Reserve R700-Initial Reaction
Options
Just fired up my new Reserve series. 2 R700s and 1 R400.
These R700s are amazing. They are replacing LSiM705s, which are good speakers as well. Right out of the box I noticed such a dramatic change in mid-bass, much fuller and detailed. Comparably the LSiM705s are much more brighter. Along with a couple of SVS 3000 subs, a Yamaha RX-A3080 AVR, and a Parasound Halo 21+ Amp these babies really shine. I want to burn them in a bit before really cranking them up, but so far I can't complain. The R400 is pretty nice too. I haven't had a chance to test out a Blu-Ray but I'm excited to hear the dynamics. Great job Polk!!
These R700s are amazing. They are replacing LSiM705s, which are good speakers as well. Right out of the box I noticed such a dramatic change in mid-bass, much fuller and detailed. Comparably the LSiM705s are much more brighter. Along with a couple of SVS 3000 subs, a Yamaha RX-A3080 AVR, and a Parasound Halo 21+ Amp these babies really shine. I want to burn them in a bit before really cranking them up, but so far I can't complain. The R400 is pretty nice too. I haven't had a chance to test out a Blu-Ray but I'm excited to hear the dynamics. Great job Polk!!
Comments
-
The 705 is brighter? Perhaps you are confusing clarity for brightness.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 -
Congrats on the new pickup.
Interesting, so you're finding the R700 to have a smoother top end than the LSiM 705? Without sacrificing detail or sounding muted or veiled?
Are your new R700s a replacement for 705s just before?I disabled signatures. -
Yes, I still have the 705s. I've blown the tweeters out twice and lastly the mid-range on one of them.
The R700s seem to be more of a fuller all around sound. I used to have cerwin vega's back in the 90s with a big 15in woofer. The R700s sound similar in bass fullness. They hit hard and can feel it in your chest.
When I was saying brightness, I mean more on the treble side then bass. Don't get me wrong the 705s are very good speakers, I've had them for almost 2yrs but something was missing and now I think I've found it.
I've never heard any of the Legends, nor could I afford them but the Reserves are damn nice. -
What are you using for power?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 -
I have a yamaha RX-A3080 pre-out to parasound halo 21+. Now with the Reserves the parasound will output 500w@4ohm. There is more overhead with these speakers but I still need to be careful. The parasound is 300w@8ohm, the 705s are rated, as you know, at 250. I guess I pushed the 705s a bit to much.
-
Reserves haven't been out long so its hard to find reviews. Audioholics did a dog and pony show with Polk on you tube.
-
Seems like you like to listen really, really loud,
-
What?
LOL -
The first blown tweeter was a Van Halen song the second was Deep Purple. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Ha
-
What?
LOL
I've blown the tweeters out twice and lastly the mid-range on one of them. -
I have noticed the ring radiators can heat up alarmingly with too much power + volume + time. I dial it back when distortion rears its head. High efficiency speakers like Cerwin Vega and Klipsch have their place for rocking out.
My favorite tweeter fryer used to be the clocks going off on Dark Side of the Moon but that was back when replacement tweeters at Radio Shack were $20 a pair.
Congrats on the purchase. -
sounds like your enjoying them which is great. Can't wait to hear your thoughts once they've settled in.
-
I have a yamaha RX-A3080 pre-out to parasound halo 21+. Now with the Reserves the parasound will output 500w@4ohm. There is more overhead with these speakers but I still need to be careful. The parasound is 300w@8ohm, the 705s are rated, as you know, at 250. I guess I pushed the 705s a bit to much.
Regardless of the rated amp power or rated handling of a pair of speakers once you send clipped signals, which you seem to do on a regular basis, bad juju will happen. So, my prediction is you'll blow up the 700's before long.
While have not heard any of the Reserve series I have heard many of the Legend series and just about all of the LSiM series including the 705, which is my favorite of that series. Based on that there's no way the 700 is the better speaker.....not today, not tomorrow, not ever.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 -
My advise listen to a 700 and decide for yourself. It has Legend's tweeter and mid and its own port technology. Not sure of the crossover. I still like the 705 but to my ears the 700 is more complete. I can already tell there is more overhead in the 700 so I doubt I'll need to stress it out.
