Maryland PolkFest '08
DarqueKnight
Posts: 6,765
Introduction
This year's PF was covered by 3 members of the audio/video press: Llanor Alleyne of Residential Systems, Rebecca Day of Electronic House, and Wes Phillip's of Stereophile. Immediately prior to PF '08, Matthew Polk invited the press members and a few forum members to his home for socializing and snacks. Forum members were selected based on how how much their online behavior had improved in the past 12 months. Later, Mr. Polk treated us to dinner. Such Good Hospitality. The following pics are from the social at Matt's house and dinner thereafter. Before we left Matt's house, he presented each of the forum members with a choice of gifts: either a Movado or an Omega timepiece. I selected a black ceramic Movado. Press folks received Rolexes.
Figure 1. Matt demonstrates his home theater system for Russman (seated) and Hoosier21.
Figure 2. Matt explains his home theater subwoofer design.
Figure 3. Sixth Gen LSi-SDA! I asked Matt when he was coming out with the next generation SDA's. He pointed to the pair of LSi9 speakers on either side of his HT screen and said "That's them right there". Matt uses two pairs of LSi9's which are fed stereo and dimensional (SDA) signals generated by a digital signal processor. Such Good Sound.
Figure 4. Dinner at a hoity-toity restaurant. Foreground: Matt and Stereophile reviewer Wes Phillips. Just beyond Matt and Wes, I am passing a suspicious looking substance to George Grand.
Figure 5. L-R with faces showing: George Grand, Wes Phillips, Matt Polk, Darqueknight, F1Nut, Reeltrouble1,
Brett22, Ricardo, DAGLJAM & dorokusai. Less well-behaved members of our group were seated at the table behind us.
Figure 6. Forum members presented Matt with a custom made limited edition throwing knife. It will come in
handy at trade shows and audio press interviews...so watch it.
Figure 7. A forum member asked Matt to discontinue product support and parts for the SDA series and devote those resources to current and future loudspeakers. The forum member further stated that it didn't make sense to keep supporting a speaker series that was discontinued 17 years ago. Obviously, the suggestion was not well received.
The Following Pictures Are From Day One Of Polkfest 2008
Figure 8. Due to past misdeeds unforgiven, these fellows are about to undergo unspeakable torture in one of
Polk's dungeons.
Figure 9. Ken Swauger-Polk's Customer Service manager. You better be nice to him if you want to keep getting parts for your 20 year old SDA's.
Figure 10. Polk Inc. computer center. Bad forum members are banished here at the press of a button.
Figure 11. Rows of patent certificates outside of Matt Polk's office door.
Figure 12. Sign on Matt's door.
Figure 13. Surround Bar 360 demo.
Figure 14. Matt demonstrates an outrageous home theater speaker prototype.
Figure 15. Matt takes aim with his new throwing knife. Someone made a snide remark about the HT prototype
sounding 10X better than the best SDA. Matt made him take it back.
Figure 16. Lasareath getting his SDA SRS 1.2TL crossover plates signed by Matt. Now, when he puts these on
eBay, he has proof the signatures are authentic.;)
Figure 17. Times are hard, but I improved my financial condition at Polkfest 2008.
I was able to persuade Matt to sign a stack of old Polk Audio ads so that I could sell
them on eBay. They sold out in one hour. By the way, I am wearing my new black
ceramic Movado timepiece. Don't hate.
Figure 18. We were treated to a delicious catered lunch in a big tent.
Figure 19. Lunchtime.
Figure 20. Lunchtime.
Figure 21. Lunchtime.
Figure 22. Lunchtime.
Figure 23. Lunchtime.
Figure 24. Lunchtime.
Figure 25. Llanor Alleyne of Residential Systems magazine, Rebecca Day of Electronic Home magazine, Matt Polk, Steve Khan and Matt Lyons.
some random unknowns.
Figure 26. F1nut, DarqueKnight, MillerLiteScott.
Figure 27. The fellow on the left looked familiar, but I wasn't sure if he was a Polk employee because he wasn't wearing an employee badge. He kept going on and on about how wonderful SDA's were (and are). I didn't have the heart to tell that I had switched to Klipsch.
