Bookshelf Speakers — Polk Audio Reserve R200

Among the Reserve bookshelf speakers from Polk Audio, the R200 is the bigger one - a two-way passive design supplied as a pair, with a shipping weight of 19.7 kg. Polk states that the Reserve range inherits its transducer array from the company's Legend line and gives the series a minimalist cabinet style. The R200 is offered in black, white and brown finishes, and the maker lists it as not intended for wall mounting.

Key specs that matter

Polk crosses a 6.5 inch Turbine Cone woofer over to a 1 inch Pinnacle Ring Radiator tweeter at 3,000 Hz. Overall frequency response is 39 Hz to 50 kHz according to Polk, and the -3 dB limits are 51 Hz and 38 kHz. Sensitivity is 86 dB at 2.83 V and 1 metre. The R200 is rated as compatible with 8, 6 and 4 ohm amplifier outputs and dips to a minimum of 3.8 ohm. Polk recommends 30 to 200 W of amplifier power. In size the enclosure is 190 mm wide, 359 mm high and 353.8 mm deep, and each speaker weighs 8.7 kg. Rubber pads sit on the base.

Engineering and use context

Polk's Pinnacle tweeter pairs a ring radiator with a finely tuned waveguide to spread high frequencies more widely, and places a critically damped chamber behind the diaphragm to control resonances. The Turbine Cone uses a proprietary foam core and moulded turbine geometry, which the company says increases stiffness and damping with no mass penalty. Bass output is vented via a rear X-Port. This patented port contains an Eigentone Filter built from closed-pipe absorbers, tuned to absorb port and cabinet resonances before they reach the midband. The magnetic grilles are designed as anti-diffraction covers. Hi-Res Audio certification applies, based on output up to 40 kHz, and Polk names DSD, FLAC, WAV, ALAC and MQA among the formats it targets. Coverage under warranty lasts five years.

Pairing

For best results Polk recommends at least 70 W per channel of amplification. Unlike the smaller R100, the R200 is marked by Polk as suited to the Reserve R900 height module, which lets it take part in a Dolby Atmos layout with an added overhead channel from the same series.

Alternatives

Within the same Reserve series, the Polk R100 is the smaller bookshelf option, with a 5.25 inch Turbine Cone woofer crossed at 2,700 Hz and a 5.5 kg cabinet.