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.
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
The ring radiator reminds me of the Scan-Speak Revelator with the silver phase plug:
Not even remotely close. It is most likely still the Vifa based model they have been using.
The Scanspeak Revelator is a WHOLE other league. Just spend some time with any of Gunny's Sonner designs for verification.
"Some people find it easier to be conceited rather than correct."
"Unwad those panties and have a good time man. We're all here to help each other, no matter how it might appear." DSkip
The ring radiator reminds me of the Scan-Speak Revelator with the silver phase plug:
Not even remotely close. It is most likely still the Vifa based model they have been using. The Scanspeak Revelator is a WHOLE other league. Just spend some time with any of Gunny's Sonner designs for verification.
[emphasis added]
... with a price to match.
Which is not to say that the Revelator's not a very fine tweeter (it is) -- but it's pricey.
Not even remotely close. It is most likely still the Vifa based model they have been using.
The Scanspeak Revelator is a WHOLE other league. Just spend some time with any of Gunny's Sonner designs for verification.
All I said is that it visually "reminded me" of the Scan-Speak.
Any speculation on it's performance or about whether or not it's a Vifa unit is just that, speculation.
Well Jesse how much better or even if they sound better with your brief listening session, do they even compete with the 705's? The LSIM's are a better looking speaker than the Legends IMHO, the Legends look to much like the Signature series, did you listen to the bookies or the towers. Would you even consider them for yourself over the LSIM's?
Home Theater
Parasound Halo A 31 OnkyoTX-NR838 Sony XBR55X850B 55" 4K RtiA9 Fronts CsiA6 Center RtiA3 Rears FxiA6 Side Surrounds Dual Psw 111's Oppo 105D Signal Ultra Speaker Cables & IC's Signal Magic Power Cable Technics SL Q300 Panamax MR4300 Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables Audioquest Forest USB Cable
2 Channel
Adcom 555II Vincent SA-T1 Marantz SA 15S2 Denon DR-M11 Clearaudio Bluemotion SDA 2.3tl's (Z) edition MIT Terminator II Speaker Cables & IC's Adcom 545II Adcom Gtp-450 Marantz CD5004 Technics M245X SDA 2B's, SDA CRS+
Stuff for the Head
JD LABS C5 Headphone Amplifier, Sennheiser HD 598, Polk Audio Buckle, Polk Audio Hinge, Velodyne vPulse, Bose IE2, Sennheiser CX 200 Street II, Sennheiser MX 365
Shower & Off the beaten path Rigs
Polk Audio Boom Swimmer, Polk Audio Urchin
No, I've never heard them. I've never had my eyes on them. I kinda don't care how they look or how they sound. Till this post I didn't even know what the name was.
The reason I love these new speakers is simple. I was able to get LSiM's at a blowout price. I could only dream about speakers like the LSiM in my house. Thanks to the new Legend I now have awesome speakers for almost the price of my Signatures
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
No, I've never heard them. I've never had my eyes on them. I kinda don't care how they look or how they sound. Till this post I didn't even know what the name was.
The reason I love these new speakers is simple. I was able to get LSiM's at a blowout price. I could only dream about speakers like the LSiM in my house. Thanks to the new Legend I now have awesome speakers for almost the price of my Signatures
It has nothing to do with these speakers. It all has to do with the fact that Polk has abandoned pushing the value segment in the speaker market. They don’t know how to market a class leading speaker anymore so “why bother” at this point!
LSiM failed because Polk failed to market or properly distribute the speaker. The “Legends” have nothing to do with your new speakers.
Living room:
Samsung PN50B860 50" Plasma : XBOX One : Roku Ultra : Oppo UDP-203 : Pioneer Elite SC-87 : APC H15 : Focal 806V mains : Focal 806V Surrounds : SVS SB2000 : SVS SB12-NSD
2Ch:
Sonus Faber Venere S : Rotel RB 1582 MKII : Oppo UDP-205 : Furman Elite 15 DM i : Pro-Ject Debut Carbon with Acryl-It Platter :
From an aesthetic perspective, I just can’t stand the oval shape of the LSiM woofers.
Bud - Silicon Valley
Lumin X1 file player
Sony XA-5400ES SACD
Pass XP-22 pre, X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers, SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on preamp, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits.
