Ok Polk, YOU have MY ATTENTION. Reserve R600 Review! 

It's nice to see that you can still get a great sounding speaker without spending an arm and leg. Good job Polk👍👍

Very pleased with my R600s. Last Polks I purchased in 1990 Monitor 5s. Back in 1990 Polk was a respected American made speaker. My 5s where made in Baltimore MD. They still sound great. They could use a tweeter upgrade thats about all. I hope to enjoy my new R600s as much as the Monitor 5s. I waited 30 years for an upgrade. Glad Polk is back!

Bought a pair of R700’s based on your very thorough and balanced review and boy am I happy I did! Your description of the sound is spot on and couldn’t have been better. My listening room requires a bit more bass which is why I opted for the R700. I went from a pair of rti-a5’s with sub to just the R700’s and it’s a much more balanced, fuller sound with an astonishing soundstage. Thank you and keep up the good work!

I'm so over the commercials kicking me out of the comment sections on youtube

I love that you measure. I've been tracking the back and forth chatter around subjective and objective for a very long time. And this chatter can be explored by anyone through the entire history of audio. I love that you move between/correlate measurement and listening. One is a check or control on the other. I also like that your listening often anchors the sonic experience with how convincing reproduction is. Does the system create a compellingly palpable sonic illusion of the entire captured performance.

My very first pair of speakers were a pair of Polk Audio bookshelf speakers from the mid 80s. Back in the 80’s Polk was considered to be a relatively high end speaker brand. This was before they were bought out by United Audio and they went mainstream. These Polks are like a throwback to those early Polks that I remember as a kid. They were a lot of fun to own!

This was a brilliant, well structured review. Thanks for the thoroughly enjoyable impressions. Now please have Polk send you the R700s for review so I can decide between the two! I'll be pairing with dual 12" Subs in a dedicated room..so bass tone & clarity is far more important than output for me. Thanks again.

I couldn’t believe when I woke up to 4 new videos from different creators, all about Polk speakers

I have a pair of 30 year old Polk Monitor 10b speakers. They sound terrific to me. I've looked at higher end and comparable speakers, but haven't found any that I liked enough to spend money on. They are amazing for a home theater set up and they don't need a subwoofer. They aren't the most accurate or dynamic, but I love them. I am looking for a pair of nice speakers for the office and the Reserve line will definitely be ones that I audition.

Hi Ron, I initially watched this video when you posted it March 2021. I kind of did not believe the R600's or especially a Polk product could deliver this grade of sound quality that you mentioned. I was starting my new speaker shopping at that time and thru my in store listening, I quickly eliminated anything below $4000.00 USD per pair and was and still am prepared to spend up to $6000.00 USD per pair. Most sounded good but I really was not getting what felt to be a better sound worthy of my budget. So, I did not rush into things like I normally do when I want something. Today, I revisited the Polk R series and caught up with newer videos on the model range. It's like you set the template for what to hear and expect. My wife and I are disappointed that we are not going to get a real fine wood veneer at this price. But, for $2000.00 USD per pair for the R600's and near $2800.00 USD per pair for the R700's, I'm going to give it a serious consideration. Never thought that I would ever take a Polk product over a Paradigm Founder or Triangle EZ tower speakers. But again, if I get the sound that I want I'd be happy listening to my Polk's knowing that I saved quite a sum of serious coin. Comment to all; I think it takes guts for a audiophile reviewer like Ron and other colleagues of his (Sean and Andrew) to honestly go out on a limb and give props to a speaker company that most people would not associate as producing something at this price point with a reference grade sound. There is a fear that you, as a reviewer, would not be considered a real good experienced judge of what a quality sounding speaker should sound (even though it's always subjective and a personal preference). Ron and others are out there telling us that 10K plus is not high end HiFi no longer. Looks like Polk R -Series is the new game changer. Thanks again Ron. Love your channel.

I agree, the ring radiator tweeter design is superb with the correct implementation. I have Aerial Acoustics 7T's which use them and they are so clear. I think Polk gained the reputation, weather fair or not, of being a bargain basement brand due to their Best Buy series. Thanks for the great review. If I were in the market I would definitely check them out.

