Polk reserve or Paradigm premier

[My2k2vette]

Judging by the glowing reviews I don't think I can go wrong with either of these. My question is based on the center speaker. This system will be used almost entirely for movies and I can't bring myself to spend on the L400. Plus, thr finish won't match lol.

Question: Paradigm Premier 800f/600c/P65v2 surrounds or Polk Reserve r700/r400/V 65 RT? The 3 way 600c seems to be the obvious win but looking at the polar response I'm not sure. I've had no luck finding an r400 polar response to compare.

All comments welcome!

 

[j_garcia]

You need to listen to them to decide ultimately. Specs can't exactly tell you whether or not you will like how they sound.

 

[}Fear_Inoculum{]

I can't speak to how the Polks are, as I've never heard them. But being a Premiere owner (800F/600C), I can tell you that I love those speakers. That 600C Center is a beast.

 

[shadyJ]

I like the Polk Reserve towers more, but I like the Paradigm Premiere center better. If you can't swing for the L400 center, I would go for Paradigm, unless you do a lot of two-channel listening. There probably isn't much of an advantage of the 600C center over the 500C center, by the way, if you are going to use an 80Hz crossover point.

 

[My2k2vette]

I would love to A/B compare them however there is no one around here that has them (in Canada). So, I'm stuck taking a best guess and ordering online.

Thanks @shadyJ for your input. I could probably swing for the L400 but the non-matching finish would drive me crazy lol. Polk really messed up by not providing a 3way reference centre.

 

[Chesapeake HT]

I’ve got the entire Reserve setup for my 5.1.4 system. R700s, R400, R200s, and x4 R900s; all in the brown . The R700s are incredible. I had (technically still have, for sale!) the R350 for center duty. I know some people dislike the speaker layout and I understand the reasoning from a technical perspective, but it was a perfect fit for my initial layout and I think it sounded really nice. Of course we sit on a 3 person couch with the cc about 8’ away and angled up, so probably within the “sweet spot”. I upgraded to the R400 due to a nice open box deal and had to make some speaker stand adjustments to accommodate it. I will say that it is a better sound, a deeper sound, but I don’t think it was night and day over the R350, at least at the MLP. The R200s as surround channels were night and day over what they replaced (ES10s) and listening to some Dolby digital music is such a treat now! Obviously I’m pulling for the Polks

(with R350)

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I would love to A/B compare them however there is no one around here that has them (in Canada). So, I'm stuck taking a best guess and ordering online.

Thanks @shadyJ for your input. I could probably swing for the L400 but the non-matching finish would drive me crazy lol. Polk really messed up by not providing a 3way reference centre.

Just get the L600 towers and L400 center.

 

[Kel108]

View attachment 58987
(with R350)
View attachment 58988
[/QUOTE]
Chesapeake HT - where did you get those different size benches. In considering the L400 center I would need something like that as the L400 height of 9.5 inches would not fit in the opening of my glass shelve tv stand. The paradigm 500c and 600c would though. I am debating getting the r700 with L400 or 800f with 600c. Too bad I just missed an incredible sale at Polk forum on 600l and 400l at 40% off

 

[Chesapeake HT]

View attachment 58987
(with R350)
View attachment 58988

Chesapeake HT - where did you get those different size benches. In considering the L400 center I would need something like that as the L400 height of 9.5 inches would not fit in the opening of my glass shelve tv stand. The paradigm 500c and 600c would though. I am debating getting the r700 with L400 or 800f with 600c. Too bad I just missed an incredible sale at Polk forum on 600l and 400l at 40% off
[/QUOTE]

I made them. The top is an engineered red oak stair tread from Home Depot. I routed the sides and back to match the front nosing of the tread. Sanded and stained. When I had the R350 in there, I used table leg attachments and short legs (one in each corner and one center board), also from Home Depot.

With the R400, I obviously needed more clearance. I used the same top from before, and then I made up some legs using 2x10s and some additional bracing in back and at the corners. Took a bit of patience and work, but I like how it turned out.

Actually the tv stand is a modified ikea piece that I removed the center drawer and added a secondary structure to support my AVR and tv on top. All probably over engineered, but I’m not concerned with things sagging!

 

[Kel108]

Nice work, thank you

 

[mtrot]

If you can find the Polk LSi M706c center speaker in good used condition, you may consider it. It looks pretty much like the L400 to me. You may be able to get one for ~$300-400.