Polk Reserve Series

Emlyn
Emlyn Posts: 4,346
edited March 2021 in Speakers
Looks like Club Polk is back up and running. I've been watching the many Youtube reviews of the new Reserve line and I'm liking what I'm seeing.

And the website is looking much better too.
«13

Comments

  • hochpt21
    hochpt21 Posts: 5,423
    edited March 2021
    Looks very promising. Quite the surprise, but a good one. Imagine that it’s more in the wheelhouse for a lot of buyers.

    The name is great marketing. Still not sure about the look of those drivers.
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  • TopperDude
    TopperDude Posts: 166
    I'm thrilled about the new Reserve line. I love the Legend range and if Polk can capture most of the performance of that line at a much more affordable price-point (and from initial reviews - its looks like they did), they'l definitely have a winner on their hands.
  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    edited March 2021
    I'm really happy about the white and black finish. It would be nice if they offered a modern Maple finish as well. Being vinyl and not real wood veneers is a bit disappointing but I haven't seen them in person maybe it's real nice. They look pretty good on the youtube reviews.
    I watched this one dude. He gave a pretty good review.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIXxqEHf5iU

    I watched a few others and one thing I noticed is that everyone says there is no fatigue. The new Tweeter seems to be crossed over well.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • dromunds
    dromunds Posts: 9,969
    “Great,” “awesome, “the best affordable speaker Polk has ever made.” Thanks for posting this. Guy needs to stop slamming his coffee though.
  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    edited March 2021
    dromunds wrote: »
    “Great,” “awesome, “the best affordable speaker Polk has ever made.” Thanks for posting this. Guy needs to stop slamming his coffee though.
    I think that's just him being real. He seems genuine.

    Anyway I just watched another review that was also very good and very positive for this new line.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhP3LJI0ud4

    This guy really liked them a lot. What he said in this review is what most of us Polk people look for in a speaker.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited March 2021
    R100 $599 the pair https://www.crutchfield.com/p_107RSV100/Polk-Audio-Reserve-R100-Midnight-Black.html
    L100 $999 the pair ("$200 price break!") https://www.crutchfield.com/p_107L100WN/Polk-Audio-Legend-L100-Brown-Walnut.html

    ayiu6pbt1ryo.jpg
    Just a quick paste-up from Crutchfield's photos, not (quite) to scale.

    Also, the first photo I've seen of the new"Reserve" Polks avec grilles. I like the (apparent) nubbly texture and appearance of the grilles (FWIW).

    tzu0u90ua2r0.png
    (again, from the Crutchfield link above)

    Reminds me of the "new" Klipsch offerings of the past few years; must be the current "retro" fashion for loudpseaker decor(?).

    zhh964xudsa3.png
    9bpvdv1nb1b2.png
    ... and, to a lesser extent...
    iiazgb3k56mu.png



  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited March 2021
    Lots of piccies, links and even a wee bit of data ;)[looks like almost all of the data are reguritated L200 plots] at a thread at ASR :| (yeah, yeah... I know...)
    https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/polk-announced-the-reserve-series-of-loudspeakers.21705/

    7ccjg72i5s7q.png
    0cgh9mh1sulc.png
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    I'm intrigued by the foam they appear to be using inside the cabinets. Looks like it may be injected rather than the old school batts of cheap insulation.

    The thickness of the cabinets combined with the foam inside makes them look like they will be quite inert structures. I also agree on the choice of fabric for the grilles giving them a retro look. Having said that, these are speakers that I wouldn't mind running without the grilles on which isn't true for most speakers I've had.

    Scott Orth was saying in one of the review videos to not be concerned about running these speakers at a reasonable volume level with a normal home theater receiver even though they've got a 4 ohm rating. They're not difficult to drive.
  • msg
    msg Posts: 9,309
    Has there been any common comparison to the Legend series?
    The obvious similarities in appearance have been noted, of course, but what about sound wise?

    Previous Polk Flagship, Theater, and Midline speakers offered significant differences in sonic signature.
    I disabled signatures.
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,506
    I look forward to reading more about the reserve line
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
  • Kex
    Kex Posts: 4,892
    Emlyn wrote: »
    ... I also agree on the choice of fabric for the grilles giving them a retro look...
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    ... must be the current "retro" fashion for loudpseaker decor(?)...
    Not sure it’s so much retro as it is “organic” and “earthy”, but if you’re going to go all natural and stuff, maybe they just need to stay nekkid! 😱
    Alea jacta est!
  • rburgess714
    rburgess714 Posts: 614
    I like the looks from what I have seen online but wonder how the nice the cabinets are, specially the vinyl wrap or whatever it’s called.
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  • Kex
    Kex Posts: 4,892
    Some of the vinyl wrap on previous speakers, like the RT55 and CS400 I’ve had in my possession, was quite decent. Not real wood, but not bad either (and it doesn’t fade in sunlight like some real wood, unless there’s a secret to avoiding that).
    Alea jacta est!
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,481
    Kex wrote: »
    Some of the vinyl wrap on previous speakers, like the RT55 and CS400 I’ve had in my possession, was quite decent. Not real wood, but not bad either (and it doesn’t fade in sunlight like some real wood, unless there’s a secret to avoiding that).

