Reserve Series - does the black color have a "texture" feel to it...?

New24k

Does the black color Reserve Series have a "texture" feel to it - or is it just a plain flat/smooth feeling vinyl wrap...?

mantis

I have not seen them in person yet but from the pictures they look to have a texture to them.

Emlyn

The finishes are most evident in this video compared to all the others I've seen on Youtube, and they present the full lineup of speakers rather than having someone sit in front of a camera yammering about themselves without showing much of the speakers. This one's by far the best in my opinion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOzciwJGRDU

dromunds

Good review.

Gardenstater

Good overview and great closeup pictures. I'm still frustrated by nobody having addressed (afaik) the fact that the R700 subtracts one 6.5" turbine cone and adds two larger woofers and goes to a 3 way crossover, yet doesn't achieve a lower F3 point frequency response. I'm sure there are subjective improvements in SQ but why doesn't it achieve lower end response? Also, not to derail the point of the video, but he's way off on the timeframe for release of the Polk Monitor 10. He's about 4 years too soon. In 1972 they were still messing with piezoelectric tweeters.

VR3

It is hard to beat a dedicated midrange in a properly integrated 3 way

Gardenstater

Yes it appears to be the way the industry is going in higher end models, for various reasons I suppose. I think the Passive Radiator system is definitely ancient history as far as Polk Audio is concerned. The necessary wide baffles and lower WAF is probably a huge factor in that, to my thinking. Less time delay in edge diffractions with a narrow baffle too. Then when you go and add a large roundover to the edges of a PR system, the speaker would get even wider. I like what I'm seeing in the Reserve series as far as roundovers on the edges and the vicinity of the speaker cones. Edge roundovers are still not large enough in my opinion, and they totally neglect the top edge near the tweeter. Lots of these decisions are based upon aesthetics and cost.

mantis

Gardenstater wrote: »

Good overview and great closeup pictures. I'm still frustrated by nobody having addressed (afaik) the fact that the R700 subtracts one 6.5" turbine cone and adds two larger woofers and goes to a 3 way crossover, yet doesn't achieve a lower F3 point frequency response. I'm sure there are subjective improvements in SQ but why doesn't it achieve lower end response? Also, not to derail the point of the video, but he's way off on the timeframe for release of the Polk Monitor 10. He's about 4 years too soon. In 1972 they were still messing with piezoelectric tweeters.

I see no issue here. Without hearing them in person , very hard to judge them just based on design. Not to mention in room response and being placed as a Left and Right of a Theater system or a Stereo Pair, the Low end extension will need to be handled by a subwoofer or 2.

Emlyn

What I'm seeing is the R700 has a -3dB level of 38 Hz compared to the next model down R600 at 43 Hz. That's a significant difference but I agree the R700 could be expected to go a little lower than 38 Hz given the size of the speaker and drivers. The R700 has a 6.5 inch midrange driver and two 8 inch woofers.

For reference purposes the LSiM 705 goes down to only 42 Hz at -3dB.

When compared to the L600 though which weighs about a pound less than the R700, the L600 goes down to 34 Hz just like the L800. The L600 does that with a 5.25 inch midrange driver and two 7 inch woofers. It just could be the L600 is a better performer, or even an over performer, than the other speakers because of the structure of the woofers and the tuning of the cabinet. There's got to be more than one reason it costs almost double what the R700 costs and it goes beyond the cosmetic differences.

Just based on specs alone it seems the new lineup of Reserve and Legend have made significant improvements in bass response through driver, internal bracing, and port changes. It's a nice to have, but given the low bass for a lot of buyers will come from a subwoofer or two these days. I'd be more concerned about the real world midrange performance and how the midrange merges into the tweeter.

Gardenstater

Emlyn wrote: »

What I'm seeing is the R700 has a -3dB level of 38 Hz compared to the next model down R600 at 43 Hz. That's a significant difference but I agree the R700 could be expected to go a little lower than 38 Hz given the size of the speaker and drivers. The R700 has a 6.5 inch midrange driver and two 8 inch woofers.

For reference purposes the LSiM 705 goes down to only 42 Hz at -3dB.

When compared to the L600 though which weighs about a pound less than the R700, the L600 goes down to 34 Hz just like the L800. The L600 does that with a 5.25 inch midrange driver and two 7 inch woofers. It just could be the L600 is a better performer, or even an over performer, than the other speakers because of the structure of the woofers and the tuning of the cabinet. There's got to be more than one reason it costs almost double what the R700 costs and it goes beyond the cosmetic differences.

Just based on specs alone it seems the new lineup of Reserve and Legend have made significant improvements in bass response through driver, internal bracing, and port changes. It's a nice to have, but given the low bass for a lot of buyers will come from a subwoofer or two these days. I'd be more concerned about the real world midrange performance and how the midrange merges into the tweeter.

I had to go back and check. My statement above was from having looked at the pdf brochure and it still states 38Hz for both the R600 and R700. Screenshots below so ya don't think I'm crazy. I looked at the specs separately for the two models and it verifies what you say. So some shoddy discrepancies here.

