Klipsch vs Polk [Archive]

Chris Blount

01-12-11, 02:04 PM

BattleZone

01-12-11, 02:34 PM

I've never been a fan of Klipsch for exactly the reasons you list: harsh, unmusical highs and lousy midrange. Those horn-loaded tweeters are nasty. They are popular with people who are used to setting all of their EQs in a V-shape...

http://lakeofsoft.com/vcx/pix/equalizer.gif

:barf:

I generally prefer Infinity speakers, as they have crisp but smooth highs, nice, even midrange, and plenty of bass, but normally not even a hint of distortion or unpleasantness.

bobukcat

01-12-11, 03:06 PM

I almost bought Klipsch when I installed the theater room in the basement last winter but almost every review of them said the same thing - the horns produce highs that are too bright or harsh. I ended up with the Polk RTIA7s and really like them but kind of wish I had sprung for the A9s as the 7s run out of gas a little at the upper end of the listening range (for music, never had a problem with movie / soundtrack performance). My biggest complaint in the whole process is that it is just about impossible to go find someplace with a wide selection of quality speakers to listen to and compare. The big box retailers have killed off all the smaller specialty shops so you're left with listening to the limited selection BB has and with the limited sources they have to test them with. I've always believed that speakers are the most important part of any audio system and also believe they are the hardest item to judge based on specs - you really have to listen to them to see if they are to your liking or not - so this made my buying process the last time very, very difficult. I ended up paying more and buying from Crutchfield as they were offering free return shipping and no re-stocking fee if I didn't like them.

BTW - I'm traditionally a "V-shape" EQ setter myself (for music) and still prefer high quality dome (preferably titanium) tweeters to the horn or ribbons I've had a chance to listen to. :D

lugnutathome

01-12-11, 03:41 PM

And I am a Kilipsch Bigot but... High end reference series stuff and I set my "EQ" to flat thank you:p.

I've heard the argument about the harsh horns and perhaps in the lower builds that may be true but I've three 7.1 systems (well the game room is a 7.1+.1) in my current home all running Klipsch reference series speakers.

I like the fact that there is no high end sweet spot enforced as in using conventional dome tweeters.

I bought the speaker sets in early 05 and have RF7 towers,RC7 and RS7s in the big room with an RSW15 (bass the neighbors could feel if I had neighbors). The video game room has the RB75s, RS7, and RS35s with an RSW10 chained out to an RW12 in room rear.

My workout room is a 35 series matched "set" with RB35s, RC35, and RS35s and an RSW10.

The "35" series speakers have a mellower more 3 dimensional sound and are better suited to the smaller room whereas the "7" series speakers really hold their own in large spaces. No mid range losses on any of these sets. Great highs matched all the way down to rich lows.

All that said, the recent Klipsch offerings seem somewhat second tier to me as compared to the 05 line. I figured this was a result of the economy. Have no need to audition any at any rate but in my opinion for the spaces and equipment I have they are perfect. They sound full at low levels (still flat EQ) and reach concert hall levels near 0 on my amplifiers. Could not imagine better.

My experience with Polk's is that they were a great speaker in their earlier builds but not so much down the road. Course both companies have moved down to the lower price point markets and there the Polk's could indeed sound better. The Klipsch Synergy stuff looks cheap when compared to the reference series stuff.

I do have a 12inch Polk sub attached to a Yamaha YSP-1000 in my master bedroom. Great match up for that room.

So many factors come in to play. Your listening environment, AV equipment feeding them, and personal tastes.

Don "for harsh highs, no real midrange, and over amplified lows try Bose" Bolton

spartanstew

01-12-11, 03:46 PM

Herdfan

01-12-11, 07:17 PM

I have some Polk RTi10's, a CSi5 and RTi4's in my 5.1 and I am very happy with them. I got them from Circuit City as they were phasing out the RTi line for a lower line. I got what I thought was a good price, but it seemed every time I went in to CC, they had dropped the price, so I go the new price plus 10% of the difference. Did this like 3 times in the 30 day period.

I was in a Magnolia last (2009) Thanksgiving and almost pulled the trigger on some Vienna Accoustics as they sounded great for music. But then my wife pointed out that we never listen to music in the Media Room, so I passed.

I have heard Klipsch and yes they are very "Tinny" and I don't care for them.

Can't do Martin Logan's either. Something about the sound.

Maybe someday some Paradigm's. :)

Edit: I have been a Polk fan since the old days. Back in college I had, and still do, some Monitor 5's. Those were great speakers.