Well, I'm glad to see that Polk (aka Sound United) is still producing and innovating new speakers. In my humble opinion, judging a book by its cover usually gets you nowhere. I am excited about the new line and I'll wait until after I've heard them to form an opinion. YMMV.
Not even remotely close. It is most likely still the Vifa based model they have been using.
The Scanspeak Revelator is a WHOLE other league. Just spend some time with any of Gunny's Sonner designs for verification.
All I said is that it visually "reminded me" of the Scan-Speak.
Any speculation on it's performance or about whether or not it's a Vifa unit is just that, speculation.
Call it "understanding supply chain management" and "an educated guess based on historical analysis" if you will. But the fact remains, the early LSiS used the Vifa radial ring tweeter. Then the LSiMs used a manufactured for Polk only Vifa based radial ring tweeter. Those supply avenues still exist and trying to source a new supplier costs a lot of time and money which we have seen is not the standard MO of Sound United. They want to keep margins as good as possible as they are in the business of making money.
So you say speculation while I say safe assumption based on existing facts and historical data.
"Some people find it easier to be conceited rather than correct."
"Unwad those panties and have a good time man. We're all here to help each other, no matter how it might appear." DSkip
The ring radiator tweeter has sort of become a signature thing for Polk that in my mind is used to set them apart from their competitors. I'm not exactly sure, but the use of the ring radiator design may be the longest Polk has used any type of tweeter in its best speaker line. It would be a big deal for them to move to something else at this point.
Another obvious thing that will set the new line apart is the midrange driver. Better be some good marketing language for those, because they will look strange to most people.
The race track woofers were probably only used in the LSiM line to keep the front profile slim while maintaining a big radiating surface. Looks like that's been abandoned now, which may or may not make a difference in sound but I think it looks more conventional. It's hard to tell from the photos, but the more conventional woofers may have caused the cabinets to get wider. Certainly, if some forum members think negatively of the appearance of the oval woofers then the general public may have also thought something was a bit off about them.
1. Polk LSiM707, 704C, 703; Dual SVS SB2000 subwoofers; Marantz SR7011 receiver; Parasound A31 and A23 amps; Oppo 205; Sony 65" 4K TV; FIOS; PS Audio Power Plant Premier; MIT S2 cables 2. JM Labs Electra 920.1; Parasound JC2 and JC5; Sony HAP-Z1ES; Marantz SA8004 SACD; Music Hall MMF7 and Acoustech phono pre; PS Audio P1000; MIT S1 Cables 3. Polk LSiM703; Anthem Pre-2L SE; Parasound A21; Sony 48" 4K TV; Wyred4Sound DAC 2; Oppo 203; Squeezebox Touch; PS Audio Power Director 4.7; MIT S3 cables
I like that there are two bookshelf options. Surely there are also two tower options? But if you insist on only three models I think it’s better to have bookshelf options personally...
And I just realized no more three way bookie? No sure if it matters, lots of GREAT bookies are two way...
And I remember when I first discovered the LSi series being captivated by those nipple tweeters and loving my LSi7s and thinking the treble was amazing. Fast forward year and many bookies later and I agree that a really good soft some tweet is far superior, but I still imagine that ring radiator does set them apart with a lot of folks...
Living Room 2.1: Dynaudio Contour 1.3mkii; Martin Logan Grotto sub; Musical Fidelity A308; Cambridge Azur 851N; Sony UBP-x1000es Game Room HT: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology SM450; Definitive Technology LCR2000; Definitive Technology Procinema 800; Mirage Nanasats; Sub - HSU VTF-2 MK5 Master Bedroom
Cambridge Azur 551r; Definitive Technology StudioMonitor350; ACI Titan Subwoofer
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.
DUDE! seriously? they are not even in the same playing field - I have owned both and can tell you the ELACs are stunning speakers
EXACTLY! ...and there lies the problem! Its about the almighty dollar and perception of the brand. Your ELACs are good looking speakers and so are the LSiM. Both have heavily braced MDF enclosures (and we all know that your ELAC enclosures had some quality issue), good crossovers, robust quality drivers, and respectable finishes with the Adante offering a walnut laminate finish for the same price as the gloss finish. As great as your Adante speakers may look or sound I still like the curved top of the LSiM better. That's just a minor subjective thing that I'm sure some others agree with. The same goes with the aesthetics of all the other brands out these. Some buy just for sound, and some buy for looks and sound. No surprise that the ELACs perform. However, all can find things they like and dislike regarding the aesthetics of any speaker out there.
