Budget Loudspeaker of the Year

maxward

Polk R200. In the current issue of TAS, #323, page 50. Well done, Polk engineers and designers. And on the same page, Mid-priced Loudspeaker of the Year, Rosso Fiorentino Elba 2.

VR3

Well deserved

Navy_Goat

Agree 100%

mhardy6647

That'd be my nominee!

Of course, it's almost the only truly new loudspeaker I've heard in the last couple of years.

As an aside -- I kind of wish I had a pair of R100s now for the stereo in the "den" -- I think the R200s are probably a little too big to meet WAF (SAF, generically) requirements. We'll go down that rabbit hole after the holidays, methinks.

I do quite like the R200s.

DSC_0027 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

(In my case, the speaker stands are a pair of Altec Santiagos)

motorhead43026

My R200 speaker stands are wood TV trays. I am certainly seeing a pattern here.

And yes, very nice bookshelf speaker.

jbreezy5

mhardy6647 wrote: »

That'd be my nominee!

Of course, it's almost the only truly new loudspeaker I've heard in the last couple of years.

As an aside -- I kind of wish I had a pair of R100s now for the stereo in the "den" -- I think the R200s are probably a little too big to meet WAF (SAF, generically) requirements. We'll go down that rabbit hole after the holidays, methinks.

I do quite like the R200s.

DSC_0027 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

(In my case, the speaker stands are a pair of Altec Santiagos)

Ain’t nothin’ wrong with your speaker stands.

Might get away with some Auralex desktop foam pads under your Polkies, or adhesive clear rubber bumpers in each corner for isolation and mid-bass clarity.

I’d go for the latter. Costs less and not as visually imposing.

mhardy6647

jbreezy5 wrote: »

mhardy6647 wrote: »

That'd be my nominee!

Of course, it's almost the only truly new loudspeaker I've heard in the last couple of years.

As an aside -- I kind of wish I had a pair of R100s now for the stereo in the "den" -- I think the R200s are probably a little too big to meet WAF (SAF, generically) requirements. We'll go down that rabbit hole after the holidays, methinks.

I do quite like the R200s.

DSC_0027 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

(In my case, the speaker stands are a pair of Altec Santiagos)

Ain’t nothin’ wrong with your speaker stands.

Might get away with some Auralex desktop foam pads under your Polkies, or adhesive clear rubber bumpers in each corner for isolation and mid-bass clarity.

I’d go for the latter. Costs less and not as visually imposing.

Re: Santiagos... they're just about exactly the right height, and, in a pinch, they're actually pretty darned superb loudepeakers themselves*.


source: http://lansingheritage.org/html/altec/specs/home-speakers/878a.htm




Good advice/suggestion, thanks! If I am smart, I will try some of the "Wagner" HVAC pads under 'em.
https://www.diversitech.com/en-US/category/pads/anti-vibration-(av)-pads-209

________________
* Despite the fact that the Altec fanbois have little respect for 'em, 'cause they are sealed box loudspeakers that don't use the canonical Altec woofers, and, consequently, are a few dB less sensitive. To me, they actually sound a bit better top to bottom than the Valencias, which is why I still have the Santiagos & I (gasp!) actually sold off my nice pair of 16 ohm Valencias to a friend and fellow hifi traveller some years back.

JayCee

On-line review is up. Congrats, Polk!
https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/2021-product-of-the-year-awards-budget-loudspeaker?mc_cid=7edef3775a&mc_eid=8269e8c834

Product of the Year, Budget Loudspeaker!
"Polk R200
$699

Polk’s Reserve Series hit sonic pay dirt last year at an astounding blue-plate price. By borrowing the best transducers from Polk’s Legend Series and placing them in a minimalist cabinet, this two-way compact cuts right to the heart of the music, with tonal balance and coherence in equal measures, paired to a backbone of dynamism and immediacy. It doesn’t shrink into the background, either, tonally or dynamically. Nor does it recess images via frequency dips and droops in order to manufacture a fictitious sense of soundstage depth. In low-end response, the R200 takes care of business. Sure, some of the glitter and gloss has been minimized. But the utilitarian design is well executed. A sleeper in the best sense—not showy, not expensive, but a musical, no-nonsense high-end player."

F1nut

Well done Polk.

WLDock

Yeah, they hit a home run with the idea of using the Legend drivers and the new port. Then, the online review blast marketing for the release created just the right about of buzz.

Well played.... even got me wanting to try a set in my own space.

VR3

The reserve series is legit

Emlyn

I like the R600 just as much as the R200, maybe a little bit more. Just wish they'd integrated an Atmos module into the R600 as an option.

GlennDog

I'm a little bummed I didn't act on that super duper deal . . . Good going Polk!

mhardy6647

Other than the Contact Paper umm, I mean, vinyl veneer finish I don't think I'd call the R200 cabinet minimalist.

jbreezy5

Congrats team Polk on a great design!

Glad to see the brand resurge having owned and enjoyed many Polk speakers through the years.

The R200 is in a real sweet-spot price-wise too, even without the initial discount offer.

jbreezy5

60-second Youtube review from Andrew Robinson on the R200!

https://youtube.com/shorts/YkkEU8IVWm0?feature=share