Cholly

01-12-11, 07:53 PM

I love my Paradigms - very clean sound, well matched, even though mine are from their low end: Focus fronts, Atom surrounds, PDR-8 sub, CC170 center. This all in a 17X17 2 story family room.
My son in Texas has Paradigms as well- if I recall correctly, he has Monitor 7 fronts, Monitor CC-390 center, DSP 3400 subwoofer and Atom surrounds.

emoxley

01-12-11, 08:23 PM

As you're finding out from the posts here, with Klipsch, you either love them or hate them. There is no in between with them. I get ear fatigue with them, after a few minutes of listening. I like Polk, but the only ones I'm familiar with are the LSi speakers I have. I'm very happy with them. Mine are very musical, as well as being great for movies. I use an SVS sub though......... :D

nightrider

01-12-11, 08:26 PM

i got 2 klipsch reference systems in my house first is rf-7 at first i wasn;t so sure of these i was using older 4bst bryston amps they were to bright , but i just changed to emotiva xpa-5 amp and wow them suckers sound awsome , they sound much better than b&w 800 series , at first they were not close ,, 2nd system is rb-75 book shelfs now these puppies can sing ,testing them against b&w 805's these rb-75 will give them a good run ,

spartanstew

01-12-11, 08:26 PM

I have Klipsch in the living room and love them. They're just the Quintets that I've had for about 7 years, but they sound great.

Not much different sounding than the $3000 package I have in the theater (but then again, I don't listen to them as loud).

Just re-read the first post and missed this:

I do like my Klipsch 12" powered subwoofer which isn't going anywhere.

The funny thing is that while I do love my Klipsch speakers, I have that same Sub and can't wait to get rid of it. I liked it when I bought it, but since then I've heard some real subs and it'll probably be the next thing I replace. And I don't even use it for movies, just TV, and it's not even very good at that.

CCarncross

01-13-11, 11:04 AM

I dont know what the current Klipsch line is like today, but my buddy has a set of Forte's from the mid 80's that are pretty decent, although they are much much brighter than my Paradigm setup that is from the early to mid-90's. I'm actually about ready to drop the change on a new set of Paradigm's, probably a set of Studio 60's...

Chris Blount

01-13-11, 11:09 AM

The funny thing is that while I do love my Klipsch speakers, I have that same Sub and can't wait to get rid of it. I liked it when I bought it, but since then I've heard some real subs and it'll probably be the next thing I replace. And I don't even use it for movies, just TV, and it's not even very good at that.Interesting. What don't you like about it? What other subs are you looking at? I'm curious because I'm always looking for something better as well.

David Ortiz

01-13-11, 11:49 AM

Hoosier205

01-13-11, 12:12 PM

My brother-in-law has a 5.1 Klipsch setup and they are absolute murder on the ears. They are not at all enjoyable to listen to. Personally, I prefer Energy. Klipsch owns Energy, but are very different speakers.

harsh

01-13-11, 12:16 PM

I have a multibreed 5.1 speaker setup based on Klipsch RB75 fronts and while they aren't perfect, they're relatively inexpensive and handle what my AVR dishes out.

I find that when in surround mode, my M&K two-way (not to be confused with a dipole; I hate interference nodes) center channel is the most critical element. As long as the fronts match up reasonably well, everything sounds good.

My viewing room is relatively inert acoustically so a brighter speaker doesn't create as many problems.

spartanstew

01-13-11, 12:35 PM

Interesting. What don't you like about it? What other subs are you looking at? I'm curious because I'm always looking for something better as well.

Haven't really started my search yet, so don't know what I'm looking for. I love SVS subs, but probably overkill for my living room.

The Klipsch sub just seems to be too "identifiable" or "localized". The bass response isn't smooth to me. I have an SVS in my theater and the bass envelopes you - with your eyes closed, you have no idea where the subwoofer is located. In my living room with the Klipsch, I get nowhere near that feeling. Just sounds like bass coming from the front corner of the room.

sigma1914

01-13-11, 01:42 PM

I got some Energy Take Classic 5.0 set for like $150 about 2 years ago & added an ESW-8 Sub for about $100. They are amazing & pack a serious punch for my small setup.

lflorack

01-13-11, 02:30 PM

I have a set of Klipsch reference speakers

(2) RVX-54's - Fronts (discontinued)
(1) RVX-42's - Center
(4) RSX-5's - Backs/Surrounds
(1) RSW-10D - Sub

I love them and people comment how crisp and clean they sound. I'm sure, like anything else, it's a matter of which one of the the many available speakers in the brand/line that you get AND (maybe more than that) personal preference (I do think I like the horn sound better than some).

If I was to upgrade, I'd look at getting Klipsch RF-82's.

lugnutathome

01-13-11, 02:52 PM

If you are talking about the RW-12 (single 12 inch cone ported) then I concur somewhat. My video game room uses a dual sided (one is passive) RSW-10 which has L/R lines out to pass the signal to the R12 to the back of the room which I have located behind a futon. There is a dining area back behind that (house has 2 kitchens and dining areas).

I find the RW 12 is strong and it took some tweaking with my YPAQ to get it's (and the front sub's) settings to a point where the YPAQ wasn't adjusting them up or down. Once so done I have transparent bass as long as I am on the front side of the futon. It's a bit hearty behind:grin:.

The RSW subs have an active and a passive element and really roll out smooth LFE/bass outputs. The single sided 12 is more "forced" in it's output and this may be due to port sizing in the enclosure. It's not as transparent as the RSW units but also was only half the price. I find my 12 inch Polk to be similar actually but proper placement and working *it's* volume level such that the YPAQ settings don't monkey with it helps it become transparent.

