Polk has new owners
F1nut
Posts: 51,655
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
"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
Comments
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didnt Masimo pay $1 billion?- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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didnt Masimo pay $1 billion?
I do believe they did... Not sure how I feel about this as it relates to Polk Audio. Polk would be the bottom of the ladder in terms of Harmon's portfolio. As such I see a ton of sound bars and entry level products going forward. The Legends are already dead and the Reserve line is likely not far behind.The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2800 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
How many flies need to be buzzing a dead horse before you guys stop beating it? -
yeah, so I just heard.
Talk about a conglomerate!
... and Samsung owns Harman.
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Let's not forget sound united killed off Classé.
Honestly it cannot be any worse than Masimo. I hope! -
Let's not forget sound united killed of Classé.
Honestly it cannot be any worse than Masimo. I hope!
Classe was on borrowed time to begin with but would likely still be around were it for Masimo and the piss-poor management of the consumer portfolio.The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2800 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
How many flies need to be buzzing a dead horse before you guys stop beating it? -
Let's not forget sound united killed off Classé.
Honestly it cannot be any worse than Masimo. I hope!
Don't hold your breath.Analog: Hana ML > MoFi UltraDeck > Bob's Devices Sky 20-S > Sutherland 20/20 w/LPS
Digital: Cambridge CXC / Streaming > Cambridge CXN v2
MastersounD Dueventi > Rosso Fiorentino Certaldo or Hifiman EF600 > Hifiman Arya Stealth
Discogs -
Here's my big question... does this put the life of this forum on the clock? I think it does. Probably a longer clock. Like at least two years. But I'd imagine we'll see an end to this forum. Or possibly a full erase and reset, which is what they did with a lot of the pro brands in the past.Analog: Hana ML > MoFi UltraDeck > Bob's Devices Sky 20-S > Sutherland 20/20 w/LPS
Digital: Cambridge CXC / Streaming > Cambridge CXN v2
MastersounD Dueventi > Rosso Fiorentino Certaldo or Hifiman EF600 > Hifiman Arya Stealth
Discogs -
There could be worse options. At least it's going to a consumer electronics company.
The Masimo purchase seemed disjointed and ill conceived.Expert Moron Extraordinaire
You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you! -
I think being owned by a very large electronics company that specializes in AV equipment and personal devices is much better than being owned by a medical device company that only wanted to get it's hands on some patents that Sound United held.
Time will tell if Samsung and Harmon let Polk do their own thing or not. Hopefully they do.
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Polks brand recognition is substantially better than most companies other than perhaps bose- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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Can we store all the info from this forum in the wayback machine?2ch rig: Speakers: Magnepan LRS w/Magna Riser stands Preamplifier: Parasound P5 Amplifier: Parasound A23 CDP: Pioneer DV-563A Cables: Wireworld Equinox 7 XLR ICs, Wireworld Ultraviolet 7 USB, AudioQuest Q2s, AudioQuest NRG X(preamp)
Standby: LSi9s with VR3's Fortress mods -
Probably the best possible outcome considering Harman International knows what they are doing in this market compared with recent owners, has huge financial backing and good revenues, and all in for an excellent purchase price. Masimo's new leadership probably couldn't wait to cut loose that part of the business to focus on its core business again.
It's likely the case that B&W, Marantz, and Denon are the jewels Harman International will focus most on. -
I see this as a positive.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 -
I see this as a positive.
I too view it as a net positive, but as I said earlier, Polk is the value brand within their portfolio, so expect to see the brand trend downmarket from where Sound United was trying to go. I could be wrong, but I think Masimo had little to do with the product Polk brought to market.The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2800 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
How many flies need to be buzzing a dead horse before you guys stop beating it? -
I agree with this as well. The legend and Reserve line I feel were well under way before Masimo became the title holder.I think Masimo had little to do with the product Polk brought to market. -
I think the reserve series has performed admirably- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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I think the reserve series has performed admirably
The Legends have performed well too, but Masimo knew nothing about how to run an audio company.The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2800 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
How many flies need to be buzzing a dead horse before you guys stop beating it? -
The problem with the legend series is Polk played it to safe with the enclosures.
I agree they are good looking and well built speakers but I think it was just a little to safe.
Especially when you compare the lsi and Lsim enclosures which are... Imo a timeless look and an industry standard build quality at the price point- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
I think the L800 kind of tied their hands a bit on the cabinet… I agree on thatThe Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2800 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
How many flies need to be buzzing a dead horse before you guys stop beating it? -
I hope this is a positive for Polk, but to be honest, it will take a lot for them to get me to purchase anything new from them. All of their TOTL speakers should have some support for a couple years after they kill the line, especially tweeters. LSiM, Reserve, Legend. People invest a lot of money in these lines, and more than likely, they will keep them for some time, give them a little life line.
Not asking for them to do what they have for the older SDA line, IMO I’m surprised we can still get tweeters.
If I ever find a nice set of L200’s for a good price, I would probably jump on them. -
The manufacturing model of Sandy gross, which imo, is very successful given his success in the industry and it's common sense nature is why drivers are still made for the old models.
Polk made decades of products using the same suite of drivers in different configurations. This is rarely done in this world of complete redesigns every 5 years or so.
The only brands I have seen do this on that scale is definitive and golden ear.- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
If something isn't broke, don't fix it! Come on new Polk Audio owners, Bring back the Monitor 7!2ch rig: Speakers: Magnepan LRS w/Magna Riser stands Preamplifier: Parasound P5 Amplifier: Parasound A23 CDP: Pioneer DV-563A Cables: Wireworld Equinox 7 XLR ICs, Wireworld Ultraviolet 7 USB, AudioQuest Q2s, AudioQuest NRG X(preamp)
Standby: LSi9s with VR3's Fortress mods -
Dead thread walking...
So... there's a recent post at (ahem) another hifi forum musing about the fates of the JBL and Polk brands in their current corporate structure. Not sure why they didn't broach the same question here
but I thought it was worthy of mention (if only barely). Nothing too interesting posted to it yet, though.
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/first-jbl-and-now-polk.1097878/
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There are some notable companies that still build speakers in the USA that weren't mentioned in that thread when I just looked at it but they're not really intended for the mass market that Harman mainly focuses on. Polk really is a mass market brand and has been since the mid-1990s. That's how they've continued for so long when other competing brands went bankrupt. Other USA made brands are namely Vandersteen, Wilson, Magico, Ohm...
Of course some of the components that go in them are internationally sourced.
I understand Martin Logan makes their electrostatic panels in Canada now. Close enough, eh. -
Polk has put out some extremely solid products and are well known, hard to imagine them going away.
I do think the days of legend priced gear could be over- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
