"Whatever you do, don't miss the speaker company around the corner at the end of the third floor," a dealer who had no connection with the room selflessly told me. "The sound is terrific." Thus I scurried along to the exhibit sponsored by Audio Limits of Colorado Springs and Polymer Audio Research of Florida. There I encountered the new, eye-catching Polymer MKS-X loudspeaker system ($60,000/pair), whose 365 lb loudspeakers boast a pure-diamond, acoustic-suspension tweeter and midrange, plus two 6.5" composite-cone, rear-ported woofers connected in parallel. The pure diamond cones handle all frequencies above 700Hz.
Acoustic designer and new father Daniel Khesin told me that the front cabinet of the Polymer MKS is composed of an alloy that is 4.5 times stiffer than aluminum. The baffle alone weighs 130 lbs, and is part of a cabinet whose striking geometry is intended to diffract sound. Sensitivity is 87dB, nominal impedance 4 ohms, and the claimed in-room frequency response 30Hz–70kHz, ±3dB.
Paired with a Weiss Man301 music archive network player ($9083 without DAC), Thrax Maximum 32/384 DAC ($33,000), FM Acoustics' Resolution Series 245 preamplifier ($20,000 range) and Resolution Series 115 monoblock amplifiers ($130,000/pair), FM Acoustics cables, and Enklein power cords, the system's midrange was exceptionally warm. After noting (without tipping my hand) that the bass response on an otherwise extremely beautiful depiction of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's voice was exaggerated, with lower pitched instruments unnaturally dominating those higher up, I asked Daniel if he was happy with the sound he was getting in the room.
After some hesitation, he carefully stated, "Perhaps the bass calls more attention to itself than we'd like." All of which left me extremely eager to hear these speakers again, in another environment, when they arrive at T.H.E. Show Newport Beach at the end of May.
