How has Club Polk ruined you?

Jstas

So, an old cow irker was talking about a new vinyl rig he assembled to bring home from his latest employment foray to Japan. He asked what everyone else back home has for their rigs.

The usual Technics and various levels of Kabuki speakers with all kinds of different amplification was offered up for discussion.

I chime in with my vinyl rig setup

Micro Seiki DD35
Peachtree Nova
AudioART phono pre (highly underrated pre)
Totem Acoustic "Rainmaker" bookies

His response "I have never heard of any of that"

Next response from another former cow irker made a slam about me being one of them "audiophiles" they've heard about.

I've run the LSiM 703s in that rig as well as the Signature Series demo and the Nova doesn't like heavy loads like them. BUT, Phil and Lou hooked the LSiM 703s up to Phil's d class amps on that rig and they shined like diamonds using the Peachtree as a pre-amp.

Anyway, I tried to identify with peers and Club Polk made me seem like an audio snob elitist.

So how has Club Polk ruined you?

audioluvr

Nope. It's just you. You audiophile snob you!

daddyjt

I never gave cables a second thought before I started participating here…

Tony M

I can't say Club Polk has ruined me—just the opposite.

It's enlightened me about where I fall in the "Audio Merchandise" purchasing scale.

My budget and now my ears age are doing just fine by me. I've been lucky to own what I do and to have a place to listen to it in many ways.

This Club has helped me fix some Polk speakers along the way.

I now have an MTM set of my neighbor's homemade speakers ( I own them now) I'm about to post about. The cross-overs were/are a MESS and quite complicated for my elementary knowledge. I'll post pics of the messy problems very soon.

I need help understanding these parts. they did sound very good but one speaker was cutting off and on and when I saw the wiring, I KNEW WHY.

nooshinjohn

I was happy with Monitor 50’s and a Yamaha receiver when I came here…

Dennis Gardner

The forum helped me realize that gear acquisition syndrome is real and that I could be an addict if I allowed myself. The wife never heard a difference or cared enough to learn how to listen critically and thus never shared my passion of having that never ending improvement in system synergy. I have since shaken the monster and stayed with my same gear for coming up on a decade now. The decade of the 2000s was an expensive time for me and tested the tensile strength of my wife's patience with new gear showing up unannounced.

mrbigbluelight

It's made me lazier than I thought possible.
I can just sit back in the LazyBoy and soak up all the hard won information and insights that you peoples have gathered over many years and I don't have to expend any of my moneys or energies of my own
A Win-Win I'd say 🤗

.....okay maybe you don't win, but that's okay. I'm not responsibe . 👍🤗

Willow

Hasn't ruined me one bit, but educated me!! It did ruin my wallet for other hobbies but now that I have stopped the search for newer gear (although I will eventually get a second sub and only because I want the front stage to look the same) I have more money to through at bikes and bike parts. (oh and kids competitive activities)

motorstereo

For me it completely ruined my cd, vinyl and fm radio playback since I bought a streamer here on the Polk marketplace last year.
On the plus side those annoying commercials on fm radio have become a distant memory, stylus wear is a thing of the past and who knows if my cd player is still functional.

xschop

I went from modding automotive to audio. Met some good people here and still learning along the way.

muncybob

I thought my SDA 2Bs sounded good before I read here about updating them. That was the start of the small rabbit hole for me, no regrets though.

rooftop59

nooshinjohn wrote: »

I was happy with Monitor 50’s and a Yamaha receiver when I came here…

Very similar...I was happy with a 5.1 of Monitor 30s, CS1, R150 surrounds with a PSW10 and a very basic Denon receiver...

Kex

I started out owning Cabasse and a NAD stereo integrated before Polk.

Polk forum hasn’t really ruined me. I mostly bought second hand bargains thanks to the information gleaned from the threads herein, but also some brand new Polks that I still use.

I’m ready for some new gear now, but if there’s one thing I have retained, it’s that:

1. Only my own ears can tell me what I like. Not reviews or the opinions of others. So I’ll hold off on my next major purchases until I’ve heard them for myself.
2. Synergy can be difficult. So again, I’ll hold off on my next major purchase until I can check out my choices of gear and speakers together.