Hey Ron, great channel man. After seeing your reviews on the NAD M10 and the Polk R600s, I decided to pull the trigger on both. I also added a 1977 Pioneer Spec 4 power amp and I couldn’t be more pleased. Sounds fantastic. Thanks for the tips and reviews. You and Randy keep it going.

Yeah can't wait to try these out ! I am very impressed with my Polk Lsim 703 amazing speaker that deserved much more reviews ! I have the only pop the hood video of the lsim series on utube!! Thanks Ron !

Great review Ron, I hope we get your impressions of other speakers in this line such as the R700.

Looks like Polk just shipped out all their speakers to the RU-vidrs, More videos than you can Polk a stick at 😉

Ron - another great video. Mathew Polk started with (physical) time alignment with his first speakers. He intended to manufacture speakers with good engineering....but money, large market share, mass marketing, profits dominated the direction of the company. The SDA gimmickry didn't help good sound either - back then. Looks like Sounds United is taking this storied speaker manufacturer on the right track.

Ron just want to commend you on your journey...great job slick production 👏 keep the collaborative content up bravo to Polk for stepping up their game. My first audiophile speakers were the Polk 7bs...imaging for days!

I think that Hershey Kiss in the middle of the tweeter might make me want to eat chocolate every time I played a record...

My problem with Polk is that I bought the specials at a large chain. As I listened to these inexpensive speakers, I kept hearing what sounded like crickets. It was quite annoying to me. I also had to knock out quite a bit of midrange to balance out their presentation. I accomplished this with an equalizer. Once I bought the Micca RB-42, all those problems went away and I could just run them and bypass tone controls altogether. Also, all those crickets took a hike. Now I have budget speakers that have no issues at all. I guess now I need to not judge a brand with the bargain bin model. Great review. Good job Polk, and Ron.

I like the coordination with CheapAudioMan!

I have owned 2 different Polk speakers and loved them both. I wish I were in a place where I could buy their newest top of the line but my wife would kill me. I currently own 5 sets of speakers and there is no way I can bring home another set. Thanks for the review.

So I’ve had the Polk R700 in for demo at my house for the last 3 weeks and I just cannot believe what I’m hearing. I have them paired with quality electronics, namely Rose HIFI RS250 streamer/DAC/preamp along with a Plinius SA-103 power amplifier and quality cables and judged from an audio standpoint, this speakers perform so good that I truly believe they do compete with anything up to at least $10k, if not more. One could argue that the more expensive would be considered different, but not convincingly better. Several loudspeakers have better finish, at least the more expensive ones, but this is honestly the complete package for someone wanting astounding sound from a decent looking speakers in a human price range. Tell me which is “better” in the price range and I’ll happily try them out!

As a DIY'er speaker builder, I only use ring-radiator tweeters... Best sound to my ears!

Awesome review Ron! I've been a Polk fan since 1983 when I got the Polk 10, then moved on to the RT16. Had a full HT setup with RT35, RT25, CS400 and Polk sub.

OK Ron, must have your take on these 3 floor standers: Elac Debut Reference DFR52, Triangle BR08 and these Polks. Forget the slim price differences - give us a simple overview. Buying speakers remotely is frustrating without a reference point. You would be that reference point here. 👍

Nice Review mate. Really good to see some actual measurements included along with the aural assesment. I'd really like to see a review on the R700 which I'm considering purchasing. Cheers.

I have a Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor and Concertino Domus. They both have ring radiator tweeters. To me they are the most beautiful sounding tweeters I have ever heard. Best of both worlds. Not too bright, not too mellow. It's just smooth and graceful. With enough extension. I have never experienced it with Polk. But from the reviews that i have read it sure sounds good.

I don't think I've ever seen this many stellar reviews from all the hi-fi influencers about a loudspeaker product line since the Triangle BR03's. And, like the BR03's, they offer them in WHITE! I agree with Christy from Andrew's channel: I'm tired of black speakers, piano black, black oak, all of 'em.

