Polk Audio VM20 - Loudspeaker - Demo

dorokusai

This demo is for a pair of Polk Audio VM20 Loudspeaker.

DEMO IS CLOSED

This is open to all active Club Polk members within the CONUS. Sorry, no Alaska or Hawaii at this time.

You'll have two(2) weeks to listen to the speaker(s) and when the demo is completed, contact me for shipping arrangements to the next person.

Please post your subsequent review in the product pages of the homepage. You HAVE to take the time to do this folks. You don't have to gush and pour sugar on everything, just be candid, be honest, be real.

Please post your review here.

If you are interested in this idea?...please send your name, shipping address, daytime/evening phone number and email to mnestor@polkaudio.com

IF YOU ARE IN THIS DEMO PROGRAM, AND YOU CHANGE YOUR RESIDENCE, IT'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO LET ME KNOW THE NEW ADDRESS. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE IN ANYMORE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

DEMO LIST:
Silverti (Completed)
Jwhitakr (Completed)
ErnDog (Completed)
Disc Jockey (Completed)
Treitz3 (Completed)
TAMPA POLK GATHERING (Completed)
Phuz - TX (Completed)
Jstas - NY - (ACTIVE)
Shack - TN (Completed)
Comfortablycurt - IL - (Completed)
Conradicles - NC (Completed)
Leroyjr1 - WI
Serendipity - NY
Cstmar01 - WI (Completed)
IRLracefan - MI (Completed)
Mole' - CA
Messiah - IL
Tibet16 - MD
Upstatemax - NY

schwarcw

Nice karma Mark!

I'm not in, although I like Pug dogs.

Are the new VM series marketed for home theater applications?

Nice pic's are always kewl!:D

wingnut4772

Im in if I can keep them.:D

Ricardo

Nice karma; if I win, I'll use them 3 days in my HT in place of the RTi8's, and 3 days in the 2 Channel room.

I own:
RTi8's
CSi5
Atrium 55's
Monitor 7B's
Polk Tuner
Isonic
Polk Banner:cool:

Have Owned:
SDA 1B's
SDA SRS's
SDA SRS's 1.2TL's
SDA SRS's 3.1TL's

The Big Question?

I expect Polk to continue flowing to what the consumers want; at the end this is what will keep it competitive (small speakers, in-walls, ithis and ithat, etc.). BUT, I would love to see Polk come out with a serious 2 channel/audiophile line; this would include high end speakers, and also a line of components; preamps, amps and digital sources, and why not, cables. I think Polk has created itself a good enough name that would easily open the door into this market.

dorokusai

schwarcw wrote: »

Nice karma Mark!

I'm not in, although I like Pug dogs.

Are the new VM series marketed for home theater applications?

Nice pic's are always kewl!:D

I can only offer an observation at the moment but it looks to be for the flat screen and aesthetics based folks. We currently have some other hardcore Polkies burning them in on-site as we speak

I snapped this photo when I had them....

BaggedLancer

Awesome Karma

After just reading the press release those speakers are wayyyyy outta my league. I'd be afraid I'd like them too much and start selling things like my bed, furniture, appliances and other non necessary items to fund the purchase of them.

It's great to see polk coming out with such a nice looking loudspeaker. The tall narrow design is really going to sell well in homes looking for space saving alternives to a large, wide, heavy speaker. Mounted on a wall next to a flat panel or even on a fireplace next to flat panel those will look fantastic.

Interested in the real estate market as a potential future career(house flipping), being a marketing and entrepreneurship major in my 5th year at school I'm going to say these speakers will clearly fill a customer need for an upper end wall mounted speaker. Lightweight, good looking, slim, what more could you ask for from a Polk product other than it unpacking itself from the box and hanging itself on the wall when it arrives to your home.

One of the biggest things I hope to see from Polk, which I have yet to see from any speaker maker(maybe I missed it) and may sound like a "cheap" feature, is possibly interchangable casing covers(held on by clips or something) included or able to be purchased as an extra(i.e. pick one color with the initial purchase and each extra set is $100/pair).

In todays market, style is everything.......people need things to match. With the number of different TV makers out there, there are now so many different colors, gloss black, flat black, silver, two tone, etc....it might really be need to see something like this.

