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Polk Audio Versus Advent

Don't even bother with "the shack" for things like capacitors anymore. If you're very lucky the clerk might know where they are but won't know what they are. And the selection will be very, very meager. Looking forward to hearing how this little shoot-out finishes.
 
:scratch2: RS doesn't tend to have much variety in capacitors. I think you'd be ahead of the game ordering from Mouser or Parts Express or Digikey or similar...
 
Heck with The shack then.
I'll drive to Portland tomorrow after rush hour. I would order online, but don't want to wait.

I have never heard any other model of Polk except these. I have hardly listened to them, so my hearing is not biased.

I truly believe were you to do a blind listening test, everyone would choose these particular Polks over Advent legacy.

Polk Model 5JR 22091

6.5 inch woofer

1.5 inch silver wire dome tweeter

3 inch LF inductor !!!

:ntwrthy::ntwrthy::ntwrthy: POLK

Polk :whip: Advent
 
I also love the Vintage Polk Sound. They may not be the best in any particular area but they do everything very well, especially SDA, Monitor and RTA line.
 
Sir MLS said:
I also love the Vintage Polk Sound. They may not be the best in any particular area but they do everything very well, especially SDA, Monitor and RTA line.
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I agree, The Polks have it all, great bass, a great mid section and a smooth as silk top end. I'm surprised that it took me this long to hear them. I always was a late bloomer. :smoke:
 
I've had New Large Advents and Small Advents plus I have a pair of 25th Anniversary Large Advents I'm working on getting replacement tweeters for. The NLA's and SA's are great sounding speakers for what they are. There is no doubt why they sold a bajillion of them back in the day. Cost vs Performance was just hard to beat. Polk just happened to be the brand that did it hard core in the era of the Monitor series. They set a standard there for awhile and dealers sold a boat load of them and enjoyed doing it.

I've since sold my NLA's and SA's but it was just because of having too many speakers. I've had Polk Monitor 10B's that I gave to my best friend back home for his garage system that sound outstanding. I've also owned the SDA 1C's, SDA 2.3's and still own SDA SRS II's which have been my personal favorite.

But, that's what it all boils down to. One's personal opinion. I have many speakers I like....and own. Many have come and gone yet a group still remain. Enjoy!
 
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A note! The original Large Advents need a highly damped amplifier for best bass and lots of power to sound best. 55-65 watts per channel upward of 1970's era power. These are acoustic suspension. Something like a Sansui 4000x or a McIntosh MAC 1900 are excellent for driving Advents. The tweeters and midrange is better on the Polks. But the Advents do virtually everything right when paired with the right sources and amplifier. The best power amp I ever heard driving Advents was the Crown DC 300a. The Advent Legacy was made after Advent was bought by Jensen.
 
avguytx said:
I've had New Large Advents and Small Advents plus I have a pair of 25th Anniversary Large Advents I'm working on getting replacement tweeters for. The NLA's and SA's are great sounding speakers for what they are. There is no doubt why they sold a bajillion of them back in the day. Cost vs Performance was just hard to beat. Polk just happen to be the brand that did it hard core in the era of the Monitor series. They set a standard there for awhile and dealers sold a boat load of them and enjoyed doing it.

I've since sold my NLA's and SA's but it was just because of having too many speakers. I've had Polk Monitor 10B's that I gave to my best friend back home for his garage system that sound outstanding. I've also owned the SDA 1C's, SDA 2.3's and still own SDA SRS II's which have been my personal favorite.

But, that's what it all boils down to. One's personal opinion. I have many speakers I like....and own. Many have come and gone yet a group still remain. Enjoy!
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I feel fortunate to get to hear these little Polks from the era when they did things right. :smoke:

KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus! Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Athens, TN
Posts: 3,335

A note! The original Large Advents need a highly damped amplifier for best bass and lots of power to sound best. 55-65 watts per channel upward of 1970's era power. These are acoustic suspension. Something like a Sansui 4000x or a McIntosh MAC 1900 are excellent for driving Advents. The tweeters and midrange is better on the Polks. But the Advents do virtually everything right when paired with the right sources and amplifier. The best power amp I ever heard driving Advents was the Crown DC 300a. The Advent Legacy was made after Advent was bought by Jensen.

The Optonica SA-4141 at 65 watts channel can push the advents with no trouble. The Denon has powerful bass and articulate sound.

When I listen to the Polks, I get the, "nice cup of coffee feeling".

When I listen to the Advents, I get the, "something's missing" or "What did I forget" feelings.:smoke:
 
Equalize them so they are both playing at the same volume. The louder system sounds better to the casual listener.
 
lumpy said:
Equalize them so they are both playing at the same volume. The louder system sounds better to the casual listener.
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This really sounded like a good idea.

