Polk Audio Reserve Series - New Premium Loudspeaker Line Introduced
Posted on 24th March, 2021
Polk Audio has announced its new hi-fi and home theatre range - the Reserve Series
Polk Audio's Reserve Series is touted as being a high-performance, versatile loudspeaker line. The new nine model range features three floor-standing models, three centre channels, two bookshelf speakers and a wall-and speaker-mountable height module. The Reserve Series should have everything covered for music, movies and gaming, with them boasting IMAX Enhanced and Hi-Res Audio Certification and Dolby Atmos and DTS:X compatibility.
The Polk Reserve Series is said to borrow the same custom-made transducers developed for the company's flagship Legend Series. However, while they may share the proprietary 1-inch Pinnacle ring radiator tweeter and Turbine Cone midrange, the Reserve also benefits from Polk's latest bass-management and resonance control technologies - PowerPort and X-Port. This is all housed in newly-designed internally-braced cabinets.
Polk's Pinnacle tweeter features a finely tuned waveguide, which dramatically improves the dispersion of high-frequency energy, ensuring a broad sweet spot. At the same time, the critically damped rear-chamber helps defeat unwanted resonances, says the manufacturer.
The Turbine Cone combines Polk's proprietary foam core driver design with moulded Turbine geometry, which dramatically increases stiffness and damping without adding mass.
The Reserve Series marks the debut of Polk Audio's patent-pending X-Port technology, which uses a set of closed-pipe absorbers precisely tuned to eliminate unwanted cabinet and port resonances.
Reserve Series Bookshelf Speakers
Starting with the R100 and R200 bookshelf speakers, each sport the 1-inch ring radiator tweeter with the R100 pairing it with a 5¼-inch Turbine mid/bass driver. The R200 slots in a 6½-inch mid/bass into its larger cabinet, handing it a 51Hz-38kHz claimed frequency range compared to the 58Hz-39kHz range of its smaller sibling.
Polk R900 Height Module
For the first time, Polk gives you the option of topping the floorstanders or standmounts off with the all-new R900 height module.
These angled Dolby Atmos-certified speakers save you the task of installing ceiling-mounted speakers, although these can be wall-mounted, to enjoy the next-gen home theatre codecs. Featuring a 0.75-inch ring radiator tweeter matched to a 4-inch Turbine Cone driver, the claimed frequency range is 70Hz-32kHz when wall-mounted, which also produces 85.5bB SPL.
Reserve Series Centre Channel Trio
The three Reserve centre channel loudspeakers are the R300, R350 and R400. The R300 is a mere 19-inches wide and sports a 1-inch Pinnacle tweeter and a pair of 5¼-inch Turbine cones. The R350 is a slim LCR speaker with the flexibility of a 1-inch Pinnacle tweeter and four 4-inch Turbine cones. Polk says for the clearest, most intelligible vocals, the R400's 1-inch ring radiator and pair of 6½-inch Turbine drivers is the one to go for.
Reserve Series Floorstanders
The floorstanding R500, R600 and flagship R700 tower loudspeakers again share the 1-inch Pinnacle ring radiator tweeter with both the R600 adding a pair of 6½-inch Turbine cones and the R700 just one 6½-inch Turbine but bolstering the pairing even more with dual 8-inch woofers. The R500, meanwhile, has a brace of 5¼-inch Turbines to clock in a stated frequency range of 49Hz-36kHz. The R600 boasts 38Hz-38kHz, whereas the top-of-the-class is listed as producing a 38Hz-37kHz frequency range with 88dB sensitivity.
Polk-Patented Ports
The R600 and R700 also benefit from Power Port 2.0. This Polk-patented loudspeaker port application enables bass frequencies to extend more deeply and at higher output levels than traditional ported speakers. The Power Port 2.0 combines the new X-Port and Enhanced Power Port design into a unique loudspeaker application. Polk tells us that the port tube base was redesigned in aluminium and sits closer to the floor than previous Power Port designs for added performance characteristics and aesthetics. Finally, the R700 features advanced point-to-point bracing with the new Cabinet Resonance Control technology (CRC) that Polk says eliminates panel resonances for enhanced detail and clarity.
All of the Polk Audio Reserve Series products are available for purchase now in black, with the white matte (selected markets) and brown (selected markets) finish available for the R100, R200, R350, R500, R600 and R900.
R100 Bookshelf - €549 (~US$649) pair
R300 Centre Channel - €$399 (~US$469)
R350 Slim Centre Channel - €549 (~US$649)
R400 Centre Channel - €649 (~US$769)
R500 Tower - €1,299 (~US$1,539)
R900 Height Module - €549 (~US$649) pair
StereoNET Says…
Polk Audio has been producing hi-fi and home theatre speakers in Maryland, USA, since 1972 and has built a reputation for good-quality speakers at sensible prices. The new Reserve Series appears to offer great value, with drivers from the flagship Legend Series fitted into more cost-conscious cabinetry. However, only plugging them in can tell us whether this particular exercise has worked and how well.
Visit Polk Audio for more information
Jay Garrett
StereoNET's resident rock star, bass player, and gadget junkie. His passion for gadgets and Hi-Fi is second only to being a touring musician.
Posted in:Hi-Fi Home Theatre
Tags: polk audio