EDIT: And on another note, ability to remain in a cost effective home theater market is essential. With college kids graduating with tens of thousands in debt(:rolleyes:), there is little money to be spent on extra toys, however a home theater is always something someone in their mid twenties wants in their first apartment/home. After all, my generation is the next in the line for being tailored to for product development

VR3

Im curious if these speakers will be at PF -

I REALLY want to hear them as I have some possible future uses for them...

Just curious

BaggedLancer

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote: »

Im curious if these speakers will be at PF -

I REALLY want to hear them as I have some possible future uses for them...

Just curious

HT in the new truck?

dorokusai

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote: »

Im curious if these speakers will be at PF -

I REALLY want to hear them as I have some possible future uses for them...

Just curious

No, this is an exclusive Club Polk Karma.

Ted(Reeltrouble1) has pulled out all the stops for his 2007 Polkfest and you will absolutely not be disappointed. The VM series will be the last thing you'll be worried about when Ted is in a toga and Jesse is giving haircuts.

dorokusai

Ricardo and BaggedLancer, you have been entered into the fray.

janmike

Well, I am not qualified to enter as my location is just a little above the 49th parallel. Darn, oh well.

What my expectations are and what I would like to see are two different things. I would like to see Polk really come out with an upper end flagship model that is geared toward the true audiophile tastes. While the LSI series is a great product I would like to see Polk kick it up one more notch. Market an anniversary product or something special that truly exemplifies to real engineering expertise of the company. Have some of those high-end audio shops want to carry the Polk speakers along with the likes of Wilson, Proac, Sonus Faber, Tyler to mention a few. Will this happen? That is my $0.03 worth. The way the dollar is going it could be that in a few days.

Nice Karma BTW.

dorokusai

Janmike - I would love to involve you Canadian folks but its simply a shipping issue.

Thanks for taking the time to post your comments.

janmike

Hell, I will be in the USA in less than 2 weeks.

F1nut

Ok Mark, the game is up. You told me if I ever used cable lifters you'd have to smack me or some such. Looks like I'm going to have to smack you.

BTW, not in.

dorokusai

Janmike - Email me.

BaggedLancer

Those aren't cable lifters, those are shot glasses that fell off the table and ended up under the cables, he just didn't see them till he took those pics.

Ern Dog

I'm in. I currently own Monitor 30's, Csm and Rti10's. In the past I had a psw10 and Monitor 70's.

Common complaints I've heard over the year I've been part of this forum is that Polk sub-woofers are not up to snuff and secondly that the Rti line is too bright. My expectation is that Polk takes their customer's concerns seriously and addresses it. Now I haven't heard the new Rti line, so maybe part of this is a mute point, not sure yet. But they could put more energy into developing a stronger sub. As always I'd expect the price to performance ratio to remain consistent as this is Polk's strength.

Lowell_M

I'd like to throw my name into the mix.

I started my Polk quest with some Polk 6x9's in my car that blew my mind at their price point.

Now I have the speaks in my signature. Next step is to finally get some LSi15's for my 2 channel system.

I think that, in the near future, Polk should freshen the looks of the LSI series, particularly the towers. I would not mess with the sonic nature of them too much.

Also, I really would like to see Polk Audio add an audiophile 2 channel line above and beyond the LSi's. It is true that few would buy these speakers, but from a business standpoint, would give them further brand recognition and ultimately bolster the sales of the LSi line. It is a practice of many companies to market a product so advanced and expensive that few buy that product, but companies have found that it helps sell the next line down. There is a high percentage of consumer who buy the next-to-best line in a product offering. I don't know if this is the case in audio equipment, though.

Lowell_M

Ern Dog wrote: »

I'm in. I currently own Monitor 30's, Csm and Rti10's. In the past I had a psw10 and Monitor 70's.

Common complaints I've heard over the year I've been part of this forum is that Polk sub-woofers are not up to snuff and secondly that the Rti line is too bright. My expectation is that Polk takes their customer's concerns seriously and addresses it. Now I haven't heard the new Rti line, so maybe part of this is a mute point, not sure yet. But they could put more energy into developing a stronger sub. As always I'd expect the price to performance ratio to remain consistent as this is Polk's strength.

You know... it's odd to me that so many of Polks speaker lines are clear leaders at their pricepoint. The LSi's are compared to products costing thousands more. Yet, their subs are the exact opposite. Frequently dissappoinments at their price point.

