Polkfest 2012

Jstas wrote: »

Dude, I'm pretty sure they were 705's, not 707's.

705's...707's...

Hey, 220, 221...whatever it takes! :cheesygrin:

Oh and BIG thanks for the swag bag from Polk. Making my time at the in-laws at lot easier

Awesome time at PF 2012! Nice to see old friends and meet some new ones.

Thanks to Polk for opening the doors and letting us hang for the day and the goody bag. Lots of enthusiasm, technology, innovation and great products! Very impressed with the headphones and LSiM lineup. The folks supporting and steering the Polk ship are more than capable. Big thanks to Stu for opening his home and having us over Saturday!

Hey Carl, Ed! It was great hanging with you both!

Wow, you know, I'd almost forgotten how much I love PF. The past couple years have conspired against me from attending (thanks a lot, Bin Laden).....As has been said though, thanks to Polk for opening it's doors for us lunatics to invade. VERY cool. Polk has always been a company that has taken care of it's folks and I know there was some conjecture awhile ago that when Polk was aquired by DEI that may change but, clearly, it hasn't.

Personally, I was VERY impressed with the products I heard. Honestly, audio has taken a back seat for awhile to other things competing for my time but I'm, again, highly motivated. The 8000 headphones, the SurroundBar that we heard?? AMAZING stuff. LSIM 705's?? Short list(AHEM, TLW) for Christmas/retirement gift. Again, Polk raises the bar. 40 years and still going strong.

As cool as the 'stuff' is....it's the people. Al, Stu and the rest of the Polk gang (Patrick, John, Scott, Scott, Nick, Heddy, Deborah...and all the rest), man, you guys are awesome. Thank you. To my fellow Polkies and drinking buddies...I love you guys. I know that this has been said many times but I will repeat...it still amazes me after all this time, how a group of such diverse people that 'met' on an internet bulletin board can become part of your family, which is the way TLW and I view it.

Stu, thanks for opening your home to us. I certainly enjoyed myself (and then some). Life has been stressful (in a good way) lately and I certainly appreciated the opportunity to blow off some steam.

Lastly, the Githens Center. Awesome. Just Awesome.

See you all in Charleston next year for the 4th installment of Carolina PF. Date TBA but will be mid-Octoberish.

BDT

Really wish I could have been there. Glad you guys had such a great time. I'm heartbroken that Trey didn't miss me though :razz:

On a positive note, the veneer work on my CRS+'s was done this weekend, and came out amazing. Pics soon.

Posting left handed today....broke my right arm Saturday (should have gone to the fest) looks like a blast and I SURELY MISSED SEEING YOU GUYS. Need the scoop on the new LSIM 703's how did they hold up under real world conditions????

Trust me next year I will not miss. It pained me not to be there but being that I just went back to work after months off the finances did not allow me to make it this year. I missed seeing the gang. I promise to see you in SC next year.

VR3 wrote: »

The only thing that would have made this PF better is if all of the members that missed were there... I mean whats up??

Disneyjoe, Fireman, Shack, Lasareth, Russman and even Doro was fairly absent the whole fest...

Next year, South Carolina no excuses! :-P

I'm I the only one that is certain that I was spouting a bunch of gibberish with some substantial chunks of Saturday evening unaccounted for??

BDT

I was too busy running from Antny to notice...

Late to the party here, but man this fest was awesome. Product wise, I was most impressed with the earphones. The In ears are great and the over the ear ones being run on just an iPod were effing crazy good.

The surroundbar 9000 (not released yet apparently) is a very close second. All kn one HT solution that is chock full of the win.

Big thanks to Stu for inviting us to his home Saturday. He hosted a hell of a party.

Great to see some old friends, and some new ones. Already looking forward to Troys next year.

To all involved in putting this together, thank you!

The experience of going to Polk headquarters is never a disappointment, great people, and there is always something new to show us.

The headphones are a great addition to Polk's offerings, both the UltraFocus 6000's and 8000's sound very good. I have been using my 6000s and really like them, the tangle free cord is the ****. I really can't wait to receive the 8000's I won, and give them a good work out.

I have to say the LSiM 705 at Stu's house were the best thing I heard all weekend, excellent!

Again, thank you everyone at Polk Audio, Stu you were a great host and had some great sound systems, and THANK YOU Al it's always good saying and hanging with you, and thank yo for all you provided over the three days.

Mark, my freind, your limited appearances sucked, hope to see more of you next time.

Polkfest always blows my mind when I hear the total for the The Githens Center raffle, well done Polkies.

Russ

Nice!

Sounds like a blast!
You say Wendi is going to be in SC?
Do you recommend Orbitz? Expedia? Travelocity? Kayak?
I think I can talk Rick88 into splitting the difference! LOL!
I am JK!

Looked like a great time, and hopefully I might be able to attend a local in the next several years.
Glad it went better than expected, and this sight seems to draw people closer (in person) than most
web sights on the web bar none!

Thats saying alot!

