Polk Audio is an American manufacturer of audio products best known for its home and automobile speakers. The company also produces a wide range of other

audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound * Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum * Digital audio, representation of sou ...

products, such as

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and FM tuners. The company's headquarters are in

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California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. In 2006, it was bought by

Directed Electronics Directed Electronics, Inc., often abbreviated DEI, is a Orlando, Florida-based producer of car security products, including Viper car alarms and accessories. It is a subsidiary of VOXX Automotive, which is owned by VOXX International. History D ...

. Polk Audio has also introduced

smart speaker A smart speaker is a type of loudspeaker and voice command device with an integrated virtual assistant that offers interactive actions and hands-free activation with the help of one "hot word" (or several "hot words"). Some smart speakers can a ...

s for

Google Assistant Google Assistant is a virtual assistant software application developed by Google that is primarily available on mobile and home automation devices. Based on artificial intelligence, Google Assistant can engage in two-way conversations, unlike t ...

and

Amazon Alexa Amazon Alexa, also known simply as Alexa, is a virtual assistant technology largely based on a Polish speech synthesiser named Ivona, bought by Amazon in 2013. It was first used in the Amazon Echo smart speaker and the Echo Dot, Echo Studio ...

Background

Polk Audio was founded by Matthew Polk, George Klopfer and Sandy Gross in 1972. The three first met one another while attending classes at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. After graduating in 1971, the team collaborated on producing a sound system for a local

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convention. Polk designed the

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system, and Klopfer built the cabinets. After it was discovered the producers of the convention could not afford the system, Klopfer designed a logo for Polk Audio and attached it to the speakers. Gross organized the marketing of Polk Audio and helped build Polk's worldwide dealer network. After spending a short period of time dabbling in

professional audio Professional audio, abbreviated as pro audio, refers to both an activity and a category of high quality, studio-grade audio equipment. Typically it encompasses sound recording, sound reinforcement system setup and audio mixing, and studio mus ...

, Polk Audio turned its attention to affordable high-performance

home audio Home audio systems are audio electronics intended for home entertainment use, such as shelf stereos, music centres and surround sound receivers. Home audio generally does not include standard equipment such as built-in television speakers, but ra ...

. With the release of the first successful model in 1974, the Monitor 7, Polk Audio was gaining recognition in

audiophile An audiophile is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction. An audiophile seeks to reproduce the sound of a piece of recorded music or a live musical performance, typically inside closed headphones, In-ear monitors, open ...

circles. Polk Audio used a two-way configuration on almost all its speakers, such as the popular Monitor 10 and Monitor 12, typically with 6.5-inch mid/bass drivers with rubber surrounds and passive radiators. The Monitor 12 was quite capable for its day, having bass response to 18 Hz, a free-air mounted tweeter, and 500-watt RMS power handling. Later Polk speaker models used arrays of drivers—Stereo Dimensional Array (SDA)—to cancel the crosstalk from the left speaker to the right ear and from the right speaker to the left ear, so as to expand the stereo image beyond the space between two stereo speakers. The SDA effect is used in some current Polk speakers. The company also makes automobile speakers. In early 2015, most or all of Polk's non-technical jobs were moved from the Baltimore office to the headquarters of the parent company, Sound United, in Carlsbad, California. At that time, Polk's engineers joined with those of Definitive Technology, and the Audio and Acoustics Research and Development

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center was established in Owings Mills. ARAD remains the center for most loudspeaker development by Sound United, which also owns the brands

Bowers & Wilkins Bowers & Wilkins, commonly known as B&W, is a British company that produces consumer and professional loudspeakers and headphones. B&W was founded in 1966 by John Bowers in Worthing, West Sussex, England. In October 2020, B&W was acquired b ...

Classé Classé is a Canadian audio brand known for high-performance music and theater components, such as amplifiers, pre-amplifiers and surround sound processors. The company was founded in 1980 in Montréal. Classé became part of the Bowers & Wilkins ...

Definitive Technology Definitive Technology (sometimes referred to as Def Tech) is an American unit based in Vista, California, of the Sound United division of electronics company DEI Holdings, that designs, develops and sells home theater audio systems, soundbars an ...

, Denon, and Marantz.

Products

* Passive Component Speakers for Home Theater and Hi-Fi Listening * Powered Subwoofers * Soundbar Systems with Wireless Subwoofers and Surround Speakers * Outdoor, All-Weather Speakers * Car and Boat Audio * In-wall and In-Ceiling Architectural Speakers

References

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External links

Polk Audio
- official Web site Manufacturing companies based in Baltimore Loudspeaker manufacturers Audio equipment manufacturers of the United States

Background

Products

See also

References

External links