Polk Flagship Line Speaker Sale - Hurry!

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by SandAndGlass, May 19, 2017.

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  1. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    Send it back. Polk sells refurbished models direct on eBay. By almost all accounts they are brand new.
     
    4xoddic, SandAndGlass and Kristofa like this.
  2. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident Thread Starter

    They must have taken the package off sale, by the time you clicked on it.

    It was there just a bit earlier.

    Suggest, you go to the Polk website and register to receive emails when they hold their sales.

    You might also call Adorama and inquire about the sale and see what they say.

    If you bought a pair of "new" speakers and one of them was a refurb and and poor refurb at that, I would return the pair to them, unless they are agreeing (by email) to RA the refurb unit and send you out a new one ASAP.

    Unless they properly take care of you, as a customer, for their snafu, return BOTH pairs of speakers.

    My guess is that they would want to avoid that eventually.
     
  3. 62caddy

    62caddy Forum Resident

    Location:
    PA
    Agreed with the 3 previous posters to return the both speakers without delay, obtain refund and begin anew - this time dealing with Polk Direct or Polk eBay on a pair of factory refurbished. Be sure to set up to receive alerts as S&G suggests. Similar alerts can also be set for eBay.
     
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  4. theclipper

    theclipper Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Thanks for the feedback everyone! Will likely be returning both units, what a pain in the butt!!
     
    SandAndGlass likes this.
  5. 62caddy

    62caddy Forum Resident

    Location:
    PA
    True but the inconvenience is temporary; less so the alternative of owning something you won't feel right about.
     
  6. Tullman

    Tullman Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    I agree.
     
    SandAndGlass likes this.
  7. rushed again

    rushed again Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    These are back up at 50% off.
     
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  8. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Until November 18th.
     
  9. John Storey

    John Storey Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Hamilton, ON
    May have too look into the 703s... I can’t see the price now on my phone, I’ll look forward to a surprise when I get home...
     
  10. riverrat

    riverrat Senior Member

    Location:
    Oregon
    Would you folks or anyone else care to comment on how either the LSiM705 or 707 might stack up when compared to my Totem Sttafs?

    I read one review which suggested that the 705 isn't at its best in rooms with vaulted ceilings, which we have. I'm also wondering about that..

    These are very tempting prices. We're in a larger house now and the Totems aren't really cutting it..
     
  11. Rentz

    Rentz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Texas
    Rtia line is 40% off as well
     
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  12. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Couldn't comment on the Totem's, haven't heard them.

    But whoever made the comment about the 705 not at their best in a home with vaulted ceilings is pure malarkey!

    More stupid audio hyperbole, nothing more.

    I would say, that if your listening room is 15x15 (225 Sq. Ft.) with normal 8' ceilings (about 1,800 Cubic Feet) or less, then the 705's, might work perfectly for your living/listening space.

    Really, the 705's can be used in larger spaces, without any issues.

    When you get a larger volume of space (the key word here is volume), then it is better to move up to the 707's.

    Your main difference is that the 707's have more bass and lower end output, due to the larger cabinets and more driver surface area. This is what you need it "pressurize" a larger volumetric space.

    If you place too large of a speaker, in too small of a room, you will result in speakers which are bass heavy.

    My listening space is roughly 450 Sq. Ft. and has standard 8' ceilings which yields about 3,600 Cubic Feet of Space. This is about double the volume of a 15'x15' room, with the same 8' ceiling height.

    What are the dimensions of your listening space both in Sq. Ft. and cubic feet? Just take an average of your vaulted ceiling height.

    Do the math and let us know the results.

    Your Totem Sttaf speakers are not intended for large rooms. They are 45-lb. speakers, compared to the 78-lbs of the 705's and 99-lbs for the 709's, huge difference.

    The Totem's have two drivers in each cabinet. The 705's and the 707's have 5-drivers, so either one can put out some sound.
     
  13. rushed again

    rushed again Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Sorry, only have the 703's and enjoy them a lot. Don't know enough to help you with that comparison.
     
  14. riverrat

    riverrat Senior Member

    Location:
    Oregon
    Thanks for the reply!