After A Day (10AM-4PM) Of Headquarters Tours And Product Demonstrations, We All Met In The Main Conference Room For Wrap-Up And Prize Drawings
Figure 28. Assembly.
Figure 29. Assemby.
Figure 30. Matt drawing for a prize. The grand prize was a VM30 speaker system with a MicroPro 3000 subwoofer.
Figure 31. At the end of Day One festivities, Al Ballard, Polk's VP of Marketing, invited us to his home for Day
Two festivities. Name another company where you find such genuine hospitality and such extreme corporate
generosity.
Day Two Activities
Figure 32. Al's awesome SRT setup.
Figure 33. Listening to the SRT's.
Figure 34. Al's VM 30/MicroPro 3000/CRS setup. SRT's and SDA's in the same house. Al is a good man.
Figure 35. Listening to the VM 30/MicroPro 3000/CRS rig driven by a Moscode 600 tube amp.
Figure 36. Ricardo moved closer to the tube warmth. Feel good?
Figure 37. In lieu of his name, Dorokusai decided to put his university's initials on his name badge.
Figure 38. The ghost of Paul DiComo made an appearance at Polkfest 2008.
Figure 39. Relaxing in the backyard.
Figure 40. Yet more outrageous grub. Al fed us lunch and dinner. Now, how good was that?
Figure 41. In lieu of banning, a misbehaving forum member submitted to 40 lashes with a wet cable from Doro.
This year's PF was covered by 3 members of the audio/video press: Llanor Alleyne of Residential Systems, Rebecca Day of Electronic House, and Wes Phillip's of Stereophile. Immediately prior to PF '08, Matthew Polk invited the press members and a few forum members to his home for socializing and snacks. Forum members were selected based on how how much their online behavior had improved in the past 12 months. Later, Mr. Polk treated us to dinner. Such Good Hospitality. The following pics are from the social at Matt's house and dinner thereafter. Before we left Matt's house, he presented each of the forum members with a choice of gifts: either a Movado or an Omega timepiece. I selected a black ceramic Movado. Press folks received Rolexes.
Figure 1. Matt demonstrates his home theater system for Russman (seated) and Hoosier21.
Figure 2. Matt explains his home theater subwoofer design.
Figure 3. Sixth Gen LSi-SDA! I asked Matt when he was coming out with the next generation SDA's. He pointed to the pair of LSi9 speakers on either side of his HT screen and said "That's them right there". Matt uses two pairs of LSi9's which are fed stereo and dimensional (SDA) signals generated by a digital signal processor. Such Good Sound.
Figure 4. Dinner at a hoity-toity restaurant. Foreground: Matt and Stereophile reviewer Wes Phillips. Just beyond Matt and Wes, I am passing a suspicious looking substance to George Grand.
Figure 5. L-R with faces showing: George Grand, Wes Phillips, Matt Polk, Darqueknight, F1Nut, Reeltrouble1,
Brett22, Ricardo, DAGLJAM & dorokusai. Less well-behaved members of our group were seated at the table behind us.
Figure 6. Forum members presented Matt with a custom made limited edition throwing knife. It will come in
handy at trade shows and audio press interviews...so watch it.
Figure 7. A forum member asked Matt to discontinue product support and parts for the SDA series and devote those resources to current and future loudspeakers. The forum member further stated that it didn't make sense to keep supporting a speaker series that was discontinued 17 years ago. Obviously, the suggestion was not well received.
The Following Pictures Are From Day One Of Polkfest 2008
Figure 8. Due to past misdeeds unforgiven, these fellows are about to undergo unspeakable torture in one of
Polk's dungeons.
Figure 9. Ken Swauger-Polk's Customer Service manager. You better be nice to him if you want to keep getting parts for your 20 year old SDA's.
Figure 10. Polk Inc. computer center. Bad forum members are banished here at the press of a button.
Figure 11. Rows of patent certificates outside of Matt Polk's office door.
Figure 12. Sign on Matt's door.
Figure 13. Surround Bar 360 demo.
Figure 14. Matt demonstrates an outrageous home theater speaker prototype.
Figure 15. Matt takes aim with his new throwing knife. Someone made a snide remark about the HT prototype
sounding 10X better than the best SDA. Matt made him take it back.