So from my perspective, its really the ported sub design and not Klipsch or Polk per se. I'd guess they are using standard speaker full range tuning knowledge for putting a port on a sub that may require a more open back end to let the bass roll out instead of pumping it out.

My RSW-15 in the main room is a marvel. I put low bass out to both the fronts and the sub and that is moving considerable air. When cranked to -25 and above xplosions in movie soundtracks hit you in the chest, shake the seats, and envelope you in the sound. Similarly a music media can be rendered at concert hall levels and the sub is transparent.

This all scales down equally to room filling low volume levels but the impact of a wall of air released by a low frequency blast is nicely audible and full but after feeling that whack in the chest this seems ant climatic.

My smaller scale systems work similar but not quire concert hall ambiance and won't slap your chest with a properly recorded explosion like the big room does but the subs are transparent to the overall sound.

Try getting the sub farther out from the wall/corner and see if you can adjust it's amp to be between 1/4 to 1/3 volume to maintain it's sound level.

Don "different sonic builds require different usage parameters" Bolton

Haven't really started my search yet, so don't know what I'm looking for. I love SVS subs, but probably overkill for my living room.

The Klipsch sub just seems to be too "identifiable" or "localized". The bass response isn't smooth to me. I have an SVS in my theater and the bass envelopes you - with your eyes closed, you have no idea where the subwoofer is located. In my living room with the Klipsch, I get nowhere near that feeling. Just sounds like bass coming from the front corner of the room.

Christopher Gould

01-13-11, 09:17 PM

I bought the Polk RM7500 system over ten years ago and shortly after added a couple of RT800i's for the front left and right channels. That gave me a couple of extra satellites to go 7.1.

I tried out Klipsch before I got the Polks, but I didn't like the sound and liked the Polks much better.

+1 i have been running the RM7500 for it seems like 12 years. havent decided what to do to upgrade to a 7.1. would love to be able to find another set dirt cheep.

Mark Holtz

01-13-11, 10:30 PM

How much have you guys spent on your setups?

harsh

01-13-11, 11:58 PM

The Klipsch sub just seems to be too "identifiable" or "localized". The bass response isn't smooth to me. I have an SVS in my theater and the bass envelopes you - with your eyes closed, you have no idea where the subwoofer is located.A funny anecdote (not funny other than how it contrasts to your version of reality):

My sister was commenting about my system over the holidays and she wanted to know how large my Klipsch sub enclosure was. I told her to get off her duff and look for herself (that's what brothers do). She got up, walked across the room, and looked behind the TV. It was a revelation to her that the sub was located behind the couch that she had just been sitting on.

Speaker placement is everything.

Chris Blount

01-14-11, 06:36 AM

How much have you guys spent on your setups?Including the sub my speaker setup was close to 2K.

Herdfan

01-14-11, 07:03 AM

Haven't really started my search yet, so don't know what I'm looking for. I love SVS subs, but probably overkill for my living room.

In our last house, my media room was about 6,000 cu ft. So my dual 12", 625 watt SVS sub was fine. In our new house, the media room is about 4000 cu ft and it is way overkill.

I know I could sell it and get one of the cylinder models, but how on earth do you ship that thing.

But it is a great sub.

sdicomp

01-14-11, 07:28 AM

Listened to Klipsch vs. Polk at BB 2 years ago in a side by side comparison. Polks couldn't hang!

harsh

01-14-11, 07:44 AM

It is important to understand that what you see at Best Buy (even some of the Magnolia stuff) is often a "consumer" level product and not necessarily representative of the best the manufacturer has to offer.

hdtvfan0001

01-14-11, 08:02 AM

I just went through a little speaker adventure that I thought I would share...

Are there any Klipsch fans out there? How do you like the sound from your Klipsch horns? I heard that the reference series is better but didn't want to bother since the horns on those would probably bug me as well. I do like my Klipsch 12" powered sub-woofer which isn't going anywhere.

I'm very much impressed with the Polks. I'm hearing sounds I never heard before in movie soundtracks. The detail is impressive to say the least.
Speakers are somewhat like women...some men may like one over the other, and there may not be a logical reason behind it. :lol:

Seriously though...speakers are one of the most subjective aspects of any Home Theater system. What makes matters even more complicated is that manufacturers come and go, get bought out by other companies, and have a wide range of products (some good, some no so good) - making the purchase process a challenge.

Example: Snell is a very high end speaker company that I have dealt with for years. They're admittedly pricey, but known for very high quality audio reproduction. I am very pleased with the 7.1 system of them in my Home Theater, but they were not cheap. You also can't buy them at a common retailer.

A few years back, Boston Acoustics purchased Snell. Once of the first things BA tried was to introduce one line of "Snell Lite" speakers, which were actually BA speakers re-branded using the Snell name badge. They must have received alot of negative feedback, as they pulled that line off the market very quickly, never to return.

