Honest opinions on the Polk L800 speakers
geppy1
Posts: 3,059
I have an opportunity to get a pair of these at a good price but am trying to avoid a situation were I get them and may not like them (I will know pretty quickly) and then have to get rid of them. I am a believer in trying and comparing but it is a chunk of change.
Listening them where they are in a showroom does not really tell me much other then they work as they sound will change based on room ,gear and cables.
The other issue is my current speakers are Mirage m3si which are legendary for a reason as they are excellent in many ways and are so real sounding. I also have beat up Mag 1.6QRs Excellent in their own right but different.
I have read some real good reviews but also some that were luke warm to not impresse. I do not know what to think.
I keep thinking I have tried to many speakers to count and most had their strong point in way or another so maybe I should stop where I am because I keep coming back to the Mirage units.Thanks
FYI Amp is a Rogue Cronus Magnum II or B&K st 2140
Listening them where they are in a showroom does not really tell me much other then they work as they sound will change based on room ,gear and cables.
The other issue is my current speakers are Mirage m3si which are legendary for a reason as they are excellent in many ways and are so real sounding. I also have beat up Mag 1.6QRs Excellent in their own right but different.
I have read some real good reviews but also some that were luke warm to not impresse. I do not know what to think.
I keep thinking I have tried to many speakers to count and most had their strong point in way or another so maybe I should stop where I am because I keep coming back to the Mirage units.Thanks
FYI Amp is a Rogue Cronus Magnum II or B&K st 2140
Comments
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The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, 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 380d DSDIn retirement...TriangleArt Reference SE with Walker Precision Motor Drive, Yamaha CD-S2100 SACD Player.“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
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I didn't like them, it was like surround sound from 2 speakers. I prefer the original SDA presentation.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Any speaker you plan to use for 2 channel will take time to dial in. It may require changing all of your gear.
Running three different pairs of speakers on one setup unlikely will provide satisfactory results for all three- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
An important question is what are the dimensions and shape of the room. The L800s need room to do their best with a symmetrical space to side walls being best. They need the same type of space a pair of properly set up Magnepans need. I've found them to be the best dual use home theater/stereo speakers I've ever had. That's what they were designed to be.
I've experienced a pair of the Mirage M3si before. As long as they're in excellent shape and I was still very happy with them I'd likely stick with them.
What's driving the interest in replacing them? What are their shortfalls now? -
All the above plus, that the showroom experience should have given you some sense of performance and sound signature even without the specifics of your own room and other gear, IF..
...the quality of the equipment used was good stuff, and the speakers were placed as recommended in the manual, which you can download. Very important to review this to make sure you won't have any severe limitations.
The L800s' SDA took some getting used to for me. It diffused the sound stage a *lot* as part of the width expansion. I was not expecting this, and didn't like it at first, so this something to consider.
The other adjustment I had to make was a lifestyle one - a very narrow sweet spot for sit-down listening. Some others have not experienced this, but this meant I couldn't sit off to the side, reading, for example, while listening to music, because the opposite channel dropped off quickly, and I found this to be very distracting. The closer I approach the front of one speaker from the listenIng seat, the more the opposite channel fades.
As noted by others above, placement is huge, and I specifically found that I couldn't have any other blocky gear or furniture within a foot or two of the speakers for the best sound. I vaguely recall congestion, loss of SDA, loss of bass detail and presence in a big way, and thin sound, overall. Not an acceptable experience. Clearing the front baffle rule did not remedy, and/or was not enough. I think this issue I experienced has to do with the bottom porting design, in part.
I found the SDA in these speakers giving the sense of presenting the music on an arc, projecting about 3-4ft out and forward at the sides. I enjoyed this.
I still have the L800s, but am currently using conventional speakers due to the dual differential input integrated I'm using right now. Also thoroughly enjoying these conventional speakers, so, again, lending support to @Emlyn 's note re: your Mirage.I disabled signatures. -
I like ‘em
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Crutchfield is now showing the L800s as being a discontinued item, although they've been out of stock there for a while now...
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_700L800BA/Polk-Audio-Legend-L800-Black-Ash.html?tp=185
Also gone from Music Direct...
https://www.musicdirect.com/equipment/speakers/polk-audio-legend-l800-tower-speakers-pair/ -
Still available from Polk.
https://www.polkaudio.com/en-us/product/floor-standing-towers/l800Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
I love mine. The're the most revealing speakers I've ever owned. One thing I have noticed though, they will punish you with bright recordings.2-channelBelles 22A Pre, Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 2, Marantz SA8005, Pro-Ject RPM-10 Turntable, Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3B, Polk Audio Legend L800's, AudioQuest Cable throughout.
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I love mine. The're the most revealing speakers I've ever owned. One thing I have noticed though, they will punish you with bright recordings.
If the material is poorly recorded, the speakers will reveal all. I have found that with my choice of DAC and using the proper settings does mitigate that somewhat.
Bottom line is a bad recording is just that.The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, 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 380d DSDIn retirement...TriangleArt Reference SE with Walker Precision Motor Drive, Yamaha CD-S2100 SACD Player.“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
