New Polk Audio "Legend" Speaker Series shown at 2019 Hong Kong High End Audio Video Show

mhardy6647

BDT wrote: »

I had a Dynaco Quadaptor in the HT rig for quite awhile.......

I'm of the opinion that Quad (and it's itinerant variations) and SDA are different animals. Quad is....and this is MY opinion.....more about surround whereas SDA is only about achieving true stereo 2ch separation.

I'd argue that Sonic Holography is more akin to SDA, in terms of achieving the same effect via different means.

I thought the Quadaptor was a pretty cool device and in my application, offered results that were pretty comparable to Dolby Pro Logic.

I wonder if I sold that thing or if I still have it somewhere...

BDT

I concur (FWIW) -- with the possible exception of Carver's "Sonic Holography" You may well be right about it; I just have limited ears-on experience myself, so I dunno.

PS There is a QD-1 Quadaptor here, too! (imagine that...)

rooftop59

mhardy6647 wrote: »

BDT wrote: »

I had a Dynaco Quadaptor in the HT rig for quite awhile.......

I'm of the opinion that Quad (and it's itinerant variations) and SDA are different animals. Quad is....and this is MY opinion.....more about surround whereas SDA is only about achieving true stereo 2ch separation.

I'd argue that Sonic Holography is more akin to SDA, in terms of achieving the same effect via different means.

I thought the Quadaptor was a pretty cool device and in my application, offered results that were pretty comparable to Dolby Pro Logic.

I wonder if I sold that thing or if I still have it somewhere...

BDT

PS There is a QD-1 Quadaptor here, too! (imagine that...)

Superfluous components at the hardy house?!? I don’t believe it...

BDT

I've listened a good bit to SDA, SH and the Quad...........

Sonic Holography.....you know, it COULD sound good under certain circumstances. El Grande (RIP) was a big believer in SH. I was not....but the mention of Bob Carver gave El Grande a woodrow, so there is that. I digress, on certain material and as long as the setup was perfect...SH worked as advertised and the effect was similar to SDA.

IIRC, Polk also released some early rear surround speakers that had the Hafler circuit installed.


BDT

FTGV

The SDA difference signal is extracted exactly like in the Hafler/Dynaquad circuit. The difference being (no pun intended)the extra speakers/drivers are used at the front of the soundstage instead of the rear. Hafler's circuit preceded SDA by over decade.

mhardy6647

I was gonna throw some shade on Mr. Carver (not Mr. Grand!), but I decided it was imprudent and off-topic

nooshinjohn

mhardy6647 wrote: »

I was gonna throw some shade on Mr. Carver (not Mr. Grand!), but I decided it was imprudent and off-topic

Leave Bob out of this... or Fmalitz will show up and begin telling us how he made Polk what it was back in the day, and how we would all have gramophones if it weren't for him and his supreme intelligence.

oldrocker

^^

mhardy6647

nooshinjohn wrote: »

mhardy6647 wrote: »

I was gonna throw some shade on Mr. Carver (not Mr. Grand!), but I decided it was imprudent and off-topic

Leave Bob out of this... or Fmalitz will show up and begin telling us how he made Polk what it was back in the day, and how we would all have gramophones if it weren't for him and his supreme intelligence.

I had that very thought when I originally besmirched Mr. Carver a wee bit in a prior post above... and then edited it and cleaned it up.

I mean, I coulda picked on... you know... Leon Russell.

https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/177800/leon-russells-estate-sale-i-had-to-smile

Kurt300

Skip, my sources say that the Polk Legend series will only be sold through Prosource dealers. You're welcome.

mhardy6647

Dang -- my sources don't even know what a Prosource dealer is.

Hyme2019

I think it’s lame in my 3 state territory there is maybe one dealer I can see maybe displaying them. And I see him bringing in the SDA towers and after he sells them, well I would be surprised if he brings them back in only because he does Paradigm, KEF, Focal, Golden Ear, SVS, Klipsch, Martin Logan, so Polk would be like his 7th line in terms of importance. So 3 states and maybe one dealer. Sometimes I don’t get manufacturers. The Signature line for example. Great product, but it’s beginning to be footballed around too much and I assure you we aren’t the reason why. Manufacturers can control pricing, Paradigm and or Kef would be 2 good examples. So then Polk comes out with some excellent products that won’t be well distributed at least in our area. I get making sure a dealer is authorized and qualified to sell such product, but in this area even B & W will be by far more widely distributed by comparison. You shouldn’t have to drive 6-7 plus hours to maaayyybbeee be able to see and hear product. But what do I know.

rpf65

mhardy6647 wrote: »

Dang -- my sources don't even know what a Prosource dealer is.

That’s an English word worth only $0.44. That’s a pretty cheap word you have to look up.