Klipsch makes fine speakers...Polk makes fine speakers. Unfortunately, brand name alone doesn't assure a quality audio reproduction unit. In some cases, not even price does.

Another example: One pretty good Polk sub-woofer sold by BB costs about $180 more for a Klipsch sub-woofer of equal specifications. I've listened to both, and preferred the Klipsch in this single case, however, for the added money, many folks might go with the Polk, and pocket the $180. As someone else pointed out, the room size also comes into play.

To your original point Chris...the best way to judge speakers is to actually hear them in action, and see how they align with your "taste" of audio reproduction.

Not everyone has the same tastes in audio sound either. Some folks like a strong thumpity-thump of heavy base in a 5.1 a setup. Some don't.

Either way...let your own ears be the guide to your purchase. If you're happy, you made the right choice.

Herdfan

01-14-11, 08:30 AM

Either way...let your own ears be the guide to your purchase. If you're happy, you made the right choice.

That is so true. Even if I had hit the $355M Mega Millions jackpot, I would not have bought $20K speakers. My ears can't hear the difference once you get to a certain level of quality. But my eyes can, so that $100K projector would have been mine. :)

So if you are happy with your speakers and they sound good to you, then what someone else likes is irrelevant.

lugnutathome

01-14-11, 10:58 AM

Too much:eek2:

Not adding in DVD players, changers, BluRay players, PS3s, or TVs just speakers and receivers for the three 7.1 systems...

Big room 25 x 43 ft with 12 ft high ceiling right at 11k
Video Game room 12 x 35 with 8 ft high ceiling a snick above 6k
Workout room (graveyard of the other 2 room's cast offs) 23 x 14 with 9 ft high ceiling with enclosing vaulting (like a dormer style sans the windows) 4k

Along the way I churned through another 8k in receivers getting to current state. I started my AV obsessions with no budgets and used to buy cheap always knew there was better. As life and fortunes improved I focus on getting what I won't be wishing I bought better after a few months. I'm most fortunate to have achieved that state in life. I'm obsessive about good sound but can't make that transition from what is top end consumer to high end audiophile. I figure I might want to retire someday ;)

Don "anything worth doing is worth doing to excess:sure:" Bolton

How much have you guys spent on your setups?

hdtvfan0001

01-14-11, 01:05 PM

How much have you guys spent on your setups?
Without going into all the intimate details....

We spent 5 months of equipment research and theater design planning prior to engaging any contractors or audio/video consultations. The design itself played a role in identifying optimum and 2nd choices for audio equipment based on acoustics, etc.

Our Home Theater was a 6-figure investment (and I call it that because homes in our area without them simple struggle selling, even in a down economy -its an expectation). The equipment budget was over 65K. The speaker portion was roughly 1/4 of the equipment budget.

Needless to say, none of this equipment would be found at a Best Buy or similar retailer. It's higher-end stuff.

On the other hand, I can also assure you it would have taken no effort at all to double those amounts, had the budget been there for it.

Herdfan

01-14-11, 01:23 PM

I focus on getting what I won't be wishing I bought better after a few months.

There was an editorial in last months Home Theater that made a great point. Would we be better off buying a high quality AVR that does not have all the bell's and whisles like the latest audio formats, but instead has great sound. Then let the source components do the decoding.

That make a ton of sense. My current AVR is a Denon 3806 which was a great AVR back in 2005 when I got it. But today I can get one with all those features and more for 1/3 of the cost. But it still sounds great. I have my BR player hooked up via HDMI and analog audio so the player does the audio formatting and the AVR just passes it along. I spent about $50 more for a player with analog audio out, but still a lot cheaper than a new AVR.

spartanstew

01-14-11, 03:18 PM

A funny anecdote (not funny other than how it contrasts to your version of reality):

My sister was commenting about my system over the holidays and she wanted to know how large my Klipsch sub enclosure was. I told her to get off her duff and look for herself (that's what brothers do). She got up, walked across the room, and looked behind the TV. It was a revelation to her that the sub was located behind the couch that she had just been sitting on.

Speaker placement is everything.

Yep, that's why I do the "floor crawl" with all my sub placements. How did you determine your location?

harsh

01-15-11, 09:57 AM

Yep, that's why I do the "floor crawl" with all my sub placements. How did you determine your location?Trial and error. As it turns out, it is in the second spot that I tried.

I suppose I could have done a fancy structural analysis, but subs seem a little more forgiving than the higher range speakers.

lflorack

01-15-11, 11:11 AM

How much have you guys spent on your setups?

If you consider all of the components; electronic, reception, furniture, gaming, remotes, connectivity, gaming and speakers, the speakers in my system comprised approximately 26% of the total system cost.

mutelight

01-16-11, 11:37 AM

I like both Klipsch and Polk. I personally run Polks in my main room because I like the sound characteristics of their high end. It really boils down to personal preference.

