A project for 2018: Compendium of Polk Audio ads, etc.

mhardy6647
mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
edited January 2018 in Vintage Speakers
Lucky for you all that I am:
1) retired
2) generally pretty lazy when it comes to anything not involving a keyboard and many, many ones and zeros
3) kind of obsessive at times

A current Cable thread mentioned the Polk Audio Cobra Cables -- which got me looking for ads featuring those rather infamous amplifier-immolators :p

Fortunately for folks like me, there is an amazing resource of magazine, catalog and other scans dating back to the beginning of radio/audio available at www.americanradiohistory.com

One of the single best collections there is a nearly complete set of scans of issues of Audio
magazine (successor to Radio and initially called Audio Engineering).

I started leafing through scans, checking the advertisers' index pages for Polk Audio.

There, are, of course, many ads over the years -- some unfamiliar to me (or forgotten by me... it was the 'seventies, after all!).

I figured it would be fun and maybe even interesting to start a thread on the Polk Audio legacy in advertisement (and/or reviews) as I make my way through these old magazine scans.

Feel free to contribute, too, if you like!

I hope this is interesting to someone besides me. :)

Here's the earliest Polk ad I have found (so far, at any rate) in Audio magazine.

froeahd2w7z7.png

March 1975
Source: http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Audio/70s/Audio-1975-03.pdf

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Comments

  • Thanks for the link. Found this on page 83!

    RACK MOUNT MARANTZ EQUIPMENT:
    10-B Tuner S725;
    21 9 Amplifier $395 ea..
    7-C Preamp $325.
    Standard Chassis Models.
    10-B $695;
    7-C $275.

    McIntosh MC240 Amps $115 ea. :o
    SDA SRS 1.2TL's
    SDA 1C's w/Clarity Cap ESA; PA, Mills, RD0194-1's
    SDA 2B TL's w/RD0198-1's
    Yaqin MC-30L integrated tube amp
    Yaqin MS-20L integrated tube amp
  • FestYboy
    FestYboy Posts: 3,861
    More, MORE, we must have more!
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    I'm workin' on it...
  • deronb1
    deronb1 Posts: 5,021
    That is cool! I was 10
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    I bought my Model 7As in 1978 :)
  • mdaudioguy
    mdaudioguy Posts: 5,165
    Hey Mark, cool stuff! Did a little googling on the address in the first ad - 431 Notre Dame Lane. The home was known as the Gallagher Mansion. Evidently, it was at one time owned by a car dealership - Sherwood Ford.
    While Sherwood owned the property, two entrepreneurs rented part of the mansion and started Polk Audio there.

    http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-06-18/business/1995169028_1_gedco-mansion-notre-dame
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited January 2018
    so - this is what got me started on this quixotic quest :)

    I was looking for the genesis of the Polk Audio Cobra Cables. In terms of Audio magazine ads, that occured, obliquely, in July 1977.

    rioruvsaciyz.png

    A college friend of mine bought a pair of them in roughly that time frame, using them with a GAS Son of Ampzilla amplifier & a pair of original Polk Audio Monitor Series Model 10 loudspeakers. The Son didn't mind them at all.

    What I didn't remember, but which I now infer from the "paper" record :) is that the name of those somewhat infamous cables was apparently pretty metastable early on. To wit:

    August, 1977:
    grtn5gruwpj9.png
    "Soundwire"

    October 1977:
    ozj4syamjmgj.png
    "Sound Cable" [ sic ]

    December 1977:
    tjj2emyrw2ro.png
    "Soundcable"

    Interesting.

