New Polk Audio "Legend" Speaker Series shown at 2019 Hong Kong High End Audio Video Show
Comments
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Can anyone confirm that the current run LSiM speakers are using the same drivers and especially crossovers that the originals shipped with?
I seem to remember some info on here that the newer ones had some parts swapped for cheaper ones.
Would help explain some of the price slashing. -
Upstatemax wrote: »Can anyone confirm that the current run LSiM speakers are using the same drivers and especially crossovers that the originals shipped with?
I seem to remember some info on here that the newer ones had some parts swapped for cheaper ones.
Would help explain some of the price slashing.
The pricing has always been due to eliminating multiple hands in the delivery of the product to market. Once a company gets as big as Polk, the infrastructure has to be in place to deliver which adds cost. On the flip side, the scale of manufacturing offsets some of these costs. Now people are getting the benefit of scale and no infrastructure.
By infrastructure do you mean customer service? Cause sound United is saving a boatload of cash there 😝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 -
mhardy6647 wrote: »So... it's not my place to be doing legal research for, umm, Sound United
but the post by @vcwatkins got me to thinkin' about the Legend moniker.
There's this other loudspeaker manufacturer who refers (or, at least, referred) to their brand as A Legend in Sound.
They even have had a Legend Series of loudspeakers.
Is there any trademark infringement issue kind of thing goin' on, here?
Just... you know... musing.
I muse, therefore I am.
I don't see a problem Mark. Legend is a common word as is Monster, as is Reference. Now if they had duplicated "Legend in Sound", then there would be a problem.
Unless you are illiterate, You should know the difference between Polk Legend and Klipsch Legend.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 -
I think the complaint here is a lack of creativity?
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“Signature Reference” was already taken by Emo-tiva.
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The pricing has always been due to eliminating multiple hands in the delivery of the product to market. Once a company gets as big as Polk, the infrastructure has to be in place to deliver which adds cost. On the flip side, the scale of manufacturing offsets some of these costs. Now people are getting the benefit of scale and no infrastructure.
This speaker line was basically never available at dealers/retailers and had VERY limited distribution channels from the start, mainly online.
That has not changed with most of the prices you’re seeing. The biggest factor seems to be that Polk needs to unload the massive financial anchor of their inventory of the LSiM line and just forget about making any kind of profit on them. Clearly Polk is contracting places like Adorama to basically be a clearance house for them.
But I’m still curious if the newer LSiM speakers are built the same as the original production runs. -
Looks like a bunch of NP electrolytics in that Focal XO.
The air core conductors in the Alpine XO are pretty cheesy. The ones in the Focal are better, but still nothin' special. The capacitor in the middle of the Alpine XO looks like perhaps a Bennic(?), and there are definitely NP electrolytics to the left and below it; cannot tell about the one on the far right.
NP electrolytics -- we're talkin' 50 cent capacitors (retail).
So... I must be missin' something?
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Remember, its all relative. This is car audio. In the tough car audio environment, the adjustment ability of these passive crossovers is more rare than common. Its the sum of all parts as both of these are good performing 3-way speakers systems. Both are good looking and could be featured in show systems. The Focal is crazy expensive....and I don't know the details of the electrolytics, but there looks to be some poly in there as well.mhardy6647 wrote: »Looks like a bunch of NP electrolytics in that Focal XO.
The air core conductors in the Alpine XO are pretty cheesy. The ones in the Focal are better, but still nothin' special. The capacitor in the middle of the Alpine XO looks like perhaps a Bennic(?), and there are definitely NP electrolytics to the left and below it; cannot tell about the one on the far right.
NP electrolytics -- we're talkin' 50 cent capacitors (retail).
So... I must be missin' something?
Anyway, the point was made that the Elac had a better crossover. Then I indicated that may be true but that does not take away from the fact that Polk does a good job with their crossovers. The older car audio SR line and the home audio LSiM line both measure pretty well. Again its the sum of all parts.
I purposely compared the above well performing car audio systems to the Polk SR crossover as it holds its own. Polk used 1% resistors and 1% Mylar caps, Air core inductors, Zobel network, tweeter protection, 4 tweeter levels via a low noise jumper, all on a cast aluminum chassis. Again....Look at the white paper measurements:
The LSiM is much of the same when you look at the overall measurements of the line.2.2 Office Setup | LG 29UB55 21:9 UltraWide | HP Probook 630 G8 | Dell Latitude | Cabasse Stream Amp 100 | Boston Acoustics VS 240 | AUDIORAX Desk Stands | Mirage Omni S8 sub1 | Mirage Omni S8 Sub2 -
upon reflection, I think we're on two somewhat different wavelengths (heh, see what I did there?) vis-a-vis the crossover topic, so I'm out now.
