any experience with Polymer Audio Research speaker

Listened to them at Axpona this past April. IMO, they were one of the worst sounding Room at the show. Several people commented that they were on the 10 rooms to avoid list.

I think it must have been the show conditions, or equipment combination they used. I listened to one song and was mightily disappointed.

A friend of mine owns a pair of the MKS-X's. I've heard them 6 or 7 times. For their $60,000 retail price, I can think of a million speakers I would rather own. They aren't my cup of tea at all.

That being said, the tweeter is very smooth, but the bass is muddy and undefined and also boomy and problematic in his room (his previous speakers were not). The bass issues also cloud up the midrange.

The speakers are also very tiny and vertical imaging is low. If you listen to the YouTube video above (which show the model MKS-X - the same one my friend has), you can hear some serious cabinet resonances. I am by no means a speaker designer, but IMHO, the speakers are physically small, and may have the drivers too close together.

IMHO, a speaker like the Revel Salon 2 or Magico S3/S5 bury the Polymers, are backed by large companies with lots of R&D and strong warranty and will save you $30,000 - $40,000 to boot. In the case of the Salon 2's, they also offer adjustability on the speaker to dial into almost any rooms.

As with everything, YMMV.

Tom, who are you? Based on your dramatic post, as though the speakers were so painfully bad that you experienced actual torture, it's plain to see that you are either joking or have some bizarre agenda.

Lets see:

-Best sound at the show by Absolute Sound at AXPONA
-Best sound and gold show award by Peter Bruninger, former Stereophile reviewer
-Most Significant product intorduction by Absolute Sound
- Most coveted product by Asbolute Sound, also at AXPONA
- "Here is a multiway that will make transparency-to-sources listeners swoon: ultra-refined, ultra-high-resolution, with very very lifelike timbre, texture, and dynamics on first-rate recordings, and a “disappearing act” (and soundstage) for the ages" by Jonathan Valin in his reaction to hearing them at AXPONA
- "To say that tongues were wagging about this room was a bit of an understatement." Scott Hull, Part time audiophile on AXPONA - I suppose I misunderstood, what Scott really meant I guess is that they were wagging about how it should be avoided at all cost...?
- "Hot product" by Audio Beat Magazine
- Best sound at the show (cost no object) by Robert Harley at Newport
- "Despite the gray sound that characterized most of the Hilton's ballrooms, and what may very well be their tendency to over-emphasize the midrange, the Polymers threw a wonderful, big soundstage. Myung Whun Chung's piano sounded all of one piece on his new recording for ECM New Series, which, having played this CD on multiple systems at T.H.E. Show, I consider no small achievement.", Jason Serinus, Stereophile at Newport
- rave comments in every imaginable forum and the list goes on
- the speakes have the highest resale value of any brand out there and are virtually never seen on the used market. If they are so bad and those poor folks who spent $60,000 on this product are not selling, they must really hate it right? Lets see how many Wilson's and Magico's are on Audiogon right now...

I suppose all these people above are idiots or are being secretly bribed by Polymer Audio...

Not to mention the fact that Polymer is owned by top musicians in the world and both of the shows were displayed with FM Acoustics, a very picky company that would not allow their equipment to be used with anything other than a world class speaker.

I used to own Polymer speakers and intend to buy them again when my situation permits because there is actually nothing better. It has the type of sound that produces pure magic and is a very special product. Those who have heard it in a proper set up know exactly what I mean.

To say they are not your cup of tea is one thing, but to say it was so bad you could not tolerate to be in that room is so absurd that no one can possibly take you seriously.

And Mbovaird, if this is the experience you had listening to a friends system than something is seriously wrong because the speaker actually sounds the opposite of what you describe. I encourage you to seek out a dealer with a proper set up. Although why does your friend still keep them?

And the last thing, are you serious about the YouTube video? You arejudging certain sound characteristics of these speakers by watching a YouTube video on your computer??? And even more bizarre is that the reviewer who actually filmed that video and was listening to the speakers as he was filming gave Polymer Audio best sound at the show and an award. I guess he is an idiot too and you have greater accumen judging the sound of that system through your computer speakers...

I had a similar bad experience with Polymer during the show last weekend. I really don't think the x-over is right. There was haze in between mids/woofs. Not sure what RH was smoking, but that didn't sound one iota like real music. I went and heard them on two days as a matter of fact. And obviously, it wasn't a front end problem. In fact, some of the tonality was quite nice.

btw, the MKS was 42k according to Soundstage, but 60k at the Newport Show. Hmm.