    Anyone remember that "fluid drive" Oasis tt? I sort of do... :p


  • Viking64
    Viking64 Posts: 6,646
    mdaudioguy wrote: »
    Hey Mark, cool stuff! Did a little googling on the address in the first ad - 431 Notre Dame Lane. The home was known as the Gallagher Mansion. Evidently, it was at one time owned by a car dealership - Sherwood Ford.
    I noticed that too, but I didn't search it until I saw your post. There's quite a bit of interesting background, particularly if you love Second Empire Victorians as much as I do! :p

  • FestYboy
    FestYboy Posts: 3,861
    Second Empire = New Order
  • vmaxer
    vmaxer Posts: 5,116
    Interesting thread.
    Pio Elete Pro 520
    Panamax 5400-EX
    Sunfire TGP 5
    Micro Seiki DD-40 - Lyra-Dorian and Denon DL-160
    PS Audio GCPH phono pre
    Sunfire CG 200 X 5
    Sunfire CG Sig 405 X 5
    OPPO BDP-83 SE
    SDA SRS 1.2TL Sonicaps and Mills
    Ctr CS1000p
    Sur - FX1000 x 4
    SUB - SVS PB2-Plus

    Workkout room:
    Sony Bravia XBR- 32-Inch 1080p
    Onkyo TX-DS898
    GFA 555
    Yamaha DVD-S1800BL/SACD
    Ft - SDA 1C

    Not being used:
    RTi 38's -4
    RT55i's - 2
    RT25i's -2, using other 2 in shop
    LSI 15's
    CSi40
    PSW 404
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    mdaudioguy wrote: »
    Hey Mark, cool stuff! Did a little googling on the address in the first ad - 431 Notre Dame Lane. The home was known as the Gallagher Mansion. Evidently, it was at one time owned by a car dealership - Sherwood Ford.
    While Sherwood owned the property, two entrepreneurs rented part of the mansion and started Polk Audio there.

    http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-06-18/business/1995169028_1_gedco-mansion-notre-dame



    Viking64 wrote: »
    ...I noticed that too, but I didn't search it until I saw your post. There's quite a bit of interesting background, particularly if you love Second Empire Victorians as much as I do! :p


    Hmmmpf (that's meant to be a thoughtful hmmmpf, not a petulant harrumpf).
    I remember Sherwood Ford -- but I didn't know the connection with Polk's genesis.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited January 2018
    j9ox6voywyod.png

    September 1977
  • codycatalist
    codycatalist Posts: 2,662
    Great thread!
    Just a dude doing dude-ly things

    "Temptation is the manifestation of desire which equals necessity." - Mikey081057
    " I have always had a champange taste with a beer budget" - Rick88
    "Just because the thread is getting views don't mean much .. I like a good train wreck doesn't mean i want to be in one..." - pitdogg2
    "Those that don't know, don't know that they don't know." - heiney9
    "Audiophiles are the male equivalent of cat ladies." - Audiokarma Member
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    edited January 2018
    This thread is an awesome idea... if Polk won’t honor or even bother to remember their history, then perhaps this thread can serve as a humble reminder.

    GREAT IDEA!!
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited January 2018
    Thanks for the feedback -- for the record, I think that Polk's owners have done a good job of keeping some perspective on the brand's history. The "Signature Series/American HiFi" certainly reflects Polk's heritage of providing good sound at reasonable prices, and it's worth noting that the website's splash page still has Mr. Polk & friends (via a video link) on it.

    9c1u48kwn260.png
  • motorhead43026
    motorhead43026 Posts: 3,892
    edited January 2018
    About all Polk is going to have left is their storied history.

    Wait, they do have a new Alexa compatible soundbar.
    2 channel: Anthem 225 Integrated amp; Parasound Ztuner; TechnicsTT SL1350; Vincent PHO-8 phono pre; Marantz CD6005 spinner; Polk SDA2BTL's; LAT International speaker cables, ZU Mission IC's and power cables all into a PS Audio Dectet Power center.

    Other; M10 series II, M7C's, Hafler XL600 amp, RB-980BX, Parasound HCA-1500 amp , P5 preamp, all in storage. All vintage Polk have had crossover rebuilds and tweeter upgrades.

    The best way to predict the future is to invent it.

    It is imperative that we recognize that an opinion is not a fact.

