New Polk Audio "Legend" Speaker Series shown at 2019 Hong Kong High End Audio Video Show
Comments
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ken brydson wrote: »Jesse seems impressed. That's enough for me to be intrigued....
That's what I was thinking. I'm still Keen on giving them a listen and I'd like to see what they look like with the grills on, I always keep grills on speakers anyway. Jesse hasn't steered me wrong so far, we both had the same opinion on the SDA 1.2s even before I knew what he thought of them.afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
mlistens03 wrote: »Here is a picture of our living room, and I think a set of those with a light wood finish would look very nice in here. I offer this purely as a somewhat "trendy" living room.
(note, I'm not in charge of decor or speaker placement, so please save your criticisms.
)
By the decor I am going to assume there is a powerful presence of estrogen in that household, looks good though.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.
There are three things that give a man a false sense of courage, a keyboard, alcohol and a firearm.
Motorhead, 4.12.20
It is imperative that we recognize that an opinion is not a fact. -
They should have used a clean damp rag to clean followed by a dry one. That right speaker looks bad. I'd love to hear them and would hope there is a way to attach splkes
Or is that some sort of marbled finish? I had the same thought, but I was (am) up for givin' 'em the benefit of the doubt.
I am also thinking that the little two-ways (EDIT: both flavors of 'em -- I didn't notice at first they were different!) look considerably more promising -- not that looks necessarily correlate one whit with sound.
Based on their configuration, the floorstanders are of little interest to me a priori, but then again I can say with some certainty that I ain't their key demographic
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PS: I mean... things are kinda odd in Hong Kong at the moment.
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I kind of like them. I mean,I'm not like pulling out the check book or anything. I don't find them offensive. However,who ever was in charge of setting them up for display,should be fired! Water spots and finger prints all over your product. This is how you display a brand new product for the whole world to see???First Watt,Monarchy Audio,Aric Audio,Promitheus Audio,April Music,Wyred4sound ,Bluesound,Pro-Ject,Onkyo,Graham Chartwell,Nola,Hornshoppe,HSU Research.
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I need to see more pictures, but the LSiM’s look way sexier to me.__________________________________________________
2 Channel
Turntable - VPI Classic 2/Ortofon 2M Blue
Amplification - Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II, Parks Audio Budgie Phono
Speakers - GoldenEar Triton 1
__________________________________________________
7.1 Home Theater
Denon AVR-X3300W; Rotel RMB-1066; Polk CS350ls, LS90's, FXi3's, RC60i; SVS PC Ultra; BenQ HT2050; Elite Screens 120"
__________________________________________________
Man Cave
Turntable - Pro-Ject 2.9 Wood/Grado Gold
Integrated Amplifier - Dared SL2000a, McCormack DNA 0.5 Deluxe
CD: Cambridge Audio
Speakers - LSiM 703; SDA 2A; Epos Epic 2
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mhardy6647 wrote: »those drivers appear to be ribbed for maximum pleasure.
Listening pleasure, one would assume.
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mhardy6647 wrote: »those drivers appear to be ribbed for maximum pleasure.
Listening pleasure, one would assume.
Have you seen the movie about Howard Stern called "Private Parts"?
Maybe more than listening pleasure.
afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
Ouch!motorhead43026 wrote: »By the decor I am going to assume there is a powerful presence of estrogen in that household, looks good though.
That said, there are not many speakers that most sane females would consider attractive. I got away with RT800’s and RT55’s for a while, but I’ll admit that they were never attractive. Now everything is in-ceiling (and temporary, which has been lasting for a few years already, but such are priorities in life sometimes)
The new “Legend” speakers don’t seem unattractive. Notice the nicer feet on the base of the larger models, with metal supports of some description. The bookshelves look more like replacements for the RTiA than the LSiM though, but maybe they look better in reality.
Speakers should really be gorgeous, if they’re going to be seen. Nobody ever said that a grand piano or baby grand looked unattractive. It’s part of the decor, not fighting with it. Similarly, if a speaker isn’t beautiful enough to be out from the corner wall, in the room, then the WAF is going to be low, and incurring displeasure over it is rarely (if ever) worth it.
Emotiva households are clearly NOT happy places (talking about the fugly speakers here, not the other stuff, but yeah... maybe some of that too...
). The price of such artworks tends not to be in the range of those offered by Polk, which brings me to another question...