I’ve tried Denon and harman/kardon thanks to recommendations here and over on AVS Forum, but I’ve mostly stuck with NAD for amplification, after a short lived foray into Emotiva gear.

My best setup, other than Cabasse, has been an amazing 5.0 setup with RT55 mains and rears, and a CS400 center. I did have a subwoofer too, ending with a Rythmik that I still have and still hate.

I bought a JoLida hybrid here on the forum for two channel that was (is) absolutely fabulous at just 30W/ch. I later added a JoLida CD player, also form here, that has sat in a box in storage ever since, sadly.

Also a Dodd Elp pre bought here that @george daniel himself recommended, having been fully serviced by Dodd. That too is in storage. A couple of other members tried it out while it was on its way to me (they only had to pay the shipping costs to each other, and then to me. I paid the original shipping to the first recipient).

A couple of SACD players from Oppo and Pioneer are also now in storage.

Lots of cables from Signal Cable and our own @ben62670 (if I got that right). All of them in storage.

Finally, a rather interesting pair of Mark & Daniel monitors, bought from the reviewer who used to contribute here, featuring ribbon tweeters and high excursion drivers. I found them really quite excellent for their diminutive size, and while the brand seems to survive today, they’re not very active. Those too, are gathering dust in their original boxes.

So yeah, other than a bunch of stuff in storage, that includes a pair of never used LSiM 705, I haven’t done too badly.

billbillw

@Jstas
I wouldn't say anything in your system makes you a snob elite. Relative to some of the systems Ive seen discussed around here (or at other more uppity forums that call out "the Best"), it is quite modest.
I think your former cow irkers just think that if they buy it new, and it was expensive, then it must be great. Ignorance is bliss for those who don't take the time to understand value and synergy.
This forum hasn't ruined me. If anything, it has saved me tons of money by narrowing focus and gleaning from years of experienced that other members have shared.

Milito

It hasn't ruined me, but cost me money spent on my system which I'm not complaining about.
Thanks to people here and info provided I do have a better system which I enjoy more, although my hearing is getting worst as I get older. Because of that it makes me not want to not spend more money on my system as music doesn't sound as good to me as 1-2 years ago and I don't enjoy it as much as I use to listening to music. The joy of getting old.
That's why I don't visit the forum as much as I use to. I don't plan on not dropping by, just not as much as in the past.

lightman1

It made me move to Iowa and get married. Y'all suck

treitz3

It made me meet Russ. After that, I was definitely ruined.....and my bushes too.

Tom

jdjohn

My starting point was a Sony receiver, and CD player, with a pair of CV speakers.

Looking back on the amount of money I've spent since joining this happy brood, I could have bought a 'few' nice cars for what I've spent on audio gear. But, once you hear true hi-fi, and the old adage occurs of, 'I never noticed that before', in playback, it is hard to turn back.

xschop

lightman1 wrote: »

It made me move to Iowa and get married. Y'all suck

Look on the bright side. You didn't wake up from a Polk gathering married.

nooshinjohn

xschop wrote: »

lightman1 wrote: »

It made me move to Iowa and get married. Y'all suck

Look on the bright side. You didn't wake up from a Polk gathering married.

Lightman has a thing for skinny jeans and Polkfarmboy was all to giddy to accommodate his fetish. 🥹🥹🤣

mantis

Ruined? No, but actually met a lot of cool people in here in person , made some killer trades over the decades. Enriched many peoples systems , love the passion many in here have, some need a smack every once in a while but I'm not the one who needs to do the smacking.

Cables? Yeah been down that road to many times and I'm over it.

mhardy6647

Speaking of trades... and karmas and outright gifts -- far too many people here have been far too kind to me over the years!
The generosity (of numerous kinds) of folks on this forums cannot be under-emphasized, and I am deeply appreciative of it.

Geoff4rfc

It's turned me into an audio snob, that's what my gf calls me anyway. I personally don't think it's a bad thing

But hey....since I quit racing, I needed something else to obsess over....I've come to the right place lol