Still.....The top of the line LSiM707 are $3,999.90 a pair,
The Adante AF-61 are $4,999.98 a pair, Revel Performa3 F208 $4999.98 a pair, Dynaudio Evoke 50 $4999.98 a pair, Focal Aria 948 $4999.98 a pair, Monitor Audio Gold 300 $4599.88 a pair, B&W 702 S2 4499.98 a pair, Focal Aria 936 $3999.98 a pair, Monitor Audio Gold 200 $3,599.98 a pair
Polks, top of the line speaker is cheaper than many of the so called "audiophile" brands yet I bet they had a hard time taking market share away from the 'small' list above...not to even mention the tons of other brands out these. I bet there are many that would spend more for the other brands above, even if the 707 outperformed some of them and and offered a pleasing sound to some. Its a tough thing to over come...its almost like a stigma. All one has to do is look around the web and its easy to see that Polk struggles with this.
IMO, ELAC hit the ball out of the park by getting Andrew Jones and hitting shows and doing interviews, etc. It was a marketing home run that automatically put the brand's new products in the 'audiophile' category.
So, IMO, this new Legend Series does not look much different than whats already out there in the marketplace. I'm sure the so so pictures and video are not telling the whole story. IMO, they look more like a Signature Series revamp than an LSiM replacement.
What the LSiM had going for it was the sexy curved shape but why pay more to manufacture this if there is not a good return. If you have to cur prices in half to more product then that is going to change your direction for the replacement line. If this new speaker is cheaper to make, and offers better performance, and is sold for less then.... that may be the best path for Polk. It would take a 'Serious' heavy hitting performance and looks beyond its price point to seriously take market share away from the so called audiophile brand above.
Why continue to chase the 'audiophile' stamp of approval? IMO, the Andrew Jones ELAC set the current bar for $5K and under speaker marketing. If there in no plan in place to heavily market and get the product out there to the masses via retail, then even a revamped Legend SDA would fail.
Lets wait and see what this thing looks like in person, sounds like, and how they market the product.
FAMILY ROOM HDTV - Sharp AQUOS LC-70LE600U 70" | AVR/Streamer - Onkyo TX-NR3008 | Amp - Parasound HCA-1203A Blu-Ray/Media/Gaming - Sony PS3-320GB / Microsoft Xbox One | Broadcast - Xfinity X1 Platform Front Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Center Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Rear Spkrs - Artison Portrait LRS Sub - DIY Stereo Integrity HT 15 | Sub Amp - Dayton Audio SA1000 Wire - Audioquest Type 4, BJC Belden 5000 | HDMI - BJC Belden | Power Cables - Pangea | Surge - Monster
Your ELACs are good looking speakers and so are the LSiM. Both have heavily braced MDF enclosures, good crossovers, robust quality drivers, and respectable finishes with the Adante offering a walnut laminate finish for the same price as the gloss finish.
I'm going to politely disagree here, as the quality of the crossovers in the Adante easily surpasses that of the LSiM series.
Not digging the port or the baffle; but the mid design and the old TV screen shape of the tweeter plate are pretty awful imo. Flagship with a name like "Legend"? To me, these look cheaper than the T series.
Are the aesthetics enough to keep me from trying? Probably. Unless they get rave reviews and value pricing, I'll pass and likely ignore future Polk products.
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.
DUDE! seriously? they are not even in the same playing field - I have owned both and can tell you the ELACs are stunning speakers
EXACTLY! ...and there lies the problem! Its about the almighty dollar and perception of the brand. Your ELACs are good looking speakers and so are the LSiM. Both have heavily braced MDF enclosures (and we all know that your ELAC enclosures had some quality issue), good crossovers, robust quality drivers, and respectable finishes with the Adante offering a walnut laminate finish for the same price as the gloss finish. As great as your Adante speakers may look or sound I still like the curved top of the LSiM better. That's just a minor subjective thing that I'm sure some others agree with. The same goes with the aesthetics of all the other brands out these. Some buy just for sound, and some buy for looks and sound. No surprise that the ELACs perform. However, all can find things they like and dislike regarding the aesthetics of any speaker out there.