Also, a very important aspect to how the speakers sound is the power that you feed them. Brighter sounding AVRs can make any speaker cause ear fatigue. Having owned Sony, Yamaha, Denon, and Pioneer AVRs over the year, I feel I have a found a nice match for my Polks with my Pioneer Elite. It delivers mountains of power to the point that my SVS only needs to jump in for the frequencies below the 50-60hz range. My friend ran a Pioneer with his Polks in a very bright room with lots of reflections, so we ended up replacing his AVR with a Denon, which has a more laid back darker sound.

The room's characteristics, speaker placement, power being run, personal preference, all play a huge role and it is about dialing in every aspect.

kc1ih

01-16-11, 08:30 PM

For some reason I tend to go for speakers with three letter names. In my house I have ADS speakers, and in my car I have a set of JBL’s that have been installed in four cars so far.

Davenlr

01-16-11, 08:56 PM

Cerwin Vega 12" 3 ways (103db/m spl) for listening to music.
Relic (remanufactured) Koss M-100's with a (new) Polk 12" Sub for home theatre.

bungi43

01-20-11, 11:18 AM

I have a set of the TSi500 Floorstanding towers and the CS20 Center by polk. My rear are an older set of cheap Sony speakers, but for now they are fine. I purchased the TSi500 and CS20 back in June. I also bought at that time a Pioneer Elite VSX-23THX. Been very please. All of this was an upgrade from some cheap sony front speakers and a Denon AVR887 (which is currently in my living room now). I got a great deal on the speakers from an online retailer, and I got that Elite price matched at Best Buy from Electronics Expo. It was the first time I've really had a chance to do an upgrade. I've been very happy so far. I do feel sometimes that I get a tad bit of feedback from the center if there is a lot of yelling in something I'm watching (like a scratchy noise). I sent the center back for another one, but still here it from time to time. I assume it's something I need to adjust in the receiver but I haven't yet. I know on one source it was from the actual movie, as it did it in my other room and at a friends place when I tried it there.

Picked up a 65 inch Plasma in September and my mancave has really been upgraded.

bungi43

01-20-11, 11:21 AM

mutelight

01-20-11, 03:57 PM

I like your setup. That picture on your Projector is amazing.

Thanks a bunch, I really appreciate that. :)

sdicomp

01-24-11, 05:52 AM

Chris Blount

01-24-11, 09:27 AM

Well, this weekend I opened the Best Buy flyer and the speakers I purchased were on sale (Polk TSi-400) for $449 instead of $599 for a pair.

After doing some math, I returned my Polk TSi-300's I purchased for the rear speakers and picked up two more TSi-400's. Then I price matched the original set.

Long story short, all 4 main speakers (front/back, left/right) are now the same model and I got back $130 as icing on the cake.

After running the setup procedure the sound is actually better and more full. Glad I saw that sale.

Of course, my wife is about to kill me. Over the past month we have returned 7 speakers. I told her that I think the speaker saga is over now. I figure I'm going to have them for a long time so might as well get it right. :)

FHSPSU67

01-24-11, 10:14 AM

........but the 'best' I could afford!!

Same here:)

ShawnL25

01-24-11, 10:35 AM

I have had Klipsch in the livingroom for about 5 years ans I have been very happy with it. I hadn't noticed any distortion but I probably will now.

(2) F3 front
(1) C3 Center
(2) S2 Rear
(1) Sub 12

nightrider

05-16-11, 07:29 AM

rf-7 ii for front with audioquest meteor biwired speaker cables , 2 pairs of aq sky interconects, and ps audio ac-12 power cords on each component , boy did that make them rf-7ii sing , the best i ever herd period and i listened to alot

lugnutathome

05-16-11, 10:37 AM

Yeah the RF7 speakers are incredible! Imagine having them up off the floor at about a 48 inch level with the RSW15 sub on the floor and an RC7 center about 30 inches off the floor. Yeah that's the business end of my big room!

I've yet to find a speaker that can even compare with the RF7s without tripping into ludicrous cost factors (although many may feel that on the RF7s).

Don "oooh yeah" Bolton

rf-7 ii for front with audioquest meteor biwired speaker cables , 2 pairs of aq sky interconects, and ps audio ac-12 power cords on each component , boy did that make them rf-7ii sing , the best i ever herd period and i listened to alot

Cholly

05-16-11, 06:47 PM

Not wishing to castigate Klipsch RF-7's, but I'm sure you can find many speakers in the RF-7 price range that equal or better them. Of course, you have to go to Audio specialty dealers to find them. (A few brands that come to mind are Definitive Tech and Paradigm)

Carl Spock

05-16-11, 07:50 PM

I can't believe I missed this thread the first time around.

I love classic Klipsch speakers like the Heresy or Cornwall. Those were great speakers. Years ago, I had a pair of Forte II speakers at my home for months. While a generation or two later, they had a lot of Klipsch's classic touches with horn tweeter and midrange, a 10" woofer in a big box with a 12" passive radiator, if I remember correctly. Those things ROCKED! They weren't flat. You had to get in just the right seat. But I've rarely owned a speaker that was so much fun. I loved those speakers. Turn it up to 11.