    The Totems are better than you'd think- for a relatively simple array of drivers, they sound very nice. But I think the room size is more than they are up for, good design only takes you so far before simple physics enter the picture. I'd need to sell them to defray the cost of new ones.

    I'm not really a hard rocker these days, mostly jazz, Grateful Dead, quieter singer/songwriter stuff from the 70s, also reggae and world music fairly regularly. I also like classical guitar. I put on the Rolling Stones from time to time, and more modernish (for me) stuff like Spoon and Son Volt.

    VERY tempted to jump on the 705s. I think given my listening tastes the extra $500 for the 707s is not cost effective.

    I'll do some rough calculations of my room size. It is pretty big, sort of a great room situation..
     
    SandAndGlass likes this.
  15. John Storey

    John Storey Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Hamilton, ON
    How come prices aren't listed on the Polk website? How would I purchase them? I can't even see prices...
     
  16. John Storey

    John Storey Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Hamilton, ON
    I think it may be because I'm in Canada, perhaps they don't sell directly to Canada. I'm not complaining, I wasn't too thrilled about the prospect of spending serious cash on speakers right now anyway!
     
  17. riverrat

    riverrat Senior Member

    Location:
    Oregon
    ~4500 cu ft...
    16 x 30 x 10' avg ceiling height, minus about 300sf of outside porch..pretty big room...kitchen/dining/living all in one space. There's a kitchen island and range hood breaking up the space

    Keep in mind I rarely want/get to really rock out. Especially if the Chief and our daughter are around..

    I'm usually cooking at the other end of the room while listening to jazz, not listening critically; truth be told, new big speakers might be kind of be overkill..
     
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  18. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I have heard Totem speakers before, the smaller bookshelves. I think that they are well built speakers, and they are nice sounding.

    From the bookshelves that I have listened to, I can imagine how nice sounding the towers would be.

    Totem, to me, has a nice clean detailed sound, but is not harsh.

    Yours would be nice in a normal size bedroom.

    I have several sets of speakers from ERA/Peachtree, but mainly their various bookshelf speakers, but I do have a rare pair of their D14 floor stander's and they are tiny for a tower, but you knock your knuckles on them, it is like wrapping on a tree trunk. They are that solidly built.

    Their bookshelves are nice sounding, like the Totem's and they use the same bookshelf driver's in their tower's.

    They were designed for ERA, by Michael Kelly, of Ariel Acoustic's, so they are some nice speakers.

    Before Peachtree was Peachtree that made the integrated amps, they started out as a Speaker company, under the name of Era. They were making smaller size speakers that could be the smaller rooms that many today have. With their smaller rooms, the Era speakers were good for stereo, but, at that time, they also made center channel speakers for their entire D-series line.

    As to the cost effectiveness of the 707's, $500 is a small up-charge to pay for $1,000 in additional sonic benefits. Realize how big Polk Audio is, they are huge! They produce a lot of speakers and they have them made in China for them, just like these are made in China.

    But, as they sell a lot of speakers, economics of scale, come into play. Small boutique speaker shops cannot produce speakers like the LSiM's and sell their speaker's at the LSiM's retail price, let alone half of retail.

    Keep in mind, that the 707's are the flagship speakers that Polk manufacturer's. And $2k for $4k speakers is not a shabby deal at all.

    The deal was good enough for me to move up from their RTi-A9's (which were the top of the RTi line), and move to the top of the LSiM line. I am glad that I did.

    But two considerations, the first being, that I could find a way to afford them and that my room was large enough to handle them.

    I might recommend that you do consider these same considerations, as I did.

    In the real world, we set realistic budgets. If I didn't buy the equipment that I have, on the cheap, I simply wouldn't have had the wonderful opportunity to own this fine audio gear.

    So, that is OK. You did mention that you would need to sell your Totem's to finance your next step audio upward. Most of do that, no big deal. As you indicate, it would be a good solid upward move to the 705's. Maybe even better, if you like the Totem's as much as you do, the 707's might even seem like they have too much bass, even in a large room.

    Besides that, the 705's are some large and powerful speakers, you really should be able to utilize them in real large rooms. They can take a lot of power also. They are not overly sensitive, so they do appreciate a good solid amp.