Still.....The top of the line LSiM707 are $3,999.90 a pair,
The Adante AF-61 are $4,999.98 a pair, Revel Performa3 F208 $4999.98 a pair, Dynaudio Evoke 50 $4999.98 a pair, Focal Aria 948 $4999.98 a pair, Monitor Audio Gold 300 $4599.88 a pair, B&W 702 S2 4499.98 a pair, Focal Aria 936 $3999.98 a pair, Monitor Audio Gold 200 $3,599.98 a pair
Polks, top of the line speaker is cheaper than many of the so called "audiophile" brands yet I bet they had a hard time taking market share away from the 'small' list above...not to even mention the tons of other brands out these. I bet there are many that would spend more for the other brands above, even if the 707 outperformed some of them and and offered a pleasing sound to some. Its a tough thing to over come...its almost like a stigma. All one has to do is look around the web and its easy to see that Polk struggles with this.
IMO, ELAC hit the ball out of the park by getting Andrew Jones and hitting shows and doing interviews, etc. It was a marketing home run that automatically put the brand's new products in the 'audiophile' category.
So, IMO, this new Legend Series does not look much different than whats already out there in the marketplace. I'm sure the so so pictures and video are not telling the whole story. IMO, they look more like a Signature Series revamp than an LSiM replacement.
What the LSiM had going for it was the sexy curved shape but why pay more to manufacture this if there is not a good return. If you have to cur prices in half to more product then that is going to change your direction for the replacement line. If this new speaker is cheaper to make, and offers better performance, and is sold for less then.... that may be the best path for Polk. It would take a 'Serious' heavy hitting performance and looks beyond its price point to seriously take market share away from the so called audiophile brand above.
Why continue to chase the 'audiophile' stamp of approval? IMO, the Andrew Jones ELAC set the current bar for $5K and under speaker marketing. If there in no plan in place to heavily market and get the product out there to the masses via retail, then even a revamped Legend SDA would fail.
Lets wait and see what this thing looks like in person, sounds like, and how they market the product.
I'm going to politely disagree here, as the quality of the crossovers in the Adante easily surpasses that of the LSiM series.
There is nothing really to disagree with or no reason for Joe to defend the Elacs. I never said one was better or worst, or equal from a performance standpoint.
They are good speakers and and I will repeat .... both the Adante and LSiM have good crossovers. The LSiM's 4-way high power handling crossover uses Poly for the tweets,air core inductors, Notch filter, zobel, and divided chassis....which is all good stuff. Not the best or not the worst. If the Elac is better in design and component quality, this does not mean that the Polk has a 'bad' crossover...also some might happen to like a speaker with a curved shape and top over a flat top box. However, there is nothing wrong with a flat top square shaped speaker. The discussion was about the looks of the Legend Series Polks. IMO, they don't look much different than much else out there. IMO the LSiM sexy curved shape is one of its strong points...which the Polk engineers say help with performance.
Each driver and woofer in the LSiM towers has its own enclosure (the LSiM707 tower has five separate chambers; even the tweeter has its own enclosure). The towers have no parallel surfaces;they do have massive bracing and curved tops, all of which help to eliminate resonance and standing waves. The isolated subwoofer enclosures also help eliminate internal standing waves.
Aside from its aesthetic appeal, the curved cabinet design also enables subwoofer columns of different lengths and shapes. This creates less organ pipe resonance (less column
resonance). Our engineers spilt the energy generated by the subwoofers into two small peaks, rather than one large spike.
The baffle has a very generous radius to eliminate edge diffraction; and the speaker grille, which attaches magnetically, is a zero-diffraction design. These details help stabilize imaging for a well-defined soundstage.