I bought my first pair of Polk Audio speakers when they just had three speakers in the line (the 7, 10 and Mini-Monitor) and continue to own Polks. I have a pair of LSi-9 speakers I mix music through. Klipsch speakers would never work for that. The best deal right now in small box speaker is $149 a pair, shipped, for a discontinued Polk speaker, the RTi4, from J&R Music. They seem to have an exclusive on this model and if you need a good, small box speaker, it's a killer for that price.

I met Paul Klipsch a number of times. He was a genius, and if you wanted a high output, low distortion speaker (the classic Klipsch speakers had distortion figures an order of magnitude lower than their regular dome and cone driver counterparts), that played with impact and authority, and could, in the right setting, sound incredibly real, he could build it for you.

CCarncross

05-16-11, 08:06 PM

The only Polk's I ever had in my LR were the SDA SRS monsters...some of the best speakers I've ever used, but alas that was in the mid 80's...I use nothing but Paradigm's now...about ready to drop the hammer on the newest iteration of the Studio 60's...

Carl Spock

05-16-11, 08:16 PM

I sold a pair of SRS speakers. That was a nice sale. They were huge. The very private joke around Polk was that SRS stood for Singing Refrigerator Speaker (it actually stood for Signature Reference Series).

You're right, they did sound great. Those things could image outside of the box like nobody's business. Matt Polk's idea for the SDA driver did work, for both tightening and spreading the stereo image, but they were hard to set up. I kept pushing them to come out with new SDA speakers but the marketing and sales people kept saying, "No."

I currently own a mish-mash of speakers. I have B&Ws that are 33 years old in my bedroom, and a pair of B&W 804s in my main system that are 4 years old. Old a/d/s/ speakers are my surround speakers and are in my dining area. I just bought, and haven't installed yet, a pair of Polk TCi80 in-ceiling speakers for my kitchen. They are expensive buggers, but Amazon had a pair that had been returned and I bought them for 40% off. They'll replace a pair of no-name Chinese 8" rounds in my kitchen ceiling that I have grown to hate.

Kevin F

05-16-11, 08:21 PM

This probably sound pathetic compared to some of the speaker sets some guys have around here but I have 2 Samsung home theatre systems. The HT-Z320 and the HT-C550. The Z320 is a great system. It has a deep subwoofer that I'm happy with, I would like a little more punch, but I can live with it. The midrange is there and the acoustics are great. It's set up in a very big room and performs very well. The C550 in the basement however, has a very weak bass and the front channels overwhelm the rear. The Z320 I feel is a much better system overall than the C550.

Jut my opinions... :)

Kevin

Sackchamp56

05-17-11, 02:03 AM

Carl Spock

05-17-11, 07:28 AM

I have to agree with you. Definitive Tech all the way!Did you know that DefTech was started by one of the founders of Polk Audio? Polk was started in the early 1970s by three friends who had met at John Hopkins University. They were George Klopfer (the businessman), Matt Polk (the engineer) and Sandy Gross (the salesman). Matt was the only good looking one of the bunch so they decided to make him the face of the company. Plus who'd want to own a Klopfer speaker? ;) It was a perfect partnership and worked very well.

Eventually, Sandy Gross made so much money he decided to go to Hollywood and write screen plays. That didn't work out so well (imagine that!) so he thought he'd start a speaker company, Definitive Technology. There was bitter blood between DefTech and Polk Audio for years after that, but in the early part of this century, Sandy Gross sold DefTech to Directed Electronics, and Polk was purchased by Directed just a few years ago. They now own those two brands, plus a classic speaker company from the 1970s-'80s, a/d/s/. It says something about the sorry state of the audio industry that all three are owned by a company known for making car alarms.

Carl Spock

05-17-11, 09:54 AM

I just checked. As of March 1st of this year, Klipsch is now owned by Audiovox.

What has my industry come to? :nono2:

Chris Blount

05-17-11, 09:59 AM

I just checked. As of March 1st of this year, Klipsch is now owned by Audiovox.

What has my industry come to? :nono2:

Oh my! Didn't know that. Not sure what to make of that.

MysteryMan

05-17-11, 10:08 AM

I just checked. As of March 1st of this year, Klipsch is now owned by Audiovox.

What has my industry come to? :nono2:

Damn Carl. I had to put on my reading glasses to make sure I read your post right. Klipsch must have fallen pretty hard for that to happen. :nono2:

Carl Spock

05-17-11, 10:25 AM

It's hard to say what's happened to the company. In the 1990s, Paul Klipsch, when he was in his own 90s and still very active (I saw him in the Las Vegas airport after CES, toting his own bag, getting food, like any other traveller), sold the company to a cousin, Fred Klipsch. Fred was a bean counter and things changed. The freaky, one-off side of the company disappeared (did you know that the company's official motto was BULLSH*T!). The old Klipsch would hand-make a pair of K-Horns in zebrawood for a customer. The new one, with an accountant at the helm, made a lot of money instead. Some of their first designs after the change-over were OK, but later they made some really awful big tower speakers and a ton of reasonably good computer speakers. I wouldn't be surprised if Fred sold the company for top dollar. Probably not, though. The whole audio business sucks right now.

