POLK RESERVE R700 REVIEW! Speakers that put high-end on notice!
POLK RESERVE R700 REVIEW
Speakers that put high-end on notice!
I’m not suggesting that making the perfect loudspeaker is easy, but I am saying that the barrier to entry may be a lot lower than any of us thought. The Polk R700 is a perfect example of what you can get for without spending a fortune.
POLK R700 SPECS
The Polk Audio R700 is a beefy, three-way tower speaker sporting a one-inch Pinnacle Ring Radiator tweeter, a six and a half inch Turbine Cone midrange and two, yes TWO, eight-inch bass drivers –much of which is carried over from Polk’s costlier Legend Series. The speaker’s four drivers and bottom-facing port combine for a reported frequency response of 38Hz to 38kHz, with a sensitivity of 88dB and a minimum impedance of 3.6 Ohms, meaning this large tower isn’t necessarily impossible to drive, though a competent amplifier will give you the best results.
The R700, while big, is not overbearing. Up close and personal you begin to appreciate some of the speaker’s finer details, such as its matte finish, rounded corners and hardware-disguising surrounds for each driver. Around back you’ll find two pairs of high-end binding posts that help to facilitate bi-amping or at a minimum bi-wire connections. The one aspect of the R700’s looks that I’m not keen on, are the feet. First, the feet are part of the speaker’s design, so while I feel they could be made to look better –they cannot be done away with because of the speaker’s downward firing port design. However, aside from that minor complaint, I actually think that the R700, for as large as it is, is actually pretty classic in its appearance and I love the matte white finish and contrasting gray heather magnetic grille.
POLK RESERVE WHITE FINISH
Now about the white finish - I was as surprised as many of you to receive a pair in white. According to most websites, the R700 typically only shows up in walnut or black unlike just about any of the other Reserve speakers. Sadly, according to the folks at Polk, the white finish at least for the R700 has been discontinued. I personally don’t get the reasoning seeing as so many of you say you would buy this speaker in white if it were available.
R700 SPEAKER PLACEMENT
We found the R700 to be rather forgiving when it comes to placement due in large part to its port design. I’m not suggesting the 700 won’t load or charge a room with bass if placed improperly –it will –but it will give you a little more wiggle room compared to other speakers we’ve reviewed. This means that in some rooms you may even be able to get away with placing the 700s closer to your front wall without too many adverse effects. Now, I did find that a small amount of toe-in worked wonders in locking in the speaker’s soundstage and center image, but aside from that, these are fairly forgiving speakers –arguably more so than their much smaller sibling, the R200.
POLK R700 AMPLIFIER RECOMMENDATIONS
In terms of power, I would strongly recommend you come correct and feed these beasts a solid 100 Watts or more if you can manage. Sure they can be powered successfully with an AV receiver like the Marantz 8015 or even the Onkyo 7100, but they absolutely are at their best when given real power. So if your receiver has preamp outs this would be a good opportunity to dive into separates for the 700s are the type of speaker that will reward such an investment. We tested ours with Emotiva’s XPA-HC1 monos, as well as the XTZ-Edge A2-400, and lastly the Crown XLS DriveCore 2. Integrated amp pairings included the Marantz Model 40n as well as the Rotel 1592 MKII –with both doing a good job though admittedly I preferred the Rotel here, but overall the Marantz 8015 acting as a strict preamp feeding a pair of Emotiva monos was the stand-out synergistic match for me.
POLK RESERVE R700 - HOW DO THEY SOUND?
As far as sound goes I don’t know how else to put this other than to just say it; upon hitting play and listening to about a half dozen tracks or so off my Demo Music Playlist, I knew these speakers were special. ACTUALLY, I got the sense that I was listening to something more than a little special –I was experiencing greatness. Considering the R700s retail for around two grand a pair, the 700s raised more philosophical questions than sonic ones.
On the whole, and when listening to music, be it electronica courtesy of Moby or harder driving rock a la Godsmack, the 700’s almost complete lack of coloration or attenuation throughout its frequency response was apparent –even to these subjective ears. I wouldn’t say the R700 sounds different from what I recall of the R200s, but it is a far more complete speaker in that the bass extends to near full-range territory, which matters when it comes to the recreation of scale and dynamics –but I’m getting ahead of myself. Before I grabbed my measuring tools, I scribbled in my note pad that the 700 were among, if not the most neutral speaker we’ve had in house to date. A quick sweep 20 to 20 in Room EQ Wizard confirmed my hunch. The 700s in-room response is stupid good.