All I know is Al, that before I leave this World I will attend at least one more PF. I had a blast the last time I attended and just too many things happened this year for me not to attend.
I await the next PF that I will be able to attend. You guys are great.

Introduction

The 10th annual Polkfest was held at Polk Audio's corporate headquarters in Baltimore, MD September 21 and 22, 2012. This Polkfest coincided with Polk's 40th anniversary! I would like to thank the following participants for their efforts as facilitators, tour guides and demonstrators:

Polk Audio, Inc. executives: Joe Tristani, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Al Ballard, Vice President of Marketing, Stu Lumsden, Vice President of Engineering.

Tour guides and facilitators: From Marketing - Dan Birzak, Debra DelGrosso, Greg O'Rourke, Scott Olson, Shelia Edwards, Jenny Suskind, Mark Nestor; From Inside Sales - Nick Cappolloni; From Engineering - Mike Estler.

Product demonstrations and technical tutorials: Brad Saylor, Systems Engineer, Dave Fitzpatrick, Director of Mechanical Design, Anthony Kopher, Assistant Manager, Polk Store, Steve Tourison, Mechanical Design Engineer, Brad Starobin, Director of Acoustics, Ken Chae, Director of Industrial Design, Scott Orth, Systems Engineer.

If I missed anyone, let me or a moderator know so the list can be edited.

Day One

We began at 9:30am with introductory remarks by Al Ballard. We were then split into small groups for technical and product overview tours. After lunch, Stu Lumsden and Al Ballard presented information on the developmental process of Polk's current product lines. The day officially ended with an awards ceremony. After the day's program closed, a few of us went over to Montaghan's pub for dinner and drinks.


Figure 1. Al Ballard, VP of Marketing, welcomes Polkies to the 10th Annual Polkfest.


Figure 2. Attendees.


Figure 3. Attendees.


Figure 4. Two members of Polk's website team: Patrick (left) and Jon.


Figure 5. Hi Cathy (cfrizz). Cathy and her brother Mark.


Figure 6. Stu Lumsden, VP of Engineering, gives some orientation remarks prior to technical and product
information tours.


Figure 7. Scott Orth, Systems Engineer, discusses crossover design.


Figure 8. Brad Saylor, Systems Engineer, discusses driver design.


Figure 9. Stu discusses the activities of the acoustics research lab. At the rear is Brad Starobin, Director of
Acoustics.


Figure 10. Acoustics research lab.


Figure 11. Brad Starobin at work in the acoustics research lab.


Figure 12. Ken Chae, Director of Industrial Design, discusses the physical and aesthetic design process of the
LSiM series.


Figure 13. Dave Fitzpatrick, Director of Mechanical Design, discusses the mechanical design process for the
new headphone and earphone products.


Figure 14. Steve Tourison, Mechanical Engineer, demonstrates the laser resin fabrication process used to
create mock-ups of new products and component parts.


Figure 15. Stu discusses the driver test room.


Figure 16. New product: In-floor speakers! Not really...this is how drivers are mounted for testing due to the
favorable acoustic location.


Figure 17. Laser interferometer driver testing demonstration. L-R, Anthony (amulford), John (jaycee),
Debra Delgrosso, Marketing Manager (and tour guide), Trey, (VR3).


Figure 18. Laser interferometer driver testing rig.


Figure 19. This picture has ominous overtones doesn't it? Stu is pointing the way to the "special chamber"
where captured forum trolls are detained, "tuned up" and "attitude adjusted". I thoroughly enjoyed
"questioning" some of my favorite trolls.


Figure 20. Al Baron, Product Line Manager, demonstrates the new Soundbar 9000 system, which is not yet
commercially available.


Figure 21. Soundbar 9000 demo.


Figure 22. LSiM home theater demo with three MicroPro 4000 subs.


Figure 23. Two channel room with flagship LSiM 707 speakers.


Figure 24. Top of the LSiM 707 speaker. The fit and finish (and sound) of the LSiM series is outstanding!


Figure 25. Elegant LSiM 707 binding posts...and AudioQuest bi-wire speaker cables.


Figure 26. Anthony Kopher, Polk Store Assistant Manager, demonstrates Polk's line of headphones and
earphones. I was very impressed with the sound quality, comfort, appearance and features of these phones.
Prior to this visit, I was not aware that Polk have moved into that market. Each Polkfest attendee received a
set of UltraFocus 6000 earphones.


Figure 27. I spotted a new-in-box SRT System way up high in the warehouse. I suggested to the warehouse
manager that he should sell it to me since they obviously weren't using it. He said it had been sitting in
storage since 1995 and he didn't think anyone would miss it. Besides, there was another set in storage.
I gave him $300 cash and he told me to come back Sunday morning and pick up the boxes.


Figure 28. Al Ballard presents the Polkie of the Year award to...me.


Figure 29. My POTY gift was a set of UltraFocus 8000 headphones with my forum name engraved on the
headband. Thanks!!


Figure 30. Polkfest Swag!


Figure 31. Jesse (F1nut) received an award for his efforts supporting Polk at audio shows. Mark (dorokusai)
and Russ (Russman) were also honored.