What is the annual market for speakers anyway, so what are Polk fighting over? Speakers rarely break, so if one has a good pair (or more), then do owners ever even replace them?Alea jacta est! -
They should have used a clean damp rag to clean followed by a dry one. That right speaker looks bad. I'd love to hear them and would hope there is a way to attach splkes
I think it's still got the plastic film stuff on it. -
Gorgeous as in, e.g., Wilsons?
I mean, I am pretty tolerant of imposing loudspeakers -- but I'd prefer not to be menaced by them. Some of the bigger/'spensiver Wilsons are the stuff of nightmares.
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I think it's still got the plastic film stuff on it.
Looks like that's it. The bookshelf speakers have more of a flat blackish finish it seems, not shiny and wrinkly black.
1. Polk L800 + L900, L400, LSiM-703 x4; Dual SVS SB2000 subwoofers; Marantz AV8805A processor; Parasound A31; Outlaw 7000X; Oppo 205; Sony 65" 4K TV; FIOS; PS Audio Power Director 4.7; MIT S2 cables
2. Magnepan 1.7i or JM Lab 920.1; Sonic Frontiers Line 3 SE+ preamp and Parasound JC5 amp; Sony HAP-Z1ES; Marantz SA8004 SACD; Music Hall MMF7 and Acoustech phono pre; PS Audio P500; MIT S1 Cables -
I was thinking more along the lines of beautiful wood... the WAF should be higher with thatmhardy6647 wrote: »Gorgeous as in, e.g., Wilsons?
aherm... sorry 😐 🤭
Maybe along the lines of the Focal Scala Utopia, or some of the Sonus Faber lines... immaculate and meticulous craftsmanship, just like a piano!Alea jacta est! -
mhardy6647 wrote: »Gorgeous as in, e.g., Wilsons?
I mean, I am pretty tolerant of imposing loudspeakers -- but I'd prefer not to be menaced by them. Some of the bigger/'spensiver Wilsons are the stuff of nightmares.
Take me to your leader, earthling. -
Another pic, quality isn't great though:
Something to consider....do they look any better or worst then theses:
IMO, I like the curved top of the LSiM more so than the flat top ELAC Adante.
So, if Polk can get more performance out of these for less money then the LSiM they might be on to something. Because from a distance the G.E. or overall general effect of their design is not far off from other brands out there like the ELAC. The hurdle is all of the other brands in the $5K retail price bracket. Many tend to gravitate to the so called "audiophile" brands.
When does the club Polk listening road show start? -
... and they don't even sound very good.
OK, I haven't heard the WAMMs, but the Wilsons I have encountered were, shall we say, not to my taste sonically, either.
I.e., one remains cautiously optimistic 'bout this new line of Polks.
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ken brydson wrote: »Jesse seems impressed. That's enough for me to be intrigued....
I'm not sure impressed is correct. Let's say I didn't find anything objectionable in my short demos. I'll also say there is more to come.
As for the colors, as you can see there are 2 and IMO they look better than the LSiM colors.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 -
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So much for the blockbuster unveiling.
Yeah doesn't look like what we saw on the Polk tour either. Then again we only saw the bottom 1/2.When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
Family Room:
Samsung UN75RU710DFXZA,
Denon AVR-X4400H, Emotiva XPA3 GEN3
Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM, WD Live HUB.
Main: Polk LsiM 705
Center: Polk LSiM 704C
Front High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT
Surrounds: Polk S15
Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
Bed Room;
Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270
Main: Polk Signature S20
Center: Polk Signature S35
Rear: Polk R15
Sub: HSU STF-2
Working Warehouse;
Sony 2100ES AVR, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc
Cerwin Vega AT-12 (blasters) Advent Prodigy (listening)
Old sony 12" Sub
Mini tower PC with 400GB of music -
Interesting. What’s the theory behind a dimpled surface on the driver?Basement: Polk SDA SRS 1.2tl's, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,McIntosh MCD 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: Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amp, Project Box-E BT Streamer, Polk Tsi200 Bookies, Douglas Speaker Cables, Shunyata Power Conditioner -
I would expect a re-worked crossover in these too. Aside from that mid woofer, everything else looks like parts they have on hand from previous models. All in all, I personally see not much to warrant chasing them. Especially given what you can pick up the LSIM's for these days.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
The ring radiator reminds me of the Scan-Speak Revelator with the silver phase plug:
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Meh.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 -
Interesting. What’s the theory behind a dimpled surface on the driver?
Like razors with five blades -- gotta make things new and different.