TroyD

NOT in, for obvious reasons.

What would I like to see?

For one, I'd like to see Polk SET the trends as opposed to following them. I think the LSi series attests to the fact that Polk CAN compete above it's main target audience.

Now, this isn't a 'bring back the SDA' plug in and of itself....however, updated retro seems to be a catching thing in a lot of industries, hell even audio. Klipsch has the Heritage series, AR did well with there 303/302 speakers which were updated AR3a and AR2's........Why not, say, a retooling of the Monitor 7? I honestly think that the retro market has a lot of merit. While I would like to say I'd love to have a new pair of SDA's...the fact is, I doubt that I could afford a new pair of SRS models, however, a reasonably priced pair of Monitor 7's? No brainer.

Lastly, while all the electronics that Polk has put out have been top notch....I really don't want to see Polk position itself as an electronics company. While it's probably great for the bottom line, I'd rather see a few GREAT products than a hundred crappy ones. Eventually, it will happen...it's hard to manage a conglomerate like a small business in the long run. Eventually you have to cede control of a lot of things and that's a recipe for watering down the brand eventually.

I would rather Polk be more like, say, Magnepan, for example than AR, Boston Acoustics, Advent...and the list goes on.

BDT

danger boy

I love demo karma's.. so count me in big boy!

I've owned SDA SRS's with tons of new RD0 tweeters that were a pleasure to listen to. I also used to own a PSW 3fiddy subwoofer

Currently own...
CS400i
RT800i's
FX/300i's
Monitor 7A's
Monitor 7B's
SDA 2A's
SDA 2B's (with new RD0 tweetas)
two pairs of EX 5x7 car audio Polk speakers too.

Well, it would be great if Polk would venture into high quality ear buds.. so that all those bazillion MP3 users could hear some good high quality sound from their mobile players. That would be one area yet not to flooded with high quality earphones.

I'd also like to see Polk in the future gain market shares with an extensive, long term public relations/marketing campaign. Really, the way to sell more speakers is for the public to know you're out there. You can have the best sounding speakers in the universe, but if no one hears or knows about them... then you likely won't be selling as many as you could.

I won't gush on and on about what a great value Polk Audio speakers are. No matter what price tag are placed on speaker, someone out there will buy them. You just have to find the right buyer for your price tag.

Hi Callie, pick me pick me..

Disc Jockey

Polks I currently own:

RTA11TL
RT12
CS400i
RT3
CS245

I like the direction that Polk has taken with the vm line in making them attractive/stylish as well as, I assume, sounding good. I think antyhing Polk can do to their speakers to make them complement home decor as opposed to something people feel they have to live with will serve them well. And while neither I nor my wife mind a "big box" (because the sound is worth it), it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Something that I would like to see in the future would be a component system for ht speakers similar to what's used for car audio. This might work well for people with limited space or odd shaped rooms. Perhaps something like in-wall speakers for the mid bass with seperate small tweeters that can be ceiling or wall mounted. I've just seen way too many funky setups that didn't sound very good because that is all the space/shape allowed and something like this might allow some better imaging in those situations. Obviously, there would be a need for a controller of some sort to allow for time alignment and there are, I'm sure, other difficulties but thought it made an interesting concept.

In please.

DJ

BTW, it looks like Polk needs to fix the press release specifications chart. The VM30 driver complement has the VM20 specs in it.

shack

In.

Current lineup of Polk Speakers and products:

SDA 1C
RT 400
RT55i
RT25i
RT15i
FX300i
CS400i
miDock Portfolio
XRt12 XM tuner

Other Polks owned:

PS200
CS245i

I am a fan of Polk's "bang for the buck" philosophy and it is a reason I bought and still own the brand. I like the LSi speakers but have never owned them even though I was tempted a time or two. Customer service and support is what sets them above the rest for me and is the reason I am loyal to the point of always having some Polks in my house.

I would like to see the LSi series taken up a notch. I REALLY like the look of the new RTi 2008 series speakers with their "all wood look". I've never liked the gloss black on the LSi or the silver look of the Monitor, RTi or RM lines of speakers. I know some do, but I won't buy them as my "main" speakers in my 2 channel rig for that reason. Old school I guess. If the LSis looked like the new RTi 2008 series…I would probably buy them. I might go with something like the RM/VM for my living room TV (that has no HT setup) since it would match the silver. I haven't to date because the RM line was just too expensive for what I feel they offer (one of the few products to NOT meet the bang for the buck criteria).