Take price, sound preference, and comparison to other speakers out of the equation. The scientist over at Polk have done a good job designing speakers and crossovers using the latest tools available. I took notice years ago with the SRS then the later the car audio SR6500 series speakers. Back then they were one of the few that offerd a white paper showing the science behind what they were offering. Their SR line could produce a pretty good response in the car which is not easy to do out of the box and takes some engineering and good components. It looks like the same engineering was used in the LSiM line.
Realizing (again) that I'm not the target demographic for any of these (well, maybe a l'il pair of bookshelves if the sound and the price were right) -- I will mention that aesthetics hasn't ever been a particular driver* for me vis-a-vis loudspeakers.
Speaker of car audio crossover back when the SR line was out.
Focal was doing something like this in their super expensive Utopia Be No. 7 component set:
Alpine offer their SPX set and a pretty nice price that hand an exceptional crossover for the money.
Even given the above at two totally different price points, the Polk SR was a respectable product. Some may say the price was a little high at the time but the same has been said about the LSiM. Solid engineering of a solid product.
FAMILY ROOM HDTV - Sharp AQUOS LC-70LE600U 70" | AVR/Streamer - Onkyo TX-NR3008 | Amp - Parasound HCA-1203A Blu-Ray/Media/Gaming - Sony PS3-320GB / Microsoft Xbox One | Broadcast - Xfinity X1 Platform Front Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Center Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Rear Spkrs - Artison Portrait LRS Sub - DIY Stereo Integrity HT 15 | Sub Amp - Dayton Audio SA1000 Wire - Audioquest Type 4, BJC Belden 5000 | HDMI - BJC Belden | Power Cables - Pangea | Surge - Monster
Well, I'm glad to see that Polk (aka Sound United) is still producing and innovating new speakers. In my humble opinion, judging a book by its cover usually gets you nowhere. I am excited about the new line and I'll wait until after I've heard them to form an opinion. YMMV.
Gotta agree with Vic here. Aesthetics, sure, everyone loves the handcrafted real wood cabinets and machined metal bits and pieces. Craftsmanship. Yeah! Heavy. Yeah! Love it too! But, how do these mass produced guys sound? We're gonna find out!
Basement: Polk SDA SRS, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,Enlightened Audio Designs CD Transport, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, Marantz SA-14 SACD, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Digital Cables, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, Wireworld Oasis 8 RCA IC's, 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, PASS ACA 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: Antique Sound Labs Wave AV-8 Monoblocks, Tisbury Mini Passive Pre, 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 think therein lies the problem. Price seems high. The LSiM’s are great speakers, but for $4k? Like you said, there are probably more options now out there for the same or slightly higher that give much better performance.
I got mine used for $800 for the pair. Sold them for the same. You can now buy them brand new for the same. That’s awful for those who paid $3k (705’s) I can see the Elacs getting discounted every now and again for up to 30-40% off retail. But not 73%!
As an aside, the pic of the Lsim woofer (left) and the Elac woofer (right)
Both are nice drivers. Those Elac's look at if they have a hell of a stoke!
Funny thing about ELAC drivers. Their 400 series drivers just draw you in like a black hole and makes you(Me any way) want to listen to them. I've yet to do so however....Not that I can afford them.
Comments
The closest you're going to get to an SDA is in a soundbar.
Well, it's the way I hoped they might go -- didn't really expect 'em to do so... but, yeah, it coulda been the case.
Office-Infinity Kappa 600, Kappa Center, in ceiling Polk RC80i, Marantz 5012, OPPO 203, Pioneer Elite PDF-59 CD, PSA Stellar 300, Sony 510C 48"
Master BR- LSi7, Signature S15 Dolby Height, LSI700 in ceiling, SVS-SB3000, Marantz 5012, Emotiva XPA-5 G2, OPPO 203, Pioneer DVL-919 Laser Disc, Sony 55" 800B
Patio- SDI Atrium8 x3, Emotiva A-100 amps x3
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
Looks are awful, IMO. The RTI-A series look FAR better than these...
They were teasing this release YEARS ago and this is what they were working on all that time?!
Samsung PN50B860 50" Plasma : XBOX One : Roku Ultra : Oppo UDP-203 : Pioneer Elite SC-87 : APC H15 : Focal 806V mains : Focal 806V Surrounds : SVS SB2000 : SVS SB12-NSD
2Ch:
Sonus Faber Venere S : Rotel RB 1582 MKII : Oppo UDP-205 : Furman Elite 15 DM i : Pro-Ject Debut Carbon with Acryl-It Platter :
Not even remotely close. It is most likely still the Vifa based model they have been using.
