Stand Loudspeaker Reviews

Polk Legend L100 loudspeaker Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog sources: Kuzma Stabi R turntable & Kuzma 4Point 11" tonearm; Hana ML MC phono cartridge.
Preamplification: Mytek Brooklyn DAC+, Tavish Audio Design Adagio. Power amplifier: Mytek Brooklyn AMP+.
Integrated amplifiers: Cary SLI-80HS, Schiit Audio Ragnarok II, Heed Audio Elixir.
Loudspeakers: Quad S2, Spendor BC1.
Cables: Interconnect: Shindo Laboratory, Triode Wire Labs Spirit II. Speaker: Auditorium 23. AC: Triode Wire Labs Obsession NCF power cord, manufacturers' own.
Accessories: Kuzma PLATIS 65 isolation platform, IsoTek EVO3 Aquarius line conditioner, Salamander five-tier rack; IKEA Aptitlig bamboo chopping boards (under preamp, power amps); Mapleshade maple platform (15" × 12" × 2", under turntable), mahogany blocks (2" × 2" × 0.5"); 3"-thick studio-treatment foam damping (ceiling, walls).—Ken Micallef

COMPANY INFO
Polk Audio/Sound United LLC
541 Fermi Ct.
Carlsbad, CA 92008
(800) 377-7655
polkaudio.com
ARTICLE CONTENTS

COMMENTS
thatguy's picture
Submitted by thatguy on October 2, 2020 - 10:48am

Great review and once again my bank account is fortunate that my affinity for SE Tube amps limits my speaker choices.

Anton's picture
Submitted by Anton on October 2, 2020 - 4:50pm

Of course, now I need to know more about that L200 and that new KEF LS50!

What a great time for standmounts at humanly kind prices!

Thanks for a killer review that is foundational in its category.

James.Seeds's picture
Submitted by James.Seeds on October 2, 2020 - 5:36pm

You lost me at "Made in China"

Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on October 3, 2020 - 4:48am

... minimum amount one must pay, today, for a new pair of speakers that are not manufactured in China?

The Dynaudio Emit M10 is made in Denmark and is priced at $799/pr.

Is there anything else that is less expensive?

tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on October 4, 2020 - 1:32pm

a person could buy a used pair of Magnapan MG3s w/ribbon tweeter and existing support from the manufacturer.

Just purchased a pair in Miami for under $799.

Are we suggesting that transducer performance has significantly improved over these last 3 or 4 decades? I can't see how it has, in any meaningful way!

What has changed is the cost/price structures and designs featuring lower cost materials. Shipping Costs have skyrocketed mandating designs that optimise shipping & warehouse efficiencies.

China offering labor at 1/10th to 1/20th the Cost of Domestic Labor allows Manufacturers a Quarterly Profit attractive to Venture Capitol.

This Manufacturer's decision makers are selling/diluting their Brand Name for short term gain. ( expect long term pain and low residual dollar values )

Tony in Venice

AndreasB's picture
Submitted by AndreasB on October 5, 2020 - 3:03am

Focal Chorus 706 (and matching S700 stands).
Cheap and quite great. Made in France! (assembled in France and shipped from France using European MDF for enclosure)
I have them and I can't think of anything comparable for the price. They are of higher build quality than my JBL L890s made in Mexico.
I know that the bottom driver is made in China though but is a Focal exclusive too, not off the shelf. I believe the tweeter is even manufactured in France.

Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on October 5, 2020 - 12:45pm

... discontinued models, then we can do even better on price.
The Focal Chorus 605 is still available in new condition for $300 or $349/pr.

https://www.safeandsoundhq.com/collections/focal/products/focal-chorus-605-two-way-bookshelf-speakers-pair

https://upscaleaudio.com/products/focal-chorus-605-bookshelf-loudspeakers-pair

https://www.focal.com/us/high-fidelity-speakers/chorus-600/chorus-605

jmsent's picture
Submitted by jmsent on October 5, 2020 - 8:51am

..assembled in Denmark? Dynaudio is owned by Goertek, a large Chinese company, and does a lot of its driver and cabinet manufacturing in China. Given the cost structures of manufacturing in Scandinavia, I'd bet that the majority (if not all) of the parts for that speaker are sourced out of China, and the rather simple final assembly work is done on a small line in Denmark. The loudspeaker company I worked with in Scandinavia also did this kind of OEM work for a number of well known brands.

Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on October 5, 2020 - 12:44pm

... "made in XYZ" label really means "assembled in XYZ from foreign and domestic components".

For example, the British-made Harbeth speakers include tweeters sourced from a company based in Scandinavia and crossover capacitors (other than those for the limited-edition Anniversary models) sourced from a company in Hong Kong.
So, do their speakers deserve to be called "handmade in England", as it states on their website?

In any event, the Dynaudio speakers are labeled "made in Denmark" and the Focal speakers are labeled made in France" - for whatever that may be worth.

jmsent's picture
Submitted by jmsent on October 5, 2020 - 2:11pm

Emit
Designed, engineered and assembled in Denmark

Found in both the user guide and the literature.
Where does it say "made"? I always thought that this required that a majority percentage of the individual parts be made in that country. E.g., Made in USA requires at least 50% to my understanding. I'd bet it's at least that high for DK, if not higher.

Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on October 5, 2020 - 4:36pm

... the Dynaudio Emit M10 is "Made in Denmark"?

Did it ever occur to you to look on the speaker?
Obviously, not.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71H2o4tFwFL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

https://www.avprofessionals.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/emit_m10_satin_black_back.png

tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on October 5, 2020 - 8:33pm

it's Legalese sort of language.

