Polk L600

muncybob · February 14

I am on the verge of pulling the trigger on these. Only reservation I have is will my Parasound HCA1500 A do them justice? I know the specs say they have enough current and they do my 2Bs well, but are the L600 more demanding and will an old amp like this that has never been serviced get it done?

heiney9 · February 14

Yes, they are absolutely phenomenal sounding speakers. But, you don't mention your listening space or your expected volume, for HT use, etc.

I've used a 30wpc Pass Aleph 30 and now the Pass Labs XA25 (25wpc) and neither had issue driving the L600's to volume that runs me out of the room. I use mine in a simple 2ch set-up in a smallish room. Listening position is about 6.5-7.0 feet away. They need to be toed in for best performance.

I continue to be blown away at how articulate, transparent and open they sound w/zero harshness. Bass is phenomenal. My 1C's, while different, don't really compete at all. I thought I'd miss them and I LOVE the SDA's, the L600's are so much better in every way. Never even thought about going back.

Polk should be commended at how well these perform at their price point. They are a nice piece of furniture as well.

If your amp is older and never service, perhaps it should be looked at, but I'd recommend that regardless of whether you were buying new speakers or not.

H9

nooshinjohn · February 14

I just picked up a pair for a friend, but I need to swap parts over from the black cabinets to the brown ones. Polk was kind enough to help out getting the brown cabinets as warranty replacements as he really wanted the brown.

Anyway, I will have an extra set of black cabinets I am thinking of building out. I will take pictures of everything and post them in a separate thread. Polk does not have any 7-inch drivers in stock, so I am looking at possible alternatives. but crossover's, tweeters, grills, turbine cones and everything else is available.

Emlyn · February 14

I ran a pair of LSiM707s to loud volumes with an HCA1500A. Never an issue with it or the speakers. The L600s should be fine with the amp. I would want something a bit stronger like a Parasound A21 with the L800s.

I would not consider the L600s much more demanding to power than the SDA 2Bs but be aware that the L600s have an 86dB sensitivity rating which is relatively low compared to the SDAs. The 4 ohm nominal load will require more from the amp but current isn't a real problem for it. It may take a bit more volume to get them pumping.

heiney9 · February 14

John did you happen to find out the costs of parts? If I'm going to ever mod the x-overs, I'd rather have the original set and a set I could mod.

H9

nooshinjohn · February 14

heiney9 wrote: »

John did you happen to find out the costs of parts? If I'm going to ever mod the x-overs, I'd rather have the original set and a set I could mod.

H9

I will pm you the full list when I get it…

muncybob · February 15

I've read so many positive comments about the L600 speakers that I'm willing to give up the 2Bs for them, something I never thought I would do. The family CFO has given me the green light so as soon as i can come to terms of parting with the 2Bs I'll make the move....I think

The listening room is our "game room" which is 18' X 26' and, with the exception of a small bar at the opposite end of the speaker location and a 16' shuffleboard along one of the long walls, it is wide open. I would also rather the brown speakers but I could live with the black if it saves substantial funds.

nooshinjohn · February 15

muncybob wrote: »

I've read so many positive comments about the L600 speakers that I'm willing to give up the 2Bs for them, something I never thought I would do. The family CFO has given me the green light so as soon as i can come to terms of parting with the 2Bs I'll make the move....I think

The listening room is our "game room" which is 18' X 26' and, with the exception of a small bar at the opposite end of the speaker location and a 16' shuffleboard along one of the long walls, it is wide open. I would also rather the brown speakers but I could live with the black if it saves substantial funds.

The bad news is that if you order from Polk directly, neither pair is available at the moment. The brown ones have been out of stock since June. If you can swing it, the L800 may be a better fit, given the space you have in there.

muncybob · February 15

The L800 would upset the CFO and I may go without dinner for a week or so. Can't afford to lose that much weight.

The listening chair is about 10' away from the center of the speakers and the 2Bs actually did a decent job even if I was sitting at the bar at the far end of the room.

Wonder why they can't keep up with demand for the brownies.

nooshinjohn · February 15

There are no 7 inch drivers in stock.

Emlyn · February 15

Crutchfield has the brown walnut version of the L600 in stock. Says low stock. Full price. Going to be tough to find a deal on the Legend line unless a container ship shows up with them on it. I haven't noticed sale prices for quite a while on the Legend lineup.

rooftop59 · February 15

https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/polkl600-brn/polk-audio-legend-l600-pair-7-3-way-floor-standing-speaker-brown/1.html

Buy now think later!

heiney9 · February 15

rooftop59 wrote: »

https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/polkl600-brn/polk-audio-legend-l600-pair-7-3-way-floor-standing-speaker-brown/1.html

Buy now think later!

