L600 impressions, discussion & eventually a review
The boxes kind of fool you. Fool you into believing the physical size of the speakers is larger than it is. My guess is to provide a form of shipping protection, which I'm sure works well in most cases. As mentioned in another thread, one of my speaker boxes was skewered and the speaker incurred a couple minor scratches.
The speakers are heavy, solid, slender masses of elegance in real black wood veneer. The finish is lush and upscale. The front baffle fitted with high gloss plastic that looks pricier than it most likely is. The dual binding posts are nickel and would give Cardas a run for their money. The binding jumper cables are of excellent size and quality.
These are some of best built, most solid feeling Polk speakers they've produced since the SDA lines. The Legend series is the real deal and the fit, finish and upscale parts choices allow them to run with the big boys, no question. They make the LSi line look like toys...lol. The build quality and parts are serious business. Lots of attention to details.
My first listening impressions right out of the box and plopped into place:
-bass is very full, with slight overhang
-vocals are natural but still a bit recessed and "stiff"
-treble is hot and a bit tizzy, but airy
-sound stage is already pretty amazing, speakers disappear and vocals are dead center and instrument delineation on the stage is quite good for a new right out of the box speaker.
-listened for about 5 hours last night at a fairly elevated level. No sign of listener fatigue.
I have to say just putting these in the old SDA spot and hooking them up, and off and running with listening. They sounded really good last night on a variety of material streaming Qbuz through a Blue Sound Node 3.
I caught myself smiling several times and thought if they sound this good, cold out of the box, they are going to be phenomenal once set-up properly and fully broken in. I think these are going to very special speakers.
These are in our main living room so I won't get to listen to them on a regular basis, but I'll keep updating this thread with discussion and eventually a full blown review.
Feel free to add comments, etc.
H9
The speakers are heavy, solid, slender masses of elegance in real black wood veneer. The finish is lush and upscale. The front baffle fitted with high gloss plastic that looks pricier than it most likely is. The dual binding posts are nickel and would give Cardas a run for their money. The binding jumper cables are of excellent size and quality.
These are some of best built, most solid feeling Polk speakers they've produced since the SDA lines. The Legend series is the real deal and the fit, finish and upscale parts choices allow them to run with the big boys, no question. They make the LSi line look like toys...lol. The build quality and parts are serious business. Lots of attention to details.
My first listening impressions right out of the box and plopped into place:
-bass is very full, with slight overhang
-vocals are natural but still a bit recessed and "stiff"
-treble is hot and a bit tizzy, but airy
-sound stage is already pretty amazing, speakers disappear and vocals are dead center and instrument delineation on the stage is quite good for a new right out of the box speaker.
-listened for about 5 hours last night at a fairly elevated level. No sign of listener fatigue.
I have to say just putting these in the old SDA spot and hooking them up, and off and running with listening. They sounded really good last night on a variety of material streaming Qbuz through a Blue Sound Node 3.
I caught myself smiling several times and thought if they sound this good, cold out of the box, they are going to be phenomenal once set-up properly and fully broken in. I think these are going to very special speakers.
These are in our main living room so I won't get to listen to them on a regular basis, but I'll keep updating this thread with discussion and eventually a full blown review.
Feel free to add comments, etc.
H9
"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
Comments
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Pictures....- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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You already know what they look like....lol.
I'll get some up in the next post.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
Yes but we need to see them from your camera- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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Yes but we need to see them from your camera
And with a newspaper in the background, showing today's date.
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What's a newspaper?
"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
I agree with what you said about the sound stage, especially vocals being dead center.
Wait till you get some hours on them.Yamaha RX-A2070, Musical Fidelity M6si integrated amp, Benchmark Dac1, Bluesound NODE 2i, Audiolab 6000CDT CD Transport, Parasound Zphono USB Phono Preamp, Fluance RT85, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Polk L600's, L400, L900's, RC80i's, SVS 3000 Micro, Audioquest Interconnects and Digital Cables, Nordost Silver Shadow Digital Cable, Cullen Gold and Crossover Series Power Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 12AWG OCC Speaker Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha Analog Interconnect Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 11 OCC Custom Power Cable, Signal Power Cable, Furman PL-8C 15 Power Conditioner, Sony 65" 900F, Sony UBP-X700, Fios, Apple TV 4K, Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables. -
Just make sure there is nothing reflective in the photo of you are nekked- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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Just make sure there is nothing reflective in the photo of you are nekked
You're taking all the fun out of it...lol.
