Polk Reserve Series
Looks like Club Polk is back up and running. I've been watching the many Youtube reviews of the new Reserve line and I'm liking what I'm seeing.
And the website is looking much better too.
And the website is looking much better too.
Comments
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Looks very promising. Quite the surprise, but a good one. Imagine that it’s more in the wheelhouse for a lot of buyers.
The name is great marketing. Still not sure about the look of those drivers.2 ChannelTurntable - VPI Classic 2/Ortofon 2M BlueAmplification - Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II, Parks Audio Budgie PhonoSpeakers - GoldenEar Triton 17.2 Home TheaterDenon AVR-X3300W; Rotel RMB-1066; Klipsch RP-280F's, Klipsch RP-450C, Polk FXi3's, Polk RC60i; Dual SVS PB 2000's; BenQ HT2050; Elite Screens 120"Man CaveTurntable - Pro-Ject 2.9 Wood/Grado GoldAmplification - Dared SL2000a, McCormack DNA 0.5 DeluxeCD: Cambridge AudioSpeakers - Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary; LSiM 703; SDA 2A -
I'm thrilled about the new Reserve line. I love the Legend range and if Polk can capture most of the performance of that line at a much more affordable price-point (and from initial reviews - its looks like they did), they'l definitely have a winner on their hands.
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I'm really happy about the white and black finish. It would be nice if they offered a modern Maple finish as well. Being vinyl and not real wood veneers is a bit disappointing but I haven't seen them in person maybe it's real nice. They look pretty good on the youtube reviews.
I watched this one dude. He gave a pretty good review.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIXxqEHf5iU
I watched a few others and one thing I noticed is that everyone says there is no fatigue. The new Tweeter seems to be crossed over well.Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
“Great,” “awesome, “the best affordable speaker Polk has ever made.” Thanks for posting this. Guy needs to stop slamming his coffee though.
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I think that's just him being real. He seems genuine.“Great,” “awesome, “the best affordable speaker Polk has ever made.” Thanks for posting this. Guy needs to stop slamming his coffee though.
Anyway I just watched another review that was also very good and very positive for this new line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhP3LJI0ud4
This guy really liked them a lot. What he said in this review is what most of us Polk people look for in a speaker.
Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
R100 $599 the pair https://www.crutchfield.com/p_107RSV100/Polk-Audio-Reserve-R100-Midnight-Black.html
L100 $999 the pair ("$200 price break!") https://www.crutchfield.com/p_107L100WN/Polk-Audio-Legend-L100-Brown-Walnut.html
Just a quick paste-up from Crutchfield's photos, not (quite) to scale.
Also, the first photo I've seen of the new"Reserve" Polks avec grilles. I like the (apparent) nubbly texture and appearance of the grilles (FWIW).
(again, from the Crutchfield link above)
Reminds me of the "new" Klipsch offerings of the past few years; must be the current "retro" fashion for loudpseaker decor(?).
... and, to a lesser extent...
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Lots of piccies, links and even a wee bit of data
[looks like almost all of the data are reguritated L200 plots] at a thread at ASR 
(yeah, yeah... I know...)
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/polk-announced-the-reserve-series-of-loudspeakers.21705/
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I'm intrigued by the foam they appear to be using inside the cabinets. Looks like it may be injected rather than the old school batts of cheap insulation.
The thickness of the cabinets combined with the foam inside makes them look like they will be quite inert structures. I also agree on the choice of fabric for the grilles giving them a retro look. Having said that, these are speakers that I wouldn't mind running without the grilles on which isn't true for most speakers I've had.
Scott Orth was saying in one of the review videos to not be concerned about running these speakers at a reasonable volume level with a normal home theater receiver even though they've got a 4 ohm rating. They're not difficult to drive. -
Has there been any common comparison to the Legend series?
The obvious similarities in appearance have been noted, of course, but what about sound wise?
Previous Polk Flagship, Theater, and Midline speakers offered significant differences in sonic signature.I disabled signatures. -
I look forward to reading more about the reserve lineMagico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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... I also agree on the choice of fabric for the grilles giving them a retro look...
