Polk vintage line?
windstriker
Posts: 138
I was just wondering. Has Polk ever talked about revamping any of their classic speakers? I know this has been a trend with other speaker makers, with the biggest example being Klipsch's heritage line. Though I know jbl and klh has released modern versions of their classics speakers as wells. I would love a modern version of the monitor 7s or maybe the rta line. Just curious.
Comments
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I could be wrong but I, personally, don't think Polk ever intends to look back. It would be neat though...Remember, when you're running from something, you're running to something...-me
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Isn't the L800s a modern version of a classic speaker?
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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 -
Isn't the L800s a modern version of a classic speaker?
Sort of, but its more of a completely new speaker that uses the technology of the classic sda line. I'm more referring to when the maker keeps the general look and design of a vintage speaker while updating the design a bit. For instance if you place a Forte IV next to a Forte I you can clearly see the lineage. The same way the vintage jbl 100 looks very close to the jbl l100 classic. Put a L800 next to a SDA SRS and they look like different speakers entirely. -
Considering those JBL 100s run $4K a pair and the KLH 5s are $2K a pair, it doesn't make much economic sense to go down the nostalgia road for Polk. Polk has a lot of engineering expertise put into their current lines of speakers and they're still making innovations. They're looking forward but with the benefit of knowing what works and sells and what doesn't.
It's also true that people have the means to buy an old pair of Polk speakers and refurbish them cosmetically and with new crossover components for far less than what new pair would retail for. The Monitor 7s were well built for the time and there are still plenty of nice examples out there.
It would be cool to see a wide baffle Monitor 7 with a ring radiator tweeter, doped paper midwoofer and passive radiator, but the cost would mean there wouldn't be much of a market for them. -
Lets say a new monitor 7 would cost o lets say 3 grand. Why does it make economic sense for jbl and klh to make a vintage line but wouldn't make economic sense for polk? I know vintage is a niche market of sorts but still what separates polk from those other makers? You cant tell me a company like jbl needs that market or is any less innovative then polk yet it still works for them. Y not polk? And really the fact that more and more manufactures are making modern vintage gear shows that there is a market for it.
As to the point of there are plenty of monitor 7s to buy and refurbish for less money then a new monitor 7 would cost. I can buy a klipsch heresy for what 700ish? and have it upgraded for less then a 1000. Yet klipsch is still selling the heresy 4s for 3 grand. People are still buying the new version of the heresy's despite them being 3 times as much as the original used versions.
Interesting side note. Not sure how accurate this is but...... According to polksda.com back in 1979 the monitor 7c went for 580. If you plug that into a inflation calculator The monitor 7c would have been about 2200 dollars today. -
Without getting into all sorts of different rabbit trails that $2200 would assume that "new" Monitor 7's would be totally developed and manufactured here, in the U.S. This does not happen anymore with Polk and, therefore, should be less than $2200...Remember, when you're running from something, you're running to something...-me
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I kinda dig the release of vintage speakers but also much more new designs and polk seems to design all their own stuff. I know they used the VivA tweeter on the original LSI's which was off the shelf but since then they have designed their own Ring Tweeter.
Dan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
I don't think that the JBL L100 Classic aren't US manufactured -- although a fair amount of googlin' has not clarified the matter unequivocally.
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windstriker wrote: »Lets say a new monitor 7 would cost o lets say 3 grand. Why does it make economic sense for jbl and klh to make a vintage line but wouldn't make economic sense for polk? I know vintage is a niche market of sorts but still what separates polk from those other makers? You cant tell me a company like jbl needs that market or is any less innovative then polk yet it still works for them. Y not polk? And really the fact that more and more manufactures are making modern vintage gear shows that there is a market for it.
As to the point of there are plenty of monitor 7s to buy and refurbish for less money then a new monitor 7 would cost. I can buy a klipsch heresy for what 700ish? and have it upgraded for less then a 1000. Yet klipsch is still selling the heresy 4s for 3 grand. People are still buying the new version of the heresy's despite them being 3 times as much as the original used versions.
Interesting side note. Not sure how accurate this is but...... According to polksda.com back in 1979 the monitor 7c went for 580. If you plug that into a inflation calculator The monitor 7c would have been about 2200 dollars today.
One thing I do know for certain is that I paid $350/pr for my 7B's back in 1979. We could do the inflation calculator on that but some things haven't gone up in price that much due to China's influences on production.
I think it's an intriguing idea to make a technologically updated version of a Monitor 7. It's also an interesting idea for some entrepeneurial sort to make a cabinet that people could migrate their 7 components into, or that would be compatible with updated components. I would think it would have heavily rounded or beveled edges, thick inert walls possibly with constrained layer damping in the interior, non parallel sides like maybe trapezoidal minimizing the front baffle area and would have a stepped baffle for time alignment and lots of anti diffraction wool, maybe 1" thick even or 2" thick acoustic beveled foam like in the Dunlavy patent.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 -
Interesting idea, but I question if it would really work.
I know from first hand experience, some of the 80s models were well regarded and still are, but an updated new design using better drivers would really be just a cosmetic cousin.
They have made many speakers that are well regarded in the 2000s and kinda doubt a model based on cosmetics would really do well enough to manufacture now.
Those JBL and Klipsch and Advent models were made for LONG periods of time, and well regarded. The "Classic" polks I think are seen more of their time (80s to very early 90s) and just had a different type of following overall.