Hey Ron awesome review thank you. My question is, do you think the R600 would be overkill for my 13x13.5x8.5 LR? Should I consider the R500 instead?

That was a great review. I could live with those. I'm almost considering being done with what I have and calling it a day . But I'm crazy and will run two sets of speakers at the same time and I need to clean up the look. It's pushing a little ghetto sounds like heaven. You definitely have me thinking on these Polks. I like my sealed enclosure folks there's nothing really wrong with them at all for what I use them for

Cool review. Especially dug the background music. It lends more of casual presentation rather than the usual classroom lecture style. Hope it was the Polk R 600's laying down that smooth bass track.

Thank you very much for the great review! I'm not sure if I should go for the r600 or the r700, I have two SVS Micro 3000 that I would pair them with, so the r600 might just be enough for me, but the r700 definitely are very tempting, but not sure how big of an upgrade they would be considering that I have two subs for the bass department.

Right now hifi is on it. I literally bought a system for 1500 that's better then the movie theater I was going to. Comparable to the imax I've been to. In this Corona world having this it's a beautiful thing

Been running Sandy Gross Definitive Towers for over 23 years BP7001's fronts and BP7002 rears w/ CLR2002 Center speaker for home theater w/ Marants SR7013 receiver and Emotiva XPA-5 GEN3 amp...........I wanted a tangible with the Polk Reserve as I have been wanting a change. I picked up the Polk Reserve R400 Center as they say the Center channel is the most important within a Home Theater setup.......who's they? I don't know! BUUUUuuuut the Polk R400 Center Speaker is FANTASTIC.....needless to say the R700's were ordered.

Review the R700 to have a comparison

I have Polk 707's and they are fantastic. Can listen to them all day without fatigue, they don't need a sub since they have the two built in.

Lmao those cut-ins of Randy for the bass were amaaaazing.

Bought the LSIM 705 and driving them bi amped with 700 wpc. They are truly amazing!

Nice video! How far from the wall do you suggest on these ones? Does the down firing port change that much. Zero fidelity had the r500's and liked them 18" out. These might just be my next purchase, just debating between the 500s and 600s.

Now I'd like to see a comparison of these speakers to the various Tekton Lore speakers.

The shape reminds me of the old wave pattern in Kenwood subwoofers from back in the day.

Polk Speakers have always been Top Shelf. Ppl buy Klipsche just to show off their Copper woofers

Because of your review I recently purchased these speakers. They come in soon and I can’t wait to hear them. Keep up the great videos.

Ron, ya know, every time I watch one of your videos I learn LOTS of good stuff. Thank you!

I'm working on a DIY bookshelf using a ring radiator tweeter (Peerless XT25TG30) in a Visaton WG148R waveguide. An advantages of a ring radiator is that it doesn't experience breakup as badly as a dome tweeter and it happens at a much higher frequency. The breakup of both soft domes and ring radiators however both tend to happen above 20kHz where you wouldn't assume you could hear a difference. Soft domes also don't tend to have excessive ringing in the audible spectrum that would be avoided via a ring radiator. As you showed in your measurements however, ring radiators really take a dive above 10kHz off-axis, thus your power response/in room response will start sagging up high. Is this good? Bad? Not sure, but the Peerless/Scan and SB Acoustics rings are well loved and they integrate with a waveguide more easily than a dome in my experience.

Wow. Polk still bringing the goods. My SDA1c's may have found there replacement!!!

Late to the party but great video. Any reason to go to the r700 over these? How do the polks stack up to 8000f? Why don’t I see much on the KEF Q750/950; Do they compare the the Klipsch/Polk. Would love to get your opinions. Thanks!

Every speaker I've heard with a ring radiator tweeter have sound awesome I can remember sonor audio is one

R500 now 500 bucks a pair in Europe. Insane deal. Hopefully they are almost as good as these.

I called it! Yes I knew it! I knew it when I called out to Sean at Zero Fidelity on a live stream that I thought the secret speakers were Polk towers, and he didn't even acknowledge my comment. I knew Polk was up to something by Sean's hints. And the best part is that this is what I was hoping it was going to be too. I might be ordering some speakers today! 🤞 Let's see how these reviews go though. Have a great day everybody, and I hope many of your are as excited as I am about this release. God Bless ✌️

I like to do speaker builds with dual ring tweeters because they can be crossed very low. Some have an FS low as 500hz.

