Polk Reserve R200 Bookshelf Speakers Black

Product Information

The biggest and most annoying resonance of a floorstander is between the foot and the top plate,” Polk tells us. “Depending on the height of the cabinet this is usually between 150 and 200Hz. Our CRC construction clearly eliminates the resonance peak of the cabinet – the result is uncoloured bass and midrange.” R400 is the largest center speaker, and costs NOK 6,990. It uses two 6 ½ ”Turbine Cone for midrange and bass. I have heard and used the Marantz PM8006 and currently own the Audiolab 6000A. Can give you some views on them. R200: Fine sound balance with no signs of aggression. Great perspective, but not quite on par with the best.

Here the R200 shines: it is ridiculously flat. The listening window is one of the flattest I’ve measured, especially for a speaker without any kind of DSP processing to help it out. Polk’s proprietary X-Port eliminates unwanted noise created as air moves in and out of the speaker cabinet port at high-speeds. This ensures a rich and detailed listening experience with tight distortion-free bass and a clean midrange. The bass sport is also one of the most important elements in the Reserve series. And here we have to distinguish between the floor models and the stand speakers + the largest center speaker. In the latter models, there is an X-port that takes care of the bass tuning, and has an incorporated Eigentone Filter EFT, which are closed tube absorbers that are tuned to reduce traditional speaker distortion. Musicality, transparency, and astounding spatiality underscore the brilliant MBL 126 Radialstrahler. The sonics of this omnidirectional stand-mount were characterized by sweeping ambience retrieval and 3D-like immersion and orchestral layering. Top-to-bottom response was seamless. As only an omni can, it approaches the complex relationship between imaging, soundstaging, and envelopment in ways direct-radiating transducers often only hint at but rarely attain. Symphonic music assumes a naturalism and spine-tingling immediacy akin to the real thing. Low-level resolution and sensitivity to dynamic gradients abound. As a four-driver three-way, credit the superb carbon-fiber, radial mid and tweeter for spinning the sonic silk. Both are grainless, airy, and harmonious. Like all MBL products, the 126 is crafted and finished with extreme precision and taste. Though small of footprint, the MBL 126 makes a truly grand statement—grand enough to earn our 2021 Stand-Mount Loudspeaker of the Year Award.I ruled out switching to a lossless format, and switching amplifier because I don't think my ears would notice the difference. However they might notice the difference with speakers. Not totally sure what I'm looking for. At this point, I thought that if there was a tool that combined both the Spinorama with the room acoustics data, it'd be extremely useful. The speaker features a two-way design with a 6.5-inch mid-woofer and a 1-inch ring radiator tweeter. The ring radiator tweeter has a more narrow dispersion pattern in the higher frequencies compared to a dome tweeter design, so it is recommended to aim the speaker directly at the listener, without toeing it out or facing it towards the room. R200:Fine reproduction of Kolbjørn Falkeid's recitation, set to music by Ketil Bjørnstad. But here some air is missing around the cymbals.

This spinorama also tells us that the R200 appears to be mostly free of major resonances that color the sound; this would show up as a bump that stands out in each of the top curves, and can contribute to a speaker sounding boomy or having a grating sound at specific frequencies. Knowing for sure would require an anechoic chamber or advanced tools I don’t have access to, but within the resolution of my system, the R200 performs admirably. Other important elements that support good design and finish are high-quality terminals, as well as an integrated bassport and spike arrangement at the bottom of the floor models. And speaking of speaker terminals - even if they are of high quality, they are not biwiring / biamping terminals. To get this, you have to go up in the top models R700. Center to center spacing could be managed with a proper waveguide, but I also think sometimes we overestimate the improvements a waveguide can make. Most of the time there's still a bit of a crossover dip and bunching, even if it's smoothed out. It'll make for prettier polar maps because of the extended off-axis treble, and in the case of the R200 the normalized graph looks a little nasty because of the inaudible on-axis diffraction. But if we compare the R200 to the Genelec 8030C sans normalization, they're pretty much in the same class other than the tweeter beaming on the R200 (which I personally don't consider to be a huge issue) The R200 proved truthful at both low levels and high, able to deliver a solid bass and a remarkable clarity of midrange assisted perhaps by that new X-Port, while the Pinnacle tweeter gifts an airy and open treble beyond the likely limits of perception. Overall, my impression of the speaker is that it is relatively neutral with good tonality, but it does have some limitations in terms of output and mid-range distortions.This isn’t the cleanest horizontal directivity I’ve ever seen, but the vast majority of the speakers that perform better have a narrower soundstage. There’s usually a trade-off between soundstage width and precision, and the R200 toes the line expertly. Among wider directivity speakers I’ve tested, only the Focal Chora 806 performs better. It isn’t flawless — few speakers are — but the R200 is a prime example of sensible design decisions to maximize sound quality at a reasonable price. You won’t find crazy newfangled technology or materials here, just carefully thought out engineering. Awesome DAC with Optical and SPIDF, you won't require to add anything, though I have a SMSL SU9, I still sometimes use the onboard Audiolab DAC connected from my TV or Android Setup box. Downside is it just plays 48khz but that is a limitation from Android side. But one can get away by not investing in a DAC. Found the DAC to be better than Topping D50s. There is every reason to expect that Reserve will be a great success for Polk Audio, because these are speakers that give a rudely good sound in relation to the moderate price tag they have.