About the Polk Audio Blackstone™ TL3
Anchor your home theater system with high-performance sound
Anchor your home theater system with high-performance sound
Polk's Blackstone TL3 packs big-speaker punch in a compact center channel design. Built using the same tweeter design found in their flagship full-sized loudspeakers, as well as exclusive state-of-the-art technologies, the TL3 overcomes some of the usual limitations of compact speakers. You'll hear the kind of accuracy and detail you expect from a much larger center channel speaker, including a wide soundstage, crisp dialogue, and realistic special effects. It's the perfect choice when space in your living area is limited, but your love of great sound is not.
Crisp, dynamic sound thanks to high-tech drivers
A big part of the TL3's incredible sound is the 3/4" Ring Radiator tweeter. Found in Polk's flagship speakers, this sophisticated tweeter reproduces transparent, natural highs. The dual 3-1/4" aerated polypropylene woofers are lightweight, but also stiff and strong, allowing the cones to move more freely in the baffle. It means you can play your music and movies loud without hearing any distortion. Polk's Extended Linear Motion voice coil helps make the cone movement even more efficient to further cut down on distortion and extend the speaker's dynamic range. This increased efficiency is the key to the TL3's big speaker sound.
Immersive home theater performance
The "TL" refers to Polk's "Time Lens" technology, which aligns the drivers in such a way that high- and low-frequency sounds all reach your ears at the same time. This improves the speaker's imaging and soundstaging, so that you'll feel less like you're watching a movie and more like you're part of it. An "acoustic lens" in the speaker grille disperses sound waves in a way that makes your music and movie soundtracks sound larger and more open. The TL3 also features Polk's acclaimed PowerPort® technology to help reinforce bass output. Plus, its sturdy cabinet is reinforced with a steel plate to help fight resonances that can muddy the sound.
Easy system building
The TL3 has keyhole slots in the back for easy mounting to your wall straight from the box. You can create your own compact home theater system by adding anywhere from five to seven TL3 satellite speakers to this center channel. And don't forget a Polk subwoofer to complete your system with rumbling bass.
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Product highlights:
- Time Lens technology aligns the drivers for better soundstaging and imaging
- frequency response 115-28,000 Hz (-3dB)
- sensitivity 90 dB
- handles up to 125 watts
- 3/4" Ring Radiator tweeter
- dual 3-1/4" aerated polypropylene Dynamic Balance® mid/woofers
- Extended Linear Motion (ELM) voice coil helps reduce distortion and extend dynamic range
- PowerPort® technology for better bass response
- steel-plate reinforced cabinet fights internal resonances
- curved enclosure with high-gloss finish
- 5-way gold-plated binding posts
- includes combination keyhole slot and threaded insert
- 16-3/4"W x 4-1/4"H x 3-15/16"D
- weight: 4.7 lbs.
- warranty: 5 years
- MFR # AM3365-A
What's in the box:
Polk Audio Blackstone™ TL3 owner's manual
- Gloss-black center-channel loudspeaker
- Detachable black cloth grille (attached)
- System Diagram/Warranty sheet
- Template
- Online Product Registration card
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Customer reviews for Polk Audio Blackstone™ TL3
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More details on the Polk Audio Blackstone™ TL3
Features & specs
Enclosure | Bass Reflex | |
Color | Gloss Black | |
Tweeter Type | Ring radiator | |
Tweeter Size (inches) | 0.75 | |
Midrange size (inches) | N/A | |
Woofer size (inches) | 3-1/4 | |
Connector Type | 5-way post | |
Power Range | 10-125 | |
Sensitivity | 90 dB | |
Impedance (Ohms) | 8 | |
Frequency Response | 115-28k Hz | |
Height (inches) | 4-1/4 | |
Width (inches) | 16-3/4 | |
Depth (inches) | 3-15/16 | |
Weight | 4.7 lbs | |
Wall-mountable | --- | |
Bracket Included | Keyhole | |
Parts Warranty | 5 Years | |
Labor Warranty | 5 Years |
Product Research
Overview: The Polk Audio Black Stone TL3 series center-channel speaker (TL3) features new innovations specifically designed to enhance the compact speaker's performance. The Black Stone TL3 is a two-way center-channel loudspeaker with a 3/4" Dynamic Balanced ring-radiator tweeter and dual 3-1/4" Dynamic Balance aerated polypropylene woofers inside a bass-reflex enclosure with a bottom-firing port. The TL3 is equipped with 5-way binding posts and offers various mounting options.
Note: The TL3 has an overall frequency response of 115 to 28,000 Hz and will require a powered subwoofer(107PSW111, sold separately) for full-range sound.
Driver
Technology
Enclosure Design
Connections
Mounting Options
Driver Technology
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.
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.
3/4" Ring Radiator Tweeter: The Polk Audio Black Stone TL3 series center speaker features a 3/4" ring radiator tweeter that is normally found only on high-end loudspeakers. The 3/4" ring radiator tweeter offers incredible accuracy and detail, so you music sound likes the artist intended.
3-1/4" Aerated Polypropylene Woofer: The Polk Audio Black Stone TL3 series center speaker employs a 3-1/4" aerated polypropylene cone woofer with Dynamic Balance driver technology (Polk's patented transducer design process) that produces a flat frequency response, with sharp detail, transparency, and the ability to play loud without strain. The aerated polypropylene cone is lightweight, yet stiff and strong, with longer linear excursion capabilities in a limited compact enclosure space, so it plays louder with less distortion.
Optimized Linear Motor Structure: Engineered for better compact speaker performance, Polk's OLM Motor Structure flattens the BL Curve, making cone movement more efficient than previously possible, reducing distortion and extending the small speaker's dynamic range right up into big speaker territory
Frequency Response: The speaker's overall frequency response is 90-31,000Hz, and the -3dB frequency response is 115-28,000Hz.
Additional Speakers: The TL3 center-channel speaker will require a powered subwoofer (107PSW111, sold separately) for full-range sound.
Enclosure Design
Enclosure Type: The Polk Audio Black Stone TL3 center-channel speaker features a non-resonant composite enclosure with time-aligned geometry, and PowerPort technology.
Curved Enclosure Design: The Polk Audio Black Stone TL3 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.
Steel Reinforced: Extra-rigid steel plates reinforce the curved enclosures of the TL3 center-channel speaker, resulting in an acoustically inert enclosure free from internal resonances and any audible coloration, for more lifelike audio detail.
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.
PowerPort: The Polk Audio Black Stone TL3 center-channel speaker utilizes Polk Audio's patented bass venting technology, for added midbass response and increased efficiency. PowerPort technology decreases port turbulence and virtually eliminates "port noise," for a massive 3dB boost in bass response.
High-Gloss Finish: The Polk Audio TL3 center-channel loudspeaker features a durable, deep automotive-strength high-gloss finish that matches today's most stylish flat-panel TVs. The TL3 center-channel is available in a high-gloss black finish.
Connections
5-Way Binding Posts: The Polk Audio Black Stone TL3 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
Rubber Feet: The Polk Audio TL3 center-channel features three integrated rubber feet so you can sit the speaker on a stand or shelf securely.
Wall Mountable: The TL3 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).
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Customer Q&A
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Great center channel speaker from Polk. Sounds great paired with other Polk speakers and Sony receiver. You could spend more but no reason to.
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