I logged off and did that.

Results:

The Polks totally Dominated

The Polks can play bass, mid bass, highs.

The advents are not only incapable of playing several lower frequencies at once. They sound a little bit good, right before they crap out completely.


The Polks prove that they are both a superior speaker, and much more capable than the Advent. Still, the recap is in order for the Advents. I will purchase new Mylar caps for the Polks while I am at it.
Then a fresh shootout. Polks -> :king: :screwy: <- Advents
 
I own Polk 10b's 5b's and NLA's. I like them all. The 5b's are in the bedroom system, the NLA's are currently hooked up to a Pioneer SX 780 and sound great. My 10b's were just recently put aside for a bit to listen to the other dozen or so pairs of speakers I own. Yes the 10b's can crank and sound awesome doing so. Having said that, my NLA's sound wonderful at low to mid volume with the 780. Of the three speakers mentioned here, I'd get rid of my 5b's, but not the 10's or the NLA's.
 
gatorvrx said:
I own Polk 10b's 5b's and NLA's. I like them all. The 5b's are in the bedroom system, the NLA's are currently hooked up to a Pioneer SX 780 and sound great. My 10b's were just recently put aside for a bit to listen to the other dozen or so pairs of speakers I own. Yes the 10b's can crank and sound awesome doing so. Having said that, my NLA's sound wonderful at low to mid volume with the 780. Of the three speakers mentioned here, I'd get rid of my 5b's, but not the 10's or the NLA's.
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Having heard that, I bet alot more people like me would choose Polk over Advent if they heard them side by side. I can only speak of my 5JR's and Legacy's

BTW, both sets of speakers have old caps.:smoke:
 
I'm a bit at a loss here. Something sounds sort of out of whack. In my room, I was getting usable bass well below 30hz (if memory serves, it was between 6 and 10db down at 25hz), and from 10' away, on solid tile floors, would make the sofa feel like a massage chair. I would never have called it muddy. My feeling is that, either something is wrong with the speakers, the placement, or there is a very different voicing between the OLA's and the Legacy's (not much of a stretch really, when you consider they have different drivers, x-overs, and the fact that they were designed by different men a decade and a half apart). Still and all, it could simply be a case of different strokes for different folks. Have fun with the testing! I'll hafta see if I can find ome polks to give a spin, myself. If they out-do the advents bass-wise, and have better mids and highs, they're definetely something I need to hear. I love my advents, but I'm always willing to listen for possible upgrades. Thinkin about trying e-wave as soon as I have the funds....
 
I too have been very satisfied with the sound of my Polk speaker system, it's listed in my sig. The veil gets pulled away completely when I listen to the Polks. I would love to be able to get the Polk towers for my living room system some day. I worked in broadcasting for 40 years and spent many a day in top quality recording studios, and the Polks that I have have a very detailed and natural sound very similar to those monitors I listened to in the old days.
 
johnda said:
I too have been very satisfied with the sound of my Polk speaker system, it's listed in my sig. The veil gets pulled away completely when I listen to the Polks. I would love to be able to get the Polk towers for my living room system some day. I worked in broadcasting for 40 years and spent many a day in top quality recording studios, and the Polks that I have have a very detailed and natural sound very similar to those monitors I listened to in the old days.
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That should tell you something.

When a man listens to top quality monitors in professional recording studio's for 40 years, and he like Polks too.....

Sounds like my ears aren't fooling me at all.

The hardest part for me is, "many of you know how I hate small speakers".

Now, my small speakers sound the best.:scratch2:
 
It's good for you to have your preconceived notions shattered every once in a while. Opens up the 'ole mind.
 
If you are so "obsessed with audio" you should know there are A LOT of speakers that probably sound better than those Polks you have. Why then go on and on about how you think this certain speaker is better than that certain speaker?

I can just see the title of your next thread when you find something that you think sounds better than those Polk's.

other speaker :twak: Polk
 
I wouldn't mind hearing my Fraziers either! They're in storage and not currently operational. One has a badly torn cone, the other has a slightly torn surround. Both could use crossover rebuilds. They are waiting for me to get a bigger place, or more time and money for a frivolous set up at work out in the warehouse.
 
JonL said:
I wouldn't mind hearing my Fraziers either! They're in storage and not currently operational. One has a badly torn cone, the other has a slightly torn surround. Both could use crossover rebuilds. They are waiting for me to get a bigger place, or more time and money for a frivolous set up at work out in the warehouse.
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I have a few pairs of speakers that need attention too.
Blasted things.:smoke:
 
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