Their electronics to date have been very good. The wave of the future is MP3 (or similar technology) for the masses and if you don't offer it you will fall by the wayside...unless you are a specialty/audiophile speaker co....which Polk has definitely decided NOT to be. The Portfolio I own is an amazing little piece of gear that sounds better than it should. My daughter loves it for her dorm room.

I have never used Polk Car Audio products.

Polk should continue to take the mainstream HT speaker market seriously but give us “audiofools” something…whether it is a next step LSi or a next generation SDA caliber speaker. Stay out of high end electronics but continue to exploit the MP3 popularity. Get the word out and sell this stuff cause it is good (for what it is).

My .02.

dorokusai

Thanks guys, keep 'em coming.

ninerbj

I am in please!

Current line up includes:

Polk S10's
Polk S4's
Polk LsiC

I use the above for 80% HT 20% 2 channel.

Now, I am fully aware of the "S" series being an entry level type speaker, and I am aware of it's limitations. I have been auditioning several speakers in the last 8 months looking for replacements to complete my setup. Some of these auditions have been but not limited to...
USHER
THIEL
B&W
POLK
WILSON
KLIPSCH
and so on...
I would welcome the chance to audition the new line for I do have a large soft spot in my heart for POLK and would welcome the opportunity to give fair and balanced feedback, not to mention a possible sale.

As far as Polk's future, I would have to agree with Troy in a lot of what he said. The "retro" comment I agree with whole heartedly. Just take a look at how the market, and most importantly the consumer viewed Polk back in the 70's and 80's. I honestly believe Polk has lost a lot of that respect and have fallen into what Troy described as the AR, Boston camps.

I too would rather see Polk dry clean the white lab jackets and make a few great products than several mass consumer wannabes. Although, one must look at the market trend. Audiophiles are a dime a dozen...meaning there are really only about a dozen compaired to the main stream market.
Is this the right philosophy for growing a business and making the bottom line shine for the share holders? It may or may not be, but as long as Polk continues to follow and not lead, their reputation will only continue to suffer in this very fickle market.

Clean those white coats, market who you really are, and the rest will be gravy.

Jstas

I'd like to be in.

UGH! Now I gotta list every Polk Audio product I own!

Home Audio

---

SDA 2B's (signed by Matt Polk, am I nerd or what?)
R15's
Polk Audio XRt12 Tuner
Two pairs of computer speakers that even Polk Paul DiComo can't identify but knows for sure they made them for SGI.
One pair of computer speakers that Polk Paul said were prototypes for HP

Car Audio

---

dB3065
dB6500
dB5250
dB104
dB124
dX12-4
dX10-4
dX9
dX3065
C4
MM12
MM2104
EX401
EX402a
EX501

I think that's it, might be more. The stash is getting too big and I can't remember what's still in the other two trucks.


As far as where Polk is going, I like where they are heading. I think Polk Audio's strong suit has been innovation. They always bring some neat stuff that makes a gigantic difference but doesn't cost the buyer insane amounts of money. Affordable innovations in audio. That's Polk Audio. I mean, look at the SDA stuff. nobody else has come up with something that ingenious that hasn't needed a computer processor to do it. They still can't come close by evidence of the SurroundBar's performance compared to its competition. Something as simple as the Power Port that virtually eliminates port noise through the use of aerodynamics. Everyone wants to roll port edges and blend this and that but nothing I've seen yet has been more effective than Polk's 89 cent, plastic, parabolic cone. For the car audio guys, remember the "Casket Basket"? Yeah, that paved the way for quite a few other companies to change how they looked at subwoofers. My dB subs are still one of the best performing subs I've ever owned and they are 10-12 years old now. Oh and Dynamic Balance. Everyone else was making cones lighter and trying to find things like injection molded polypropylene to make cones stiffer but still be light. Polk went another way and made composite materials that complemented each other and you're still enjoying the benefits of the idea and technology today in the modern Polk speakers. Polk Audio was also one of the first to offer a full enclosed subwoofer system, just add an amp and away you go! They called it the C4 and it was a bandpass that everyone hates but the drivers are in an isobaric arrangement so the whole shebang thumps like anything but still performs like a ported enclosure.

