Полочная акустика — Polk Audio Legend L100

Polk Audio positions the Legend L100 as the smaller-cabinet bookshelf model of its Legend range, which the American company introduced in 2019. Next to the L100 the range contains the L200 bookshelf at USD 1,799 per pair, the L400 centre at USD 1,799, the L600 tower at USD 1,999 each, the L800 SDA tower at USD 2,999 each and the L900 height module at USD 599 per pair. The L800 carries SDA-PRO, a patented new version of the Stereo Dimensional Array concept that founder Matthew Polk invented in the early 1980s. The L100 went on sale on 1 October 2019 at USD 1,199 per pair, and Polk covers it with a 5-year non-transferable warranty.

Key specs that matter

Polk combines a 1 inch Pinnacle Ring Radiator tweeter above a 5.25 inch Turbine Cone woofer, joined by an orthogonal crossover at 2,900 Hz. Total frequency response is 43 Hz to 50,000 Hz, with -3 dB points at 57 Hz and 38,000 Hz, and the speaker carries Hi-Res Audio certification, which the maker notes suits both two-channel music and multichannel 3D audio formats. Sensitivity is 85.5 dB at 1 W and 1 m, and nominal impedance is given as 3 to 4 ohm. Polk suggests an amplifier setting of 70 W per channel within a working range of 30 to 160 W, with 160 W also stated as peak power handling. Each cabinet is 346 mm high, 198 mm wide and 287 mm deep and weighs 7.7 kg.

Engineering and use context

The ring radiator tweeter sits behind a finely tuned waveguide intended to widen the dispersion of high frequencies, and its rear chamber is critically damped to suppress unwanted resonances. For the woofer Polk developed the Turbine Cone, pairing a foam core of its own formulation with a moulded turbine shape to raise stiffness and damping without adding mass. Low frequencies are reinforced by Polk's Power Port, whose smoothed flare gives a gentler transition of port output into the room and, according to the company, several dB more bass than a conventional port. Bracing inside the cabinet is designed to control vibration and the distortion it causes. The grilles attach magnetically and can be removed, and a cleaning cloth is packed with each pair.

Pairing

With a nominal load that can fall to 3 ohm and modest sensitivity, the L100 is best matched with an amplifier that is stable into low impedances. Within the Legend family it can be combined with the L400 centre and L900 height modules for a multichannel system handling formats including DTS:X and Dolby Atmos.

Alternatives

The Polk Audio Legend L200 offers a larger Legend bookshelf cabinet, with a 6.5 inch Turbine Cone woofer and a lower -3 dB point of 46 Hz.