Y'all carry on.
It will be interesting to see details on the innards of the new Polks, as well as measurements (impedance curves and whatnot).
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Take price, sound preference, and comparison to other speakers out of the equation. The scientist over at Polk have done a good job designing speakers and crossovers using the latest tools available. I took notice years ago with the SRS then the later the car audio SR6500 series speakers. Back then they were one of the few that offerd a white paper showing the science behind what they were offering. Their SR line could produce a pretty good response in the car which is not easy to do out of the box and takes some engineering and good components. It looks like the same engineering was used in the LSiM line.
SR6500 White Paper
http://www.specsserver.com/CACHE/FILE23773.PDF
Not the best, not the worst, but good design and crossover for the SR series, LSiM series, etc. Price to performance is up to the buyer to decide.
When we were at the old HQ for a Polkfest in, 2005 I think it was?
Anyhoo, the LCiRTS series was just getting released and they hooked up the show demo LCiRTS105's for us in the demo room at the HQ. While everyone was listening, myself and MacLeod were staring in the little windows of the speakers mounted in the wall.
Inside that little window was the crossover guts.
http://global.polkaudio.com/en/Media/POLK/Product Catalogs/RTS Catalog-English.pdf
Those guts had a little plate that said SR Series on it.
We asked the sales guy who's name escapes me right now if what we were seeing was true. He confirmed it and said that while the SR Series crossovers were not ideal nor the intended production equivalent, they provided the sound stage and crossover curves and points they were looking for to showcase the imaging that the original LSi in-wall speakers were capable of. Mainly because everyone thought that the ring radiator tweeters were going to be too directional and easy to localize.
The biggest difference between the SR Series and the LCiRTS crossovers were the SR Series used a 22mm (about 7/8ths inch) ring radiator tweeter vs the LCiRTS and LSi series home speakers 1" ring radiator tweeter. This caused the SR Series crossover to be a bit shouty on the larger 1" tweeters as it was truncating the lower range of the larger tweeter and was not damping the higher end peaks. Mainly because they occurred at different points on the response curve than the 22mm tweeter in the car component SR Series.
They used the SR Series crossover because the LCiRTS/LSi crossovers were not ready in time for show time.
The SR Series was, hands down, one of the best component systems ever put out on the car audio market. You don't see them come up used very often and when they do, people still want $400-$500 for them. They were $600-$700 new. You needed to upgrade to stuff like Focal Utopia to be able to at least match if not beat the performance from the SR Series. Especially when matched with one of the SR Series subs.
Expert Moron Extraordinaire
You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you! -
heh -- speaking of legends and measurements.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/klipsch-klipschorn-ak6-loudspeaker
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^^^^^ Doc; Thank you for that khorn link; I'll have to go through it when I have a bit more time to digest it all
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I don't like the looks of these new models based off these pictures. Nothing says come listen to me.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
nothing is gonna sound good that way.
"As an aside, the pic of the Lsim woofer (left) and the Elac woofer (right)"
Speakers: Polk Lsim, ATC SCM19 v2, NHT SuperzeroSpeaker Cables: DH Labs, Transparent, Wireworld, Canare, Monster: Beer budget, Bose ears -
off topic Doc, but have you tried YOUR speakers in/or near the corner?mhardy6647 wrote: »heh -- speaking of legends and measurements.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/klipsch-klipschorn-ak6-loudspeaker
Speakers: Polk Lsim, ATC SCM19 v2, NHT SuperzeroSpeaker Cables: DH Labs, Transparent, Wireworld, Canare, Monster: Beer budget, Bose ears -
No, actually -- I was 'going to' run them that way, but they'd be too far apart, I think, so I went with the "Cardas" golden ratio positioning (more or less, sort of).
http://www.cardas.com/room_setup_main.php
I do get tempted, but I'd have to move so much junk (including the pair of Altec Santiagos that actually are in the corners) that that notion has always died aborning.
