About the Polk Audio Blackstone™ TL1
Don't settle for movie dialogue and on-screen action that sounds flat and lifeless. Add Polk's Blackstone TL1 to your home theater system, and it'll wow you with its dramatic, engaging center channel sound. Thanks to Polk's latest advances in driver technology, you'll experience effortlessly clear dialogue and dynamic special effects from a speaker that takes up very little space. And if you've got a new flat-panel TV, the TL1's high-gloss finish makes a great cosmetic match.
Advanced technology for astonishingly realistic sound
Polk's "Time Lens" technology aligns the drivers in such a way that all the frequencies reach your ears at the same time. It improves the speaker's staging and imaging, so that you'll start to forget you're watching a movie and really feel like you're there. An "acoustic lens" in the speaker grille disperses sound waves to make your movie and music soundtracks sound larger and more open. Rather than a traditional port, the TL1 center uses something called an "aperiodic-tuned rear port." It's more like a breathable membrane that controls air flow in and out of the enclosure, giving it the acoustic benefits of both a sealed and a ported enclosure, including better bass extension and a pleasing mid-bass boost. It also means you can place this speaker on your TV cabinet or against the wall, and still expect great sound.
Easy speaker placement
The TL1 center has keyhole slots in the back for easy mounting on your wall. You can also use the threaded inserts to attach it to an optional speaker bracket. Create your own home theater system by adding anywhere from five to seven TL1 satellite speakers to this center channel, along with the Polk powered subwoofer of your choice.
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Product highlights:
- Time Lens technology aligns the drivers for better soundstaging and imaging
- frequency response 125-20,000 Hz (-3dB)
- sensitivity 89 dB
- handles up to 125 watts
- 1/2" silk dome tweeter
- dual 2-1/2" Dynamic Balance mids/woofers
- aperiodic tuned rear port
- 5-way binding posts
- keyhole slots for easy wall-mounting
- threaded inserts for use with optional stands or brackets
- curved enclosure with high-gloss finish to match today's flat-panel TVs
- weight: 4 lbs.
- 15"W x 3-15/16"H x 3-7/16"D
- warranty: 5 years
- MFR # AM1365-A
What's in the box:
Polk Audio Blackstone™ TL1 owner's manual
- Gloss-black center-channel loudspeaker
- Detachable black cloth grille (attached)
- System Diagram/Warranty sheet
- Template
- Online Product Registration card
Customer reviews for Polk Audio Blackstone™ TL1
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More details on the Polk Audio Blackstone™ TL1
Features & specs
Enclosure | Ported | |
Color | Gloss Black | |
Tweeter Type | Soft-Dome | |
Tweeter Size (inches) | 0.5 | |
Midrange size (inches) | --- | |
Woofer size (inches) | 2-1/2 | |
Connector Type | 5-Way post | |
Power Range | 10-125 | |
Sensitivity | 89 dB | |
Impedance (Ohms) | 8 | |
Frequency Response | 125-20k Hz | |
Height (inches) | 3-15/16 | |
Width (inches) | 15 | |
Depth (inches) | 3-7/16 | |
Weight | 4.05 lbs | |
Wall-mountable | Yes | |
Bracket Included | Fixed keyhole mount | |
Parts Warranty | 5 Years | |
Labor Warranty | 5 Years |
Product Research
Features
Dynamic Balance Driver Technology: Polk Audio's patented Dynamic Balance process allows Polk to design their drivers specifically for flatter frequency response, revealing the sharpest details and a more lifelike transparency, with absolutely no strain even at high volume. It's a bold, rich, warm, and lifelike sound.
- 1/2" Silk Dome Tweeter: The Polk Audio Black Stone TL1 center-channel utilizes a 1/2" silk-polymer dome tweeter for crisp, clear imaging, and smooth response that's never tiring.
- 2-1/2" Long-Throw Woofer: The Polk Audio Black Stone TL1 center-channel employs dual 2-1/2" composite long-throw cone woofers with Dynamic Balance driver technology (Polk's patented transducer design process) that produce a flat frequency response, with sharp detail, transparency, and the ability to play loud without strain.
Note: The overall frequency response is 95Hz-22kHz and the -3dB frequency response is 125-20kHz.
Time Lens Technology: The sophisticated laser alignment of the "acoustic center" of the Blackstone TL tweeters with their accompanying drivers results in far superior imaging. The acoustic centers of the tweeter and mid-range woofer are aligned, creating a crisp accurate soundstage. The acoustic centers of the tweeter and mid-bass driver are located in the same plane for superior imaging, while the acoustic lens incorporated in the grille smoothes the tweeter's frequency response.
Bass Reflex Cabinet: The Polk Audio Black Stone TL1 center-channel speaker features a non-resonant composite enclosure with time-aligned geometry and an aperiodic-tuned rear port.
- Curved Design: The Polk Audio Black Stone TL1 center-channel speaker employs non-parallel surfaces that not only lead to a stronger, more rigid and acoustically inert enclosure, but they also result in less audible coloration from internal surface resonances. The aperiodic-tuned rear port enables better blending with a subwoofer. This design combines the bass extension of an acoustic suspension enclosure with the mid-bass boost of a ported enclosure by controlling airflow through the port for better extension without distortion.
- Integrated Acoustic Lens: An innovative acoustic lens incorporated into the grille produces a high frequency response so smooth that it delivers a balanced, realistic performance. An acoustic lens is molded into the back of the speaker grille and helps create imaging frequency balance previously impossible in small high-performance loudspeakers.
- High-Gloss Finish: The Polk Audio TL1 center-channel loudspeaker features a durable, deep automotive-strength high-gloss finish that matches today's most stylish flat-panel TVs. The TL1 center-channel is available in a high-gloss black finish.
5-Way Binding Posts: The Polk Audio Black Stone TL1 center-channel is equipped with one pair of 5-way binding posts to ensure a secure connection to many types of speaker cables and connectors. The binding post terminals will accept banana plugs (single or dual), pin-connectors, spade-connectors, and bare wire (18-12 AGW).
Mounting Options: The Polk Audio TL1 center-channel features four integrated rubber feet so you can sit the speaker on a stand or shelf securely. The TL1 center-channel speaker features dual single keyhole slots on the back of the cabinet for wall-mounting the speaker without any additional wall-mount bracket (mounting screws not supplied). There is also a 1/4"-20 threaded insert on the back of the loudspeaker for mounting the speaker to the wall using an optional articulating bracket (sold separately).
Note: The 1/4"-20 threaded insert is recessed behind the keyhole slot and will not allow some 3rd-party wall and ceiling mount brackets to work.
Additional Speakers: The TL1 center-channel speaker will require a powered subwoofer (107PSW111, sold separately) for full-range sound.
The Polk Audio Blackstone™ TL1 replaces these items
Polk Audio RM8C
- voice-matched to the Polk RM8 speakers
- acoustic suspension (sealed) design
- tabletop cradle included
Polk Audio RM7C
- voice-matched to the Polk RM7 speakers
- acoustic suspension (sealed) design
- tabletop cradle included
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Customer Q&A
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I have been experimenting with surround and needed a dedicated center speaker. Due to space constraints I needed something of the size like this Polk. I didn't expect much at this price point, but I was wrong. This speaker sounds bigger and better than it's size and price would suggest.
Thor from SJ PR