Legal advisors are nudging EVERYONE into the Non-descriptive phrasing of doubt. All except China where there is no doubt that Chinese stuff is made in China, they say it on everything they make. Everyone else hides the china sourcing. ( for dam good reasons: Made in USA equates to 35% better Sales )

The Made in China label signifies the Race to the Bottom.

There are quite a few super high quality Chinese Brands being sold here and globally but they don't have the Glamor Branding of Traditionals like Polk and they don't get reviewed by our better reviewers, Mr. HR the exception.

If Stereophile had a specialist reviewer only reviewing/ reporting on Asian Brands it would be an exciting thing. China has some outstanding gear at Schiit level price points .

Tony in Venice

Electrophone's picture
Submitted by Electrophone on October 8, 2020 - 5:24am

I asked my local Hifi Specialist to check the labels on the back of his Demo Emit 20s. It says „Made in China“. He also told me that nowadays all cabinets for Dynaudio loudspeakers are manufactured in China, even for the fancier Evoke and Contour loudspeakers.

tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on October 3, 2020 - 4:09pm

It's probably great for Wall Street but it's Hell on our Main Street.

It feels like an old friend giving us the middle finger, after all these years.

Tony in Venice

dougspeterson's picture
Submitted by dougspeterson on October 2, 2020 - 6:58pm

As JA noted ring radiators despite their extended response become beamy.
Therefore I am still with the KEF LS50 and its wide, uniform and Extended response as the
ultimate mini monitor.

Is Stereophile going to look at the new Meta version?

Long-time listener's picture
Submitted by Long-time listener on October 3, 2020 - 5:16am

"As JA noted ring radiators despite their extended response become beamy."

I suspect that means they might not be as good for near-field listening, but am not absolutely certain.

These, and the L200s, are getting good reviews. But it seems I'm seeing more reviews for the 100s. Are they considered better?

What happens if you take of the back plate and just let the port fire straight out?

Just a couple of questions.

Charles E Flynn's picture
Submitted by Charles E Flynn on October 2, 2020 - 8:39pm

@dougspeterson:

Yes. Please see John Atkinson's comments at https://www.stereophile.com/content/recommended-components-fall-2020-edition-loudspeakers on September 26, 2020 - 8:29am and on September 28, 2020 - 11:00am.

Long-time listener's picture
Submitted by Long-time listener on October 3, 2020 - 5:18am

If Polk has really managed to improve their drivers over their previous series, why couldn't they just offer an improved lsim703, which everyone seems to love? Why do speaker companies always throw away their good old designs? For example, why did Revel go from making the nearly-perfectly-measuring M20 to speakers with smaller cabinets and much less perfect measurements? I don't understand this idea of "progress."

Archguy's picture
Submitted by Archguy on October 6, 2020 - 10:26pm

The LSiM series is justly lauded, but nothing sells like a whole new model with new reviews in the audio press. Time will tell if 'this year's model' is actually an improvement or just another lateral move with short-term profits in mind.

prerich45's picture
Submitted by prerich45 on October 5, 2020 - 7:39am

It's the same reason Def Tech redesigned their speakers as well, the LSiM had Sandy's name is all over them (LSiM Series). Those and Def Tech Mythos, seem like precursors to the Golden Ear brand. Polk and Def Tech moved away from them. Speaker brands change - sometimes for the better, others for the worse. Some have died because of nostalgia - it didn't look and adhere to the principles of the old stuff even though they measured well (Thiel anyone, happened to Infinity too). That's what happens.

remlab's picture
Submitted by remlab on October 5, 2020 - 9:48am

for someone who used a laser vibrometer in the design process to specifically eliminate those resonances(And bragged about it). I would love to hear the designer's take on John's measurements regarding this issue.

beave's picture
Submitted by beave on October 5, 2020 - 10:27pm

I'm more troubled by the port resonance than the cabinet resonance. I'm guessing it's more likely to be audible.

remlab's picture
Submitted by remlab on October 6, 2020 - 2:07pm

..it's technological resources, the port resonance and cabinet vibrations are pretty interesting observations for a relatively expensive design. Audible or not, it implies some sloppiness in the engineering process. If a company has already invested in the technological resources, it's not the least bit costly to do it right.

Trevor_Bartram's picture
Submitted by Trevor_Bartram on October 15, 2020 - 8:23am

Not to pick on Polk in particular (as most first world companies seem to be guilty of this) but it really troubles me (having worked in the UK & US defence industry) that high value intellectual property* is being given to a potential foe. This didn't happen during the Cold War, why is happening now** (was it Nixon in China?), perhaps someone can educate me?

*You may say it's just a loudspeaker but to get to this level requires the same skills that can be applied to other less peaceful devices.

**I fully realize this has been steadily going on for forty years but I've never seen an explanation as to why.

SamB's picture
Submitted by SamB on January 10, 2021 - 7:05am

Whenever I see a "budget" loudspeaker that require, or demand, so much power, and of course, we wont quality power, which is not cheap, I'm questioning the "budget" aspect is the description or labeling

xlmstereo's picture
Submitted by xlmstereo on November 6, 2022 - 6:00am

I have the L100s and very much enjoy them with SS. After 30years of SS I want to try tubes and of my 4 speakers sets I want to try the L100s with tubes.

Ken mentions how well the Cary SLI80HS works with the L100s, however, since this will be my entry into tubes I want to try something a little more affordable (<$3000 new). Can anyone suggest FROM EXPERIENCE a tube integrated? Thanks.

Ken - very nice review. Enjoyable read.

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