Polk L200 Speaker Demo Reviews

skrol

F1nut wrote: »

Thank you Alma.

That is what I was thinking. I'm trying to stabilize mine more since the threaded inserts for the feet are loose. Outriggers look like the way to go.

F1nut

Stan, you ok? This thread is about the L200 demo.

rooftop59

Just some teaser picks. They are almost the exact same size as my dynaudios. Looks like I built the stands for the polks!

halo

rooftop59 wrote: »

Just some teaser picks. They are almost the exact same size as my dynaudios. Looks like I built the stands for the polks!

Very nice! How did you get the Walnut finish? Weren't the black ash in your "neighborhood" recently?

rooftop59

No sir, I’m in Texas.

smglbrth

I think you're going to like those stands a whole bunch with the L200's. It will provide a very solid footing for them unlike most other speaker stands I've seen. Enjoy!!

Mike Reeter

Love your setup rooftop. Clean, comfortable and functional!

mhardy6647

rooftop59 wrote: »

No sir, I’m in Texas.

in reply to...

halo wrote: »

...

Very nice! How did you get the Walnut finish? Weren't the black ash in your "neighborhood" recently?

https://youtu.be/fLU_IYflUkQ

BlueFox

Hmmm Small speakers, and big clocks. Priorities, priorities.

F1nut

Paul, what time is it?

rooftop59

Hmm...I can’t quite make it out. Don’t make me get off the couch darn it!!!

mhardy6647

I like the crossed "7". Very au courant.

mantis

Awesome thread so far. Where are we at with who is getting them next?

rooftop59

Well the walnut ones are headed from Texas to Cali next week. I guess the Arizona boys @codycatalist and @steveinaz didn’t want a demo?!? Makes sense with Cody, new marriage new baby he’s a little preoccupied. But what else does Steve have to do 😂???

codycatalist

rooftop59 wrote: »

Well the walnut ones are headed from Texas to Cali next week. I guess the Arizona boys @codycatalist and @steveinaz didn’t want a demo?!? Makes sense with Cody, new marriage new baby he’s a little preoccupied. But what else does Steve have to do 😂???

Psh I have no music room anymore. I'd rather not demo them in my garage!

steveinaz

I've spent more than enough money lately on audio, I don't need new temptations.

halo

In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that the acoustics in my room are somewhat lively. So, your results may vary when/if you try these out for yourself. Now, on to the review:

As others have already stated, the build quality is quite nice; the cabinets are inert and the fit and finish is excellent. I like the black ash wood veneer but the glossy lacquer on the fascia wasn’t to my liking. Thankfully, that’s easy to cover up by just putting on the included magnetic grills. However, I’m used to seeing the drivers on my KEFs so I do usually prefer the looks of a speaker sans grill but, in this case, having the grills on didn’t look all that great to me either. Of course, that is a completely subjective opinion and it has little to do with the performance of the L200’s. But, in regards to performance, as I started listening to the L200’s, I went through albums and tracks with which I was very familiar throughout the 2-week trial period and there was nothing I played that didn’t work well with these speakers.

After swapping out my KEF Q150 bookshelf speakers for the Polk Legend L200 bookshelf speakers, the difference in sound was apparent immediately. I was quite impressed by the sound quality of the L200’s right off the bat. The midrange clarity and forwardness was the first thing that stood out to me.
In addition, the treble is non-fatiguing and presents a very good level of detail but it was never fatiguing. As to the bass response, these do a great job with the low end for bookshelf speakers. Now, if you had me blindfolded, I don’t think I’d mistake them for floorstanders but, I can say that they do very well on their own at providing ample bass for most music. Obviously, if you want the full frequency range from them, you’ll want to pair them with a sub. I had my KEFs paired with a sub and I tried the L200’s with the sub as well. With the sub, the L200’s perform splendidly, providing a rich, full, sound that you can listen to for hours on end without any issues. While these speakers aren’t what I would call ‘lively,” I would say that there isn’t anything that they do wrong. They are not, in my humble opinion, as “polite” as the LSiM speakers that I had here for a brief period; instead, they are thoroughly enjoyable without any major faults. These speakers are a pleasure to listen to.

I noticed that the vocals are where these speakers shine. There are a lot of vocals in songs I’d heard many times (background/supporting) that weren’t as clear to me as they are with the L200’s and that really made me take notice of how special are these speakers. On some material, the sound enveloped me on the sides, extending well beyond the boundaries of the cabinets. The separation between the instruments is very, very, good. It was easy to pick out where the performers and where each of the instruments are located within the soundstage. I never felt that the speakers weren’t doing a good job of conveying the recorded material to me. Sometimes, just a smidge up on the volume dial made a very big difference in the presentation. However, I never got past 10 o’clock on the dial in my 740 square foot (open floor plan) apartment and I was hovering around a 70-73 dB average while easily hitting peaks in the very low 80 dB range. Whether I was sitting in the sweet spot or on the opposite side of the apartment, as music played in the background, I never felt the need to go louder than those levels (but not all recorded music is recorded at the same level so I got a few surprises from time to time). The sweet spot seemed to me to be a little narrow but once in it, the center image was locked in and quite strong. I understand that Polk put a lot of work into developing the Legend line of speakers and I think it really shows here with the L200’s. I would be hard-pressed to say that these speakers aren’t worth having in my home after spending 2-weeks with them.

