Polk vs Revel vs Kef - Polk sale throwing a wrench in my plans

[Harris48]

Help! I had a plan to get something along the lines of the revel m106 and the Kef r3. With the idea to try wide and narrow directivity LR speakers. I have a revel c208 center and HSU vtf15/bic f12 subs. Then I see this Polk sale and for far less money I can get two floorstanding R700 that would normally be about $500 more for $500 less…which seem to have an excellent reviews and 3 way speakers and possibly negate the need to get another VTF down the road.

Pertinent facts
15x14 2100 cubic ft
Acoustically treat absorption/dispersion panels
2 seats on axis
MLP 10 ft from screen

Would the polks not even be on the same planet as the revel/kef type speakers or is this sale change the calculus making them the ultimate bang for your buck play.

 

[airgas1998]

no you cant on the r700's...

 

[SpeakerSeeker]

I second the OP's question. Not sure whether the sale is ongoing. But I'm equally interested in how the R700s stack up against the Revel m106 and the Kef R3.

OP - Did you ultimately make a decision? If so, which speakers did you go with and why?

 

[Harris48]

Personally I wasn't a big fan of the Kefs, Ends up I like wide dispersion...ymmv.

I ruled out the Polks after further considersation

I bought the Revels and they are great. I also bought Ascend ELX and they are phenomenal. In the end I'm keeping the Ascend. The revel are truly great speakers especially with subs but the ascends improve on everything. When I listen to Revel I think this I think Wow this speaker sounds amazing when I listen to the Ascends I think Im there. That's my subjective initial take. I crossed them over both above 80 and played them both with a sub. If I have time before I need to send the Revels back I'll try and do some unsighted testing. I believe in psychoaucostics but I cant believe i woulndt be able to easily determine whcih one is which. There is that big of difference. A large part of me thought that the Revel with subs were about impossible to get more than a minimal improvement on so if anything I was predispositioned to favor the revels. I thought it would be like picking the 100% cashmere sweater vs cashmere wool blend...real close. It ended up being like being like cashmere vs fine leather. Blindfolded or not it's not hard to tell the difference between leather and cashmere. That's how I think an unsighted test between the two would be.

 

[SpeakerSeeker]

Thanks very much for that insight, Harris48. I really appreciate it. I'll be on the lookout for a place to listen to the Ascends.

By the way, when I review Ascend's website, I don't see the price of the ELX. Can I ask what you paid for the pair?

 

[goldark]

From the Ascend forum before the proposed price increases:

Introductory pricing through Jan 1st:

ELX Ribbon Tower pair (all finishes) = $4998 + shipping. Pricing will increase to $5298 in January.

ELX Titan Tower pair (all finishes) = $4398 + shipping.

Shipping on the above versions will begin within 2-3 weeks!

For the ELX Horizon, we have a limited supply of domestic cabinets still available. Overseas cabinets are not yet available, and we hope to have these new cabinets within 5-6 months.

ELX Ribbon Horizon, domestic cabinet = $2798 + shipping.

ELX Titan Horizon, domestic cabinet = $2498 + shipping.

ELX Upgrade kits are already available and shipping!

Sierra Ribbon Tower pair to ELX Ribbon Tower pair = $1998, price increasing to $2198 in January.

Sierra NrT Tower pair to ELX Titan Tower pair = $2198, with possible price increase in January.

Sierra Ribbon Horizon to ELX Ribbon Horizon = $1048 + shipping, price increasing to $1148 in January.

Sierra NrT Horizon to ELX Titan Horizon = $1148 + shipping, with possible price increase in January.

 

[luft262]

Help! I had a plan to get something along the lines of the revel m106 and the Kef r3. With the idea to try wide and narrow directivity LR speakers. I have a revel c208 center and HSU vtf15/bic f12 subs. Then I see this Polk sale and for far less money I can get two floorstanding R700 that would normally be about $500 more for $500 less…which seem to have an excellent reviews and 3 way speakers and possibly negate the need to get another VTF down the road.

Pertinent facts
15x14 2100 cubic ft
Acoustically treat absorption/dispersion panels
2 seats on axis
MLP 10 ft from screen

Would the polks not even be on the same planet as the revel/kef type speakers or is this sale change the calculus making them the ultimate bang for your buck play.

The Kef and Revel will be much more accurate. Different people will value that differently. With EQ lots of speakers can sound good and lots of people enjoy and use speakers that aren't the most accurate. In the end it's up to you. I'd think the Revels would be the best and probably the most expensive. The Kefs will be close to the Revels in accuracy and cost. The Polk's should be a lot cheaper, but a lot less accurate. Aesthetics, bass extension, whether you'll be using a sub or subs, whether or not you'll have access to EQ. All of these should influence your decision.

 

[Harris48]

Yep that’s it.

@SpeakerSeeker I had the same question. The website doesn’t get the most up to date info. They are busy enough keeping up with all the orders they have coming in from the forums apparently. They have monitors monitor too. One made for more low end one made for more dynamic sound. They have an upgrade program so the monitors on the website might not be the most up to date either since the ELX came out. They have like four versions of each speaker or something like that Give them a call an ask. They are super helpful.

Because they are Internet direct you won’t be able to hear them in a shop but they have a great no hassle return policy. And the only way a small business can keep that up for 25+ years at those prices is by being sure almost no one returns them. That what sold me on trying them and I’m thrilled with the results!

 

[SpeakerSeeker]

Thanks all for your input. Much appreciated. I'm learning a ton on this forum.

 

[TimW]

Yep that’s it.

@SpeakerSeeker I had the same question. The website doesn’t get the most up to date info. They are busy enough keeping up with all the orders they have coming in from the forums apparently. They have monitors monitor too. One made for more low end one made for more dynamic sound. They have an upgrade program so the monitors on the website might not be the most up to date either since the ELX came out. They have like four versions of each speaker or something like that Give them a call an ask. They are super helpful.

Because they are Internet direct you won’t be able to hear them in a shop but they have a great no hassle return policy. And the only way a small business can keep that up for 25+ years at those prices is by being sure almost no one returns them. That what sold me on trying them and I’m thrilled with the results!

Those ELX speakers are way more expensive than the Revel M106's and have excellent measurements. I'm not surprised they sound better to you. Which version did you go with? The ELX Ribbon Tower?

 

[Harris48]

Right he asked what I went with though. It was an old post that I started towards the beginning of my search.

Many here argue passionately that monitors with subs are just as good as towers…they make a compelling argument. If so the new ascend monitors should perform just as well if crossed over at 80‍…idk. I dont think there are any measurements on the elx yet. I couldn’t find any at least and I searched high and low. I was skeptical could significantly improve in the excellent m106 and subs but it does. Whether that’s because they are towers, more expensive, measure better who knows I’m just sharing my experience.

 

[TimW]

Right he asked what I went with though. It was an old post that I started towards the beginning of my search.

Many here argue passionately that monitors with subs are just as good as towers…they make a compelling argument. If so the new ascend monitors should perform just as well if crossed over at 80‍…idk. I dont think there are any measurements on the elx yet. I couldn’t find any at least and I searched high and low. I was skeptical could significantly improve in the excellent m106 and subs but it does. Whether that’s because they are towers, more expensive, measure better who knows I’m just sharing my experience.

The measurements are posted on the Ascend forum, they were also reposted here. Stand-mount monitors have the inevitable issue of floor bounce potentially causing a cancellation. On my 30" stands this happens between 100-200 Hz in my room. Floor standing speakers with multiple bass woofers, at multiple heights, distribute this affect among different frequencies reducing the impact.