Figure 16. Lasareath getting his SDA SRS 1.2TL crossover plates signed by Matt. Now, when he puts these on
eBay, he has proof the signatures are authentic.;)
Figure 17. Times are hard, but I improved my financial condition at Polkfest 2008.
I was able to persuade Matt to sign a stack of old Polk Audio ads so that I could sell
them on eBay. They sold out in one hour. By the way, I am wearing my new black
ceramic Movado timepiece. Don't hate.
Figure 18. We were treated to a delicious catered lunch in a big tent.
Figure 19. Lunchtime.
Figure 20. Lunchtime.
Figure 21. Lunchtime.
Figure 22. Lunchtime.
Figure 23. Lunchtime.
Figure 24. Lunchtime.
Figure 25. Llanor Alleyne of Residential Systems magazine, Rebecca Day of Electronic Home magazine, Matt Polk, Steve Khan and Matt Lyons.
some random unknowns.
Figure 26. F1nut, DarqueKnight, MillerLiteScott.
Figure 27. The fellow on the left looked familiar, but I wasn't sure if he was a Polk employee because he wasn't wearing an employee badge. He kept going on and on about how wonderful SDA's were (and are). I didn't have the heart to tell that I had switched to Klipsch.
After A Day (10AM-4PM) Of Headquarters Tours And Product Demonstrations, We All Met In The Main Conference Room For Wrap-Up And Prize Drawings
Figure 28. Assembly.
Figure 29. Assemby.
Figure 30. Matt drawing for a prize. The grand prize was a VM30 speaker system with a MicroPro 3000 subwoofer.
Figure 31. At the end of Day One festivities, Al Ballard, Polk's VP of Marketing, invited us to his home for Day
Two festivities. Name another company where you find such genuine hospitality and such extreme corporate
generosity.
Day Two Activities
Figure 32. Al's awesome SRT setup.
Figure 33. Listening to the SRT's.
Figure 34. Al's VM 30/MicroPro 3000/CRS setup. SRT's and SDA's in the same house. Al is a good man.
Figure 35. Listening to the VM 30/MicroPro 3000/CRS rig driven by a Moscode 600 tube amp.
Figure 36. Ricardo moved closer to the tube warmth. Feel good?
Figure 37. In lieu of his name, Dorokusai decided to put his university's initials on his name badge.
Figure 38. The ghost of Paul DiComo made an appearance at Polkfest 2008.
Figure 39. Relaxing in the backyard.
Figure 40. Yet more outrageous grub. Al fed us lunch and dinner. Now, how good was that?
Figure 41. In lieu of banning, a misbehaving forum member submitted to 40 lashes with a wet cable from Doro.
Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
Post edited by DarqueKnight on
Comments
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Reserved for follow-up.Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
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Reserved for follow-up.Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
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I know, there's enough threads on the subject, but I had to post my own
What an awesome weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To all of you guys/gals that could not make it, start making plans to attend the next one.
To Matt Polk, Al Ballard and ALL the Polk staff, a huge THANKS for having us. It is amazing what you guys did to make us feel welcome, going out of your ways and basically stop doing your business for a whole day to show us what Polk HQ's is all about. I will not forget these three days.
Also a big thanks to Mark (Doro); you never gave me my welcome kiss, but I know you did a lot of work in the background to make sure everything run smoothly.
Meeting a bunch of polkies and being able to put faces to screen names was also a great experience. What a bunch of good people with similar interests. I know I did not meet everyone on Friday and I am sorry I didn't. I hope there's another opportunity.
The 16+ driving hours were well worth it.!!!!!!
I also took a few pictures and will post them when I have some time._________________________________________________
***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***
2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
SOPAThank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman -
"Before we left Matt's house, he presented each of the forum members with a choice of gifts: either a Movado or an Omega timepiece. I selected a black ceramic Movado. Press folks received Rolexes."
Really? I must have missed this part.
RussDodd - Battery Preamp
Monarchy Audio SE100 Delux - mono power amps
Sony DVP-NS999ES - SACD player
ADS 1230 - Polk SDA 2B
DIY Stereo Subwoofer towers w/(4) 12 drivers each
Crown K1 - Subwoofer amp
Outlaw ICBM - crossover
Beringher BFD - sub eq
Where is the remote? Where is the $%#$% remote!
