Polk L600

nooshinjohn · February 22

Brock’s point about break-in time is not an understatement. Figure about 100 hours before they open up and around 200 hours before they really start to shine. Bass will continue to improve beyond that. It took about 300 hours for my L800’s to finally settle in to where they are now.

Clipdat · February 23

Using this L600 thread as an excuse to post the glowing TAS review: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/polk-l600-loudspeaker/

muncybob · February 23

That's the review that sealed it for me. They normally make my mouth water when talking about equipment that I would need to win the lottery to afford.

So, I only have about an hour in with these. It was suggested to turn off the sub first, which I thought I had but didn't. As soon the sound started I about jumped out of my chair....way too much bass. The sub was set to play nice with the SDAs but the L600s don't need that. I turned it off and the bass was "nice" with moderate volume but I would not describe it as giving a tactile feeling(which playing the Van Morrison album is not something to expect anyways). So I decided to add the sub with crossover and volume settings adjusted properly and wow, what a difference.

Other than the bass, first impressions could be summed up by my wife's comment when she strolled into the room, they are so "clear". I've sometimes felt I needed the lyric sheet to know what Morrison is saying. I was surprised to not feel that way.

Soundstage is so different from the SDAs and in a good way. Location of vocals and instruments were very easy to pick up on. At times I really felt like Van was right there in front of me. I think I need to experiment with toe in though since the sweet spot seems very narrow, just the slightest change in position was noticeable. But in the right spot I was immersed and pleasantly surprised in how good they sound. If break in is going to make a them even better, I'm stoked!

Geoff4rfc · February 23

muncybob wrote: »

I know what I'm gonna do tonight.

Very nice looking room!!

heiney9 · February 23

The bass will come around. I would keep the sub off until they are fully broken in. In fact, the bass is the last thing to hit it's stride when break-in is over.

So be patient. At first when I was listening to my L600's I wondered the same thing, what's all this great praise for the octaves of bass. But you will be rewarded with patience.

The mids are too die for and not in an overt way, they are buttery smooth and this generation ring radiator tweeter is phenomenal.

IMO, with the right gear, these punch way above their price point. I don't know how Polk does it, but even after a corporate buy-out, when most companies become mediocre, Polk keeps hitting home runs.

H9

nooshinjohn · February 23

heiney9 wrote: »

The bass will come around. I would keep the sub off until they are fully broken in. In fact, the bass is the last thing to hit it's stride when break-in is over.

So be patient. At first when I was listening to my L600's I wondered the same thing, what's all this great praise for the octaves of bass. But you will be rewarded with patience.

The mids are too die for and not in an overt way, they are buttery smooth and this generation ring radiator tweeter is phenomenal.

IMO, with the right gear, these punch way above their price point. I don't know how Polk does it, but even after a corporate buy-out, when most companies become mediocre, Polk keeps hitting home runs.

H9

I agree with all of the above...

muncybob · February 23

While I have never had new speakers to be concerned about break in, I do see the logic. Would rather have it occur sooner than later....any suggestions? Would be great to not put a ton of hours on my tubes but I only have 1 pre at the moment.

VR3 · February 23

Run them in the back ground for a few weeks at lower volumes on some non tube gear

Milito · February 24

Congrats on your L600's, I love mine.

They do take awhile to break in.

muncybob · April 5

Been reading John's thread on building these speakers, really interesting as i wondered about the innards but there is no way I'm taking mine apart to have a look.

Has anybody listened to these without the covers on? I recalled a thread on the old SDAs and if people liked to listen to them with the covers off, so I tried that with my 2Bs and I kinda liked it. But, when doing the same with the L600s I quickly put the covers back on. Can't put my finger on what the difference was but I didn't like it. Seemed to do something negative to the mids?

heiney9 · April 5

I remember there being a professional reviewer that preferred the grills on the L600's. I haven't listened with them off.

H9

smglbrth · April 8

Tried the sound both ways also on my R600's. Granted, not the same speaker but I also quickly put the grills back on. I didn't like the grills off either. Almost as if the speaker didn't blend well without them.