The Scanspeak Revelator is a WHOLE other league. Just spend some time with any of Gunny's Sonner designs for verification.
"Unwad those panties and have a good time man. We're all here to help each other, no matter how it might appear." DSkip
... with a price to match.
Which is not to say that the Revelator's not a very fine tweeter (it is) -- but it's pricey.
All I said is that it visually "reminded me" of the Scan-Speak.
Any speculation on it's performance or about whether or not it's a Vifa unit is just that, speculation.
Parasound Halo A 31 OnkyoTX-NR838 Sony XBR55X850B 55" 4K RtiA9 Fronts CsiA6 Center RtiA3 Rears FxiA6 Side Surrounds Dual Psw 111's Oppo 105D Signal Ultra Speaker Cables & IC's Signal Magic Power Cable Technics SL Q300 Panamax MR4300 Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables Audioquest Forest USB Cable
2 Channel
Adcom 555II Vincent SA-T1 Marantz SA 15S2 Denon DR-M11 Clearaudio Bluemotion SDA 2.3tl's (Z) edition MIT Terminator II Speaker Cables & IC's Adcom 545II Adcom Gtp-450 Marantz CD5004 Technics M245X SDA 2B's, SDA CRS+
Stuff for the Head
JD LABS C5 Headphone Amplifier, Sennheiser HD 598, Polk Audio Buckle, Polk Audio Hinge, Velodyne vPulse, Bose IE2, Sennheiser CX 200 Street II, Sennheiser MX 365
Shower & Off the beaten path Rigs
Polk Audio Boom Swimmer, Polk Audio Urchin
No, I've never heard them. I've never had my eyes on them. I kinda don't care how they look or how they sound. Till this post I didn't even know what the name was.
The reason I love these new speakers is simple. I was able to get LSiM's at a blowout price. I could only dream about speakers like the LSiM in my house. Thanks to the new Legend I now have awesome speakers for almost the price of my Signatures
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
DUDE! seriously? they are not even in the same playing field - I have owned both and can tell you the ELACs are stunning speakers
HT - Panasonic BDP/Tivo Bolt - Marantz SR5013 - Def tech C and In ceiling - Sony XBR 75"
It has nothing to do with these speakers. It all has to do with the fact that Polk has abandoned pushing the value segment in the speaker market. They don’t know how to market a class leading speaker anymore so “why bother” at this point!
LSiM failed because Polk failed to market or properly distribute the speaker. The “Legends” have nothing to do with your new speakers.
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Ditto
Call it "understanding supply chain management" and "an educated guess based on historical analysis" if you will. But the fact remains, the early LSiS used the Vifa radial ring tweeter. Then the LSiMs used a manufactured for Polk only Vifa based radial ring tweeter. Those supply avenues still exist and trying to source a new supplier costs a lot of time and money which we have seen is not the standard MO of Sound United. They want to keep margins as good as possible as they are in the business of making money.
So you say speculation while I say safe assumption based on existing facts and historical data.
"Unwad those panties and have a good time man. We're all here to help each other, no matter how it might appear." DSkip
Another obvious thing that will set the new line apart is the midrange driver. Better be some good marketing language for those, because they will look strange to most people.
The race track woofers were probably only used in the LSiM line to keep the front profile slim while maintaining a big radiating surface. Looks like that's been abandoned now, which may or may not make a difference in sound but I think it looks more conventional. It's hard to tell from the photos, but the more conventional woofers may have caused the cabinets to get wider. Certainly, if some forum members think negatively of the appearance of the oval woofers then the general public may have also thought something was a bit off about them.
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3. Polk LSiM703; Anthem Pre-2L SE; Parasound A21; Sony 48" 4K TV; Wyred4Sound DAC 2; Oppo 203; Squeezebox Touch; PS Audio Power Director 4.7; MIT S3 cables
And I just realized no more three way bookie? No sure if it matters, lots of GREAT bookies are two way...