I'll get some pics this weekend.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
Congrats on your new speakers...it sounds like you found your new huckleberry!
From what I've read Polk really nailed it with this new line. Many hours of happy listening awaits. Again congrats!!"2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up. -
Congrats Brock...but I must admit, I fell down the stairs when I saw your name attached to the L600's.
Rock on bro... HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
Thanks guysCongrats Brock...but I must admit, I fell down the stairs when I saw your name attached to the L600's. Rock on bro...
Why Tony? I know I have been an SDA advocate for years. Well, ever since I was in audio sales in the 90's actually. It was an agonizing decision. In the end the L800's were too big and I was ready to try a conventional speaker again. Here was my thought process.
I went with the L600's for a variety of reasons.
1) Size, I really think the L800's are too big for my listening space.
2) Wanting to try a conventional speaker again, it's been awhile.
3) I still have my 1C's if I miss SDA
4) Significant other wasn't pleased with the cost and size of L800
5) Better pairing with a future amp
6) Reviews are very, very positive
7) Easier to set-up for optimum listening
8) Price, $1450 less than L800's. That $$$ can go towards the new amp.
9) Lower cost means at some point in the future they can get full VR3 mods.
$$$ is rarely a determining factor, but in this case because I was unsure of how the L800's would perform in my room, saving the extra cash made sense.
Initial, out of the box impressions are very positive. I'll be getting them dialed in better this weekend. Currently when not listening to music I'm running TV audio through them to hasten the break in.pearsoll001 wrote:Congrats on your new speakers...it sounds like you found your new huckleberry!
From what I've read Polk really nailed it with this new line. Many hours of happy listening awaits. Again congrats!!
Phil, they did nail it with the Legend line. The build on these Polks is the best I've ever seen from the company and if they sound anything like the reviews, they will be killer. I don't have a lot of direct experience with many other speakers at this price point. It's a crowded space and to many "audiophiles", Polk is not considered high end enough. $3500/pr. retail for Polks might be hard for some to swallow.
H9
P.s. Also, nothing against 30+ year old Polk speakers, but I wanted something new with some current technology."Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
Pics as required.....lol. Just some quick shots w/low lighting. But you get the idea. I checked for reflective nudes
The cabinet to the right is temporarily there for Christmas. It will be moved shortly.
H9
P.s. My girlfriend commented since the speaker are narrower than the 1C's, we need a bigger TV to fill the space...lol, damn good excuse for a new TV. The 55" is too small...lmao
"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
Looking good!!! Now if you just put those wires in the wall.... _________________________________________________
***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***
2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
SOPAThank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman -
Looking good!!! Now if you just put those wires in the wall....
Hey Ricardo!
I was waiting to see how long it would be until someone commented on the cables... . The cables from the TV just need to be better organized, I can't hide them.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
Came back for the pics! Wasn't disappointed!
Looks great! Wires and all!
Congrats!- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
@heiney9 Congrats mate they look the goods. Be interested in your thoughts once you have some time on them. Especially since it’s your first conventional speaker for a while.
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You need this, I used it on my TV and it works well.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086CCHYL3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1Post edited by Milito onYamaha RX-A2070, Musical Fidelity M6si integrated amp, Benchmark Dac1, Bluesound NODE 2i, Audiolab 6000CDT CD Transport, Parasound Zphono USB Phono Preamp, Fluance RT85, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Polk L600's, L400, L900's, RC80i's, SVS 3000 Micro, Audioquest Interconnects and Digital Cables, Nordost Silver Shadow Digital Cable, Cullen Gold and Crossover Series Power Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 12AWG OCC Speaker Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha Analog Interconnect Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 11 OCC Custom Power Cable, Signal Power Cable, Furman PL-8C 15 Power Conditioner, Sony 65" 900F, Sony UBP-X700, Fios, Apple TV 4K, Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables. -
I have been hastening the break-in by running TV audio each night and pretty much all weekend. I have my rig setup to run the TV audio via Toslink through the EE Mini Max Plus dac.
