Help us shape the future of Polk

xschop

I wish Polk all the best. Bring your manufacturing back to the USA, then you'll have a future.

skipshot12

Got to the point of saying I live in Wyoming... 👋

motorstereo

Sounds like I'll skip this. In my case Polk wouldn't be interested in the input of some fossil running a pair of 1.2tls "to help shape their future endeavors".

BlueBirdMusic

On the positive side; too old means you know too much.

mantis

I find this to be un fair, I didn't get in either. It's gotta be age, I'm 52 and have a wealth of audio experience plus tons of Polk Audio experience . I started my journey with Polk, have polk's all over my house including my Deck and Garage and I installed polk speakers for many years.

I would have thought they would have wanted someone like me but unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to answer any other questions other then name and age. I got the boot.

I helped with then LSI's and the LSIM's. I would love to discuss the future as Polk Audio is important to me.

polrbehr

I was totally honest with my answers just to see how far I would get, and made it to the end. But, they said they would contact me if I was selected, so there you go.

PS Dan, it's not age. Maybe it's totally random, who knows.

vmaxer

My response:

Polk Screening Survey
Thank you! If you qualify for this study, we will be in touch via e-mail shortly.

mhardy6647

I guess I don't understand why they didn't just let everyone who filled in all of the boxes "enter" and give everyone the "If you qualify" response. They still could've rejected any class whose input they're not interested in -- without ruffling anyone's feathers.

But, it's their ball and their backyard, so they may do as they wish.

"We" may not be their future, but we are their present -- and just because we're "out of band" for whatever reason doesn't a priori mean that we don't have insight.

Still, I'm glad to see 'em lobbying for some input from the trenches, though.

SIHAB

The ones rejected probably recommended bringing back SDA

Jstas

SDA is already back, though.

It's in their sound bar speakers and it's in the L800s.

[Deleted User]

Well...this is embarassing. I saw your comments last night and contacted the agency running the study to have this looked into. The form should have been filtering anyone under 18 for legal reasons, but there shouldn't have been an age limit. I wouldn't have qualified either.

The form has been updated. Please accept our apologies. If you're not feeling too insulted, we would appreciate you trying again. Thank you!

mhardy6647

Worked this time as intended (by all appearances). Thanks @CarlJacobson_POLK for your/Polk's responsiveness to "our" critique.

VR3

Slightly on/off topic.

I've had countless discussions with folks that would listen that this industry is slowly pricing itself to an eventual death.

The cost to entry for younger people is simply unobtainable. When I first started the hobby at 14 years old, I bought a set of Polk rt35i from Crutchfield for 300 shipped to my house...

That same caliber of speaker from Polk now is over 600 a pair.

Ultimately, I think if the industry as a whole is not careful, particularly the high end market... The next twenty years will see a drastic decline in clientele as... Ahem... The older clientele simply are no longer there anymore and there are far far less younger people there to take their place.

As an industry there should be some type of something that gathers the attention of the younger generation in an aspiring way.

The products that were out when I was younger were very cool! The Polk SRT, statement musical fidelity, things that really made you go wow.

Most manufactures now a days seem more interested in hitting size and weight specs for import and export than overall performance.

As a relatively young person, 34, looking back on what made me excited about the hobby and where the industry is today.. M I honestly am not so sure I would have ever started the hobby like I did in this day and age.

The other difference is that the forum exposure is much less with lesser participation. This forum from a personal and audio perspective has been literally life changing. I have met people on this forum I consider to be friends and family and literally everything about my life can be traced back to this forum in some way or another.

Facebook groups simply don't have that environment and frankly they suck. Polk should be doing everything it can to build and flourish this community and steer them away from Facebook and other social media platforms. There should be more Polk fests and gatherings, invitations to Polk hq and engineering and trying to build back the loyal fan base that frankly will dissappear in time.

I am willing to bet most everyone on this forum is 40 years or older with a very small amount under 30. This really is a problem for Polk and every other audio brand.

Just my 2 cents, take it for what it's worth!

mhardy6647

But there's a corresponding exponential growth in both the population and the wealth of the truly wealthy. Way out of proportion with even the robber barons of the late 19th Century. Some of them are quite young, leveraging platforms like TikTok for their fame and their income stream.

The median house price in Vermont (Vermont!) is currently $310,000.
On our side of the river, there are several eight figure properties on our hill, owned by very nice, down-to-earth people who... paid eight figures for them. Most of the rest would sell pretty quickly for low seven figures -- and this ain't the Silicon Valley!
Strictly anecdotal data, though, of course.

Price automobiles some time. Maybe a nice Bugatti?

Polk's products, with a few exceptions (basically, the Legend series) are inexpensive by any contemporary scale of assessment.

How much is an iPhone 87 (or whichever model they're on now)?

VR3

Dosnt change the fact that "back in the day" large stereos, records, etc was a thing to do... It was the only way to listen to music. That generation grew up listening to music that way and it's a thing they enjoy.

My generation, most of them grew up with sound bars, ear buds, stolen mp3a from. Napster...

Music was consumed very differently by the younger generation.

This will have very long lasting changes for an industry.

Considering wages are mostly stagnant and prices are rising exponentially, this furthers my argument that this NINJA generation (no income, no jobs, no assets) will have an even harder time affording these items.

Will see! Audio is a niche segment that is making itself more and more of a niche.