Those are factory refurb's, so just beware they are not new and I would check to see if Polk will honor the warranty.

Nothing necessarily wrong with refurb's......as long as you know you're getting refurb's.

Also check Audio Advisor, sometimes they have open box for a great deal.

H9

P.s. I see they come with a lesser warranty.

treitz3 · February 15

Um....the warranty....how can they deal with that if everything is out of stock and has been for seemingly a while?

Just sayin'...

Tom

nooshinjohn · February 15

Already been since last May for some of these...

rooftop59 · February 15

I have bought polks from them refurb no problem. I have never had a problem with passive speakers. What the hell do you people do with your speakers?!?

treitz3 · February 15

Good question. I have been in this hobby for 40 years. I blew (or more likely, overcooked) a tweeter at an audio event where the folks there wanted more and more volume.

Way too much IMO but it was what it was.

Tom

Kex · February 16

rooftop59 wrote: »

I have bought polks from them refurb no problem. I have never had a problem with passive speakers. What the hell do you people do with your speakers?!?

Some refurbs are obviously refurbs. Others, not so much. I’ve had various eperiences.

My first refurb ever was a harman/kardon AVR. It was in excellent shape, but there was one scuff mark that was detectable if you knew where to look for it.

I’ve bought refurbs from Apple which come packaged differently from the original, but otherwise look as they have never been touched by a humanoid life form since new, including power cords and chargers.

A refurbished AppleTV from Best Buy had very obvious markings that showed that it had spent some time in a wall mount. It functioned perfectly and since the remote doesn’t require line of sight, was always in a cabinet anyway.

I definitely wouldn’t shy away from refurbs from reputable sources.

YMMV

muncybob · February 16

Well, I pulled the trigger on the refubs in walnut. 2 yr Polk warranty included. Should be here before next weekend. Now I need somebody to buy my 2Bs.

First indoor speakers we've bought in 20+ years.

heiney9 · February 17

muncybob wrote: »

Well, I pulled the trigger on the refubs in walnut. 2 yr Polk warranty included. Should be here before next weekend. Now I need somebody to buy my 2Bs.

First indoor speakers we've bought in 20+ years.

Congrats! You're in for a real treat! Be aware these take quite a bit of time to break in, at least in my experience. You may find if you can set them up optimally you may no longer need your sub.

IMO, run them for awhile past break in without your sub to really get a feel for what they can do. The bass is really impressive.

Be sure and post along the "break in" way........

H9

heiney9 · February 17

rooftop59 wrote: »

I have bought polks from them refurb no problem. I have never had a problem with passive speakers. What the hell do you people do with your speakers?!?

I wasn't really commenting on the nature of refurbs (good or bad) but to be aware they were refurbs, that's all. I've bought refurbed and open box stuff all the time. It's a good way to stretch the $$$$.

H9

muncybob · February 17

It was a toss up between open box black and the refurbs. Black $200 cheaper, but no warranty from Polk. When I realized that it was a no brainer, besides the Mrs likes the walnut better. Now it's a waiting game, just hope we don;t have any major winter storms here or the driver won't even think about coming up our road.

muncybob · February 22

I know what I'm gonna do tonight.

Emlyn · February 22

Looking good! Polk refurbs have always arrived to me looking like brand new.

muncybob · February 22

Well packaged and not a blemish on them, can't say that for the box though.

Kex · February 22

Maybe the damaged box was why they got tagged as refurbished… when you buy something “expensive” new, it’s nice to receive the product in a flattering package.

Toolfan66 · February 22

Emlyn wrote: »

Looking good! Polk refurbs have always arrived to me looking like brand new.

THIS^^^^ I would never have a problem ordering their refurbs..

Viking64 · February 22

Kex wrote: »

damaged box, flattering package.

My stage name was "Damaged Box" but I changed it to "Flattering Package".

Kex · February 22

🤣

heiney9 · February 22

IMO, they need to be toed in more than you think. Experiment with placement, but ultimately toed in sounds best to me in my equilateral triangle listening position.

They need a good amount of break in too

Congrats, can't wait to hear your impressions from first listen and beyond. They are a lot different than SDA's

H9

heiney9 · February 22

muncybob wrote: »

Well packaged and not a blemish on them, can't say that for the box though.

My L600's that came paletted from Polk had a big gash in the box. Looked like a fork from a lift truck. Clean through the box and all other packing material. Made a very light scratch on the lower backside of the speaker.

The light has to be right to even see it. I never pursued a replacement because of the hassle. Those speakers are heavy.

H9

Polk L600

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