Polk Atrium Giveaway - Thanks and mini review

maximillian

First, thank you to Mark and Polk Audio for selecting me to receive a white pair of Atrium 4's. I expected them to come with 2-3 weeks delivery but shipping was very fast. I think Mark first contacted me on a Tuesday and I had them with Saturday delivery. This includes having to send a shipping label to the person who was tried them out last.

The only amps I had available to test was either a modified Accurian amp or an older Technics integrated receiver, SA-GX700 (100W/ch integrated receiver). The Technics is actually quite nice; I have used it with RTi6's and R50's before. So I first tried them in a two channel rig hooked up to the Technics receiver. It has a parametric equalizer but I run it flat. The speakers were stood on end at about 8 feet apart. Listening position was 10 feet. Speakers were toed in slightly.

The first thing I noticed was a lack of bass. So I turned up the bass on the receiver all the way up in order to get an acceptable level. I went back and forth between flat and all the way with different music and kept preferring the turned up bass over flat. The speakers are quite detailed. Voices were right in the center and there was a good soundstage. I have heard that these speakers have a tweeter close to the one used in the RTi series speakers (anyone confirm this? ), and they did sound similar. I listened for about 2 hours and did enjoy them, except for the lack of bass. However, I can't complain too much about this issue since the woofers are only 4.5" on this model, and the enclosure is sealed.

The build quality of the speakers is top notch. Very solid feeling. The speed-lock mount is quite nice for selecting the precise required angle. The speed-lock easily tightens and loosens. The only slightly negative thing about the build is that the binding posts cannot be used with regular sized banana plugs:

<a href="http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=091-330">http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=091-330</a&gt;

The tops of the plugs hit the enclosure. So I simply removed the plugs from the speaker wire and wired the speakers up with the free ends.

My intended location was a kitchen which is due for a small upgrade. Some may wonder why Atriums would be needed in such a location. My three reasons are: a) they look better than normal bookshelves, b) swivel mount allows easier mounting, and c) I was able to mount them right over the stove without worrying about steam and smoke (it happens) from ruining the speakers. Please see the attached photos.

I thought that I could mount them directly to the top of the cabinets, but the speaker's bracket wouldn't allow the speakers to point downward. The angle would be too steep and the speakers hit the bracket. So I quickly made an L-bracket out of wood. I may have to find a better mounting solution since the brackets are a little too noticeable.

I am still hunting for a good receiver for use in the kitchen but for now I tried them out with an Accurian amp. Standing right in front of the sink the bass was impressive. However, anywhere else in the room the bass drops quickly. Even 3 feet away from the sink but still in front has greatly reduced bass. The Accurian's tone controls were disabled to reduce amp noise so I couldn't increase it. I have the speakers pointing to the center-opposite side of the room so I didn't expect the bass to be so low compared to standing right under them. Perhaps I am expecting too much from smaller drivers.

Overall the sound is excellent, and it is what I would expect from Polk. Even with the Accurian they play quite loud, a lot more than I require. Music is very detailed and quite enjoyable. Anywhere in the kitchen the sound does not sound muffled. These will be staying here. My wife is not aas big of a music listener as I am but she looks forward to using them. I did notice her liking the sound too. I would mount the Accurian under a cabinet but she want a tuner also.

Thank you once again Polk Audio and Mark for these speakers. They will be enjoyed in my family.

Sorry for the messy room and yellowish photos. I didn't use a flash.

muncybob

ahh, music to wash dishes to....what else could you want!!?? well, maybe a pair for the bathroom?

maximillian

Whole house music of course!

Dishwasher does the dishes. But music is great for cooking. I will be putting in an island in the kitchen soon. I am also working on some custom LED under cabinet lighting.

dorokusai

Send me some more, higher resolution pics to my Polk email. We'll get them up in there. Cool pics and thank you for taking the time to do what I asked you guys for....most of you handled it just fine as wine.

Sherardp

Doro send me a pair man, I know you got a spare pair. Love my Atrium 60's btw.

VSchneider

I like this kitchen Atrium setup. Gives me some new ideas

exalted512

Looks a little high to mount a paper towel rack:biggrin::biggrin:
-Cody

maximillian

Doro, I sent some links to high res photos via PM.

I really like this setup, that is when the wife allows me to play them. The kitchen is really her domain. :rolleyes:

I am still looking for a good pre-amp or integrated receiver for them. Ideally I would like something small that I can mount to the cabinets and still look nice. I would like an FM tuner and AUX for an iPod.

For now I am simply using a T-amp:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=310-300&FTR=lepai%202020

with and iPod dock. It sounds pretty good and plays louder than I need. The above is an old photo, but the Tamp is low profile and can't be seen on top of the cabinets. The iPod dock is inside the cabinets for now but I would like to get something mounted under the cabinet or somewhere else that still has a low profile. I am also considering adding a couple more Atrium 4's or 5's to the cabinets on the other side of the room (not pictured) to fill the space better.

Thanks again Doro and Polk for making the kitchen complete. :biggrin:

JimKellyfan

I would probably go with in wall or in ceiling speakers and save the Atrium's for outside.
That said, my Atrium 5's I got for free last year are pretty great sounding too.

There is a small reverberation when taxed at higher volumes, the woofers of each, more so from the one that wasn't frozen in a block of ice, funny enough.
I would describe as the same issue the PSW10 has when getting too much, the rustling or buffeting noise.

For me, the dining room speakers Monitor 60's face the kitchen and being powered by the Sansui G33000, there is plenty volume to go around ;>)