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4k is the retail ? Hmmm....what was retail when the LSIM's came out ? What are they selling for now. Wait a couple years and you'll get these half off at a friends and family sale. Use the other 2k for a kick arse tubed pre amp.
Or one can always take that 2k and put it on the no pass line at the crap table in Vegas.HT SYSTEM-
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Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
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Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
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Kitchen
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Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
Looks like these were the L600 (tower) and L100 (small bookshelf) and L200 (large bookshelf). This potentially leaves a couple other spots in the lineup. Maybe there will be a larger "SDA-style" tower as the top model in the line.
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4k is the retail ? Hmmm....what was retail when the LSIM's came out ? What are they selling for now. Wait a couple years and you'll get these half off at a friends and family sale. Use the other 2k for a kick arse tubed pre amp.
Or one can always take that 2k and put it on the no pass line at the crap table in Vegas.
Is that the going price?
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The prices have not been announced.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 -
I have a feeling the price is what Jesse has been alluding to. They will be very reasonable, I suspect.afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
Thanks guys.
Regardless of how it looks, if it takes the L series to another level I am in.
Just something about Polk’s. I may not be a fan of the individual components but I am a fan of how it fits together.
Cheers. -
I just wish Polk would delve back into the realm of high end, made in America speakers again , like the SDA’s .....
Instead of Best Buy and Fry’s stuff .....
That is why my 1c’s will never leave my possession
These look like they’re made in China ...
They look cheesy ....
Too much “bling” ......
BkPS Audio S300 , WiiM Ultra , Yamaha wxc-50 , Salk SuperCharged Songtowers , Kimber Kable 4TC, Sony 42” - BEDROOM
B&K EX-442 ( it will go in my casket when I die ... ) , PS Audio 4.6 preamp ( old school , but it still jams on ... ) , Eversolo DMP-A6 , Boston Acoustic voyager 7’s - POOL
Parasound A21, Eversolo DMP-A8 , Kimber Kable 4vs , Ascend Acoustics ELX Ribbon Towers , Sony XBR-A8F 65” OLED - DEN , MAIN system
Onkyo TX-nr609 , Polk atrium 7 , Boston acoustic sound ware (4) , Boston acoustic sub , B&W center , Sharp 65” TV - PATIO -
I just wish Polk would delve back into the realm of high end, made in America speakers again , like the SDA’s .....
Instead of Best Buy and Fry’s stuff .....
That is why my 1c’s will never leave my possession
These look like they’re made in China ...
They look cheesy ....
Bk
I doubt if that will happen. High-end speakers are a specialty market, not a mass market. I think at this point the owners of Polk are only interested in the mass market; that is “Good enough”.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
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Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
I have a feeling the price is what Jesse has been alluding to. They will be very reasonable, I suspect.
Huh?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 -
Exactly ....
So sad ...Polk , once an icon , reduced to big box store , mid fi , good enough, speakers ....
Going for the mass market, big box store non-audiophile market ...
Trading on the time honored POLK name ....
Far cry from the 70’s - 80’s ...
I wanna see a modern day iteration of the SDA’s with high end crossovers and components like ribbon tweets and SEAS woofers , for example - like the “big boys” use ....
Something to be said for vintage quality ....
And .... I’m obviously not a audio snob .... look at my sig tag 😃
Bk
I doubt if that will happen. High-end speakers are a specialty market, not a mass market. I think at this point the owners of Polk are only interested in the mass market; that is “Good enough”. [/quote]
PS Audio S300 , WiiM Ultra , Yamaha wxc-50 , Salk SuperCharged Songtowers , Kimber Kable 4TC, Sony 42” - BEDROOM
B&K EX-442 ( it will go in my casket when I die ... ) , PS Audio 4.6 preamp ( old school , but it still jams on ... ) , Eversolo DMP-A6 , Boston Acoustic voyager 7’s - POOL
Parasound A21, Eversolo DMP-A8 , Kimber Kable 4vs , Ascend Acoustics ELX Ribbon Towers , Sony XBR-A8F 65” OLED - DEN , MAIN system
Onkyo TX-nr609 , Polk atrium 7 , Boston acoustic sound ware (4) , Boston acoustic sub , B&W center , Sharp 65” TV - PATIO -
All has yet to be revealed...afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
AhPolitical 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 -
Well -- I'm not atypically clueless.
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And exactly how many here, would buy high end, modern SDA speakers? Much of the same was stated in regards to LSIM at only $4,000 and look how that turned out.
