Polk Reserve R200 Bookshelf Speakers Black

Product Information

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1630986-REG/polk_audio_300029_01_00_005_reserve_series_r200_2_way.html Option 3: The expensive option, Dynaudio Contour 20i. I can get a good price from my dealer friend, but they are still very expensive. I have very good experience with Dynaudio (owned the old contour 3.4 and loved it). However, I couldn't find any measurements of the 20i, only of the 20 in Stereophile (which were good but not great, if I understood correctly). Possible advantages- the tweeters are great; Also, it's a bigger speaker (larger volume) with a bigger woofer (7.1 inch). From experience, Dynaudio's woofers can handle a lot of power and produce great SPL without ever bottoming. So probably this one can punch lower and harder, emphasis on "probably" because I have no experience with Revel. Problem- price, that needs to be justified (within the law of diminishing return). 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. Below the tuning frequency, the output of the port and the transducer become out of phase with each another so that the bass drops off faster than for a sealed-box design. Above the tuning frequency, also, the open-ended pipe creates what are often called pipe-organ resonances that can cloud the midrange. So Polk’s new Power Port 2.0 works also to clean up the upper bass and midrange.

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. Now let’s delve into the data to better understand these observations. The impedance data shows that the speaker is close to a 4-ohm nominal load, so it is recommended to use a 4-ohm capable amplifier to drive it properly. The frequency response data indicates that the speaker has a mostly linear response within a 1.5 dB range up to 10 kHz, with peaking above that frequency. There is a resonance around 1 kHz that could explain the perceived glare in vocals and instruments in that range. The Polk Reserve R200 bookshelf speakers deliver a bold sound from a compact cabinet, performing equally well with both 2 channel stereo and home cinema surround sound setups. A one inch Pinnacle dome tweeter provides crisp highs for detail, with a finely tuned waveguide to improve the wide dispersion of sound across the whole room. The 6.5 inch Polk Turbine cones deliver clarity in the all-important midrange, combining a foam core with moulded turbine geometry to dramatically improve stiffness and damping, without adding extra weight. The Turbine cone lets you experience a smooth and detailed midrange and bass. 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.I recently sold my R200's that were manufactured in 2020. I tried to find any saved or screenshots of REW measurements I had but I must have trashed them at some point. Polk R200 has external dimensions of (Height x Width x Depth) 14-1/8 x 7-9/16 x 13-15/16inch (359.0 x 193.0 x 355.0mm ). Sound Power represents all of the sounds arriving at the listening position after any number of reflections from any direction. It is the weighted rms average of all 70 measurements, with individual measurements weighted according to the portion of the spherical surface that they represent.

There’s a little bunching around 3-5kHz for the sidewall reflections, which may be why I found vocals to sound a tad forward, but you can see the total horizontal reflections balance out nicely to a linear response in the dotted yellow line. Overall, the Polk Audio Reserve Series R200 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers offer a wide range of connection options, making them suitable for a variety of settings. The addition of WiFi, Bluetooth, USB, Chromecast, and Ethernet make it easy to enjoy your favorite music with minimal latency and high-quality audio. Polk Audio Reserve R200 Review: Most & least ideal user profiles

Polk Audio Reserve R200 Review: Sound quality

The top model L800 is a very special model, and is a continuation of Polk Audio's classic SDA concept, which in this latest incarnation involves two rows of treble and midrange elements angled apart mounted in a baffle where the upper part has a bend in the middle. R200: Impressive rendering of Arild Andersen's double bass from a tripod speaker. Purely subjectively, it sounds as if they go deeper than the measurements suggest. See the white and green lines above? Those represent the frequency response of the ‘direct’ sound — before reflections — with the green line being the ‘on-axis’ response and the white being the ‘listening window.’ 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.

The R600 is otherwise equipped with 2 6½-inches set up in a 2½-way configuration, where one Turbine Cone element plays deeper than the other. Next, we can look at the purple line. This is the ‘predicted in-room response.’ It applies different weights to each of the 70 angles measured to estimate what the speaker’s response will be like in a typical living room (yes, living rooms vary a lot, but it’s still a surprisingly good metric). It will be interesting to see if the recent motion towards seriously larger tweeter waveguides and lower crossovers like on powered monitors will finally light a bulb in some home speaker person's head, whereby a horizontal Woofer-Tweeter-Woofer layout could have much better horizontal dispersion than the norm with little cost increase. There are still port resonances, so nothing revolutionary is happening here, but they are kept low relative to the port peak, about 18 dB (not factoring in baffle step). Low enough to not have much of an effect on the on-axis response, although it's visible a bit in the off-axis. Compared to the L200 it's night and day: R200: Raw and unmade up as it should be. The opening consonant of Odin Staveland is almost spit out. Brutal horns.

Polk Audio Reserve R200 Review: Conclusion

The colormap provides you the locations with the best (green) and worst (red) listening experience. Another way of discussing this is that where the Reserve R200 appears as a distinctly neutral construction throughout the frequency range, it is tempting to define the R600 as a bass-rich speaker, and at the same time with a touch of v-characteristics. This can of course be a disadvantage for some, and then it may be natural for them to try an R500 instead. But for me, this provided an almost addictive experience. We are talking about a rather extreme fun factor, which gave extra effect to some music with hefty bass. An important part of this is that the bass is reproduced with very high precision - no woolly or spongy bass there, which would have turned this property into something negative. There is also a noticeable absence of sibilants on recordings where other speakers may struggle with this. The Polk Audio Reserve Series R200 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers offer an enjoyable listening experience, making them a great choice for music enthusiasts and home theater enthusiasts alike. They are capable of handling loud volumes easily, so they are a great choice for more demanding users.