Emlyn

Yeah, no way I'd expect the R600 to hit 38 Hz cleanly out of a cabinet that light in a 2.5 way design. They do pretty well with what they are though and especially compared to the competition.

Out of all the Reserve and Legend speakers I think the L600s are the ones I'd get in future if I ever wanted to upgrade from the LSiM707s. The L800s would be for two channel by themselves.

Gardenstater

I checked the Reserve Series Manual as well and they have the same apparent mistake(?) there. @CarlJacobson_POLK this doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in the minds of potential buyers. Could we get this fixed?

mhardy6647

Gardenstater wrote: »

...Also, not to derail the point of the video, but he's way off on the timeframe for release of the Polk Monitor 10. He's about 4 years too soon. In 1972 they were still messing with piezoelectric tweeters.

Derail?!? That's a dog whistle to me...



FWIW, a search for the earliest appearances of the Polk Models Nine, 7, and 10 in the usual suspects (Audio, High Fidelity, Stereophile and Stereo Review) via the rather amazingly thorough archives at https://worldradiohistory.com/ turned up the following as the earliest appearances of ads or comments on these models. Obviously, these dates aren't introduction dates, but they're evidence of the rough timeframes that these models at least gained some national exposure.

Nine



As an aside, there's mention of the acquisition of Polk Model Nines for a brief test in the Autumn-Winter 1973 issue of Stereophile!

7



10 (and the Minimonitor!)

Gardenstater

lol, I also have been trying to find out when the earliest ad was for the Monitor 7, which is when I found out that before the Monitor 7, there was the Model Seven, which had no crossover network and piezoelectric tweeters. I have not been able to find out any more details as of yet. This is Audio Sep '73:

mhardy6647

Whoa! That's a weird one!
I wonder if Polk did actually make any Model 7s Sevens with a piezo?!?
TL Loaded woofer?!?!?

I somehow missed that one in my search tonight.

Gardenstater

I think so. The Model Nine was Piezolectric Tweeters also. If you look at the picture closely in your ad from Audio Aug 1975, it looks like the same Model Seven, now being called Model 7. The earliest buyer's guide entry I found is Oct 1975 and it is describing a Monitor 7 with a dome tweeter, so that must be around the time of the change.

Gardenstater

The plot thickens. Perhaps they advertised it but it never made it to market? Here's the Advertisers index from Audio Oct 1974 and only has the Model Nine, no Model Seven. Drats.

mhardy6647

That's my guess. I think the design spec changed before it ever went to market.
Plus, the piezo debacle* even got corrected for the Nine, begetting the 9A.

Imma start an early Polk thread, as this is way off topic for this thread -- and this thread deserves to live!

______________
* piezos actually needn't be horrific if used "properly". The "mistake" that is usually made with them is to allow them to act as their own crossovers (which, being essentially capacitors, they're happy to do) -- the spittiness for which they're justly denounced can be mitigated by crossing them over at a higher frequency than their built-in rolloff @ ca. 4kHz.

New24k

So this is what my thread asking if the black color Reserve Series speakers have a texture to them or are just a smooth vinyl has become...? lol

WLDock

New24k wrote: »

So this is what my thread asking if the black color Reserve Series speakers have a texture to them or are just a smooth vinyl has become...? lol

Several reviews have stated that the finish is textured. The video starts at 00:51 where he talks about it.

https://youtu.be/KhP3LJI0ud4?t=51

New24k

WLDock wrote: »

Several reviews have stated that the finish is textured. The video starts at 00:51 where he talks about it.

Thank you!

[Deleted User]

@Emlyn wrote:
"What I'm seeing is the R700 has a -3dB level of 38 Hz compared to the next model down R600 at 43 Hz. That's a significant difference but I agree the R700 could be expected to go a little lower than 38 Hz given the size of the speaker and drivers. The R700 has a 6.5 inch midrange driver and two 8 inch woofers."

@Gardenstater Wrote:
"I had to go back and check. My statement above was from having looked at the pdf brochure and it still states 38Hz for both the R600 and R700. Screenshots below so ya don't think I'm crazy. I looked at the specs separately for the two models and it verifies what you say. So some shoddy discrepancies here."

And:

"I checked the Reserve Series Manual as well and they have the same apparent mistake(?) there. @CarlJacobson_POLK this doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in the minds of potential buyers. Could we get this fixed?"

==========================================================

You guys are awesome! I thought I was the only person who picked up on spec inconsistencies.

I was working on a Reserve series brochure last week and noticed the typos in the lower end frequency responses of the towers. There was another one also, the R400 center channel speakers had too low of a power rating.

Just this morning, I got the series brochure (with correct specs) back from the designer and it hasn't been posted to the website yet. Those corrections will now flow through the spec sheets, manual and other listings.

For the record at -3db, the towers lower frequency response is:

R500 49Hz
R600 43Hz
R700 38Hz

While we wait for the web team to catch up, you can all geek out over the screenshot below (hope this works):



Please continue to tag me if you notice things like this in the future. I really appreciate it!

Thanks,

Carl