Not sure it’s so much retro as it is “organic” and “earthy”, but if you’re going to go all natural and stuff, maybe they just need to stay nekkid! 😱mhardy6647 wrote: »... must be the current "retro" fashion for loudpseaker decor(?)...Alea jacta est! -
I like the looks from what I have seen online but wonder how the nice the cabinets are, specially the vinyl wrap or whatever it’s called.Living Room
Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Oppo 103D, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, KLH Model 5s, Polk CSi A6, Samsung 65" LED
Office
Yamaha A-S501, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s
Douglas Connection ICs and Cables -
Some of the vinyl wrap on previous speakers, like the RT55 and CS400 I’ve had in my possession, was quite decent. Not real wood, but not bad either (and it doesn’t fade in sunlight like some real wood, unless there’s a secret to avoiding that).Alea jacta est!
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Some of the vinyl wrap on previous speakers, like the RT55 and CS400 I’ve had in my possession, was quite decent. Not real wood, but not bad either (and it doesn’t fade in sunlight like some real wood, unless there’s a secret to avoiding that).
Curtains?
But what do I know... -
This was excellent and I learned that the longer center channel is actually a LCR design. That is totally excellent as you can use that as surrounds. I'm really intrigued by these speakers. I want to just buy them and demo them in my own home setup as a 5 channel system. Fronts are the only thing I'm not sure which way to go. Floor standing is always my go to but I would love to try out the bookshelf models.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5gJ8NvK9YE&t=2101s Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
I'm intrigued by the foam they appear to be using inside the cabinets. Looks like it may be injected rather than the old school batts of cheap insulation.
The thickness of the cabinets combined with the foam inside makes them look like they will be quite inert structures. I also agree on the choice of fabric for the grilles giving them a retro look. Having said that, these are speakers that I wouldn't mind running without the grilles on which isn't true for most speakers I've had.
Scott Orth was saying in one of the review videos to not be concerned about running these speakers at a reasonable volume level with a normal home theater receiver even though they've got a 4 ohm rating. They're not difficult to drive.
Looks like poly fill.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 -
Interesting to be sure. When I first saw them I thought, as many I would imagine, that this new line was a result of the "leftovers" of the Legend series. I haven't seen any sales records of the Legends but I would imagine it is not great, given the price points. These are now the middle ground speaker and the specs are close to the Legend counterparts, albeit with smaller cabinets.
Two things that caught my attention were the apparent "lack" of spikes listed for the smaller towers. Hopefully there will be an option to fit spikes somehow as most do like spikes, myself included. The new "X" port is the other one. For the bookshelves I would think this would be harder to place with regards to the back wall compared to the Legends. Rear ported speakers usually need more space.
What's wrong with the vinyl wrap? I know it's personal preference but seems to me Polk speakers from the 80's, including my 8t's, are still intact and, if taken care of, do last the life of the speaker (and longer).Remember, when you're running from something, you're running to something...-me -
Polk is using very careful verbiage when discussing the reserve series with the midwoofers. The two series share the "cone" and this was stared over and over in the videos I watched. This leads me to believe they may feature a cheaper motor structure. The same could be said about Focal.
Just like Focal and the sopra and utopia line, very similar driver domes and cones but drastically different motor structures.
Obviously just speculating but would actually make alot of sense and be a smart marketing move- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
Just an example from a different manufacture
- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
Some wood grain vinyl these days can pass for wood veneer on speaker cabinets since it's possible to add texture and the printed images of various wood grains underneath are more realistic than they used to me. And some wood veneer cabinets can be mistaken for vinyl.
It also appears to be a trend to have some higher end speakers made with automotive paint on the cabinets. White speakers seem to be options for other manufacturers in this price range.
I suspect most of the Reserve sales are going to be black vinyl wrap which makes no pretense at being anything other than what it is. For home theater speakers in a dark room, those are what I'd prefer. -
I'm glad the forum is back. I was in withdrawal lol. I guess the future's so bright we gots to wear shades though
I think they may have a homerun with this series. A couple of things struck me as noteworthy or curious. The first one is that, in going from the R600 to the more expensive R700, they have subtracted one 6-1/2" turbine cone driver and added two 8" woofers, yet the frequency response is the same -3dB value of 38Hz - 37kHz! The details in the product literature are somewhat lacking on the R700 and they don't even discuss the woofers.
www.polkaudio.com/-/media/files/documentmaster/polk-us/us/polk_reserve_towers_infosheet_new.pdf
www.polkaudio.com/-/media/files/documentmaster/polk-us/us/polk_reserve_owners_manual.pdf
Another thing is they don't seem to give any details on the grilles other than that they are anti-diffraction, magnetic, and acoustically inert. How are they accomplishing anti-diffraction since any grille with a solid frame would probably cause diffraction at a lot of frequencies, unless it had an extremely large roundover radius?