My music selections ranged from classical, to female vocalists; to various test tracks I’ve picked up/gone through over the years, and also to music with which I am very familiar. I was streaming music on Tidal, Amazon Music HD, and my own FLAC files on my hard drive through the Bluesound Node2i. Thanks to Drew, the ones and zeros from the Node 2i were fed through a Benchmark DAC3 B that I have on loan (thanks brother!). Of course, I also tried many vinyl selections on both of my setups and I was very impressed with the playback through the L200’s, especially an original pressing of Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms. For my vinyl playback, I have one solid-state setup with an Art DJ Pre II phono preamp that I use with my Audio-Technica AT120XUSB and a tube setup that I use with my Bottlehead Reduction + Integration upgrade tube phono pre that I use with my Fluance RT82. The Bottlehead uses a pair of Amperex PQ white label 6922 tubes.

I was concerned that my integrated amp wouldn’t have enough power to drive the L200’s. Surprisingly, the NAD C 316BEE integrated amp handled the L200’s easily and I was never even close to being short on power or feeling like something was missing from the music throughout my time with them. Based on what others have said, these speakers respond well to use with more refined gear and I have no reason to doubt that but, if an integrated is all you have, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed (I wasn’t).

And this leads me to my final thoughts. Even though the L200’s are well out of my price range, that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t strongly consider them if I had that amount to spend on a pair of speakers. Spending these last 2-weeks with the L200’s has made it very clear to me that my Q150’s are not delivering the entire spectrum of sound to my ears and I have thus begun a trial of several different bookshelf speakers to try and find something within my budget that will get me closer to the sound of the L200’s. Ya, they are that good.

halo

mhardy6647

Nice write-up, @halo. Thanks!

dromunds

Yes, very well done. I look forward to these reviews and yours is eloquent and thoughtful. On a side note I also really like those Amperex PQ 6922 white label tubes. 😉.

smglbrth

Nice review! I totally agree with your point on integrated amps. I found the L200's very power friendly with mine as well...

Inspector 24

rooftop59 wrote: »

Well the walnut ones are headed from Texas to Cali next week. I guess the Arizona boys @codycatalist and @steveinaz didn’t want a demo?!? Makes sense with Cody, new marriage new baby he’s a little preoccupied. But what else does Steve have to do 😂???

So you have demo’d them and sent them to Coolsax? So I should have them in a a week or two? Is that still correct?

Rooftop59
Coolsax
Inspector24

halo

dromunds wrote: »

Yes, very well done. I look forward to these reviews and yours is eloquent and thoughtful. On a side note I also really like those Amperex PQ 6922 white label tubes. 😉.

Thank you Don, I appreciate your kind words. That is high praise coming from the man who set the bar so high in the beginning of this endeavor.

smglbrth wrote: »

Nice review! I totally agree with your point on integrated amps. I found the L200's very power friendly with mine as well...

Thank you! I feel it is imperative to point out that the NAD C 316BEE integrated amp that I used is rated for use with speakers rated at 4 ohms (and that it is thought to pack more power than its conservative rating would belie). You know, for the sake of those on the internet that come across these reviews looking for advice/answers.

Mike Reeter

Very good write up Victor! My first day with the L200's is proving to be right in line with your assessments.

I would be interested in your comparisons between the L200's and your new LSMi 703's after you've had some time with them.

tonyb

Man, Victor just left an apple on the teachers desk with that review. Nice write up pal, real nice.

halo

tonyb wrote: »

Man, Victor just left an apple on the teachers desk with that review. Nice write up pal, real nice.

lol. I did say that I didn't like the aesthetics. Thanks Tony

halo

Mike Reeter wrote: »

Very good write up Victor! My first day with the L200's is proving to be right in line with your assessments.

Great minds think alike!

Mike Reeter wrote: »

I would be interested in your comparisons between the L200's and your new LSMi 703's after you've had some time with them.

Yes, of course

coolsax

Actually b/c of the holidays the order in Texas got switched around.. I've already had them and I gave them to Rooftop a bit ago. I haven't gotten my review up yet as its been busy around here.. i'll try to this week.

indyhawg

Nice write up Victor.

halo

indyhawg wrote: »

Nice write up Victor.

Thanks Jeff!