-
More overhead.....lolPolitical 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 -
Congrats on your purchase, one of the first that I've seen on here. If you can feel the thump in your chest from the bass then you do like it LOUD. I did that some when I was younger, enough that I could swear it was messing with my heartbeat. Not anymore, I like to feel it in the floor some but that's usually loud enough nowadays...Remember, when you're running from something, you're running to something...-me
-
Yea I don't always play it loud, but I do notice feeling the bass in the floor more with these.
-
Congrats on finding speakers that sound "right" to your ears.
I think there's a commercial in here.
I don't always play music loud. But when I do...It's with Polk audio speakers.
Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them. -
the OP needs a pre-amp, Yamaha AVR from what I've read have low voltage on the pre-out.When 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 -
the OP needs a pre-amp, Yamaha AVR from what I've read have low voltage on the pre-out.
I’ve had a couple different Yamaha avrs that I used as pres for the fronts and never had a problem fwiw...Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es; Squeezebox Touch with Bolder Power Supply
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1Cambridge Azur 551r; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
Interesting bringing the Cerwin Vegas into the comparison. CV are fun and great for LOUD. Not my speaker of choice for serious listening. I don't usually think of Polk for loud. Maybe I'm just getting old. That said, "Runnin' With the Devil" is one of my favorite test tracks; probably because that was the first track I played through my first manufactured speaker set, Pioneer ProMusica 120, back in the early 80's. I did blow out a pair Infinity Kappa car speakers with The Who "Won't Get Fooled Again".Stan
Main 2ch:
Polk LSi15 (DB840 upgrade), Parasound: P/LD-1100, HCA-1000A; Denon: DVD-2910, DRM-800A; Benchmark DAC1, Monster HTS3600-MKII, Grado SR-225i; Technics SL-J2, Parasound PPH-100.
HT:
Marantz SR7010, Polk: RTA11TL (RDO198-1, XO and Damping Upgrades), S4, CS250, PSW110 , Marantz UD5005, Pioneer PL-530, Panasonic TC-P42S60
Other stuff:
Denon: DRA-835R, AVR-888, DCD-660, DRM-700A, DRR-780; Polk: S8, Monitor 5A, 5B, TSi100, RM7, PSW10 (DXi104 upgrade); Pioneer: CT-6R; Onkyo CP-1046F; Ortofon OM5E, Marantz: PM5004, CD5004, CDR-615; Parasound C/PT-600, HCA-800ii, Sony CDP-650ESD, Technics SA 5070, B&W DM601 -
Has anyone ever messed around with acoustic panels and bass traps on the walls? Seems to be a difficult tasks to get right and expensive.
-
I blew out the tweeter fuses on my 7As... umm... a time or two... with Daltrey's scream near the end. Well, probably that plus the IGD on an LP.... I did blow out a pair Infinity Kappa car speakers with The Who "Won't Get Fooled Again".
-
The first blown tweeter was a Van Halen song the second was Deep Purple. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Ha
If you are blowing tweeters your amp is clipping, I used to blow tweeters in my sda2a's all the time when I had an adcom gfa555 amp. I haven't blown a tweeter in years with my krell amp that is 600 watts into 4ohm, that's 100 watts over the power rating of the speakers. Better to overpower the speaker than underpower it. -
If you are blowing tweeters your amp is clipping
Absolutely true!I haven't blown a tweeter in years with my krell amp that is 600 watts into 4ohm, that's 100 watts over the power rating of the speakers.
It really doesn't work that way. You would still send clipped signals if you turned the volume up enough.Better to overpower the speaker than underpower it.
While it is easier to send clipped signals with a lower powered amp, any amp will clip at some point regardless of the speaker power rating.
The bottom line, a man must know the limitations of his amp.
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 -
There is a certain sweet spot in the volume where the speakers come alive and the clarity is there. At real low volumes levels that clarity and separation can't be heard very well.
-
There is a certain sweet spot in the volume where the speakers come alive and the clarity is there. At real low volumes levels that clarity and separation can't be heard very well.
That's not non-common.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 -
Oy vey.
Some folks just shouldn’t have nice things....
Two things.
1. Turn it down, slick.
2. Get educated on hearing damage.I plan for the future. - F1Nut -
You would still send clipped signals if you turned the volume up enough.
That is true, but with more quality power I don't feel the need to send the amp into clipping.
-
Quality amps should bring out the clarity and separation at lower levels for sure
