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Wed Nov 25
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  • posts about #polk more →

    Polk HitMaster "Monitor" Means Inexplicable Faux Instrument Arms Race Actually Exists

    Giz Explains: The Difference Between $100 and $100,000 Speakers

    Sony RHT-S10 Soundbar Wall Home Theater System

    Polk Audio SurroundBar 360 DVD Theater Does 5.1 With a Single Speaker

    Apple To Work With Polk, JBL, iBiquity on HD Radio Tagging System For iTunes

    The Field Guide to Faux-Surround Soundbars

    Polk Audio MiDock10—iPodimus Maximus

    Polk's miDock Studio Takes a Stab at Apple's Hi-Fi

    Polk I-Sonic Entertainment System

    Electronics Imitate Life
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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of Bluecold:Of volcanic temperament but soothed by a custard pie balsam. Bluecold:Of volcanic temperament but soothed by a custard pie balsam.
    10/25/09

    In reply to Polk HitMaster "Monitor" Means Inexplicable Faux Instrument Arms Race Actually Exists
    Still, Polk makes some good point in the press release.
    "most games are played through standard TV speakers, which are dismal at best."
    "Music games like Beatles Rock Band® are rightfully cited for sounding as good if not better than the original releases, so why play them through toys or TVs? A high quality recording deserves a real speaker that reveals all the beauty of the original master, and this is exactly what HitMaster provides."
    They may look garish, but I have to agree with Polk on this one. #polk
     Reply
    Jack Loftus promoted this comment Bluecold:Of volcanic temperament but soothed by a custard pie balsam. was starred Bluecold:Of volcanic temperament but soothed by a custard pie balsam. was unstarred
    Image of curious-character curious-character
    10/25/09

    @Bluecold: Those would be great points if Polk was making something other than only-slightly-better-than-crappy-TV speakers...$100 for a powered monitor is going buy you a really crappy monitor...this is a toy, no way around it. #polk
     Reply
    Jack Loftus promoted this comment curious-character was starred curious-character was unstarred
    Image of Gordonium Gordonium
    10/25/09

    In reply to Polk HitMaster "Monitor" Means Inexplicable Faux Instrument Arms Race Actually Exists
    I'm going to cry and get all nostalgic for real musicians when, sometime in the far-too-near future, my kids start going to see bands with names like, "The Real Fake Band", who just play Guitar Hero type stuff on stage, with ridiculous accessories to make it LOOK like a real concert. #polk
     Reply
    Jack Loftus promoted this comment Gordonium was starred Gordonium was unstarred
    Image of LPAkira LPAkira
    10/25/09

    In reply to Polk HitMaster "Monitor" Means Inexplicable Faux Instrument Arms Race Actually Exists
    I'm a big fan of Guitar Hero, and some of these accessories still make me want to weep for the future of humanity. #polk
     Reply
    Jack Loftus promoted this comment LPAkira was starred LPAkira was unstarred
    Image of Colin Elliott Colin Elliott
    04/16/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: The Difference Between $100 and $100,000 Speakers
    When I first set up my home theater system I bought a set of Logitech Z-5500 speakers on sale for about $250.


    I know it sounds weird having 'gaming' speakers in your living room but they really sound good. (if you replace the wires with some decent gauge wire)


    Since I've initially set up my living room I've replaced almost every component since then but I still haven't found a set of speakers I like without going over the $1000 mark, which honestly I'm not ready to do yet.

     Reply
    Colin Elliott was starred Colin Elliott was unstarred
    Image of ZLevee ZLevee
    04/16/09

    @Colin Elliott: Back when Klipsch used to make this 5.1 setup for PCs: [reviews.cnet.com]
    It wasn't uncommon for people to use them for home theaters.
     Reply
    ZLevee was starred ZLevee was unstarred
    Image of badhatharry badhatharry
    04/16/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: The Difference Between $100 and $100,000 Speakers
    When an enclosure starts creating sounds of its own, that's not distortion, that's resonance. Distortion is when the waveform is clipped, thus turning a sine wave (something that looks like ocean waves) into a square wave (something that looks like a square), or a sawtooth wave (take a guess). Resonance can be a factor of the materials used to construct the enclosure, the volume of the enclosure (the higher the volume, the lower the resonant frequency), or simply just a loose screw.
     Reply
    badhatharry was starred badhatharry was unstarred
    Image of Shikestarr Shikestarr
    04/16/09

    @badhatharry:

    Distortion is any deviation of output signal from input signal, whether good or bad. So if the speaker box is vibrating and making noise because of it, that's distortion. Bad distortion. If a vacuum tube starts rounding off peaks of audio signals, also distortion, but possibly good distortion, depending on application and intention.


    Clipping is a form of distortion, but not all distortion is clipping.

     Reply
    Shikestarr was starred Shikestarr was unstarred
    Image of badhatharry badhatharry
    04/16/09

    @Shikestarr: The enclosure vibrating is not distortion. The original audio signal is intact.
     Reply
    badhatharry was starred badhatharry was unstarred
    Image of mrburglar mrburglar
    04/16/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: The Difference Between $100 and $100,000 Speakers
    Good article. But a couple comments:


    (1) "Build quality is the other thing. A "dead box," or an enclosure that doesn't create any sounds of its own-since that's distortion-is key and something that costs a lot of money.". Not true. The standard acoustically-dead material is MDF (you'll find it used as the cabinet for all speakers under around $10K, and most above that price), and it's cheap stuff. Open up a speaker, even a really high-end one, and you'll find an MDF box filled with fiberglas insulation.


    (2) The super-exotic speakers are only suitable for large, really large, listening areas. There are a couple of dozen speaker makers which make lovely-sounding speakers that are suitable for average living spaces, well under $900/pair.


    (3) Speakers are the one component in a listening systems that matters the most. Amps/receivers, CD players, and other electronics are basically all the same sounding.


    But as with almost everything, the price-performance curve with speakers is logarithmic, so you can have 90% of the best experience for 5% the cost.

     Reply
    mrburglar was starred mrburglar was unstarred
    Image of matt buchanan matt buchanan
    04/16/09

    @mrburglar: It might be cheap, but you're paying a lot of money to get it.
     Reply
    matt buchanan was starred matt buchanan was unstarred
    Image of mnerd mnerd
    04/16/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: The Difference Between $100 and $100,000 Speakers
    What about those of us with tiny apartments, and tiny bank accounts...what's our best bet?
     Reply
    mnerd was starred mnerd was unstarred
    Image of ZLevee ZLevee
    04/16/09

    @mnerd: The article kinda said it. A 5.1 speaker system and a quality receiver. You will get the susrround effect even in a small space.
     Reply
    ZLevee was starred ZLevee was unstarred
    Image of Zach Prichard Zach Prichard
    04/16/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: The Difference Between $100 and $100,000 Speakers
    I can't believe Giz is actually giving any sort of credibility to this nonsense. There's something to be saide for a few thousand dollar setup, but this is over the top snake oil stuff.
     Reply
    Zach Prichard was starred Zach Prichard was unstarred
    Image of ZLevee ZLevee
    04/16/09

    @Zach Prichard: I think it's pretty clear the point of the post isn't to encourage people to lust for $350,000 systems.


    You have to explain all the way to the top if you want people to understand why a $1,500 setup is worthwhile compared to a $400 HTIB.

     Reply
    ZLevee was starred ZLevee was unstarred
    Image of Mike Daly Mike Daly
    04/16/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: The Difference Between $100 and $100,000 Speakers
    $30 Phillips speakers from wal-mart are the best I've ever used.
     Reply
    Mike Daly was starred Mike Daly was unstarred
    Image of bosskev bosskev
    04/16/09

    @Mike Daly: Well, that's not necessarily saying much if your previous speakers were $10 speakers from Radio Shack.
     Reply
    bosskev was starred bosskev was unstarred
    Image of ACoBildo ACoBildo
    04/16/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: The Difference Between $100 and $100,000 Speakers
    Easy, $99,900...
     Reply
    ACoBildo was starred ACoBildo was unstarred
    Image of Wilson Rothman Wilson Rothman
    04/16/09

    @ACoBildo: Math!
     Reply
    Wilson Rothman was starred Wilson Rothman was unstarred
    Image of ospreyguy ospreyguy
    04/16/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: The Difference Between $100 and $100,000 Speakers
    Does it matter if I have a crappy 3.5 mm jack to my ipod connected to the $300K speakers? I think source output should be a considerable part of you audi purchase.
     Reply
    ospreyguy was starred ospreyguy was unstarred
    Image of bosskev bosskev
    04/16/09

    @ospreyguy: Well, of course it should. In designing your sound system configuration and choosing components, always consider your overall budget and then divvy up the total available dollars proportionally. But designing an entire system was not the point of this article, was it?
     Reply
    bosskev was starred bosskev was unstarred
    Image of Novenus Novenus
    04/16/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: The Difference Between $100 and $100,000 Speakers
    Is the Giz going to do a headphone comparison as part of this series? I would like to know the average/tech joe's opinions on the Grados, at least. Also, good article. Thanks!
     Reply
    Novenus was starred Novenus was unstarred
    Image of jps1369 jps1369
    04/16/09

    @Novenus: I second that. I personally like Grado Labs stuff. I've got a pair of SR80's and they are great for the price. I also have a few pairs of the iGrado for portability, they're better than those damned earbuds.
     Reply
    jps1369 was starred jps1369 was unstarred
    Image of Wilson Rothman Wilson Rothman
    04/16/09

    @jps1369: Yeah, we did that earbud battlemodo, which is still valid if you replace SE110 with the new SE115. But buds are really for being on the go, not for music appreciation.


    We haven't plotted out a review of larger cans, so the initial answer is "no." I am not convinced there's mass appeal, but it's true that it would be nice to know what the best ones were. We'll mull it over.

     Reply
    Wilson Rothman was starred Wilson Rothman was unstarred
    Image of iceicemaybe iceicemaybe
    04/16/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: The Difference Between $100 and $100,000 Speakers
    So where do Bose speakers fit into all of this?

    In danger of offending all audiophiles everywhere, in my experience, they can sound pretty good, despite smallness.


    Anyone?

     Reply
    iceicemaybe was starred iceicemaybe was unstarred
    Image of ZLevee ZLevee
    04/16/09

    @iceicemaybe: We set up a Bose 6.1 system in my Dad's house prety much because my stepmother was opposed to a surround system altogether because of what she imagined speakers would do to the decor. I personally have an Onkyo 7.1 setup.


    I agree with what Geckodelimon and jonaswan2 have said. They sound alright but my Onkyo setup blows them away. You're paying an "Apple-like" tax for the look. If that's what's most important, as it was for my stepmother, it's worth it to you. The sound won't be bad for the average person, just not as good as your money elsewhere. My dad and I knew this but he was willing to compromise for the W.A.F.

     Reply
    ZLevee was starred ZLevee was unstarred
    Image of eagles3 speeeedin eagles3 speeeedin
    04/16/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: The Difference Between $100 and $100,000 Speakers
    That's an easy one. The 350,000 dollar ones are bigger. DUH.
     Reply
    eagles3 speeeedin was starred eagles3 speeeedin was unstarred
    Image of Wilson Rothman Wilson Rothman
    04/16/09

    @eagles3: Clearly you read the article.
     Reply
    Wilson Rothman was starred Wilson Rothman was unstarred
    Image of selggiT selggiT
    04/16/09

    In reply to Giz Explains: The Difference Between $100 and $100,000 Speakers
    SECOND!!!
     Reply
    selggiT was starred selggiT was unstarred
    Image of matt buchanan matt buchanan
    04/16/09

    @selggiT: I approved you just so I could ban you.
     Reply
    matt buchanan was starred matt buchanan was unstarred
    Image of GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag
    04/16/09

    @matt buchanan: Well Matt, you have to give him credit that he finally spelled "Second" correctly.
     Reply
    GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag was starred GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag was unstarred
    Image of cpt.snerd cpt.snerd
    04/16/09

    @SittingOnTheColbert_GitEmSteve...: That's a very good point - if you look at his profile - he's spelled all his other "ferst" and "secund"s all wrong.
     Reply
    cpt.snerd was starred cpt.snerd was unstarred
    Image of GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag
    04/16/09

    @cpt.snerd: Well, he was sooo "Leet" that he didn't need no stinkin' grammar!
     Reply
    GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag was starred GitEmSteveDave_ForgotNametag was unstarred
    Image of Kaiser-Machead Kaiser-Machead
    04/16/09

    @matt buchanan: I find your cruelty refreshing. Don't ever change.
     Reply
    Kaiser-Machead was starred Kaiser-Machead was unstarred
    Image of zenpoet zenpoet
    04/16/09

    @matt buchanan: Gizmodo has given me two of my favorite internet moments, just within the last hour. Thank you Matt, thank you Giz, and thanks to the three involved with this post ([i.gizmodo.com]) it was priceless.
     Reply
    zenpoet was starred zenpoet was unstarred
    Image of Nick Nick
    04/16/09

    @matt buchanan: you ban with such flare and enthusiasm matt. i heart you.
     Reply
    Nick was starred Nick was unstarred
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