    Curtains?
    But what do I know...
  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    This was excellent and I learned that the longer center channel is actually a LCR design. That is totally excellent as you can use that as surrounds. I'm really intrigued by these speakers. I want to just buy them and demo them in my own home setup as a 5 channel system. Fronts are the only thing I'm not sure which way to go. Floor standing is always my go to but I would love to try out the bookshelf models.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5gJ8NvK9YE&t=2101s
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,711
    Emlyn wrote: »
    I'm intrigued by the foam they appear to be using inside the cabinets. Looks like it may be injected rather than the old school batts of cheap insulation.

    The thickness of the cabinets combined with the foam inside makes them look like they will be quite inert structures. I also agree on the choice of fabric for the grilles giving them a retro look. Having said that, these are speakers that I wouldn't mind running without the grilles on which isn't true for most speakers I've had.

    Scott Orth was saying in one of the review videos to not be concerned about running these speakers at a reasonable volume level with a normal home theater receiver even though they've got a 4 ohm rating. They're not difficult to drive.

    Looks like poly fill.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

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  • smglbrth
    smglbrth Posts: 1,458
    Interesting to be sure. When I first saw them I thought, as many I would imagine, that this new line was a result of the "leftovers" of the Legend series. I haven't seen any sales records of the Legends but I would imagine it is not great, given the price points. These are now the middle ground speaker and the specs are close to the Legend counterparts, albeit with smaller cabinets.

    Two things that caught my attention were the apparent "lack" of spikes listed for the smaller towers. Hopefully there will be an option to fit spikes somehow as most do like spikes, myself included. The new "X" port is the other one. For the bookshelves I would think this would be harder to place with regards to the back wall compared to the Legends. Rear ported speakers usually need more space.

    What's wrong with the vinyl wrap? I know it's personal preference but seems to me Polk speakers from the 80's, including my 8t's, are still intact and, if taken care of, do last the life of the speaker (and longer).
    Remember, when you're running from something, you're running to something...-me
  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 27,970
    Polk is using very careful verbiage when discussing the reserve series with the midwoofers. The two series share the "cone" and this was stared over and over in the videos I watched. This leads me to believe they may feature a cheaper motor structure. The same could be said about Focal.

    Just like Focal and the sopra and utopia line, very similar driver domes and cones but drastically different motor structures.

    Obviously just speculating but would actually make alot of sense and be a smart marketing move
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 27,970
    Just an example from a different manufacture

    hiammx4mgic9.jpg
    zjqzl6r3e3iy.jpeg
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    Some wood grain vinyl these days can pass for wood veneer on speaker cabinets since it's possible to add texture and the printed images of various wood grains underneath are more realistic than they used to me. And some wood veneer cabinets can be mistaken for vinyl. :)

    It also appears to be a trend to have some higher end speakers made with automotive paint on the cabinets. White speakers seem to be options for other manufacturers in this price range.

    I suspect most of the Reserve sales are going to be black vinyl wrap which makes no pretense at being anything other than what it is. For home theater speakers in a dark room, those are what I'd prefer.
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,137
    edited March 2021
    I'm glad the forum is back. I was in withdrawal lol. I guess the future's so bright we gots to wear shades though :)

    I think they may have a homerun with this series. A couple of things struck me as noteworthy or curious. The first one is that, in going from the R600 to the more expensive R700, they have subtracted one 6-1/2" turbine cone driver and added two 8" woofers, yet the frequency response is the same -3dB value of 38Hz - 37kHz! The details in the product literature are somewhat lacking on the R700 and they don't even discuss the woofers.


    www.polkaudio.com/-/media/files/documentmaster/polk-us/us/polk_reserve_towers_infosheet_new.pdf
    www.polkaudio.com/-/media/files/documentmaster/polk-us/us/polk_reserve_owners_manual.pdf

    Another thing is they don't seem to give any details on the grilles other than that they are anti-diffraction, magnetic, and acoustically inert. How are they accomplishing anti-diffraction since any grille with a solid frame would probably cause diffraction at a lot of frequencies, unless it had an extremely large roundover radius?