Yeah, innovation. I fear Polk is getting lazy with their innovation and I'd like to see more new and neat stuff coming out of them. I mean sure, the iPod stuff is nice and following a market trend which makes the money but aside from some of the fancy stuff in the in-wall market, those REALLY snazzy SR crossover systems and SurroundBar, the innovation is losing its luster. I mean, sure the iSonic is a very nice application of technology and innovation does include applying old technologies in new ways but it's more than that. Polk Audio has fostered some astounding ideas, a few were ahead of their time. SDA for one, nobody had anything like it except for Carver until home theater started making a big splash. But if Polk Audio has been able to produce technology like that, it is obviously a place where imaginations are allowed to flourish and genius runs wild. That's where innovation comes from too and it's what produces such wild ideas like SDA, Power Ports, Casket Baskets and Dynamic Balance. I'd like to see Polk Audio get down and dirty with something new again that nobody has seen before. I know it's a difficult thing to do but Polk Audio has done it before, they can do it again.

jdhdiggs

Own:
LSi9's
LSi7's

Owned:
SDA1B
RT800's
CSi5
CS245
PSW100
FXi5

What I would like to see from Polk?

1). Keep the nameplate intact after the acquisition (it appears this is the plan)
2). Develop more specialized lines and advertize as such (HT vs 2 Channel) at the high end market
3). Not lose focus on high quality speakers by pursuing newer fancy electronics stuff.
4). One ultra, no holds barred, high end line (I don't believe the LSi's are the best you guys can do)
5). Get the subs up to par. I'm not expecting SVS level bang for buck, but at least on par with Velodyne and Paradigm at their price points.
6). Keep innovating while maintaining a competitive price point-this is Polk Audio's strong suit.

That's about it...

You can consider me interested...

Lowell_M

jdhdiggs wrote: »

Own:
What I would like to see from Polk?

1). Keep the nameplate intact after the acquisition (it appears this is the plan)
2). Develop more specialized lines and advertize as such (HT vs 2 Channel) at the high end market
3). Not lose focus on high quality speakers by pursuing newer fancy electronics stuff.
4). One ultra, no holds barred, high end line (I don't believe the LSi's are the best you guys can do)
5). Get the subs up to par. I'm not expecting SVS level bang for buck, but at least on par with Velodyne and Paradigm at their price points.
6). Keep innovating while maintaining a competitive price point-this is Polk Audio's strong suit.

+1 This is exactly what I was essentially trying to say, but this was a whole lot more articulate....

jdhdiggs

Wow, never been accused of being articulate before.... Thanks!

Lowell_M

jdhdiggs wrote: »

Wow, never been accused of being articulate before.... Thanks!

Well, maybe articulate isn't the right word, ("fancy electronics stuff") :rolleyes: but you summarized clearly what I was thinking and wasn't able to put into print very well.

Demiurge

1: You must currently own Polk Audio loudspeakers. I would like to know what you currently own and perhaps, what have you owned previously.

2: The big question.....Please explain what your expectations are for Polk in the coming years. This is an everchanging industry and I'm wondering what your thoughts are on how Polk should adapt or what products you would like to see from Polk Audio in the near future.

Part 1:

RM6000 Sat Package > RT600i > LSi15

I have a whole lot of other pairs of Polk Speakers, but that's my main progression route thus far.

Part 2:

Tough question, really, because there are so many routes a business can go. I am a pretty firm believer in standing behind your bread & butter as a company goes. I would like to see Polk Audio continute to refine their line of Home Theater/Musical and Car Audio speakers first and foremost. I think continuing to offer similar alternative packages to companies like Bose is also a good idea as well. I would, however, not like to see Polk getting into the iPod/Electronics stuff so much. I think there is a market there, but I'd rather see Polk being known as a great speaker company.

I would like to see Polk Audio continue to offer a "higher end" speaker line like the LSi series, and maybe even venture beyond that.

Other than that, a more aggressive advertising and marketing campaign for Polk would be great. I know full well that advertising costs a whole heck of a lot, but I really don't see many speaker companies trying to get themselves out there to the mainstream like Bose has. I'm sure Polk is sick of the comparision, but it is what it is. Getting yourselves into a few more chain stores & mom and pop audio shops would go a long way.

Thanks for the opportunity!