    I have tube amplifier's, but I reserve them for use with my vintage theater speakers (my ears thank me for doing this), I run the 707's with a 250-Watt, Emotiva XPA-2 (first generation) and they sound very nice. I have these and my Altec A7's on right now.

    S&G
     
  19. Litejazz53

    Litejazz53 Perfect Sound Through Crystal Clear Digital

    I spoke to two very knowledgeable engineering people at Polk today, as I am seriously considering the 707 speakers. I was told they do require a reasonable amount of power to perform at their best. I told them I have a Parasound A-21, and they said that is a perfect amp for this speaker. The engineer said the drivers must be broken in, he said they really do not sound that good out of the box and need about 200 hours, he talked about the heavy baskets on the 707 speakers, and I asked are their any speakers in their line that can compare to the 707's and he said not even close, no contest. It's very heavy, 100 pounds each, and he was really very verbal about the necessary break in time. He said they need to be about 3 feet from a back wall for best results. Finally he said Definitive Technology was their sister company and in his opinion, the Definitive Technology ST-L Super Towers were much better speakers than the 707, BUT, they ain't on sale!! I believe I know which direction I'm headed. Oh, for those of you that do not require the very heavy and large 707, the oversized bookshelf 703 is a beautifully designed speaker. :righton:
     
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  20. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident Thread Starter

    It is not so much about loudness itself. If you look at the majority of speakers $4k upwards in price, they are usually BIG, but that doesn't necessarily mean that everyone who purchases them, intends to play them loud.

    I have some serious speakers and amplifier's in the listening room, but I don't necessarily turn them up loud. While I can simulate rock concert sound pressure levels, my ears don't really appreciate me doing so.

    The whole audiophile trick is to be able to get full range dynamics with a big full sound but achieving it at lower decibel levels.

    That room is a very big room and one that the 707's will be able to work their magic in.

    Consider the above comments from @Litejazz53 about his conversations with Polk engineer's.

    I agreee, the 707's are awesome. They are even more awesome at a grand each!

    If you want the best balanced sound in a real large room, then you need larger cabinets with solid bass drivers, to do the job.

    Within your listening environment, the 707's will pressurize your room nicely.

    On a typical day, I run either the Polk's or the Zu Audio, Omen Definitions as the front mains and Klipsch WF-35 towers in the rear. On top of that I have large Polk wireless sub in the rear and a large 15" commercial sub up front powered by a 1,600 watt Crown amplifier.

    When I get into the right listening mood, I light up the Altec A7's cabinets with tube amps and have all three systems playing, with no digital signal processing, all pure two channel stereo.

    Right now there is some Jazz playing and I just have the 707's on and the volume is ranging between 50-60 dB, but the sound if full and clear.

    Consider that this next pair of Polk speakers you will probably have almost forever. On things like this, I always make the best "sound" investment that I am able. I have never regretted buying any of my gear.

    Give some more consideration to the 707's, you will be glad that you did in the long run.
     
    Litejazz53 likes this.
  21. rushed again

    rushed again Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Well, I've been waiting for this sale again since April and it was inevitable I would be caving. So I've been going back and forth between the 705's and 707's. The thing is, I see myself down scaling over the next 5 years, and while the 707's would fit now, they may be too large at some point. Barring any miracles with expansion of life expectancy, these will most likely be my last speaker purchase. I've read a lot of reviews on both the 707's and 705's and both seem to be well liked.
     
  22. 62caddy

    62caddy Forum Resident

    Location:
    PA
    Very difficult to understand the concept of break-in. How is performance predictable if there is substantial deviation in response characteristics (of the drivers) to the extent they are audible? When a speaker is originally engineered, are the design parameters set after accounting for break-in or before?
     
  23. Mike from NYC

    Mike from NYC Senior Member

    Location:
    Surprise, AZ
    The parts are breaking in just like in a car. Surrounds loosen up
     
  24. Mike from NYC

    Mike from NYC Senior Member

    Location:
    Surprise, AZ
    get the 705 and a sub
     
  25. rushed again

    rushed again Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Thanks. I can certainly consider a sub at some point in the future. Any sub recommendations?
     
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