    Edit to add - There is actually another thing that bothers me. In the Owner's Manual they give "Amplifier output compatibility" for both of the above as "8 Ohm/6 Ohm/ 4 Ohm" and the Minimum Impedances as: 4.0 Ohm (R600) and 3.6 Ohm (R700). Is this a somewhat confusing way of saying that your amp better be rated for 4 Ohms? Could've stated that more clearly in the manual.
    Post edited by Gardenstater on
    George / NJ

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  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,137
    smglbrth wrote: »
    Interesting to be sure. When I first saw them I thought, as many I would imagine, that this new line was a result of the "leftovers" of the Legend series. I haven't seen any sales records of the Legends but I would imagine it is not great, given the price points. These are now the middle ground speaker and the specs are close to the Legend counterparts, albeit with smaller cabinets.

    Two things that caught my attention were the apparent "lack" of spikes listed for the smaller towers. Hopefully there will be an option to fit spikes somehow as most do like spikes, myself included. The new "X" port is the other one. For the bookshelves I would think this would be harder to place with regards to the back wall compared to the Legends. Rear ported speakers usually need more space.

    What's wrong with the vinyl wrap? I know it's personal preference but seems to me Polk speakers from the 80's, including my 8t's, are still intact and, if taken care of, do last the life of the speaker (and longer).

    When I read the manual I seem to remember them saying that the floor standing speakers have removable rubber feet, which when you pull them off, reveals a set of adjustable height spikes.
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Crown D150 amp
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    The R200 ($699 a pair) is about 15 percent lighter than the L200 ($1499 a pair) but also has about 27 percent less cabinet volume. The drivers appear at least on the surface to be identical. Polk doesn't appear to have skimped on cabinet structure given the weight. Cosmetic differences may mean the Reserve come from a different factory? What can be seen is the ports are different, possibly less expensive, and the binding posts and plates are much cheaper. The R200 look to be a great deal to me but they have to be given the number of competitors in that price range.
  • smglbrth
    smglbrth Posts: 1,458
    edited March 2021
    The driver/woofer compliment does seem identical. I have to admit though, whenever I see a speaker hailed as great for HT and stereo music I tend to cringe. Most all of my listening is just music, very little for movies...

    Hey, you guys that always wanted white you got your wish!
    Remember, when you're running from something, you're running to something...-me
  • motorhead43026
    motorhead43026 Posts: 3,892
    edited March 2021
    I am down for a pair of the R200 in white. Won’t be available in white until late 2021. I am retiring the end of 2021 so this will be my last new speaker purchase ever.


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    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.

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  • WLDock
    WLDock Posts: 3,073
    edited March 2021
    mantis wrote: »
    This was excellent and I learned that the longer center channel is actually a LCR design. That is totally excellent as you can use that as surrounds. I'm really intrigued by these speakers. I want to just buy them and demo them in my own home setup as a 5 channel system. Fronts are the only thing I'm not sure which way to go. Floor standing is always my go to but I would love to try out the bookshelf models.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5gJ8NvK9YE&t=2101s

    The presentation was very good, and this sounds like a very nice line. In the presentation they actually answered my question about why they did not offer a 3-way center channel. IMO, the R700 tower is a big speaker given the 6.5" midrange, two 8" woofers, and 12.6" x 45" x 16.9", 79.1 lbs size. They are asking $999 each. The R400 ($599) is the big center offered to mate up with them and is spec'd with two 6.5" woofers, 7.8 x 24.2 x 13.8 in, 32.8 lbs.

    Of course adding in a 4" midrange and larger crossover would require a larger cabinet and higher price as stated in the presentation. As an option they suggest the Legend L400 for $1799 and it has a 4" midrange and two 6.25" woofers, and sized at 9.47" x 26" x 13.44", 40.8 lbs. NOT that much larger than the R400.

    IMO, a 4-way Reserve center at $699 would have serve home theater enthusiasts with BIG rooms, wide seating area that plan to run the R700 towers.

    Advance to 47:35 in the presentation:
    dolnfi1t25qb.png
    2.2 Office Setup | LG 29UB55 21:9 UltraWide | HP Probook 630 G8 | Dell Latitude | Cabasse Stream Amp 100 | Boston Acoustics VS 240 | AUDIORAX Desk Stands | Mirage Omni S8 sub1 | Mirage Omni S8 Sub2
  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    Nice speakers,

    I'll stick with my LSiM. The price I paid is still less than a pair of R500
    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.
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  • dromunds
    dromunds Posts: 9,969
    LSiM on sale were the best bang for buck in a very very long time
  • WLDock
    WLDock Posts: 3,073
    edited March 2021
    Ron of New Record Day gave them a pretty good review.
    https://youtu.be/U2WjeEEU1Hw

    https://youtu.be/2c_fshZ3paU


    2.2 Office Setup | LG 29UB55 21:9 UltraWide | HP Probook 630 G8 | Dell Latitude | Cabasse Stream Amp 100 | Boston Acoustics VS 240 | AUDIORAX Desk Stands | Mirage Omni S8 sub1 | Mirage Omni S8 Sub2