Polk Audio
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| Polk Audio, Inc | |
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| Type | Private |
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| Founded | 1972 |
| Headquarters | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Industry | Speakers, Consumer electronics |
| Products | Floorstanding Speakers Bookshelf Speakers Center Speakers Home Subwoofers Surround Speakers In-Wall Spakers Car and Marine Audio I-Sonic Entertainment System SurroundBar XRt12 XM Reference Tuner |
| Slogan | Listen to innovation |
| Website | www.PolkAudio.com ISonic.PolkAudio.com |
Polk Audio, Inc. is a private company founded and located in Baltimore, Maryland, that specialized in Home, Car and Marine Audio as well as Consumer Electronics.
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[edit] History
[edit] The Company
In 1972, Matthew Polk, George Klopfer, and Sandy Gross were graduates of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. They shared a love of music and high-end audio gadgetry, and both were of a certain scientific bent. They formed Polk Audio with only $200 in capital. The first production facility was an unheated garage with a leaky roof. The rent was not always paid on time but the landlord was sympathetic to the struggling entrepreneurs. That same year they began building loudspeakers, applying scientific design principles to speaker construction. Initially they focused on home loudspeakers with an emphasis on quality and affordability, and it wasn't long before the modest startup soon found its first success.
"Right from the very beginning of the company, our mission was to put high-end sound into the homes of regular people. Although we enjoyed the high-end audio gear as much as any foaming-at-the-mouth audiophile, we really saw our mission in providing excellent sounding speakers at reasonable prices to regular people." --SoundStage.com interview with Matthew Polk
Polk Audio expanded from its initial home audio business into the mobile field with the introduction of the Mobile Monitor series of coaxial and component loudspeakers in 1983. In 1999 Polk Audio and MOMO collaborated on a line of premium mobile audio products co-branded as Polk/MOMO. MOMO Designs of Italy brought their incredible sense of Euro and Formula 1-inspired industrial design while Polk brought their loudspeaker and amplifier engineering expertise to forge a line of products with stunning performance and styling. In 2005 Polk Audio’s engineers accepted the challenge of developing a line of mobile products that pushed performance and value envelope. The first product of that effort was the Signature Reference 6500, a 6-1/2”convertible component/coaxial system that Car Audio & Electronics magazine praised as “…the best performance, the best engineered, the best cosmetics…” In 2006 Polk has expanded the Signature Reference series with a 5-1/4” component/coaxial system and two subwoofers, the SR104 and SR124.
Polk Audio has become one of the world's most successful brands of high quality home and mobile audio equipment. Polk's products include loudspeakers and electronic components for home, auto and marine applications, the first XM satellite home component tuner, the world's first active IP-addressable loudspeaker, and in the summer of 2006 the I-Sonic—the first entertainment system to include a DVD/CD player, HD Radio and XM Connect & Play capability.
[edit] Acquired by Directed Electronics
In 2006, Polk Audio was acquired by Directed Electronics.
[edit] Research & Development
Polk Audio's tradition of Research and Development has yielded over 55 patents for improvements in audio technology and performance, and Polk products constantly earn Consumer Electronics industry awards and the praise of audio experts the world over.
[edit] I-Sonic™ Entertainment System
Polk Audio's I-Sonic™ Entertainment System is the first all digital format entertainment system featuring the latest digital technologies - HD Radio with multicasting, DVD player, XM Satellite Radio capability (Requires optional XM antenna and monthly subscription) and a high performance audio system in a convenient compact tabletop configuration. With an I-Sonic entertainment system you will be able to enjoy the widest range of music, movies, news, information and entertainment available today and tomorrow.
The I-Sonic Entertainment System Micro Site was launched on June 7th, 2006. The micro site gives more details about the I-Sonic along with flash videos of how its various features work.
[edit] Products
[edit] Home Audio
- Speakers
- Home Theater Systems
- Systems for Flatscreen TVs
- Inwall & In Ceiling
- Speakers for the Great Outdoors
