Polk R700 speakers

bigstereo62

When will the R700 speakers be available? I ordered a pair through Crutchfield about 3 weeks ago. I knew the speakers were on backorder when I placed the order.

Why are they on backorder?

Does anyone know when they will be made and when they will be shipping?

Thanks in advance!

Clipdat

What did Crutchfield say when you asked?

Emlyn

The R700s appear to be out of stock at all of the usual online vendors, including Polk, with no anticipated fulfillment dates listed. Only thing to do is look around online and get on a backorder list if desired. The backorder option is usually an indicator with Crutchfield that they expect stock but don’t know when they’ll get it. Crutchfield, Audio Advisor, Music Direct, Upscale Audio, Huppins, etc all carry the Reserve line. FWIW, Huppins has a single Walnut version available.

My guess is production and delivery from China have been affected by "supply chain" issues there. It's not the first time they've been out of stock. I'd call Crutchfield and talk to one of their customer service reps. They'll give you a straight answer if they have an answer available.

The Legend L600 are an in stock option for $400 a piece more as they are currently on sale.

bigstereo62

I talked to Crutchfield a few days ago. They didn't have any information as to a tentative delivery date. I was trying to find a way to contact Polk directly but am having a bit of a hard time finding an email address or phone number. I'll keep trying.

Emlyn

When that happens with Crutchfield the product is usually several more weeks out from being available.
During the pandemic some of the AV processors and receivers have been delayed for more than a year. I recall the Reserve and Legend speakers may be out of stock for a few weeks at a time after a sale goes on them.

Mark59

I also got on the wait list at Crutchfield a couple weeks ago. The CSR had no info on when new inventory might arrive but said their last shipment of the black was July and they had not seen the walnut since April. Interesting that Polk just put the R700's on sale for $879 last week. Seems that's gotta mean they expect some inventory soon. Sure hope so! (B&H Photo website shows walnut expected Oct 3 and black end of Oct.)
Thought about going with the L600's when they were on sale for $1499 (they're back to $1749 now) but I couldn't justify spending $800 just to be impatient. I think the R700 is just as much speaker only in a less upscale cabinet.

When they get here the R700's will replace a pair of Polk Monitor 7C's that I bought new from Good Guys in 1989 and have been my stereo speakers since then. They've been outstanding and they're now a vintage speaker that still gets lots of shout-outs. I remember how impressed I was back then with how great they sounded for what I could afford (and they still sound good). I think 20 years down the line we'll be praising the R700's the same way. They may not be Legends but I think they're legends in the making.

Mark59

I also got on the wait list at Crutchfield a couple weeks ago. The CSR had no info on when they expected more inventory but said their last shipment of black was in July and they hadn't seen walnut since April. Interesting that Polk just put the R700's on sale last week for $879. Hope that's gotta mean they expect more inventory real soon! B&H Photo website shows walnut expected Oct 3 and black end of Oct.

bigstereo62

Hmmm...interesting...thanks for the reply!

datamon

check the Polk website. Black was available as of last night, 9/1/2022.

bigstereo62

Thanks datamon! I received an email from Polk last evening saying the speakers were available. I called Crutchfield this morning and they did not know anything about it. It appears that Polk has the speakers but they have not yet been delivered to Crutchfield. Crutchfield gave me a number to call Polk. I'll be calling them when they open at 9 AM Pacific Time this morning.

datamon

good luck!

i got the email and thought maybe the browns were available too. i mistakingly ordered one brown (meant to order 2), then went to order the other brown one and it was not available. so they still only had that one brown one. I called them to cancel and they said they can't because it was already 'in-process'.

customer service sent me a return label. seems a waste for them to ship it only for me to send it back.

but, the black pair I ordered last night seem to be on-track.

Clipdat

Wow that's ridiculous that they can't cancel the order.

jbreezy5

Could be if they are too far in the process shipping might not be able to be stopped, and cancel could mean customer gets a refund and a speaker. Company would be double-hit.

Emlyn

That's the vast world of e-commerce. Product may be pulled from numerous warehouse facilities and out the shipping dock in an hour with no way cost effective way to pull out an order once it's already in transit.

I live in Virginia so my orders from Crutchfield are usually on my doorstep the next day even though they use more than one warehouse for fulfillment.

bigstereo62

When I spoke with someone from Crutchfield this morning I was given the number to Sound United. Tried to call them a couple times and couldn't find a way to actually speak to someone. The automated phone system said to go to the Polk Support page. I'm really getting tired of all of this. Corporate America...What a Concept!

bigstereo62

It also seems weird to me that the R700s are on sale again even though there is no inventory on hand. I dunno...

mhardy6647

bigstereo62 wrote: »

When I spoke with someone from Crutchfield this morning I was given the number to Sound United. Tried to call them a couple times and couldn't find a way to actually speak to someone. The automated phone system said to go to the Polk Support page. I'm really getting tired of all of this. Corporate America...What a Concept!

@CarlJacobson_POLK

Can't hurt to summon the Web Daemons of Sound United.

datamon

just fyi: i ordered at 1 AM and tried to cancel when support opened at 10 AM.

VR3

Some warehouses are 24/7

datamon

yeah, was hoping the website would have the functionality to cancel an order that was just made, but nothing there.

and the return label link is confusing. seems like it has not shipped yet, right?

datamon

got the shipping notice and all 3 will be here this coming Wednesday.

think I'll be able to find another brown r700 somewhere relatively soon? I'd be fine with 2 sets instead of sending the one brown back.

datamon

just ordered brown #2 from the Polk website. they had another in-stock.

JayCee

datamon wrote: »

just ordered brown #2 from the Polk website. they had another in-stock.

It's the one they thought you'd be sending back. JK.

datamon

you may be right 😔. they just cancelled brown #2.