"I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like the most of us have...very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad..." -
"Before we left Matt's house, he presented each of the forum members with a choice of gifts: either a Movado or an Omega timepiece. I selected a black ceramic Movado. Press folks received Rolexes."
Really? I must have missed this part.
Russ
He's making it up; all we got was that Cross gold pen with the Polk logo._________________________________________________
***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***
2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
SOPAThank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman -
I also want to thank Mark for the 08 Fest.I like speakers that are bigger than a small refrigerator but smaller than a big refrigerator:D
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He's making it up; all we got was that Cross gold pen with the Polk logo.
missed that tooDodd - Battery Preamp
Monarchy Audio SE100 Delux - mono power amps
Sony DVP-NS999ES - SACD player
ADS 1230 - Polk SDA 2B
DIY Stereo Subwoofer towers w/(4) 12 drivers each
Crown K1 - Subwoofer amp
Outlaw ICBM - crossover
Beringher BFD - sub eq
Where is the remote? Where is the $%#$% remote!
"I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like the most of us have...very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad..." -
I already had a watch and a pen...so Matt let me have his Porsche....it was a blast to drive home today!"Just because youre offended doesnt mean youre right." - Ricky Gervais
"For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." - Stuart Chase
"Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." - Bernard Berenson -
Russ...You're alive! I had serious doubts about your well being last night. That nasty fight you had with the tomato plant just about did you in."Just because youre offended doesnt mean youre right." - Ricky Gervais
"For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." - Stuart Chase
"Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." - Bernard Berenson -
I'm thankful I was not violated by Mark.
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All I got was a matchbook and a fistfull of 'Polk' condoms.Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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His downstairs rig was ridiculous good sounding. The guy is a totally impassioned, accurate sound freak.
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He is George. It was fun to just watch him, in his element. What a life he's made for himself.Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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DarqueKnight wrote: »Before we left Matt's house, he presented each of the forum members with a choice of gifts: either a Movado or an Omega timepiece. I selected a black ceramic Movado. Press folks received Rolexes.Really? I must have missed this part.
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.:(Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country! -
You know . . . you guys don't look like what I expected.
For example, I pictured DarqueKnight to be a grizzled white old man. Turns out he's a good looking black guy with a kind smile. (The screen name makes more sense now).
It's also amazing how Mark's (doro) sarcasm seems to transcend all media from text messaging to photos. -
SolidSqual wrote: »You know . . . you guys don't look like what I expected.
For example, I pictured DarqueKnight to be a grizzled white old man. Turns out he's a good looking black guy with a kind smile. (The screen name makes more sense now).
It's also amazing how Mark's (doro) sarcasm seems to transcend all media from text messaging to photos.
Everyone I seen in the pictures looked alot different than I thought they would. -
If Mark really gave a **** about any of y'all, he wouldn't have gone on a cruise for 5 days before the fest.....
I head home tomorrow.........i'm effin exhausted......comment comment comment comment. bitchy. -
SolidSqual wrote: »You know . . . you guys don't look like what I expected.
For example, I pictured DarqueKnight to be a grizzled white old man. Turns out he's a good looking black guy with a kind smile. (The screen name makes more sense now).
He looks more like a train than an engineer:D
Edit: BTW I have long said that new SDA's could easily be made by turning some LSI's on their sides;)Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
Thanks
Ben -
Edit: BTW I have long said that new SDA's could easily be made by turning some LSI's on their sides;)
I have an LSiC - does that count??Mains.............Polk LSi15 (Cherry)
Center............Polk LSiC (Crossover upgraded)
Surrounds.......Polk LSi7 (Gloss Black - wood sides removed and crossovers upgraded)
Subwoofers.....SVS 25-31 CS+ and PC+ (both 20hz tune)
Pre\Pro...........NAD T163 (Modded with LM4562 opamps)
Amplifier.........Cinepro 3k6 (6-channel, 500wpc@4ohms) -
Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
Thanks
Ben -
2 of them, and a little modding;)
but wouldn't a pair of SDA center channels sound alot like a single center channel? And if so - that means the answer is yes - my LSiC is exactly like an LSi speaker with SDA technology when fed a mono signal.
