R700 or R600 better midrange

Dragonm8
Dragonm8 Posts: 8
in Speakers
I was wondering.Will the R600 be better in midrage because it has 2 turbine cones and the R700 only has 1?,

I will buy a good separate subwoofer so don't think i need the Two 8" Polypropylene subwoofer in the R700. Am i correct?
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Best Answer

  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    Answer ✓
    The L600's, each mid driver is individually chambered. Not so on the R700's. This alone might help answer the question. The L600 has a true 3 way crossover, the R700 has a 2 way crossover.

    That would lead one to conclude the mids are "better".

    I own the L600's and the mids are spectacular, very life-like and smooth.

    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!
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Answers

  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,477
    That's a very good question. Through several ranges of Polk home theater speakers some owners have preferred the smaller tower speakers with a subwoofer over the larger towers. The downfall on some ranges has been how well the drivers integrate with each other. In some cases the higher bass output hasn't integrated perfectly with the midrange on the larger model compared with the smaller one. Some of that problem may have been because of room placement.

    I only own the R600s but chose those over the R700s mainly because they wouldn't be placed in a large room and I didn't need the heavier bass. I haven't heard anyone say the R700s don't sound as clean as the R600s.
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  • Braddles63
    Braddles63 Posts: 185
    edited April 2023
    heiney9 wrote: »
    The L600's, each mid driver is individually chambered. Not so on the R700's. This alone might help answer the question. The L600 has a true 3 way crossover, the R700 has a 2 way crossover.

    That would lead one to conclude the mids are "better".

    I own the L600's and the mids are spectacular, very life-like and smooth.

    H9

    Genuine Question.....

    The Polk Website lists crossover points for the R700. 2700 & 350 Hz.

    The L600 is listed as 2900 & 410 Hz.

    I dont understand how one is a 2 way and one a 3 way?



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  • Braddles63
    Braddles63 Posts: 185
    edited April 2023
    The R700's Midrange does have its own enclosure.


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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited April 2023
    I was repeating what I had read from a well known Polkie here on the forum or I may have read it in a review. Guess I should have verified or there is different information elsewhere.

    It doesn't make sense for the L600 to have 2 mid drivers and cross them exactly the same. I would think there would be issues.

    Wasn't trying to mislead.

    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!
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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,477
    Not sure if it's a typo but the R600 only has one tweeter/midrange crossover point listed at 2700 Hz on the Polk product page. That's the model with the twin turbine cone mid/woofers. The L600 is similar to the R700 in driver layout but the crossover point is lower for the bass drivers in the R700. The product page specifically identifies the L600s crossover as a proprietary three way Orth crossover. Not sure if the R700 has a similar configuration for the crossover or why Polk doesn't identify it as an Orth design specifically on the product page.

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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,190
    I would love to compare the R600 to the R700.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    Everyone please disregard all my comments. I mis-read the title. I thought this was comparing the R700 to the L600.

    So my contribution is moot as the thread title is R600 vs. R700.

    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!
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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,477
    I think the L600 vs R700 comparison is far more interesting. The R600 is in a different class from those two models.
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  • Dragonm8
    Dragonm8 Posts: 8
    So the best option wil be the R700 and not the R600? I think i wil buy 1 SVS PB1000 sub.
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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,477
    The main consideration should be the size of your listening room. That would also determine if the subwoofer would be large enough to match up with the R700 or R600.

    What size is the listening area?
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  • Dragonm8
    Dragonm8 Posts: 8
    I am planning to buy R700 or R600 combined with: R900, R400 and R200 and 1 SVS PB1000 sub.

    My room is 135 feet in size. I'm sitting right in the middle. (7.5 meter x 5.5 meter).
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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,477
    For a room that size I'd step up to the R700. I'd also recommend two subwoofers.
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  • msg
    msg Posts: 9,995
    I agree with Emlyn's post above, and would also add that no matter which speaker you go for, you'll benefit from a sub.

    Since your original question is about better mid-range, I presume this is is for a music-first system?

    Are you getting the xB-1000 PRO sub, or buying a legacy/outlet one? The Pro line offers tuning and controls with their smartphone app. Remote control for a sub is not to be underappreciated. Once you have this, you'll never want to go back to a standard sub.

    I was originally thinking that the SB version would be better for music, but I just saw that their Pro series app has settings for "variable port tuning modes", where they mention standard and sealed modes. I'd have to hear both subs for myself to determine which I preferred best, but seems like you could get some version of the "best of both" by going with the PB version you mentioned, and playing with tuning.

    Don't some of the SVS subs come with port plugs? Not sure.

    What are you using for the front end on this system? An integrated amp, or something with calibration capability?
    I disabled signatures.
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  • Dragonm8
    Dragonm8 Posts: 8
    edited April 2023

    I know 2 subwoofers is a better choice. My budget for now is €900,- for the subvoofer and I don't know if I would ever buy a second one for €900,- again. That is why it is now the choice for me to buy 2 times a Polk HTS 12 or 1 time a 1 SVS PB1000 subwoofer.

    I thought that the best of those 2 options is 1 time the SVS subwoofer.
    usage is 85% for movies and 15% for music.

    Sorry my bad. Meters to inch is hard. The rooom is 444ft².
    Post edited by Dragonm8 on
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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,477
    The single SVS will be fine. You could add another later if you feel there's a need. Personal preference.
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  • GDCbrasil
    GDCbrasil Posts: 4
    heiney9 wrote: »
    The L600's, each mid driver is individually chambered. Not so on the R700's. This alone might help answer the question. The L600 has a true 3 way crossover, the R700 has a 2 way crossover.

    That would lead one to conclude the mids are "better".

    I own the L600's and the mids are spectacular, very life-like and smooth.

    H9
    heiney9 wrote: »
    The L600's, each mid driver is individually chambered. Not so on the R700's. This alone might help answer the question. The L600 has a true 3 way crossover, the R700 has a 2 way crossover.

    That would lead one to conclude the mids are "better".

    I own the L600's and the mids are spectacular, very life-like and smooth.

    H9

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  • GDCbrasil
    GDCbrasil Posts: 4
    I am a 🇧🇷. Equipments costs a lot here. I was months ago thinking in by a R600 or a R700. My room is a big square(60 m2) with irregularities. Have a Cambridge CXA81 and decided to buy the R600. Excellent sound and good bass! To listen in a good volume I never had to push the control bottom over 10 o’clock. If I want to put a high volume I never had to go over 12 o’clock. Yesterday I received a subwoofer Polk HT10…today I ordered another o
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  • GDCbrasil
    GDCbrasil Posts: 4
    …another one Polk HT10 sub. So will be in stereo.👍🎼🎼
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