Of course, the notion of little thingies to fight resonances or decrease break up irregularities isn't... umm... exactly new.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/listening-116-page-3
Perhaps the best sounding coax driver evah (at least relative to my ears) -- I cannot afford a pair, though
And then there's that strong but light thing -- cf. corrugated cardboard
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I like that they are front ported. Sure would like to hear the rr tweet tho. Thought it was the 703s weak link.
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The ring radiator reminds me of the Scan-Speak Revelator with the silver phase plug:
...which, in turn, looks to me like an armor-plated version of Roy Allison's 1970s n!pple-shaped 'dome' diaphragm (used in both midrange and tweeter drivers in Allison's superb early loudspeakers).
The Polk/ScanSpeak/Peerless style 'ring radiators' date back to the 1990s, if memory serves.
The notion of a 'ring radiator', though, dates back to JBL in the 1960s (at least), and again, AFAIK
http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?6368-Ring-Radiator-Comparisons
(borrowed image of the notorious JBL 075 ear-gougers, with lots of extra goodies, in this case )
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I do like that they are front ported also. The look though, for something deemed "legend', reminds me too much of the Sig. series, with a ring radiator from the Lsim series, with a new midwoofer.
To tell the truth, I was expecting something.....other than this. In the end though, let your ears judge as we like to say.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
All I’ll say for now is that if you listened to @D2Lo’s discussion, it was clear that the streamlined lineup of good (t series), better (signature series), and best (apparently legend series?) would put the best somewhere better the old rtia and lsim series. Clearly Polk can’t or is no longer interested in selling speakers at the LSiM MSRP (I suspect its the former), so they had to cut costs with this new flagship model to get the MSRP down. Or so I speculate...Living Room 2.1: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Musical Fidelity A308; NAD M51 DAC; Sony UBP-x1000es; Squeezebox Touch with Bolder Power Supply
Game Room HT: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 700 x3; Definitive Technology StudioMonitor 350; Definitive Technology ProMonitor 800; Sub - HSU VTF-2 MK5
Master Bedroom
Cambridge Azur 551r; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
All I’ll say for now is that if you listened to @D2Lo’s discussion, it was clear that the streamlined lineup of good (t series), better (signature series), and best (apparently legend series?) would put the best somewhere better the old rtia and lsim series. Clearly Polk can’t or is no longer interested in selling speakers at the LSiM MSRP (I suspect its the former), so they had to cut costs with this new flagship model to get the MSRP down. Or so I speculate...
^^^ Great post.
1) I didn't recall any of that; thanks for the reminder!
2) ... and I think it could be fairly and reasonably argued that superior sound at affordable prices would fit right in with the classic (dare I say Legendary Polk [Audio] ethos.
Ad from September 1977 (42 years ago )
https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/180156/a-project-for-2018-compendium-of-polk-audio-ads-etc/p1 -
mhardy6647 wrote: »All I’ll say for now is that if you listened to @D2Lo’s discussion, it was clear that the streamlined lineup of good (t series), better (signature series), and best (apparently legend series?) would put the best somewhere better the old rtia and lsim series. Clearly Polk can’t or is no longer interested in selling speakers at the LSiM MSRP (I suspect its the former), so they had to cut costs with this new flagship model to get the MSRP down. Or so I speculate...
^^^ Great post.
1) I didn't recall any of that; thanks for the reminder!
2) ... and I think it could be fairly and reasonably argued that superior sound at affordable prices would fit right in with the classic (dare I say Legendary Polk [Audio] ethos.
Ad from September 1977 (42 years ago )
https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/180156/a-project-for-2018-compendium-of-polk-audio-ads-etc/p1
This is actually where I thought they might go. Given Klipsch and JBL's recent re-introduction of some vintage lines.__________________________________________________
2 Channel
Turntable - VPI Classic 2/Ortofon 2M Blue
Amplification - Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II, Parks Audio Budgie Phono
Speakers - GoldenEar Triton 1
__________________________________________________
7.1 Home Theater
Denon AVR-X3300W; Rotel RMB-1066; Polk CS350ls, LS90's, FXi3's, RC60i; SVS PC Ultra; BenQ HT2050; Elite Screens 120"
__________________________________________________
Man Cave
Turntable - Pro-Ject 2.9 Wood/Grado Gold
Integrated Amplifier - Dared SL2000a, McCormack DNA 0.5 Deluxe
CD: Cambridge Audio
Speakers - LSiM 703; SDA 2A; Epos Epic 2
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