Polk 'State of the Union'

RuSsMaN

As a long time Polk customer, I'd personally like an update on how the company is doing, and what the ballpark plans for the future are.

Are sales up up up?

How has the new LSi line fared so far, based on intial sales projections?

If the LSi line has been successful, can we look for v2 models soon, or additional models being added to/taken away/modified in the current line up? (hint hint, I'd like to see an LSi LCR, and an LSi7 'tower', with perhaps a side firing passive 6.5)

How are the re-vamped R and RTi series faring, compared to previous models?

Any chance we may see an SDA re-birth in the not-so-distant future?

I don't expect you guys to just open the books for all to see, but I am curious how my favorite speaker company is doing during these trying times, and what some plans for the future may be. How bout' it Ken, Paul, Matt, Al....Micah? What CAN you tell us?

Cheers,
Russ

brettw22

What's an LCR?

RuSsMaN

Left Center Right. A single speaker that could be used in any position in home theater. (sold individually, usually a Di-App array, similar to the LSi9)

mantis

Yes,
my thinking from time to time.

From reading many articles on LSI and them getting the golden ear award last year,I think the LSi series will be around for quite awhile.
I would however like to see more colors offered..HINT HINT HINT.
And I also would like to see some Lsi inwalls,even maybe a bipolar inwall pair.

I would also like to see Polk get back into more higher end stores.Push the LSi hard.

The rt line...well that line was fine when it became the rti series.I didn't feel it needed the facelift.The new wood color just reminds me of the Ebony Lsi15's......yucky.I don't care for the new black/ebony finish.....

I think Polk will be around for a very long time.If they closed the doors,I would feel alittle closed myself.

Polk needs a bigger kick **** outdoor speaker.With good bass response.

It would be a pleasure for Polk to come in here and give us a future plans......whats happening now..kinda speech.

Matt Polk should come in here and do it himself.ALot of us would like to talk to him I'm sure.Maybe have a Matt on the forum night from this time to that time........common Matt,lets here it Bro.

mantis

L C R's are great man.Polk should come out with a LSI L C R.

Thinking about it,the center is almost there already.Take the powerport and make it vertical wall mountable and home run.Thats all it would take to make an L C R.

I'm not going to beat this but L C R's make for PERFECT home theater..............

goingganzo

make that a ls9 floor standing is what i want.

fireshoes

mantis, in one of the monthly polk emails (I believe around the time of cedia), they mentioned LSi in-walls were slated for this spring. Hooray!

Strong Bad

Matt did that online chat thing a few years back. Has there ever been talk of doing another?

We want our Audio Commander in Chief to speak to us troops!


John

Shizelbs

I agree, the LSi's do need to be pushed harder. I just heard about them for the first time in January, and a couple weeks ago, heard them for the first time. They are amazing. And you get such quality for how little they cost. Its kind of weird to me. They are worthy of being in higher end stores, but in a way, I almost want to see them in CC as well. I guess I want people to be able to experience quality music as much as possible, and by getting them into CC, I am sure many more people would run across them. Its just a thought. Yeah, more of a thought than an opinion.
The first thing I would do if I worked for Polk would be getting rid of the ugly black wood on the R and RTi series. I think its gross. Black looks fine, but to me, it looks like ash from a baseball bat. I think it could be much better. Personally, I really like the cherry, and kind of wish all models were available in the cherry. My R40's are cherry and I think they look great.

hoosier21

From the "Sneaking into CES 2003: PART 1" post

At the Polk Audio booth, we gave sneak peaks of upcoming products, including new LCi Series high performance inwall speakers, round dual tweeter stereo ceiling speakers, and new Atrium models. These panels turned to show off the easy inwall installation via sturdy wall clips.

I agree it would be nice to see some posts from the Polk guys, we use to see them in here, but now they only show up to but a thread in the Hall of shame.

Ken S. barely posts in the troubleshooting area, Paul D where is he, I liked his insights and opinions. Micah was always fun. Where are these guys?

