Big Brother Polk

Tour2ma

I also got the boot, right after chosing not to disclose my annual income.

Obviously targeting a certain demographic...

So now we just have to figure out what RuSs, Russ, Jstas, doro and shack have in common. John is kind of an unknown, but based upon Charleston observations, it would be a lot easier if shack hadn't made it through...

danger boy

really though.. if you want to guage a market of consumers of hi fi audio.. you would have a better demo if you let everyone complete the survey. otherwise.. by kicking some people out of the survey... your sample of the market is skewed.. by letting thru only those people who fit a certain narrow profile.

it would be like asking senior citizens to comment on the new Eminem CD. huh??

dorokusai

If the boot factor is based on income, or at least one of the indicators, that's lame.

Income has nothing to do with the motivation to buy a product.

Tour- WTF does that mean? Regardless of what we have in common, or lack thereof, it shouldn't be an issue. I know it's not an issue with you, but that doesn't read very well.

nebborjk

I got the boot after the income question as well. No biggie.

reeltrouble1

Ying is to Yang
as
Wave is to ____ ?

shack

I don't know, but the each page of the survey seemed to load much faster after I disclosed my income as $1,000,000.00 +. Maybe just a coincidence....

audiobliss

Originally posted by shack
I don't know, but the each page of the survey seemed to load much faster after I disclosed my income as $1,000,000.00 +. Maybe just a coincidence....

rofl; I'll hafta remember that if they ever send me a survey.....

tryrrthg

Can someone provide me with a link to the survey?

Thanks!

Jstas

Why do I get the feeling that the way doro can "feel it in his loins" is because he is actually FEELING his loins!



Oh and you don't need to know anything more about me than the fact that I totally effin' rule!

Jstas

Originally posted by tryrrthg
Can someone provide me with a link to the survey?

Thanks!

Seems it's by invitation only through email.

kingtut

I also got booted after the income question. Or is it that I input 0 interest?

kab

Plain and simply, we screwed up!

In our haste to get some answers before Thanksgiving, we made some mistakes. Before I finish my apology, let me clear up a few things regarding the survey.

First, the demographic questions (gender, age, income, etc.) are not the reason some of you were not invited to complete the survey. It was unfortunate that it gave you that message after the income question. The qualifying factors were based on your answers to the first two question regarding interest in and ownership of a premium table radio.

Secondly, regardless of how much of the survey you completed, your name has been entered in the drawing.

I have spent the morning with the research company to correct these issues.

For those who did not complete the survey and would like to give "Big Brother" another chance, you will be getting an email shortly with an new link to the survey. You will not be disqualified.

Finally, please forgive our brain ****. Your good will and opinions mean the world to us.

Al

F1nut

Al, thank you and not to worry, we still love ya.

audiobliss

Awesome. Hearing about and seeing evidence of a company that cares for their customers so much makes me say, "I can't wait to get something Polk!!" lol

Amazing!

kingtut

Thanks for the clarification Al.

gmorris

I was also booted after the question about kids.

I tell you what I would be interested in. A Polk table top radio that picked up AM/FM, XM satellite & Sirius satellite, kind of a universal table top radio. Obviously, you'd still need a subscription to either satellite services, but I still think a universal receiver would be awesome.

The uni. rec. would also have pre-outs to connect to your main rig. This would kick ****. I could take the table top radio to work with me, listen to Stern when he goes to Sirius, then bring it home, connect it to my 2 channel rig, and go nuts.

madmax

Originally posted by gmorris
I tell you what I would be interested in. A Polk table top radio that picked up AM/FM, XM satellite & Sirius satellite, kind of a universal table top radio. Obviously, you'd still need a subscription to either satellite services, but I still think a universal receiver would be awesome.

I agree. Also, I want it to pick up the local weather radio and emergency alert stations. Shortwave would clench the deal.

madmax

Tour2ma

Thanks for shedding some light here, Al.

Funny thing is there is a Bose Wave in the house... it's just not mine.

I've learned to embrace my brain farts while I am still aware enough to recognize them. For example:

doro,
I have reread my "what they have in common" post twice and have no idea what I was going after. However, I remember it being funny late last night.

kab

I want to thank everyone for being so forgiving. I just finished sending out clarifications and apologies to a motherload of unhappy Club Polk members.

As you have guessed by now, we're interested in seeing if there are any opportunities in the premium table radio market. I know a lot of people (audiophiles included) that have a high-end radio in some remote location, like next to the bed.

The radio market is huge but there are already a few brands out there trying to split the premium radio pie. Bose of course is far ahead.

Now the last thing the world needs is another fancy me too radio. However, there seems to be some opportunities for a product that offers features, performance and/or connectivity that the others overlooked. This is the purpose of the survey. What things are important and how important are they compared one to another?

I'm glad to see that the thread has migrated to defining the table radio instead of reminding me how stupid we can sometime be. I already knew that although I am often suprised by when it manifests itself.

I'm eager to hear you thoughts on the radio. If you want to do it here we won't have to wait for the survey.

