Are the Legend Series quietly discontinued?

mpitogo · December 5

Are the Legend Series quietly discontinued? Website shows no speakers except the hight modules. Perhaps it's because there are no restocks due to the increased import duties from Chinese manufactured goods.

Jstas · December 5

Legend series seems to have been discontinued long before the tariffs and what you see available is just leftover new stock. The height modules did not sell as well as the rest of the speakers.

billbillw · December 5

Pretty much. This has been discussed around here for the last year or so. Used versions are about the only bet if you want to buy any. Otherwise, the Reserve series is a next best option if you want new Polks.

mpitogo · December 5

Maybe something new on the horizon. With Samsung/Harman ownership I wonder how long these brands will last to carry on the legacy of their founders.

I had to look it up.... AKG, Arcam, harman/kardon, Infinity, JBL Lexicon, Mark Levinson, Revel, pro brands, AMX, Crown, JBL Pro, Martin, Soundcraft, Studer, BSS, DBX, DigiTech, JBL Synthesis and now Classe, Bowers&Kilkins, Denon, Heos, Marantz and Polk. Serious consolidation and less competition.

F1nut · December 5

https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/201598/polk-has-new-owners

nooshinjohn · December 5

Harman won't let Polk play in the deep end of the price range any longer, if 6k/pr can even be considered that any longer. Polk won't be going anywhere, but they will probably be the budget line in that portfolio.

Emlyn · December 5

I was pretty impressed with the stealth discontinuation of the Legend line in 2024 compared to when earlier lines were being phased out. They did discount the Legends all along but nothing like the fire sale discounts on the LSiM at their end. Seemed to be little to no overstocks except for the height modules. May have just been because they weren't obligated to pay the factory to manufacture all that many Legends and the lower priced Reserve line with similar drivers could fill in to their production slot.

Lower price may have equaled more boxes moved in retail. They did try to market an R200 with wood veneer and a higher quality crossover but that version seemed to have flopped since it went on deep discount not long after it was introduced. That caused me to think there was no return coming for a Legend line.

F1nut · December 5

Personally, I think Polk missed the mark. Had the new SDA model had some resemblance to the originals I believe they would have done a lot better. The angled baffle, SDA tweeter and being ported instead of having a PR turned me off right away.

Jstas · December 5

Honestly, the Reserve series is nothing to scoff at and a bit of a bargain for how capable they are. You just better have good equipment because my experience with them is that they are unforgiving

Emlyn · December 5

I got a pair of the R100s a couple weeks ago in the white finish to go in the home gym where a pair of R200s would be too big. They look good and sound good!

motorhead43026 · December 5

I own a pair of white R200’s, white speakers just sound better.

nooshinjohn · December 6

F1nut wrote: »

Personally, I think Polk missed the mark. Had the new SDA model had some resemblance to the originals I believe they would have done a lot better. The angled baffle, SDA tweeter and being ported instead of having a PR turned me off right away.

The looks are rather chunky, but they sing sweetly. The imaging is the best Polk has ever done. Do I miss my 1.2TL's? Not for a second.

Toolfan66 · December 6

nooshinjohn wrote: »

F1nut wrote: »

Personally, I think Polk missed the mark. Had the new SDA model had some resemblance to the originals I believe they would have done a lot better. The angled baffle, SDA tweeter and being ported instead of having a PR turned me off right away.

The looks are rather chunky, but they sing sweetly. The imaging is the best Polk has ever done. Do I miss my 1.2TL's? Not for a second.

F1nut wrote: »

Personally, I think Polk missed the mark. Had the new SDA model had some resemblance to the originals I believe they would have done a lot better. The angled baffle, SDA tweeter and being ported instead of having a PR turned me off right away.

Agree and Disagree,

Missed the mark? Is hard to swallow when they sound so good, ported or not, they are tight, so I disagree.

Had they had some resemblance to the originals they would have done better? I do agree, but would they have sounded better? that, we will never know, would they have sounded good? I absolutely believe they would have..

Where they missed the mark is on the anniversary edition (R200), They should have brought back new and updated versions of the Monitor 7's and the SDA CRS+ 4.1tl's both with the option of better looking stands with the vintage Polk Audio logo.
With a limited run they would have sold out before they ever started delivering them. I believe many of us would have purchased both sets..