Willow

I'm older and not in the USA. I'm out

savage925

VR3 you make some good points about the youth not being into it. But I dont really think its a cost issue. For the money/performance might this be one of the best eras? For instance a pair of Polk XT books and a Aiyma amp would be $358 (full price). Youtuber Randy The Cheap Audio Man has some great suggestions for very affordable options and thats not even covering the steals one can get on the used market. The SRTs were rad, but started at $7,300+ in 1996, which would be expensive even for today

Emlyn

It seems like it wasn't too long ago that the iPad was king and now people walk around with large phones that no longer fit comfortably in their skinny jeans pockets.

The future seems to be increasingly more mobile and bluetooth oriented since younger people spend their lives on their phones and phones are powerful devices. They're also expensive.

But then the funny thing is I know a lot of younger people have bought a turntable in the last few years. Not sure if those are actually being used or are more ornamental. Maybe Polk should revisit the headphone world with better products than before but that market also seems to be saturated.

rooftop59

Yea @VR3 I think these are two big problems, radical income inequality - 68% of US wealth is owned by the top 10%!!! - and lifestyle changes. I am 44 and my oldest daughter is 15. She sings in advanced choir and has play the piano for almost 10 years, and she prefers to listen to music on her AirPods or phone speaker compared to any of the multiple systems in our home. At least she has heard high quality sound, most haven't...and they don't care. So yes, you need a cheaper entry product that is going to get them in the proverbial door, and it ain't a sound bar...

stangman67

I think you guys are bringing up some very valid points and things I agree with. I’m 34 and even friends my age really don’t generally understand my stereo or the entertainment it provides me.


Convenience and connectivity are champion now, wireless ear buds that can be in 24/7 are the thing. I think the industry is going to continue to trend towards mobile solutions/Bluetooth speakers/ and sound bars. Especially for a company like Polk that seems to be losing touch with the community ( that’s not to hate on Polk, they obviously still make some excellent speakers even the snobbiest of audiophiles can appreciate). The connection to the community is being lost on these larger corporations, it’s part of the reason I tend to buy from smaller outfits as I can call up the owner and legitimately talk to him or her about upgrades or issues I am experiencing.

Unfortunately less and less people appreciate true good sound. I’m in a way guilty of it as I very much appreciate my Sonos wireless HT setups so maybe I am the pot calling the kettle black.

I’ll be interested what the audiophile landscape looks like in 20 years.

Emlyn

Also got to remember the corporate parent, Masimo, is primarily a company that's interested in total connectivity of devices and their purchase of Sound United opened up a huge door for them across many consumer products brands that can be cross marketed. Large floorstanding speakers that sit at home not being used 98 percent of the time don't necessarily fit that model but there is still a place for them in the market. Some in the latest generation don't like owning "stuff" but want to spend their money on experiences. Some don't even want to drive a car!

pearsall001

I took the questioner again & low & behold I made it all the way thru. They'll let me via email if I make the final cut. Go figure 🤔🤔

SIHAB

What Polk needs to invent is a whole house system that
monitors my mood and plays music accordingly (or TV/movie). It has to
be completely out of site. It also has to have drown out the
road noise and piss off the neighbors mode. Big plus if it
can shoot down balloons.

mantis

CarlJacobson_POLK wrote: »

Well...this is embarassing. I saw your comments last night and contacted the agency running the study to have this looked into. The form should have been filtering anyone under 18 for legal reasons, but there shouldn't have been an age limit. I wouldn't have qualified either.

The form has been updated. Please accept our apologies. If you're not feeling too insulted, we would appreciate you trying again. Thank you!

Thank you Carl, Polk Audio is important to me and IF I can help out in any way, I'm very willing to do so.

nooshinjohn

Looks like I poked the bear and lived...

Viking64

nooshinjohn wrote: »

Looks like I poked the bear and lived...

What happens in the den, stays in the den.

SCompRacer

I was out with sbcglobal.net email, but in with gmail.com. Same answers used except for email. Old and in Illinois!

skipshot12

mhardy6647 wrote: »

But there's a corresponding exponential growth in both the population and the wealth of the truly wealthy. Way out of proportion with even the robber barons of the late 19th Century. Some of them are quite young, leveraging platforms like TikTok for their fame and their income stream.

The median house price in Vermont (Vermont!) is currently $310,000.
On our side of the river, there are several eight figure properties on our hill, owned by very nice, down-to-earth people who... paid eight figures for them. Most of the rest would sell pretty quickly for low seven figures -- and this ain't the Silicon Valley!
Strictly anecdotal data, though, of course.

Price automobiles some time. Maybe a nice Bugatti?

Polk's products, with a few exceptions (basically, the Legend series) are inexpensive by any contemporary scale of assessment.

How much is an iPhone 87 (or whichever model they're on now)?

This is way too true on the price of median homes.
When we moved to FL in 1964 I remember my Pop complaining about the price he had to pay for his house... $12,000. But, he made $12,000 a year as a firefighter back then.
My wife and I bought our first home in FL and it cost me $69,000 in 1987. I wasn't even close to making that per year.

Now, looking at median home prices the young ones are having to pay one can easily see wages have not kept up.
How many young folks, and older one, are pulling in $310,000 a year?

Sorry for the rant.

Think I'll go back and take the survey again.

Thank you Polk Audio.

SIHAB

I'm not sure if Polk can fix this;

but I guess this is the target demographic.

audioluvr

I'd just like them to build a soundbar that doesn't constantly crash. I mean apparently these things are really popular but this forum is constantly inundated with "what is wrong with this thing" posts. Poor @SeleniumFalcon spends his every waking moment forwarding problems to customer service and I'm pretty sure he's not getting commission on this...