And I remember when I first discovered the LSi series being captivated by those nipple tweeters and loving my LSi7s and thinking the treble was amazing. Fast forward year and many bookies later and I agree that a really good soft some tweet is far superior, but I still imagine that ring radiator does set them apart with a lot of folks...
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Still.....The top of the line LSiM707 are $3,999.90 a pair,
The Adante AF-61 are $4,999.98 a pair, Revel Performa3 F208 $4999.98 a pair, Dynaudio Evoke 50 $4999.98 a pair, Focal Aria 948 $4999.98 a pair, Monitor Audio Gold 300 $4599.88 a pair, B&W 702 S2 4499.98 a pair, Focal Aria 936 $3999.98 a pair, Monitor Audio Gold 200 $3,599.98 a pair
Polks, top of the line speaker is cheaper than many of the so called "audiophile" brands yet I bet they had a hard time taking market share away from the 'small' list above...not to even mention the tons of other brands out these. I bet there are many that would spend more for the other brands above, even if the 707 outperformed some of them and and offered a pleasing sound to some. Its a tough thing to over come...its almost like a stigma. All one has to do is look around the web and its easy to see that Polk struggles with this.
IMO, ELAC hit the ball out of the park by getting Andrew Jones and hitting shows and doing interviews, etc. It was a marketing home run that automatically put the brand's new products in the 'audiophile' category.
So, IMO, this new Legend Series does not look much different than whats already out there in the marketplace. I'm sure the so so pictures and video are not telling the whole story. IMO, they look more like a Signature Series revamp than an LSiM replacement.
What the LSiM had going for it was the sexy curved shape but why pay more to manufacture this if there is not a good return. If you have to cur prices in half to more product then that is going to change your direction for the replacement line. If this new speaker is cheaper to make, and offers better performance, and is sold for less then.... that may be the best path for Polk. It would take a 'Serious' heavy hitting performance and looks beyond its price point to seriously take market share away from the so called audiophile brand above.
Why continue to chase the 'audiophile' stamp of approval? IMO, the Andrew Jones ELAC set the current bar for $5K and under speaker marketing. If there in no plan in place to heavily market and get the product out there to the masses via retail, then even a revamped Legend SDA would fail.
Lets wait and see what this thing looks like in person, sounds like, and how they market the product.
HDTV - Sharp AQUOS LC-70LE600U 70" | AVR/Streamer - Onkyo TX-NR3008 | Amp - Parasound HCA-1203A
Blu-Ray/Media/Gaming - Sony PS3-320GB / Microsoft Xbox One | Broadcast - Xfinity X1 Platform
Front Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Center Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Rear Spkrs - Artison Portrait LRS
Sub - DIY Stereo Integrity HT 15 | Sub Amp - Dayton Audio SA1000
Wire - Audioquest Type 4, BJC Belden 5000 | HDMI - BJC Belden | Power Cables - Pangea | Surge - Monster
I'm going to politely disagree here, as the quality of the crossovers in the Adante easily surpasses that of the LSiM series.
Are the aesthetics enough to keep me from trying? Probably. Unless they get rave reviews and value pricing, I'll pass and likely ignore future Polk products.
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Well said and sorry if I was accusatory
HT - Panasonic BDP/Tivo Bolt - Marantz SR5013 - Def tech C and In ceiling - Sony XBR 75"
There is nothing really to disagree with or no reason for Joe to defend the Elacs. I never said one was better or worst, or equal from a performance standpoint.
They are good speakers and and I will repeat .... both the Adante and LSiM have good crossovers. The LSiM's 4-way high power handling crossover uses Poly for the tweets,air core inductors, Notch filter, zobel, and divided chassis....which is all good stuff. Not the best or not the worst. If the Elac is better in design and component quality, this does not mean that the Polk has a 'bad' crossover...also some might happen to like a speaker with a curved shape and top over a flat top box. However, there is nothing wrong with a flat top square shaped speaker. The discussion was about the looks of the Legend Series Polks. IMO, they don't look much different than much else out there. IMO the LSiM sexy curved shape is one of its strong points...which the Polk engineers say help with performance.