Polk misses the mark by not keeping parts on the higher end lines longer, to help take care of customers investments.
I know we have voiced this before, but if Ryan is out there babysitting us on what we post, than I would hope a post like this is just as important to him/them, as the ones of us just ribbing each other..

mikejedi0619 · December 6

This is probably the last brand new or close to brand new pair u will find .. if u want them .. I recommend getting them before they disappear !!

for a very reasonable price too !!!!!

Imo best speakers I have ever owned !!

https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/polkl200-blk/polk-audio-legend-l200-pair-6.5-bookshelf-speaker-black/1.html

mikejedi0619 · December 14

Can’t believe those L200s are still sitting there !!! :?

halo71 · December 15

F1nut wrote: »

Personally, I think Polk missed the mark. Had the new SDA model had some resemblance to the originals I believe they would have done a lot better. The angled baffle, SDA tweeter and being ported instead of having a PR turned me off right away.

I could not agree more! That angled baffle.....hate the look. I know looks don't mean as much as quality of sound. But still, its an ugly speaker.

Emlyn · December 15

I must admit the L800s do look better with the speaker grilles on.

VR3 · December 15

The L800 in the walnut with grilles on is a very very very nice looking speaker. The pair I ordered, one had an incredible wood grain on it, very attractive.

The high gloss front baffle on the black is not my cup of tea

Ryan_Soundunited · December 15

I'll chime in on this as we had official postings about this on social media. The Legend series was always intended to be a limited production run and all that is available is whatever stock we have left. It might still be found from authorized dealers elsewhere but our own stock is where it is currently. The used market could also be used to find some Legend series speakers floating about but we will not be producing any more and whatever comes next is yet to be announced.

Ryan_Soundunited · December 15

Toolfan66 wrote: »

nooshinjohn wrote: »

F1nut wrote: »

Personally, I think Polk missed the mark. Had the new SDA model had some resemblance to the originals I believe they would have done a lot better. The angled baffle, SDA tweeter and being ported instead of having a PR turned me off right away.

The looks are rather chunky, but they sing sweetly. The imaging is the best Polk has ever done. Do I miss my 1.2TL's? Not for a second.

F1nut wrote: »

Personally, I think Polk missed the mark. Had the new SDA model had some resemblance to the originals I believe they would have done a lot better. The angled baffle, SDA tweeter and being ported instead of having a PR turned me off right away.

Agree and Disagree,

Missed the mark? Is hard to swallow when they sound so good, ported or not, they are tight, so I disagree.

Had they had some resemblance to the originals they would have done better? I do agree, but would they have sounded better? that, we will never know, would they have sounded good? I absolutely believe they would have..

Where they missed the mark is on the anniversary edition (R200), They should have brought back new and updated versions of the Monitor 7's and the SDA CRS+ 4.1tl's both with the option of better looking stands with the vintage Polk Audio logo.
With a limited run they would have sold out before they ever started delivering them. I believe many of us would have purchased both sets..

Polk misses the mark by not keeping parts on the higher end lines longer, to help take care of customers investments.
I know we have voiced this before, but if Ryan is out there babysitting us on what we post, than I would hope a post like this is just as important to him/them, as the ones of us just ribbing each other..

Yeah, I am around to see some postings, as much as I can parrot things up the chain, sometimes, as with all companies, it is not heard properly. I know with the limited production of the Legend series, some parts were reserved for these situations, but once those parts are gone, they won't be produced any more.

pitdogg2 · December 15

Ryan_Soundunited wrote: »

I'll chime in on this as we had official postings about this on social media. The Legend series was always intended to be a limited production run and all that is available is whatever stock we have left. It might still be found from authorized dealers elsewhere but our own stock is where it is currently. The used market could also be used to find some Legend series speakers floating about but we will not be producing any more and whatever comes next is yet to be announced.

I was always under the impression it was limited and Stu's swan song for retirement.
By the way I do not do any social media like FB, Instagram or tictoc if that's where you're referring.

Jstas · December 15

Hey Ryan, I know I don't speak for everyone here but, seriously, don't feel like you gotta defend Polk Audio. We are, admittedly, a very small market segment and while our dollars don't mean a hill of beans, our enthusiasm and support for Polk Audio is what brings value.

Some folks here really seem to like to twist the screws for whatever personal agenda they have and that's sad but it's no different than any other audio forum. Still, it takes all kinds, ya know?