I've owned Polk for the last 25 years.... I was recommended to listen polk from an acquaintance who was very serious about his music and who is also blind. (Totally serious about this) I've never turned back... The best value on the market.

I hardly ever listen to sound clips, especially not for speakers. To me, it’s like asking to determine the quality of a reviewed television’s picture while watching it on MY television.

I’d love to see you review the JBL Studio 590’s.

I appreciate your thorough review I have been leaning towards the JBL studio 570s but I am thinking I’ll be going with Polk I mostly listen to Metal JBL really stands out with this typ of music. Anyone

Merry Christmas and get well! I love your reviews and really need to say thanks for all you do

I've had lots of polk gear. I keep a pair of lsi9s I love that also use the 2.5 way crossover setup. One woofer handles 200 hz and below. The other does 200 hz to like 2k where the tweeter takes over. Had some rti12s for a long time too along with some of their surround speakers you can switch from bipole to dipole. I feel like their cabinets in their price range always seemed a notch above the rest.heavy builds and bracing with nice finishes. These new drivers with the dimpled cones reminds me of older car audio midrange. I had some kenwood excelons like that and even seen it with other companies.

These look amazing. Great review Ron!! I'm on the fence between these and the Triangle Bro8s which you already reviewed. Any words of wisdom on which speaker is a better all - arounder (good with all music) and which one gets the toes tapping just a little bit more?

very interesting review , i once had Polk RT4i and after using quality caps and resistors on the tweeter it sounded amazing ...20 yrs ago... If these will go on sale for say 700usd a pair it will be tempting proposition , 1500usd is much more steep territory

Ron, how's this compare to triangle br08? I am considering getting one of these speakers. Would love to get your take on it since you reviewed both. Thanks!

Acoustic Energy AE22 had a similar high frequency driver!

Would love your thoughts on the R700s....I just ordered a couple now that they are back in stock.....momentarily that is. lol

Yet another fantastic review, Ron! Love your content - keep up the excellent work!

You kid me when you mentioned Knopfler. Not the classic lead vocal. I have all of his albums and he does a good job with production. I will give these a listen soon. Thanks!

Hi Ron, thanks for all your amazing work on hi fi, please answer short and sweet:;Polk r600 or Triangle Borea 8? Who is better? Thank you.

Thank you for a great review, from Cape Town. Will be buying these

I had a pair of Polk T50’s, never warmed up to them, kept blowing tweeters. Had a bookshelf pair with 2 maybe 6.5 drivers and a tweeter, too much midrange for me. The SDA models seemed to be too much of a hassle, with having a special cable routing. These might sound good, but up to this point I’ve never heard a Polk speaker that knocked me out, and special details on the speaker cones and on those that are rear-ported kinda leaves me cold.

What i really want to see is a modern version of the sda srs..10x 6.5 high excursion mid bass..5x super tweeters ..18" passive radiator..super inert cabinet and finish

Man, I was hoping you'd do the review for the Polk legend 600's...

I just can't give up my 1986 Polk SDA speakers for new ones. After all these years they still satisfy.

How would these compare to the SVS Prime Pinnacle?

Very clear review. I was wondering how these compare with the SVS Prime Pinnacles that you reviewed some months ago. Looking at that review you had said also that the top end was no harsh but clear. What’s the best in that regard in your opinion?

Excellent review 👌 Thanks for spending time making this informative video. I need some suggestions from you. Currently I am using B&W 603 towers and B&W HTM6 as center for my home theatre. My AV amp is Denon 8500H. Surrounds are old Yamaha tower speakers. However since I bought these speakers (though really liked them at audition time) I really couldn't able to love them! And after 3 years I have kind of decided to replace them. I have auditioned the Reserve R700 and the R500 along with the R400 centre. Could not get a chance to audition the R600. I loved the sound of these speakers! I have two 12" subs (qAcuastics QB-12). My AV room is not a dedicated room and shared with my living room. My MLP distance is roughly 12 ft from the front LCR. Should I go for the R600 pair or the R700. Center I have decided on the R400. Thanks much for your time.