Al

shack

Well kab...for what it is worth....as I said above, there is 0 possibility of me ever buying a "premium table radio" for my personal use. Some of the prices in the survey approached $500-$700. For that amount cash I can put together a small music system that will blow the table top away. Will it be as compact?...No...but that is not my criteria. In my office I use a Denon stereo receiver, single disc Sony CD player and some Polk RT25is. The speakers and CD player were purchased new and the receiver was refurbed. I have well under $400 in the rig. I would bet the farm that it outperforms any table top radio out there.

I could be wrong....but it seems to me that the members of this forum are not your target audience....I know I'm not.

phoneisbusy

My initial reaction was also why a premium table top radio when I could assemble a cheap system for the same or less? Upon reflection I can see where there would be some appeal.

a) WAF. I don't think a full blown stereo rig in the bedroom is going to fly especially if it takes up more space then the premium system.
b) Simplicity. The bedroom is my wife's haven and she'd be listening to the radio as much if not more then me. She appreciates sound quality but it's not a deal breaker for her. Another complicated system with another difficult remote would be though.

For me, if I were to consider one, the SQ has to be very good. I was initalially puzzled with the idea of a mono output but then again, how much stereo separation can you get from an tabletop radio? (i.e. I don't know the answer to this, I'd appreciate the insight though).

The support for the new formats is appealing but I'm not sure if all of them would be available to me. Could that part be modularized so people can plug in a card for satellite/NPR/wireless support?

regards

Dave

Jstas

Honestly, I'd be willing to buy one but I can't see spending $300 or more on a Clock radio that plays CD's. Also, if it's gonna have two speakers, it should be stereo, not mono. It should play all the latest formats and media styles including the compressed audio formats like MP3 and WMA. About the only thing I wouldn't miss in it is SACD.

The tuner should be able to drag in stations and hold on to the signal like a rabid wolverine. I also like the idea of a universal satellite tuner. I'd rather have my gear allow me to have my choice of service than have my choice of service dictate my choice of gear.

Weather bands and maybe even TV bands would be nice but not necessary. They have added cost for not much benefit.

As far as audio reproduction goes, I'd expect good, full sound. It doesn't have to lie and tell me it's "room filling" or anything. I would like to see some good detail in the sound with a good dynamic range. It's a clock radio so listening will be fairly near-field anyway. Loud isn't as important.

I think a line stage output would be a good thing especially with the satellite and HD tuner capabilities the survery seemed to lean towards. I think an input would also be a good thing that way you could add maybe a laptop computer if you want the sound reproduction capabilities of a DVD player to watch movies or MP3 player on your hard drive. It'd be good for watching Internet TV too. You could also stick a portable DVD player on the system too and use the radio as a pre-amp/amp setup for your laptop PC or DVD player.

A remote is a good idea too. I think size is a factor too. The Blose unit is rather large in size due to it's bass-reflex enclosure. I don't think it needs to be that big. I also don't like the cheap, plastic case that the unit's guts are enclosed in. I would be much more intered in a wood cased unit like what was in the survey.

The only way I would consider paying more than $300 is if it was in a REAL wood case with a "jewelery" like finish too it and LOOKED like it was worth $300+. Not like teh Blose or Cambridge Soundworks units which have some nice functionality but look like a cheap, early 90's Sony boombox.

One thing that is an absolute MUST is that there MUST be controls on the unit itself. None of this "remote only" BS that Blose is trying to shove down people's throats.

Jstas

Forgot one more thing! A big plus to justifying a $300+ price-point would be the ability to be networked with computer equipment or even a broadband connection for Internet based radio and such. If it could integrate with something like Netgear's wireless media router and such that would be an excellent feature that has benefits that will only increase and wireless technology advances.

gmorris

And it should be able to make toast and open beer bottles!!!!:p

Jstas

Originally posted by gmorris
And it should be able to make toast and open beer bottles!!!!:p

Obviously you either didn't get the survey or you were deemed unacceptable by the survey 'cause all that stuff is what was in the survey.

phoneisbusy

Originally posted by gmorris
And it should be able to make toast and open beer bottles!!!!:p

A hot running amp section for the first requirement and a carefully designed crome grill should take care of the other.

regards

Dave

Tour2ma

Al,
Thanks for the 2nd chance. Just finished it... Interesting survey design.

Had a severe case of AADD about midway through all those tables comparing the four radios with varying options, etc., and now I need a nap, but otherwise it was a good experience...

MacLeod

Just my $.02 but Id be willing to pay around $200-300 for a premium radio /CD player.

But apparantly, Im not worthy of a survey.

madmax

Just one more thought about the survey. To me it looked a little odd. As I started filling it out with one question at a time I kept thinking it might be a fake and was expecting that any minute some screaming witch getting her head cut off would appear or possibly a Bose wave radio would start playing full blast. Either one just as bad.
madmax

danger boy

bottom line really thought guys.... i don't need or want a premium table radio. if i got the funds and space.. i'd rather put together a decent 2 ch rig. used.. would cost about the same.. and sounds 1,0000000000000000 times better.