Hyme2019

DSkip I assume your a prosource dealer what lines of speakers do you carry?

mhardy6647

ahh, I see...
https://www.prosourceinfo.com/

Hyme2019

DSkip, I don’t think it matters if you buy through distribution or are prosource either way when product goes on “sale” online I don’t think Polk is passing along any sell through credits, that being said we do offer discounts via instant rebates from time to time and they come from Polk. You have a Nebraska Furniture mart near you, in Texas right? I’m not sure I see nfm selling a lot of $6,000 a pair speakers, but I could be wrong. Been a while since I’ve been in one.

TopperDude

From secrets of home theater and high Fidelity:

Polk audio used RMAF to launch their new Legend line of speakers to the general public. While they had static examples of the entire line on display, the speaker that was doing "all the talking" in this demo was the flagship L800 SDA. The SDA in the name stands for Stereo Dimensional Array which was invented by Matthew Polk in the early 1980s. SDA's purpose is to minimize the interaural crosstalk that occurs with all stereo speaker by using specially configured driver arrays to help cancel the effect. Anyone remember those full page audio magazine ads, back in the day, with Mr. Polk standing in front of some pretty imposing speakers? Same principle at play in those speakers back then has been refined and is at play in the new L800 SDA. For SDA to completely work it's voodoo, you need to sit precisely between the speakers, hence the seating arrangement you see in the photos. When I moved off center during the demo the L800 SDAs sound like a very good pair of conventional speakers. When I sat myself down in the money seat however, sonic imagery came into super-tight focus. I was able to pick out exact positioning of performers in the jazz ensemble piece that was playing. Not just from left right but from front to back as well. It was eerily precise. The L800 SDA had plenty of dynamics and great overall sound that you would wish for in a pair of speakers. But that experience in the center seat was more than just some gimmick, it's addictive. MSRP is $6000.00 for a pair. Availability should be later this year.
Polk Audio
#RMAF2019 #Loudspeakers #polk #press

ptrooper

Can't wait to put my ears on these down under .....What equipment and cables were used on the L800's
at the RMAF?
Sorry if this has already been asked!

mhardy6647

TopperDude wrote: »

From secrets of home theater and high Fidelity:

...For SDA to completely work it's voodoo, you need to sit precisely between the speakers, hence the seating arrangement you see in the photos. When I moved off center during the demo the L800 SDAs sound like a very good pair of conventional speakers. When I sat myself down in the money seat however, sonic imagery came into super-tight focus. I was able to pick out exact positioning of performers in the jazz ensemble piece that was playing. Not just from left right but from front to back as well. It was eerily precise. The L800 SDA had plenty of dynamics and great overall sound that you would wish for in a pair of speakers. But that experience in the center seat was more than just some gimmick, it's addictive. MSRP is $6000.00 for a pair. Availability should be later this year.
Polk Audio
#RMAF2019 #Loudspeakers #polk #press

[emphasis added]

The reviewer clearly did like 'em, but the Jamaican bobsled team seating configuration seems like something that dealers may have to sell against.

F1nut

Definitely Marantz gear and probably Audioquest cables.

ptrooper

Thanks Jess,you wouldn't know the internal size compared to the big old boys would you?

F1nut

Internal??? How about the external.

Height48.6" (123.44 cm)
Width17.94" (45.57 cm)
Depth17.38" (44.15 cm)
Weight118 lbs (53.52 kg)

monepolk

They do have these and the specs on the Polk website under Home Audio.

TopperDude

ptrooper wrote: »

Can't wait to put my ears on these down under .....What equipment and cables were used on the L800's
at the RMAF?
Sorry if this has already been asked!

Ya I'd like to know the exact marantz gear used too. It looks like some of them are av models.

vmaxer

@KenCustomerService may be able to help with this.


https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/comment/2533313/#Comment_2533313

F1nut

Ken Carter is not with Polk, he moved to Def Tech.

F1nut

TopperDude wrote: »

ptrooper wrote: »

Can't wait to put my ears on these down under .....What equipment and cables were used on the L800's
at the RMAF?
Sorry if this has already been asked!

Ya I'd like to know the exact marantz gear used too. It looks like some of them are av models.

A Marantz AVR or pre/pro, a Marantz multi-channel amp and the Marantz SA10.

vmaxer

F1nut wrote: »

Ken Carter is not with Polk, he moved to Def Tech.

Oops, sorry.

ptrooper

Traitor....lol kidding.
I do hope polk allowed for non common ground amps,i see no warnings on rear or dreadnaught centre of cable.interesting.
Drugs and mirrors must be involved.

BlueFox

They have just been announced. Let’s see how they settle down over the next month or so.

DarqueKnight

@F1nut

I don't recall seeing this question asked of you in any of the 698.3 threads on the L800s. So, sorry if I missed it.

How did the L800s compare to your modded SDA SRS 2.3TLs?