In any case, for me, their fall from grace was years ago.

I've got to tell you a Paul Klipsch story. My real name is Gregg. I go through my life as people write my name, saying, "Yes, Gregg with two G's."

I'm at CES and Paul Klipsch is working their booth. He comes up to me and in a leering voice, says, "Do you want a dirty picture?" In many of the booths there are babes signing swimsuit pictures, but at the Klipsch booth, a dirty picture is of Paul Klipsch in his overstacked and definitely dirty office. As he's signing it, he's looking at my name badge, writing G-R-E-G, and then he pauses.

I say, "Yes, Mr. Klipsch, it's Gregg with two G's."

The engineer screws an eye up to look me in the face and says, "You mean three, don't you?"

Yes, Mr. Klipsch, I mean three.

:grin:

Rich

05-17-11, 11:00 AM

I just went through a little speaker adventure that I thought I would share.

For several years my home theater speaker system was a mix and match of different brands. On black Friday I went into Best Buy and noticed that the Klipsch speakers were on sale (VF-35, VF-36). My wife bought them for me as a Christmas present. They were half off so why not.

I set them up on Christmas day. After running the calibration procedure (MCACC) on my Pioneer Elite receiver, I noticed that the sound was bright and a bit hard on my ears. I dismissed it at first thinking I just needed to tweak the EQ a bit in the receiver.

Well, after a few weeks of messing with the EQ, I gave up. The Klipsch horns were just too annoying to listen to especially at high volume levels. The midrange on the speakers were also weak.

A few days ago I took all the speakers back and exchanged them for Polks (tsi400, tsi300, cs10 center). The difference is night and day. The sound is clearer and much easier on my ears. I couldn't believe that I almost settled on the Klipsch towers.

Are there any Klipsch fans out there? How do you like the sound from your Klipsch horns? I heard that the reference series is better but didn't want to bother since the horns on those would probably bug me as well. I do like my Klipsch 12" powered subwoofer which isn't going anywhere.

I'm very much impressed with the Polks. I'm hearing sounds I never heard before in movie soundtracks. The detail is impressive to say the least.

Simply put, for the price, I don't think you can beat Polks. I don't even try other brands anymore, I just buy Polks from Crutchfield when I need them. I recently bought a 1080p 42" Panny plasma for my hidey-hole and it sits so low I couldn't use the center speaker I've had for years. I needed a low profile center speaker. Went to Crutchfield and they sell a very nice sounding $99 center speaker that doesn't interfere with my viewing at all. I've got a monstrous Polk center speaker in one room. It takes up a whole shelf by itself and puts out great sound. Don't remember what it cost, but it was expensive and well worth the price. Four Polk tower speakers and an almost 500W sub-woofer round out that 5.1 sound system.

Rich

Cholly

05-17-11, 12:36 PM

The Klipschorn, first marketed in 1946, is still in production today with minor modifications.In the late forties and early fifties, Klipsch, Bozak and Altec-Lansing were the big names in loudspeakers, along with Western Electric and Jensen. In 1954, Edgar Vilichur developed the acoustic suspension speaker concept and introduced the Acoustic Research AR-1, which set a new standard for high quality, low distortion bass reproduction. The AR-1 had a Western Electric 755A 8 inch speaker for midrange and highs, so suffered somewhat in those ranges. Vilichur went on to develop the dome tweeter, and included two of them in the AR-3 in 1959. I purchased a pair of t AR-3's from AR at a meeting of the Poughkeepsie Audio Society in 1960, and still have them. My only regret is that I didn't have them upgraded (for free!) to AR-3A's by the factory when offered. They still sound magnificent today, a testimony to Vilichur's genius. The company was sold to Teldyne in 1967, and for several years, continued to make high quality speaker systems. Eventually, Teldyne decided to concentrate on lower priced speakers, and the AR line suffered. The company was dissolved in 2004, but the Acoustic Research name has been licensed by Audiovox, which as mentioned in an earlier post, now owns Klipsch. They also own Jensen and Advent, among other familiar brands.
Incidentally, the AR-3 is one of two speakers on display at the Smithsonian Institution, the other being a bass reflex system.

Carl Spock

05-17-11, 12:54 PM

I did a big job for a customer, and as a thank-you, I got his AR-3a speakers, which were beat to death from years of abuse, refinished. I can't remember if we had to recone the woofers. I don't think we needed to. I think mechanically they were still fine after all these years.

In any case, when they were done, I set them up in my living room and listened to them for a night. As you said, Cholly, they sounded great.

His son now has the speakers at college, a second generation of rock 'n' rollers beating them up.

Sackchamp56

05-18-11, 12:28 AM

Did you know that DefTech was started by one of the founders of Polk Audio? Polk was started in the early 1970s by three friends who had met at John Hopkins University. They were George Klopfer (the businessman), Matt Polk (the engineer) and Sandy Gross (the salesman). Matt was the only good looking one of the bunch so they decided to make him the face of the company. Plus who'd want to own a Klopfer speaker? ;) It was a perfect partnership and worked very well.