But as a business, Polk has to do what keeps the lights on.

Some of us may disagree with it, some of us might not like it but realize it's necessary and some of us agree. How we express that matters and some lack the tact for it.

But please realize that you don't need to apologize, you have a tough job here corralling the natives but at the same time, the efforts are appreciated. While you do have a direct line to Polk higher ups that we do not, nobody is going to blame you if they misinterpret the messages. Especially since they could easily have their own direct access if they wanted.

I don't know how long you have been with Polk Audio but many of us here knew and spoke with Polk Audio top brass on a regular basis before they all started retiring. Often times, they themselves reached out to us. Several were involved with the forum too. But, things change. It is palpable but at the same time, we're all glad that Polk Audio is around and survived the Massimo debacle.

So don't take the laments of us old timers who miss those glory days of the forums as belligerent complaining. It's a tumultuous time for Polk Audio and the audio markets in general and for those of us who remember the fun and prosperous days, the current situations are kinda saddening.

We do, very much, appreciate the insights you are able to share and we do appreciate the communication chain that gets us heard even if we don't say it often. So please don't apologize for what we all understand and don't take the open honesty as hostility. It's just a bunch of people who enjoyed a very candid relationship with Polk Audio in general just being as candid as they are used to. If nobody talked to you candidly or nobody challenged you, it'd be a sign of a lack of respect. Because people treat you like one of the gang, the candor and honesty is a sign of respect.

Emlyn · December 15

I still think of Polk as the "everyman" brand of relatively affordable high performance American speakers at its core. Don't go changing.

Ryan_Soundunited · December 15

Jstas wrote: »

Hey Ryan, I know I don't speak for everyone here but, seriously, don't feel like you gotta defend Polk Audio. We are, admittedly, a very small market segment and while our dollars don't mean a hill of beans, our enthusiasm and support for Polk Audio is what brings value.

Some folks here really seem to like to twist the screws for whatever personal agenda they have and that's sad but it's no different than any other audio forum. Still, it takes all kinds, ya know?

But as a business, Polk has to do what keeps the lights on.

Some of us may disagree with it, some of us might not like it but realize it's necessary and some of us agree. How we express that matters and some lack the tact for it.

But please realize that you don't need to apologize, you have a tough job here corralling the natives but at the same time, the efforts are appreciated. While you do have a direct line to Polk higher ups that we do not, nobody is going to blame you if they misinterpret the messages. Especially since they could easily have their own direct access if they wanted.

I don't know how long you have been with Polk Audio but many of us here knew and spoke with Polk Audio top brass on a regular basis before they all started retiring. Often times, they themselves reached out to us. Several were involved with the forum too. But, things change. It is palpable but at the same time, we're all glad that Polk Audio is around and survived the Massimo debacle.

So don't take the laments of us old timers who miss those glory days of the forums as belligerent complaining. It's a tumultuous time for Polk Audio and the audio markets in general and for those of us who remember the fun and prosperous days, the current situations are kinda saddening.

We do, very much, appreciate the insights you are able to share and we do appreciate the communication chain that gets us heard even if we don't say it often. So please don't apologize for what we all understand and don't take the open honesty and hostility. It's just a bunch of people who enjoyed a very candid relationship with Polk Audio in general just being as candid as they are used to. If nobody talked to you candidly or nobody challenged you, it'd be a sign of a lack of respect. Because people treat you like one of the gang, the candor and honesty is a sign of respect.

I appreciate the kind words, Polk Audio is not my only brand that I cover within the company but it is the only one with a dedicated forum. I have more of a pro sound background so the home audio world has been a shift for me personally but being in it for a few years has given me a different perspective in the studios I freelance at. Either way, I do have respect for those who have been fans of the brand for years and having had the chance to learn of the history of Polk over the last few years, I certainly have a respect for it and would like to see a but more fun returning to the forums.
Personally, I like the idea that Polk has a dedicated forum, that's awesome, not many brands have that these days.

motorhead43026 · December 15

This forum is a mere shadow of what it used to be. Even 10 years ago it was pretty robust.

mhardy6647 · December 16

Yes, but... this forum is still here.
-- and some of us early adopters, too -- for better or worse.

@Ryan_Soundunited: I can only speak for myself, but I appreciate your response(s) -- and your candor.

Toolfan66 · December 16

Well said John..

Are the Legend Series quietly discontinued?

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