I had the day off today, so I spent most of the day listening and running through some very familiar material. I am very impressed they sound this dialed in after about 50-60 hours of break in.
Clarity and resolution are off the charts excellent. I am hearing things in songs, like chair squeaks, breaths, and other things that I had never really heard before, or rather never called attention to itself.
Sound stage is huge as are the layers in the sound stage. Vocals are a notch better than the 1C's, they seem a bit more "open" and less "heavy". There's an intimacy and clarity that I have never heard with the 1C's. It's hard to explain but the music seems more "immediate" and defined than before.
These are fantastic speakers and I'm sure there is more to come.
I played a lot of different genere's today.
Led Zep, Patty Larkin, Cowboy Junkies, Yello, Jewel, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Van Halen, Regina Spektor, Rush, Neil Diamond, Elton John, Simon and Garfunkel, Peter Gabriel to name a few.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
I am starting to feel like I am in some good company after parting with my 1.2TL's in favor of the Legends... These are leaps and bounds the best speaker Polk has ever made.
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
I hadn't planned on spending almost the whole day listening as I didn't think they would be this well broken in already. I figured they'd still be a bit wonky. I got sucked in right away. It was a nice treat....that's for sure.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
Glad you're liking them. I'm very pleased with mine.Yamaha RX-A2070, Musical Fidelity M6si integrated amp, Benchmark Dac1, Bluesound NODE 2i, Audiolab 6000CDT CD Transport, Parasound Zphono USB Phono Preamp, Fluance RT85, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Polk L600's, L400, L900's, RC80i's, SVS 3000 Micro, Audioquest Interconnects and Digital Cables, Nordost Silver Shadow Digital Cable, Cullen Gold and Crossover Series Power Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 12AWG OCC Speaker Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha Analog Interconnect Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 11 OCC Custom Power Cable, Signal Power Cable, Furman PL-8C 15 Power Conditioner, Sony 65" 900F, Sony UBP-X700, Fios, Apple TV 4K, Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables.
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The new and improved Pinnacle tweeter is amazing. Such clarity and the sound stage and image it throws seems to be so much better than the Pinnacle tweeter in the LSi 9's I had. The dispersion characteristics are pretty amazing, very open and airy w/no boundaries.
I can stand next to the left speaker and hear sounds coming from the right tweeter and that's way off axis and 7' away. I don't ever remember hearing that before with other speakers, or atleast not with such prominence and clarity.
Just adding more positive points and knowing I made the right purchase decision.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
I'm starting to agree with John, the Legend series may be the best speakers Polk has ever made and even the fit and finish is excellent.
I did get to demo the L200's when the demo program was running several years ago. I lost my review and notes. I didn't really have time back then to give them a good run. It was mostly superficial and while I liked those, I wasn't able to put in the time to really get a good listen to know how terrific the Legend line was.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
I agree with what you said about the improved Pinnacle tweeter, it is so much better that the ones in the LSiM series. Even my 70+ year old ears can tell a difference.
I heard sounds I didn't hear with my 705's.Yamaha RX-A2070, Musical Fidelity M6si integrated amp, Benchmark Dac1, Bluesound NODE 2i, Audiolab 6000CDT CD Transport, Parasound Zphono USB Phono Preamp, Fluance RT85, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Polk L600's, L400, L900's, RC80i's, SVS 3000 Micro, Audioquest Interconnects and Digital Cables, Nordost Silver Shadow Digital Cable, Cullen Gold and Crossover Series Power Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 12AWG OCC Speaker Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha Analog Interconnect Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 11 OCC Custom Power Cable, Signal Power Cable, Furman PL-8C 15 Power Conditioner, Sony 65" 900F, Sony UBP-X700, Fios, Apple TV 4K, Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables. -
The fact that the LSi and LSiM series tweeter was a ring radiator design, and the corresponding visual similarity to the Legend series' Pinnacle tweeter is about the only thing they have in common.
Completely different and far superior level of performance from the Legend's Pinnacle tweeter. -
Agreed!- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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Looking good and nice setup. Thanks for the pics. The front baffle appears to be a glossy finish like the Lsim, which is nice. Hard to tell from the Polk website picture but they looked more like a matte finish initially going by those pics.
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The black ash has a gloss black front baffle, the walnut has a matte black front baffle.