Eventually, Sandy Gross made so much money he decided to go to Hollywood and write screen plays. That didn't work out so well (imagine that!) so he thought he'd start a speaker company, Definitive Technology. There was bitter blood between DefTech and Polk Audio for years after that, but in the early part of this century, Sandy Gross sold DefTech to Directed Electronics, and Polk was purchased by Directed just a few years ago. They now own those two brands, plus a classic speaker company from the 1970s-'80s, a/d/s/. It says something about the sorry state of the audio industry that all three are owned by a company known for making car alarms.

Wow. Didn know all of that. I do know he has now started a 3rd company called Golden Ear. Their Triton II has been getting some very nice reviews.

Carl Spock

05-18-11, 08:09 AM

And I didn't know that! :)

Here's the website (http://www.goldenear.com/) to Sandy's new company, GoldenEar Technologies.

Sandy Gross is a great guy. I've met all of the folks at Polk, and have become friends with Sandy's sales manager successors, Paul DiComo and Dean Tasio, but Sandy is unique. A ball of energy and passion, I first met Sandy in 1977 when I was a young salesman in an audio store in Ft. Collins. At the store, we'd read in Stereophile, which was the only audiophile magazine of merit back then, about this new, cheap speaker, the Polk Monitor 7, which was a knock-off of a very good and very expensive British speaker, the Spendor. That was Polk's reason for existence - let's make inexpensive speakers that sound like more expensive ones. To their credit, they have never lost their mantra. The sales manager of the store in Ft. Collins contacted Polk Audio, and a month or two later, in rolls Sandy Gross, looking like sin because he'd driven from Baltimore to Ft. Collins non-stop. In the back seat of the car he has a pair of Monitor 7s, and in the trunk, a water drive turntable that he's infatuated with. The water drive turntable leaked when he tried to set it up but the speakers were great. Within a few weeks, we were a Polk Audio dealer. The next time Sandy drove into town, he looked better, gave us some sales training, took us out to dinner in the best restaurant in town and got us thoroughly drunk.

We ended up back at my house to listen to my Dahlquist DQ-10s (the current hot audiophile speaker), drink some more and smoke some pot. Sandy had been pitching this new concept all night: super-duper speaker wire. Polk was the first American company to sell an upgraded speaker wire, Cobra Cable. It was called that because it was woven and looked like a snake. Before he left, I gave Sandy a check for $75 for enough Cobra Cable to run the length of my long living room.

I woke up the next morning with a hangover and thinking I was an idiot. I was running dual strands of 14 gauge speaker wire to my Dahlquists, two conductors for the positive and two for the negative. How could this other wire possibly sound any better? The Cobra Cable arrived a week later and when I hooked it up at home, I was blown away. It sounded much smoother! I called Sandy to tell him how pleased I was and he recommended I run the Cobra Cable in parallel with my 14 gauge wire, as the Polk cable would carry the highs while the regular wire would carry the bass. I tried his way and it was better still. I was bi-wiring back in 1977.

Polk Audio soon gave up on Cobra Cable. It's woven design turned out to be highly capacitive and it tended to blow up expensive, tweaky, audiophile amplifiers (my Dynaco 400 didn't care). In fact, maybe all I was hearing was that capacitance changing the sound. It may not have been better at all. But it was too late. I was already well down the road to audiophile ruin.

I wish Sandy luck in his latest venture. He's brave to start a new speaker company in this market.

Carl Spock

06-02-11, 04:52 AM

This article was in my morning emails. It is from TWICE, the trade journal for the consumer electronics industry. Paul Jacobs is a good guy and has done a wonderful job as sales manager of Klipsch. It sounds like by moving globally in sales, Klipsch has increased their profitability during a tough economy.

Klipsch Executives Get New Roles (http://www.twice.com/article/469033-Klipsch_Executives_Get_New_Roles.php)

Athlon646464

06-03-11, 01:45 PM

Still running a pair original of Fortes here.......

rdougk

06-05-11, 11:25 AM

Rich

06-05-11, 02:06 PM

Hey everybody sorry to jump in here but brand new to this site and haven't found the start a new thread - I've got a problem with audio - just purchased a 55" Samsung D6300 - here's my problem ---- I can't get the Direct DVR remote to control the audio - I've got an optical cable from the Onkyo TX-SR502 to the TV and I have sound from from the speakers but can only control with the amp remote I've tried codes and AV1 on the remote and different cables from DVR to amp - HELP

You might try to use a remote that's never been used if you have one. If not you'll probably have to wipe out the settings on your HR's remote and start over again. Real PITA. I run across that problem occasionally, but I've got several never used remotes and I just toss the remote I've been using in the bin and set up the unused remote. There are commands on the Remote Setup to wipe out the memory of your remote, but sometimes it retains the old settings no matter what you do.

You'd be well served to put your problem on a new thread in the HR discussion section of the forum. More folks will see it there and perhaps someone will have an easy answer for you.

Rich