Micah Cohen

I'm still fun. I am. Lookit: FUN FUN FUN!

Whaddayawannaknow?

Actually, this is exactly the kind of thread I love. I think we don't get ENOUGH suggestions from outside this building. And you can be sure that when enough good ones appear in a thread like this that I make sure the muckety-mucks see it. "We hear you!"

At least, I hear you.

We've been really busy lately, to be truthful. All sorts of busy-work and rushing here and rushing there. By the end of the day it's all I can do to muster the effort to fire off some of my infamous cranky hate mail to public radio, various dumb advertisers, CNN, etc. I have no time for ME ME ME anymore.

And frankly, ME ME ME needs some time.

In the meantime, keep it up, eh?

Micah

Jstas

Originally posted by Micah
I'm still fun. I am. Lookit: FUN FUN FUN!

Whaddayawannaknow?

Actually, this is exactly the kind of thread I love. I think we don't get ENOUGH suggestions from outside this building. And you can be sure that when enough good ones appear in a thread like this that I make sure the muckety-mucks see it. "We hear you!"

At least, I hear you.

We've been really busy lately, to be truthful. All sorts of busy-work and rushing here and rushing there. By the end of the day it's all I can do to muster the effort to fire off some of my infamous cranky hate mail to public radio, various dumb advertisers, CNN, etc. I have no time for ME ME ME anymore.

And frankly, ME ME ME needs some time.

In the meantime, keep it up, eh?

Micah

Some advice for you and your peers there Micah. If you don't show any interest in what people are saying by either not responding or seemingly ignoring the teeming masses here, you will most likely lose that input because people will stop wasting thier time and effort if they feel it is going unheeded.

What they are saying is that all those who used to be in here should pop in every so often not just for a "Hey, look, I'm still alive post" but actual interaction. Polk the company has worked hard to establish probably the best customer/manufacturer relationship in the business. Establishing it is one thing. Maintaining it is another. Letting your customers know you are still interested will sell many more speakers than mere advertising. Hell, in the past 2 months, I pressured people I know into buying about $5000 worth of Polk speakers because of my satisfaction with the company and the products.

It's not easy gaining and maintaning these relationships, we all understand that. However, complaining that life is hard is not an excuse to totally distance yourselves from your customer base. Life is hard for everyone and if you don't make the time for yourself, you won't get it.

I also have to wonder, if you need time for yourself, why do you forget about these forums? Here you have people with a vast amount of interest and knowledge who can converse with you as an intellectual equal on a subject you also have interest in. Don't see these forums as a job. It's also a place where you can vent frustrations or discuss subjects that are on your mind. Don't give it that "It's the Internet" stigma and dismiss it as geek-dom. It's a communication tool and anyone who refuses to use it in that manner is wasting their time online. Eventhough it's a bunch of letters and pretty pictures on a screen, it is still a social gathering. You may be the moderator but that doesn't mean you can't participate.

Micah Cohen

Don't be so defensive, Jstas.

I agree with everything you say here. I am maybe the most enthusiastic person in this building when it comes to "listening to the forum people." I mean, I believe wholeheartedly in the Polk tradition of intense customer service and interaction.

1. There's always more we can do as a company (IMHO) to interact and glean info from you, our valued customers.
2. There are always people, for whatever reasons, who are not as open as I am to external input -- that's the nature of human interaction and the nature of corporate industry.
3. We do not see the forum as "geek-dom." I make sure the big brains see this stuff. They may not log on and converse with you, but they see it -- I make sure of it because I think your input is important.
4. I'm tired. Leave me alone. I haven't forgotten the forums; I love the forums! If I could, I'd invite you all over for drinks and demos. But between making coffee for the Marketing Department, running errands for Paul ("I'll have a number 6, no onions...") and actually trying to do some work, I get to 5pm and I want to go home and shovel snow. I'm depressed. I'm here, I'm just not chiming in all the time.

So relax. Tell me what you think. I'm listening, bubbie.

Micah!