Edit to add - There is actually another thing that bothers me. In the Owner's Manual they give "Amplifier output compatibility" for both of the above as "8 Ohm/6 Ohm/ 4 Ohm" and the Minimum Impedances as: 4.0 Ohm (R600) and 3.6 Ohm (R700). Is this a somewhat confusing way of saying that your amp better be rated for 4 Ohms? Could've stated that more clearly in the manual.Post edited by Gardenstater onGeorge / 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 -
Interesting to be sure. When I first saw them I thought, as many I would imagine, that this new line was a result of the "leftovers" of the Legend series. I haven't seen any sales records of the Legends but I would imagine it is not great, given the price points. These are now the middle ground speaker and the specs are close to the Legend counterparts, albeit with smaller cabinets.
Two things that caught my attention were the apparent "lack" of spikes listed for the smaller towers. Hopefully there will be an option to fit spikes somehow as most do like spikes, myself included. The new "X" port is the other one. For the bookshelves I would think this would be harder to place with regards to the back wall compared to the Legends. Rear ported speakers usually need more space.
What's wrong with the vinyl wrap? I know it's personal preference but seems to me Polk speakers from the 80's, including my 8t's, are still intact and, if taken care of, do last the life of the speaker (and longer).
When I read the manual I seem to remember them saying that the floor standing speakers have removable rubber feet, which when you pull them off, reveals a set of adjustable height spikes.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 -
The R200 ($699 a pair) is about 15 percent lighter than the L200 ($1499 a pair) but also has about 27 percent less cabinet volume. The drivers appear at least on the surface to be identical. Polk doesn't appear to have skimped on cabinet structure given the weight. Cosmetic differences may mean the Reserve come from a different factory? What can be seen is the ports are different, possibly less expensive, and the binding posts and plates are much cheaper. The R200 look to be a great deal to me but they have to be given the number of competitors in that price range.
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The driver/woofer compliment does seem identical. I have to admit though, whenever I see a speaker hailed as great for HT and stereo music I tend to cringe. Most all of my listening is just music, very little for movies...
Hey, you guys that always wanted white you got your wish!Remember, when you're running from something, you're running to something...-me -
Youse guyses know I am one cheap mortar forker*
That said, I am cogitating hard to concoct a rationale to rationalize (particularly to ahem, Mrs. H) the purchase of a pair of the R200s.
And I am not being facetious.
Serious cogitating is happening right here, right now.
_______
* Q: What do you call someone who stirs cement with a pitchfork?
A: A Mortar Forker.
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I am down for a pair of the R200 in white. Won’t be available in white until late 2021. I am retiring the end of 2021 so this will be my last new speaker purchase ever.
The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
It is imperative that we recognize that an opinion is not a fact. -
This was excellent and I learned that the longer center channel is actually a LCR design. That is totally excellent as you can use that as surrounds. I'm really intrigued by these speakers. I want to just buy them and demo them in my own home setup as a 5 channel system. Fronts are the only thing I'm not sure which way to go. Floor standing is always my go to but I would love to try out the bookshelf models.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5gJ8NvK9YE&t=2101s
The presentation was very good, and this sounds like a very nice line. In the presentation they actually answered my question about why they did not offer a 3-way center channel. IMO, the R700 tower is a big speaker given the 6.5" midrange, two 8" woofers, and 12.6" x 45" x 16.9", 79.1 lbs size. They are asking $999 each. The R400 ($599) is the big center offered to mate up with them and is spec'd with two 6.5" woofers, 7.8 x 24.2 x 13.8 in, 32.8 lbs.
Of course adding in a 4" midrange and larger crossover would require a larger cabinet and higher price as stated in the presentation. As an option they suggest the Legend L400 for $1799 and it has a 4" midrange and two 6.25" woofers, and sized at 9.47" x 26" x 13.44", 40.8 lbs. NOT that much larger than the R400.
IMO, a 4-way Reserve center at $699 would have serve home theater enthusiasts with BIG rooms, wide seating area that plan to run the R700 towers.
Advance to 47:35 in the presentation:
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 -
Nice speakers,
I'll stick with my LSiM. The price I paid is still less than a pair of R500When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music -
LSiM on sale were the best bang for buck in a very very long time
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Ron of New Record Day gave them a pretty good review.
https://youtu.be/U2WjeEEU1Hw
https://youtu.be/2c_fshZ3paU
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