Take price, sound preference, and comparison to other speakers out of the equation. The scientist over at Polk have done a good job designing speakers and crossovers using the latest tools available. I took notice years ago with the SRS then the later the car audio SR6500 series speakers. Back then they were one of the few that offerd a white paper showing the science behind what they were offering. Their SR line could produce a pretty good response in the car which is not easy to do out of the box and takes some engineering and good components. It looks like the same engineering was used in the LSiM line.
SR6500 White Paper
http://www.specsserver.com/CACHE/FILE23773.PDF
Not the best, not the worst, but good design and crossover for the SR series, LSiM series, etc. Price to performance is up to the buyer to decide.
HDTV - Sharp AQUOS LC-70LE600U 70" | AVR/Streamer - Onkyo TX-NR3008 | Amp - Parasound HCA-1203A
Blu-Ray/Media/Gaming - Sony PS3-320GB / Microsoft Xbox One | Broadcast - Xfinity X1 Platform
Front Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Center Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Rear Spkrs - Artison Portrait LRS
Sub - DIY Stereo Integrity HT 15 | Sub Amp - Dayton Audio SA1000
Wire - Audioquest Type 4, BJC Belden 5000 | HDMI - BJC Belden | Power Cables - Pangea | Surge - Monster
There's this other loudspeaker manufacturer who refers (or, at least, referred) to their brand as A Legend in Sound.
They even have had a Legend Series of loudspeakers.
Is there any trademark infringement issue kind of thing goin' on, here?
Just... you know... musing.
I muse, therefore I am.
and.
Realizing (again) that I'm not the target demographic for any of these (well, maybe a l'il pair of bookshelves if the sound and the price were right)
______________
* See what I did there?
Focal was doing something like this in their super expensive Utopia Be No. 7 component set:
Alpine offer their SPX set and a pretty nice price that hand an exceptional crossover for the money.
Even given the above at two totally different price points, the Polk SR was a respectable product. Some may say the price was a little high at the time but the same has been said about the LSiM. Solid engineering of a solid product.
HDTV - Sharp AQUOS LC-70LE600U 70" | AVR/Streamer - Onkyo TX-NR3008 | Amp - Parasound HCA-1203A
Blu-Ray/Media/Gaming - Sony PS3-320GB / Microsoft Xbox One | Broadcast - Xfinity X1 Platform
Front Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Center Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Rear Spkrs - Artison Portrait LRS
Sub - DIY Stereo Integrity HT 15 | Sub Amp - Dayton Audio SA1000
Wire - Audioquest Type 4, BJC Belden 5000 | HDMI - BJC Belden | Power Cables - Pangea | Surge - Monster
Gotta agree with Vic here. Aesthetics, sure, everyone loves the handcrafted real wood cabinets and machined metal bits and pieces. Craftsmanship. Yeah! Heavy. Yeah! Love it too! But, how do these mass produced guys sound? We're gonna find out!
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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 got mine used for $800 for the pair. Sold them for the same. You can now buy them brand new for the same. That’s awful for those who paid $3k (705’s) I can see the Elacs getting discounted every now and again for up to 30-40% off retail. But not 73%!
As an aside, the pic of the Lsim woofer (left) and the Elac woofer (right)
HT - Panasonic BDP/Tivo Bolt - Marantz SR5013 - Def tech C and In ceiling - Sony XBR 75"
Funny thing about ELAC drivers. Their 400 series drivers just draw you in like a black hole and makes you(Me any way) want to listen to them. I've yet to do so however....Not that I can afford them.
The drivers are brutes! http://www.dynabel.no/filemanager/download_file/file/770816
...and yes....Polk may have a hard time in the $4K-$5K range. There is just too much out there today.
HDTV - Sharp AQUOS LC-70LE600U 70" | AVR/Streamer - Onkyo TX-NR3008 | Amp - Parasound HCA-1203A
Blu-Ray/Media/Gaming - Sony PS3-320GB / Microsoft Xbox One | Broadcast - Xfinity X1 Platform
Front Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Center Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Rear Spkrs - Artison Portrait LRS
Sub - DIY Stereo Integrity HT 15 | Sub Amp - Dayton Audio SA1000
Wire - Audioquest Type 4, BJC Belden 5000 | HDMI - BJC Belden | Power Cables - Pangea | Surge - Monster