Post your Vintage Polk Speaker Magazine Reviews Here

Gardenstater
Gardenstater Posts: 4,458
edited May 2020 in Vintage Speakers
I'll start it off with one I just found, which is the Polk SDA-2, High Fidelity, Jun 1984, p. 30:

https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-High-Fidelity/80s/High-Fidelity-1984-06.pdf

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George / NJ

Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
Onkyo A-8017 integrated
Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
iFi nano iDSD DAC
iPurifier3
iDefender w/ iPower PS
Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
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Comments

  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,768
    edited May 2020
    Well...

    This 'review' was widely reproduced in early Polk ads and PR materials. This was taken from Audio July 1977.

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    https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-Audio/80s/Audio-1982-07.pdf
    https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/180156/a-project-for-2018-compendium-of-polk-audio-ads-etc/p1
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  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,458
    I was having trouble reading that one, maybe this is clearer from Audio magazine:

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    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,458
    Polk Mini-Monitor, Stereo Review, Aug 1979

    https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Audio/Archive-Stereo-Review-IDX/IDX/70s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1979-08-OCR-Page-0065.pdf#search="polk"

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    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,768
    That minispeaker shoot out article from SR is well worthy of attention if one is interested in such things. It is surprisingly candid (for a massmarket audio magazine review) in some observations made about the little loudspeakers assessed for it.
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  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,458
    Polk Model 9, Audio, May 1975, p. 36:

    https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-Audio/70s/Audio-1975-05.pdf

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    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,458
    @mhardy6647 I think you're a good person to ask.......When I bought my Polk 7Bs back in 1979, I had read a glowing review in one of the magazines recently and I can't for the life of me remember which one it was. Haven't been able to find it so far in those online archives of Stereo Review, High Fidelity, and Audio. I think there was another one called Sterophile? I know that I had a subscription to whatever it was but didn't keep a copy of it. Do you or does anybody else have any idea which mag it was? Thanks.
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,768
    I have no recollection of any Monitor 7 reviews from that time frame. Stereophile is still alive & kicking and has a fairly comprehensive (although not exhaustively so) website and archive of articles.

    https://www.stereophile.com/

    A quick search did turn up this interesting little tidbit (shown here completely out of context).

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    Fig.7: Deviation 3.7–6.01: Acoustic Energy AE2 (black); Amrita AMRIT-Minimonitor (red); JMLab Micron (sample 1) (green); Acoustat Spectra 11 (yellow); SOTA Panorama (sample 1) (blue); Dahlquist DQ12 (sample 1) (pink); Focal Aria (sample 1) (cyan); RSL Speedscreen II (gray); DANA Audio Model 1 (dark red); Apogee Stage (dark green); Monitor Audio Monitor 7 (dark yellow); Celestion 3000 (dark blue); Polk RTA 11t (dark pink); Cambridge Ambiance (dark cyan); Vieta Pro-5 (sample 1) (dark gray).
    [emphasis added]
    Fig.7: This final group is to a large extent the rogues' gallery when it come to frequency response. It is a rare speaker as unflat as the majority of these that gains anything but a very qualified recommendation from Stereophile's reviewers unless it is extremely inexpensive. The major exception is the Apogee Stage, which ends up here due to its sloping response across the band resulting in a high standard deviation. As DO's review pointed out, however, the smoothness of its response trend leads to a very natural, seamless midrange quality which can easily become addictive. Note also the Celestion 3000, which has a seamlessly flat midband typical of speakers in the higher groups. It ends up in this group, however, because of its early HF rolloff, which is accentuated by a peaky mid-treble. But in general, if you design a loudspeaker with these kinds of frequency-response aberrations, the worst thing you can do is submit it to Stereophile for review. (To be fair to Polk and Cambridge SoundWorks, we went out and bought our review samples.)
    context: https://www.stereophile.com/content/ja-loudspeaker-measurements-page-3

    context:
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  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,458
    Thanks! It's really starting to frustrate me to no end. I wish I had kept that magazine. As far as *I* know there were the 4 magazines: Stereo Review, High Fidelity, Audio, and Stereophile. I can't seem to find access to Stereophile back issues.
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,458
    Polk RTA-12B, Stereo Review, Jan 1982, p. 32:

    https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-HiFI-Stereo/80s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1982-01.pdf

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    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,768
    No access to back issues per se, but they do have many old articles on line. I didn't find any Polk "Monitor Series" reviews, though.
    There were/are a few other semi mass-market hifi magazines, though. Listener, The Absolute Sound and Positive Feedback (off the top of my head) in the US, and What Hifi? in the UK, e.g. I may be forgetting (or suppressing the memory of!) some, too. :p

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  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,458
    The Absolute Sound....yes! That may have been it. But it was a very complementary review and I haven't read a single Polk advertisement that referred to it.....hmm. I wonder if it could've been in Musician magazine, although I'm certain I did not have a sub to that....... :|
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,458
    edited May 2020
    Polk SDA-1, Stereo Review, Dec 1982, p. 32:

    https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-HiFI-Stereo/80s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1982-12.pdf

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    The picture in the review is so bad, so here's an ad in the same edition:

    2zkkbagil5yy.png



    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,458
    Polk SDA-CRS, Stereo Review, Nov. 1984, p. 38

    https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-HiFI-Stereo/80s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1984-11.pdf

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    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,458
    Polk SDA-SRS, Stereo Review, Nov. 1985, p. 86:

    https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-HiFI-Stereo/80s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1985-11.pdf

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    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,458
    Polk SDA-SRS 2.3, Stereo Review, Nov. 1988, p. 43:

    https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-HiFI-Stereo/80s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1988-11.pdf

    8uk9lsd3wiy7.png

    rp21i4d8i54g.png

    7a2y7ir3h4i3.png
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,458
    Polk RM-3000 Reference Monitor System, Stereo Review, Feb 1990, p. 58:

    https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-HiFI-Stereo/90s/Stereo-Review-1990-02.pdf

    kz3mwe5dzieb.png

    jtm5iiulbb9q.png
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,458
    Polk SDA-2A, Stereo Review, Dec. 1986, p. 52:

    https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-HiFI-Stereo/80s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1986-12.pdf

    fodjub6d498a.png

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    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,458
    Polk Model 10, Stereo Review Jan 1980

    https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-HiFI-Stereo/80s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1980-01.pdf

    o1bmcd52huvo.jpg

    ysuasdluvqy9.jpg


    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,458
    RTA 15TL, Stereo Review Dec. 1990, p. 68:

    https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-HiFI-Stereo/90s/Stereo-Review-1990-12.pdf

    z53yssr5wfdz.jpg

    bhnwqd2o7kxp.jpg
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • bcwsrt
    bcwsrt Posts: 1,876
    Timely. Lol

    Brian

    One-owner Polk Audio RTA 15TL speakers refreshed w/ Sonicap, Vishay/Mills and Cardas components by "pitdogg2," "xschop" billet tweeter plates and BH5 | Stereo REL Acoustics T/5x subwoofers w/ Bassline Blue cables | Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III integrated tube amp | Technics SL-1210G turntable w/ Ortofon 2M Black LVB 250 MM cart | Sony CDP-508ESD CD player (as a transport) | LampizatOr Baltic 4 tube DAC | Nordost & DH Labs cables/interconnects | APC H15 Power Conditioner | GIK Acoustics room treatments | Degritter RCM
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,768
    Stereo Review did review a slew of Polk's products. Lots of lab coat guy ads in SR in those days, too. Coincidence? B)
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