    Imagine making politics your entire personality.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited January 2018
    kmba15oa8nag.png


    August 1978.
    Lookee, the Monitor 5 has arrived! :)

    0c81psevqrxa.png

  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    2cpsjvbxnb8i.png

    April 1979

    I remember listening to these @ Soundscape when they were brand-new-fresh :)
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    By June of '79, the RTA-12's joined the family :)

    6166knfb73qf.png
  • ^^golden ear.
    2 channel: Anthem 225 Integrated amp; Parasound Ztuner; TechnicsTT SL1350; Vincent PHO-8 phono pre; Marantz CD6005 spinner; Polk SDA2BTL's; LAT International speaker cables, ZU Mission IC's and power cables all into a PS Audio Dectet Power center.

    Other; M10 series II, M7C's, Hafler XL600 amp, RB-980BX, Parasound HCA-1500 amp , P5 preamp, all in storage. All vintage Polk have had crossover rebuilds and tweeter upgrades.

    The best way to predict the future is to invent it.

    It is imperative that we recognize that an opinion is not a fact.

    Imagine making politics your entire personality.
  • verb
    verb Posts: 10,176
    super cool post @mhardy6647 !!! I appreciate the time you are taking putting this together. And BTW i wish i was retired !!!
    Basement: Polk SDA SRS 1.2tl's, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,McIntosh MCD301 CD/SACD player, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2, Series2 Digital Cables, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Series2 XLR's, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, MIT Shotgun S3 IC's, MIT Shotgun S1 Bi-Wire speaker cables
    Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, Northstar Designs Intenso DAC, Antique Sound Labs AV8 Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
    Spare Room: Dayens Ampino Integrated Amp, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's, Shunyata Hydra 8 Power Conditioner
    Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Rotel RCD-1072 CD player, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
    Garage #1: Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amp, Project Box-E BT Streamer, Polk Tsi200 Bookies, Douglas Speaker Cables, Shunyata Power Conditioner
    Garage #2: Cambridge Audio EVO150 Integrated Amplifier, Polk L200's, Analysis Plus Silver Oval 2 Speaker Cables, IC's TBD.
  • codycatalist
    codycatalist Posts: 2,662
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    2cpsjvbxnb8i.png

    April 1979

    I remember listening to these @ Soundscape when they were brand-new-fresh :)

    Man I love the RTA 12s!
    Just a dude doing dude-ly things

    "Temptation is the manifestation of desire which equals necessity." - Mikey081057
    " I have always had a champange taste with a beer budget" - Rick88
    "Just because the thread is getting views don't mean much .. I like a good train wreck doesn't mean i want to be in one..." - pitdogg2
    "Those that don't know, don't know that they don't know." - heiney9
    "Audiophiles are the male equivalent of cat ladies." - Audiokarma Member
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    edited January 2018
    Polk Audio played with electrostats??? The news shocks me. Has anyone ever heard of that before?
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    I don't recall any electrostatics from Polk.
  • motorhead43026
    motorhead43026 Posts: 3,892
    edited January 2018
    John, where did you get that info?
    2 channel: Anthem 225 Integrated amp; Parasound Ztuner; TechnicsTT SL1350; Vincent PHO-8 phono pre; Marantz CD6005 spinner; Polk SDA2BTL's; LAT International speaker cables, ZU Mission IC's and power cables all into a PS Audio Dectet Power center.

    Other; M10 series II, M7C's, Hafler XL600 amp, RB-980BX, Parasound HCA-1500 amp , P5 preamp, all in storage. All vintage Polk have had crossover rebuilds and tweeter upgrades.

    The best way to predict the future is to invent it.

    It is imperative that we recognize that an opinion is not a fact.

    Imagine making politics your entire personality.
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    Neither did I, but the Beveridge in the ad is just that. They appear to have been a partnership of some kind, but all I find is info on the speakers themselves and no mention of Polk when I try and look them up.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson