If you’re looking for a premium high-end tower speaker system that gives you audiophile-grade sound quality, luxury aesthetics aimed at music-lovers and home theater enthusiasts serious about their equipment, the Polk Legend L600 and L800 are worth taking a look at.
In summary, Polk Audio’s all-new Legend series of premium floor-standing tower speakers are the result of almost half a century of experience from their engineers who have managed to bring heavy-duty bass and pristine audio sans additional subwoofers. Both Polk Legend L600 and L800 offer fantastic sound and design that add genuine value to your listening pleasure. They are also large and heavy (the Polk Legend L800 considerably more so) and are aimed at the affluent consumer with a budget to spare. The Polk Legend L800 is the more expensive of the two by almost double.
Let’s go have a closer look.
Sound
Have you ever noticed that there often tends to be quite the opposite opinions about a speaker?
I can understand this for more "personal taste" kinda products like clothing, for example.
But for engineering products like speakers? Personal tastes and preferences probably still play a role. But shouldn't it be less?
Why is it that we can't set a universal metric for sound quality?
First time I asked this question to myself has been a pivotal day.
Because it turns out that in the mid 90's, Electrical Engineer PhD Floyd Toole came up with a method called Spinorama. This is exactly what he accomplished with this. Turns out that his book Sound Reproduction is like the bible of audiophiles.
Put it simply, Spinorama is a set of measurements that gives a comprehensive overview of a speaker's performance from various angles.
It allows you to compare the performances of different speakers before even laying your ears hands on them.
Isn't that amazing?
This is why Spinorama was apparently groundbreaking news for audio industry. Hence in the mid-late 2010's, most brands and magazines began publishing Spinorama measurements, despite the challenges of making such measurements.
Fortunately, now we have the Spinorama data for a bunch of quite popular speakers. Pierre Aubert put all this untidy data together and put it into https://www.spinorama.org/. This is a stunning source. Pretty valuable stuff from him right there.
All good up to this point.
Now there comes a caveat.
Since the sound speakers propagate are in the form of omnidirectional waves, all measurements are obtained in anechoic or semi-anechoic chambers (a super-quiet room where soundwaves don't bounce back, here's how different that room sounds [a mind blowing time-adjusted video]).
This is a problem because it means that Spinorama alone, unfortunately, won't give us all we need. Placement and reflections play an equally important role there too.
This is why most A-class brands (like SVS, Bang & Olufsen, etc) often come up with room correction features, adjusted either manually or automatically. The EQ adapts itself to the placement (room, corner, center, etc) for a better (deeper and more accurate) sound. Which is great.
Additionally they often emphasize the importance of placement, here is an example: https://www.svsound.com/blogs/subwoofer-setup-and-tuning/75365187-the-art-of-subwoofer-placement
Anyways...
The source code under Pierre Aubert's work is licensed under GPL (General public license). He didn't perform any of the measurements himself, and instead he compiled all of them into one place, so that makes sense.
At this point, I thought that if there was a tool that combined both the Spinorama with the room acoustics data, it'd be extremely useful.
Unfortunately, it turns out that there wasn't any.
This is where I stepped in and partnered with an Acoustics and Audio Engineering PhD in order to achieve this.
We combined Spinorama data with room acoustics and came up with Soundton. A very simple, 2D online tool that allows you to:
- Reveal optimal speaker positions in a room,
- Test with real speakers from real brands,
- Compare different speakers and different positions in the room.
It can be very valuable for the vast majority.
The colormap provides you the locations with the best (green) and worst (red) listening experience.
It works the best with subwoofers since Soundton processes low frequency response waves only.
- Soundton is going to be, say, 80% accurate. Not 100%.
- Because, other parameters such as the age/materials of the building, furniture/windows in place also have an impact on room acoustics.
- If you want absolutely the most detailed room analysis, then what you need is an acoustics consultant. Mind you that's going to require deep pockets and patience though... assuming you find the right person and they get the job done.
Anyways...
Polk Audio's commitment to innovation has led to its patented technologies like the SDS-SRS (Signature Reference System) and SRT (Signature Reference Theater).