Wonder how these compare to say; the smallest Magicos? On seeing these, it was my 1st thought of what they remind me of?...with all of the superlatives bounty about!? ( I applaud the narrative given! Well done!)...

To this day, amazed with the value of my Polk Audio Monitor 70s ($150 each, shipped, NEW)

Would be nice to know how they compare to elac uf52. Great review Thanks

Two channels I value the most .yours and recovering audiophile.

Polk and some others got a big store reputation in an industry that seems to value exceptionalism. And they did, sort of, seem to go budget oriented. Dealers had a hard time making a buck. Sales may have ultimately suffered in some markets that , again, value some inatngibles. But their best stuff was always good.

Hi Ron thanks for the review. Are these better than ELAC towers that you reviewed not too while ago ?

Love the review. Only one question: Do they have a center 🤔?! I need to replace my Infinity Classias. I wish Ron did hometheater. I'll have to see what Gene has to say in that department.

Good one!

Very nice video Ron! These look like excellent speakers

Great review and great job Polk!

Just recently found your channel in the last couple weeks. Absolutely love what I'm hearing and seeing. Great stuff brother jam on and thanks for all the fantastic info

Ron would you get the R600 or the Bro8 speakers?

If Polk Audio needs to be taken more seriously then they must have become more serious about producing seriously good speakers. From reviewers that I trust, like yourself Ron, this appears to be the case. Good for Polk. Perhaps because of the (over time) vast improvements in both speaker design and internal components (Buchardt's new S400 Cross-over), all speaker manufacturers that wish to stay in the game have to observe the competition and either stay with the competition, get better or fall behind. For us consumers that have the interest to stay abreast by listening to trusted reviewers ... we win big time because all of the needed information is manifest to bring one to a good purchasing decision. So Polk, good for you ... show us more.

These were not the speaker I expected to see from the blind listening test. Polk looks like they stepped outside the box with driver design and ports from the old school everyone is doing. The Randy picture inserts was hilarious.

How do these stack up to the Uni-Fi 2.0’s? Which way would you lean if you had to pick?

Polk m10 where the 1st speakers I bought and I can’t get a from Polk had LS 70 for years then went to the 705 till my town caught fire

Polk was considered high end when i was younger like 30 years ago...

Hi Ron, great review. I have asked this with other speakers you reviewed but how are these a low volume listening. Do these need to be cranked up to come alive ? Your thoughts ? Have you heard the Legend L600 ? Are they just a better version of these ?

Great speakers. These puppies need very high current. Not only watts, but electrical current. Think large transformer, etc.

They look great! Awesome video!

Hi, thinking of getting this but other choices are B&W 603 s2, Focal Chora 826 or ELAC Debut Reference. Any ideas which one would be the best? would be using it for 60/40 music and movies

Who is doing the R700 review? 🧐

Please review the r700's if you can. Thanks for the great review!

Hello! Please tell me which audio speaker system will have a larger scene when watching movies and listening to music in Polk audio r700 or KEF q650 or q950 or klipsch rp-8000f ii

Polk doesn't get the respect it deserves because, for years they have only been thinking about volume sales, with dozens of different lines, nothing really 'audiophile' quality, and not to mention being sold in all the big box stores, including Walmart So yes, we've been judging a book by it's cover.

It appears in the graph at 9:00 that there is a very broad "hole" centered on 2khz between 2-5db as you move off axis. This may end up being a somewhat relaxed sound to some people.

I have a lowly Marantz NR-1609 (50w/ch HTR) and I need/want to move up from my 20yo Infinity Primus 250s+ctr. I usually listen to 3.1 stereo and like a warmer sound (despite my EDM preferences - aka female vocals)...yes, I have a powered 10" sub....my quest for replacements has me looking at Elacs and Whaferdales (less than $700/ea / $1400/pr + matching center)....forget, what's the break in time??