Polymer Audio MKS-X Speakers

[Mike]

I had the privilege today to hear a friends new Polymer Audio MKS-X Speakers. He is driving them with VAC phi200's and a VAC Sig IIa preamp and an Esoteric K-07 CD player.

The tweeter and "mid-tweeter" (which goes to 3000hz) was exceptionally good and smooth. The imaging was a little undefined as it sounded like something may have been out phase (must remember to have him check the cables). Vocals would start dead center and then drift down and to the left. The bass was, as the review in Soundstage (http://www.soundstagehifi.com/index...s/683-polymer-audio-research-mks-loudspeakers) mentioned, quite uncontrolled and undefined and probably would do better with a SS amp with an iron grip.

That being said, the speakers were brand new (delivered yesterday) and probably also need some placement tweaking. I will be interested to see how things change with a few hundred hours on them.

The speakers are quite small (height) - think waist height, but the cabinets are built like a tank. I held my hand on the cabinets while we played some bass heavy music and felt little to no vibration. We had a sizable jump in the mid bass at 75hz, likely due to the room.

Overall, the speakers cast a nice deep soundstage.



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[Petro85]

nice mike!! those are great looking speakers. the soundstage review ones dont have as many drivers, or look as cool as you frends and im guessing isnt the same model?
probably need to go re-listen after a few hundred hours. get a real feel for them.

 

[Mike]

I will Steve. His speakers are a one-off model above the soundstage review pair.


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[Mike]

Update: I went back to Jeff's today. Determined to find out what was causing the image shift way to the left, we started out my trying a variety of songs I brought which I use to center the image for speakers. We tried vinyl, CD and computer and all sources shifted to the left.

Then the tools came out and we began to measure at 1 meter. After several measurements, we found an average of 2.9db louder on the left speaker than the right.

Jeff believes this could be an amp or preamp related issue, although I don't recall this being the case with his previous speakers. I believe it could be preamp related, but nothing can be ruled out - including the speakers. There are no balance controls on the preamp - so we were out of luck there.

We tried to move the right speaker forward to compensate, but the problem was too much to overcome.

We didn't even discuss the bass, because the speakers still need a lot more hours to break in.

The adventure continues....will keep updating as we uncover things.

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[mep]

If the right speaker is almost 3dB louder than the left speaker, how can the image shift to the left speaker?

 

[NorthStar]

Magic?

 

[iosiP]

Hello Mike! I recommend you try both audio and mesurement tests using pure sine waves: a tonal inbalance might reduce the HF to the right speaker so you will "feel" the image shifting to the left (that's caused by those funny Munson-Fletcher curves).

 

[Mike]

If the right speaker is almost 3dB louder than the left speaker, how can the image shift to the left speaker?

Today there was no shift because we were using specific recordings I had to test the center image. I can't explain the shifting yesterday - but I wasn't the only one to hear it.


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[Mike]

Hello Mike! I recommend you try both audio and mesurement tests using pure sine waves: a tonal inbalance might reduce the HF to the right speaker so you will "feel" the image shifting to the left (that's caused by those funny Munson-Fletcher curves).

That is next. There was no "feel" today. Vocals were stationed just inside the left speaker. We even tried mono recordings. Same thing.


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[Mike]

I'm wondering if it could be as simple as a bad tube?


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[iosiP]

Well just reconnect the power amp, feeding the speakers with an inverted signal (L to R and R to L), this will show you if the power amp has problems. If the image is still shifted to the same side, get back to the normal configuration and reverse the interconnects (this would show you if the preamp is at fault).

Or better yet - unless those speakers weight a ton each - just move the right speaker to the left and vice-versa, this would immediatly show if the problem comes from the speakers themselves (I understand your friend did not have a similar problem with the previous speakers). Trust me, a "functionally challenged" (broken, for those not into the PC parlance) tweeter would not show itself as such but shift the image just as described!

 

[Mike]

If something internally was wired out of phase - anything could happen. Thanks for the suggestions. We will try them.


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[Mike]

Well, I went back to Jeff's today. He had been busy repositioning the speakers. He had moved the carpet so that the speakers were now on the hardwood. It looked good and sounded better. Better soundstage and bass was improved a little.

The left of center imaging however, remained. We ran through test tones, pink noise and a number of calibration tracks from the Legacy speakers CD. The center image is quite left. We then switched the speaker cables and nothing changed. This tells us that the problem is not with the amp, preamp or sources. It is either room related or something off with the speakers. Next step would be to move the right speaker to the left and the left speaker to the right and retest.


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[Mike]

If the right speaker is almost 3dB louder than the left speaker, how can the image shift to the left speaker?

Mark - I made a typo in that post. The post has been corrected. The left speaker is almost 3db louder based on my measurements.


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[Face]

The room can definitely cause this. I have a similar issue in my room.

 

[Mike]

His previous speakers never did this.

 

[annapolis Raider]

Super Silly question.... Where the hell is the manufacturer Rep/dealer? For what this guy paid, you'd think some service was in line? If it were me those speakers would be in a box on the way back....

 

[Mike]

If it were me those speakers would be in a box on the way back....

Agreed.


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[Mike]

Polymer MKS-X.....PROMISE DELIVERED!

I am happy to report that the owner of Polymer Audio, Mr. Daniel Khesin has finally delivered on the promise of his Polymer MKS-X loudspeakers. After admitting that the MKS-X's weren't up to his expectations or as Daniel said "defective", he went back to work redesigning the cabinet (now slightly deeper), creating a new crossover and engineering all new drivers. The tweeter, one of the finest I have heard, thankfully remains untouched.

As I understand it, Daniel has created a completely new and proprietary cone material composed of very strong materials - close in strength to diamonds - but with less overall mass.

I was able to audition the much new & improved MKS-X's today. I put them through my paces with an assortment of vinyl and digital, including many tracks which give drivers fits. The MKS-X's passed with flying colors. Bass is tight, fast, punchy and not bloated like before. Imaging is stellar, although my friends large equipment rack and TV causes a little too much diffusion. We listened to a variety of music ranging from Vanessa Fernandez and her incredible "Use Me" album, the new David Sanborn & Bob James album, Quartette Humaine, Cowboy Junkies, Trinity Revisted and many many more.

Of course, it's easy to point fingers and say he shouldn't have released the first version with flaws. But may I remind you that Polymer isn't the first company to go back to the drawing board after discovering their creations didn't live up to expectations in the real world. Focal did it with the Scala (now "V2") and Raidho with the D3's (referred to around here as the "V2"). There are others as well. And there are those that never fix a flawed product and just move on. The point is - he delivered on the promise.

No, the Polymer MKS-X's are not a speaker I would personally pony up $60,000 for, but that doesn't mean they can't now play with the big boys and give you one more speaker to add to your must audition list in that price range. And let's face it, I wouldn't pony up for Magico Q5's, Vandy 7's or many others in the same ballpark either. At this level, it really comes down to taste and I can (now) easily see now why someone would chose the Polymer speakers.

If you are in the market for speakers along the price range and lines of a Vandersteen 7's, Magico Q5's, Wilson Alexia's, Raidho D3's, YG Hailey, Estelon X Diamond or similar, you owe it to yourself to audition the Polymer MKS-X's.

Mike

 

[Myles B. Astor]

Silly me but I wouldn't have the turntable sitting right behind the speaker!