any experience with Polymer Audio Research speaker

Yet another purchaser who needs the guru press writers to agree with his expensive purchase.

Mbovaird, basically what you don't realize is that you are just embarrassing yourself. When every industry critic hails it as the best sound at every show so far and these are people who actively hear the best equipment in the world, it makes you look a fool with some kind of emotional problems to say things like "a $5,000 speaker will mop the floor with the Polymers".

It's true that not everyone will like the same products and some of those products are not my cup of tea either. Like some people go crazy for Halcro amplifiers but they are just not for me. I respect their engineering but its just something I would use for my system. At the same time I also won't take time out of my day to actively go on forums and trash the brand as much as possible with overly dramatic comments. I just don't have any kind of need to stand on a mountain top and scream at the world that Halcro sucks.

The intensity and your overly dramatic comments that are obviously emotionally charged dont seem believable to anyone. And I am sure that some of the negative comments are also from competitors who feel threatened by Polymer Audio. Some of the biggest brands realize that they can't compete. I can also start posting comments all over the Internet that the Bose Satelite system wipes the floor with Wilson Alexia's. That's because the Bose module is so much smaller it will produce better imaging than the boxy Alexia speaker. And that surely Bose has betters engineers and infinitely greater resources than Wilson Audio for R&D. My comments might even seem plausible, although of course I will just be making a fool of myself as you are right now.

Do you think the entire press is being bribed by Polymer Audio for consistently hailing it as the best speaker? Notice that most of the publication that gave Polymer Audio best sound at show and awards do not even have Polymer Audio as advertiser. And FM Acoustics has never advertised in the USA and clearly the reviewers who gush over it are actually being sincere.

I simply responded to your post because of just how silly it is and the people who know this product would just think of you as a fool. Because it is not just about subjective nature of sound, but the simply fact that Polymer has a diamond midrange and none of the other speakers do. Who can argue that the paper cone midrange (or whatever they use) on your Wilson Alexia (which you are obviously selling) is superior to a diamond midrange? To call the Polymer Speaker a "high school project" also shows that you are angry about something and can't handle your emotions. Because the Polymer cabinet is the most intricately designed cabinet ever made and anyone who is familiar with CNC machining understands the kind of challenge it is and it would be simply impossible to pursue by the vast majority of audio companies.

I actually have nothing to prove here as the best ears in the world have already spoken.

And by the way, who is your friend? And you didn't answer why he is still keeping the speakers even though they they are worse than a million other speakers, especially after spending the kind of money he spent?

How many advertising dollars does Polymer spend with The Absolute Sound?

Just saying....

Plus, a few of these responders gushing over the speakers seem more than a little suspicious to me. Check their join date (when this thread started), their other posts (glowing about Polymer in threads like "best speakers you've ever heard") and no buying/selling feedback.

If something looks like a skunk and smells like a skunk....

At the end of the day, listen for yourself and decide. For me, not a chance I would ever buy these speakers.

You are right JWM, I am beginning to realize that I need some random guy on Audiogon to agree instead.

I purchased these speakers after Axpona, long before these comments were published on Newport. Still waiting for delivery.

Dweinstein - can we keep things in perspective here? You are quoting SHOW REPORTS! The only thing worse than a review, is a show report! The guy comes in, listens for a few minutes or 30 minutes and leaves! There is no comparison to his reference system. There is little chance to delve into the depths of his musical collection. There is no familiarity with the room. It's a show! Not a review.

That being said, is it any wonder that Polymer got a good show report from the magazine they spend tens of thousands of dollars with (TAS) and a not so good report (the more honest one IMO) from the magazine they don't advertise with? Let's see what did Stereophile say? They said, "After noting (without tipping my hand) that the bass response on an otherwise extremely beautiful depiction of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's voice was exaggerated, with lower pitched instruments unnaturally dominating those higher up, I asked Daniel if he was happy with the sound he was getting in the room. After some hesitation, he carefully stated, 'Perhaps the bass calls more attention to itself than we'd like.'" Finally! Some admission of truth!

Let's keep things in perspective. Show reports are not reviews - and that goes for good ones and bad ones. Like I've said from the beginning, I've heard the MKS-X in a home environment 6 or 7 times now, broken in, with good gear and cables. They just don't do it for me. I simply expect more for $60,000....quite frankly, a lot more. To me, the Magico S3 is a speaker I would choose to parallel to the Polymers both in design philosophy and style of sound. And given that the S3 is roughly 1/3 the price of the Polymers, it's quite simply, no contest. The person above who mentioned a price point of $6,000 isn't far off in my opinion either. You can purchase a pair of Revel Studio 2's on the used market for about $8,000 and with it's adjustability, quality of drivers and super smooth tweeter, it is simply, IMO, a much better speaker than the dramatically overpriced Polymer MKS-X's.

If the Polymer could get their price point down under $20,000 for a speaker, fix the darn bass issues that seem to plaque all their speakers (read Doug Schneiders review of the original MKS and you can see that bass was a issue for him as well) and make a speaker that looks like a serious player (and not the midget the MKS-X is), a better looking cabinet without all the rivet holes and color options (is industrial gray the only color?) then they might have something.

And one more thing.....how about something like bass adjustability on the speaker too? Help to dial it in to most rooms. Because at the end of the day - it's how the speaker sounds in the room that is most important - not what exotic materials it uses. Just saying....

As with everything YMMV.