Their latest top-of-the-line system, SDA-Pro, is featured on the Polk Legend L800, giving it a clear edge over the Legend L600, which seems aimed at a more conventional, stereo approach. This doesn't imply any slack in the actual quality of the Polk Legends L600’s sound as such. Still, the Polk Legend L800 definitely produces a more 'multi-dimensional' sound that feels like a more immersive experience.
It also comes with considerably more power to spare as well. So it's easy to see the vast difference in price between these two siblings.
That being said, the overall sound quality on both speakers sets a bar of sorts, especially in the bass ranges, where the combination of sheer power and clarity in these lower frequencies is extremely impressive.
Design
With wood-veneer finishes, these speakers definitely exude quality and exquisite finish. The overall aesthetic is classic-meets futuristic, which fits well in most living rooms. That being said, the Polk Legend L600 and L800 both raise doubts about their bulk and weight. These might be a deal (and back)-breaker for some.
Both towers also come with top-mounted, removable panels replaceable with the optional L900 height module speaker. Priced at $599 a pair, they go a long way in enhancing Atmos/DTS:X playback. A feature that definitely gives these an edge over their competition. Additionally, the interchangeable rubber feet and spikes help with stability once set up.
Color Options
- The Polk Legend L600 is available in black and ash grey
- The Polk Legend L800 is available in all black and brown
Dimensions
Polk Legend L600
- Height: 46.69" (118.59 cm)
- Width: 12.96" (32.92 cm)
- Depth: 15.9" (40.39 cm)
Polk Legend L800
- Height: 48.6" (123.45 cm)
- Width: 17.94" (45.56 cm)
- Depth: 17.38" (44.14 cm)
Weight
- Polk Legend L600: 77.8 lbs (35.29 kg)
- Polk Legend L800: 118 lbs (53.5 kg)
You can also answer a few questions to determine which Polk product is right for you.
Specs
Polk Legend L600
- Total Frequency Response: 28 Hz → 50,000 Hz
- Nominal Impedance Range: 3.3 ohms → 4 ohms
- Sensitivity (1 watt @ 1 meter): 86 dB
- Lower and Upper -3dB Limits: 34 Hz → 38,000 Hz
- Type: 3-way Orth Crossover
- Peak Power Handling: 300 watts
- Midrange Woofer Crossover Frequency: 410 Hz
- Tweeter Midrange Crossover Frequency: 2900 Hz
- Power Handling (per channel): 30 watts → 300 watts
- A/V Receiver Crossover Settings: Large (0 Hz)
Polk Legend L800
- Total Frequency Response: 24 Hz → 50,000 Hz
- Nominal Impedance Range: 2.8 ohms → 4 ohms
- Sensitivity (1 watt @ 1 meter): 87 dB
- Lower and Upper -3dB Limits: 32 Hz → 38,000 Hz
- Type: 3-way Orth Crossover (x2)
- Midrange Woofer Crossover Frequency: 370 Hz
- Tweeter Midrange Crossover Frequency: 2800 Hz
- Power Handling per channel: 25 watts → 300 watts
- A/V Receiver Crossover Settings: Large (0 Hz)
- Peak Power Handling: 300 watts
- Recommended Amplifier Power Per Channel: 25 watts → 300 watts
Connectivity
Both come with similar connectivity options and need to be connected to your devices through an amplifier. They also offer the unique possibility of ‘bi-amping,’ a practice where you use two amplifiers for increased power and clarity.
Price
At the time of this article, the Polk Legend L600 is priced at $1,749, and the Polk Legend L800 is priced at $2,999 per speaker. (Please check your local dealers for details).
Verdict
This is how the Polk Legend L600 and L800 stack up against each other:
- Design: Tie. But the Polk Legend L800 looks was more space age
- Sound: The Polk Legend L800 wins
- Connectivity: Tie
- Price: The Polk Legend L600 wins. But also offers considerably less power.
In conclusion, both speakers are worth your investment. But make no mistake, this is for serious audiophiles only. The Polk Legend L600 is a bit more compact, and the Polk Legend L800 is a lot more powerful and immersive.