sold it unless the customer insisted on it.

    Why did they hate Polk?

    There are audio brands that I don't particularly care for due to various reasons (sound quality, reliability issues, poor customer service, etc.), but there isn't a brand that I hate, not even the ones I've had issues with (e.g. Cary, Graham, Pioneer).

    One guy hated and even made it a point in his sales pitch (as why to not buy Polk) the SL2000 tweeter. He also felt they weren't high end enough like ADS and Mirage and KEF. He was a big ADS speaker guy. But he was full of himself and Polk just didn't fit the up market image he had in mind for his customers.

    One other sales guy just never really cared for the SDA's. To much of an assault on the traditional stereo speaker. SO he dismissed Polk entirely.

    Silly reason's really, as we always made a good profit (commission) on Polk's.

    H9

    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    edited May 2019
    K_M wrote: »
    Or better yet put you back on Ignore where you belong.
    Not really in the mood for jerks that are only here to argue.

    Good idea KM, perhaps the best one you have ever posted. If you had even the faintest of a clue as to what you are talking about, there would be no need to "argue" as you put it. No need to reply as you are back on my list anyway.
    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
  • DarqueKnight
    DarqueKnight Posts: 6,760
    heiney9 wrote: »
    One guy hated and even made it a point in his sales pitch (as why to not buy Polk) the SL2000 tweeter. He also felt they weren't high end enough like ADS and Mirage and KEF. He was a big ADS speaker guy. But he was full of himself and Polk just didn't fit the up market image he had in mind for his customers.

    One other sales guy just never really cared for the SDA's. To much of an assault on the traditional stereo speaker. SO he dismissed Polk entirely.

    I never ran into that negativity toward SDAs in particular, or Polks in general, at any of the Polk dealers I visited in California, Georgia, Kansas, or North Carolina.

    The attachment below is Polk's dealer list from late 1986 to early 1987. I counted 323 dealers for Polk's home audio speakers in the USA and Puerto Rico. I had the pleasure of visiting five of them and eventually purchasing from one of them.

    cxu2zn7smj1h.jpg


    Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
  • polrbehr
    polrbehr Posts: 2,825
    K_M wrote: »
    Or better yet put you back on Ignore where you belong.
    Not really in the mood for jerks that are only here to argue.

    Good idea KM, perhaps the best one you have ever posted. If you had even the faintest of a clue as to what you are talking about, there would be no need to "argue" as you put it. No need to reply as you are back on my list anyway.

    Good, so now that you're both on each others ignore list, that should be the end of the kindergarten-esque slap fighting. :neutral:
    So, are you willing to put forth a little effort or are you happy sitting in your skeptical poo pile?


    http://audiomilitia.proboards.com/
  • Geoff4rfc
    Geoff4rfc Posts: 2,116
    Tony M wrote: »

    Common sense was lacking with this fellow. ;)

    If it were common, we'd all have it :D
    Source: BRP Panasonic UB9000, CDP Emotiva ERC3 - Display: LG OLED EVO 83 C3 - Pre/Pro: Marantz 8802A - Amplification: Emotiva XPA-DR3, XPA-2 x 2, XPA-6, Speakers, Mains/2ch-Focal Kanta No2's, C-LSiM706, S-702F/X, RS-RTiA9's, WS-RTiA9's, FH-RTiA3's, Subs - Epik Empire x 2

    Cables: AudioQuest McKenzie XLR's/CDP/Amp, Carbon 48/BRP, Forest 48/Display

    EXPERIENCE: next to nothing, but I sure enjoy audio and video MY OPINION OF THIS HOBBY: I may not be a smart man, but I know what quicksand is.
    When I was young, I was Superman but now that old age has gotten the best of me I'm only Batman
  • Tony M
    Tony M Posts: 11,009
    It used to be common, not anymore. :/
    Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,053
    edited May 2019
    heiney9 wrote: »
    One guy hated and even made it a point in his sales pitch (as why to not buy Polk) the SL2000 tweeter. He also felt they weren't high end enough like ADS and Mirage and KEF. He was a big ADS speaker guy. But he was full of himself and Polk just didn't fit the up market image he had in mind for his customers.

    One other sales guy just never really cared for the SDA's. To much of an assault on the traditional stereo speaker. SO he dismissed Polk entirely.

    I never ran into that negativity toward SDAs in particular, or Polks in general, at any of the Polk dealers I visited in California, Georgia, Kansas, or North Carolina.

    The attachment below is Polk's dealer list from late 1986 to early 1987. I counted 323 dealers for Polk's home audio speakers in the USA and Puerto Rico. I had the pleasure of visiting five of them and eventually purchasing from one of them.

    cxu2zn7smj1h.jpg


    I worked at Columbia Audio Video in Rockford, IL. We had stores in the Chicago suburbs as well. I wouldn't say it was outward negativity against Polk with customers. More salesmen talk among ourselves. They wouldn't show Polk's first unless the customer showed interest or needed a particular trait, like a price point or size, etc.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!