Mains.............Polk LSi15 (Cherry)
Center............Polk LSiC (Crossover upgraded)
Surrounds.......Polk LSi7 (Gloss Black - wood sides removed and crossovers upgraded)
Subwoofers.....SVS 25-31 CS+ and PC+ (both 20hz tune)
Pre\Pro...........NAD T163 (Modded with LM4562 opamps)
Amplifier.........Cinepro 3k6 (6-channel, 500wpc@4ohms) -
I have an LSiC - does that count??
The surround bar 100 as he called it in the conference room was awesome. He said it took him (them) about 6 weeks to get all together and running.
It seems Matt is very much still into SDA, thinks about it a lot, works with it and really wants to figure a way to market it again beyond the all in one concept of the Surround Bar 360; which was incredible BTW. One of the audio journalists referred to it as groundbreaking technology.
He said passive and active SDA technology and figuring someway to incorporate both into a new flagship (my term) model is what it would probably take to get them to market again.
It took 8 years to develop the Surround Bar 360 and part of that was because technology had to catch up. Only he and one of the other engineers knows the algorithms for the various dsp circuits in the SB 360.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
but wouldn't a pair of SDA center channels sound alot like a single center channel? And if so - that means the answer is yes - my LSiC is exactly like an LSi speaker with SDA technology when fed a mono signal.
Sadly no............:D;). Have you seen the photo of the x-over he used for his SB 100? It was about 5 feet long and about 2 1/2 feet deep. :eek:"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
After taking a day to recover and put some thoughts together in my usual short, to the point fashion.......
First and foremost, a huge thank you to Matt Polk for sharing his dream with so many of us and for his generosity. I'm not sure words can ever convey what it means to us.......perhaps a simple, you rock!!!
To all the great folks at Polk HQ......as always, you go out of your way to make the day very special, thank you.
Al and Hedy.....well folks, let's just say that they know how to throw a Polkfest party. Thank you for rolling the dice, it was a blast.
To my fellow Polkies, it was great to see so many old friends again and to meet some new ones. I hope, for the first time attendees, that you have a better understanding of what is meant by the term, Polk community. I look forward to seeing all of you again, real soon.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
To clarify for the ones not there.......that SurroundBar 100 was designed over that period of time......but they only started to actually put the crossover together on Wednesday so it was in it's roughest form really.....still work to be done, but they literally had it together in a matter of days.......that's how new this was that he was showing us.........The surround bar 100 as he called it in the conference room was awesome. He said it took him (them) about 6 weeks to get all together and running.comment comment comment comment. bitchy. -
Excuse me........for those not familiar with my sense of humor, I failed to put a smiley or roll eyes in there...........so how about this:
p.s.
:rolleyes:
Much thanks goes to EVERYONE at Polk HQ for the quick demo's, Matt for his hospitality both at his house and in taking the time to hang out with all of us for the day, Hedy and Al for putting their house up for the standard abuses that go along with all of you freaks for the day, and to all those behind the scenes folks that had set things in motion for this thing as well.
I also have to thank ESAVINON for doing one hell of a job in picking my ticket out of the raffle box......I'll snap some pics of that setup when I get it all set up at home.........comment comment comment comment. bitchy. -
It was nice meeting you grumpy...I mean, grandpa...err..Jesse. _________________________________________________
***\\\\\........................... My Audio Journey ............................./////***
2008 & 2010 Football Pool WINNER
SOPAThank God for different opinions. Imagine the world if we all wanted the same woman -
I also have to tip my hat to everyone at Polk HQ. It was great to finally meet Matt and everyone else at HQ. Friday was a great day. To tour the factory and see how everything was done was quite a learning experience.
Al and Hedy thanks so much for being great hosts and opening your home to us and throwing such a great party.
It was great meeting so many new polkies and seeing old friends. Looking foward to nexts years fest already. Hopefully I wont be on crutches next time. -
Nice Write-up Jesse. Glad you all had a blast.Michael
In the beginning, all knowledge was new!
NORTH of 60° -
I also have to thank ESAVINON for doing one hell of a job in picking my ticket out of the raffle box
Congrats again on the win.....
****
