Polk Audio Monitor 40's

[guitarplyrstevo]

Lately I've been looking into some good bookshelf speakers and have came across the AV123 x-cs and x-ls speakers. I was thinking about getting the x-cs for front mains and center, and two x-ls for rear surround. I've heard very good things about these speakers so I was almost positive that I was going to get that system once I get some more money.

Until one day when I was working (I work at Fry's Electronics) and my friend showed me the Polk Audio Monitor 40's for front mains and center, and Monitor 30's for rear surround. I do not know much about these speakers but he said that they sound good. He is pretty biased toward what Fry's wants him to sell (he thinks that Bose is somewhat top of the line) so I'm not sure if the Monitor 40's would be worth my money over the AV123's.

Do any of you guys have any experience or have heard anything about the Polk Audio Monitor 40's and 30's? I'm either going to get the AV123 speaker system or the Polk Audio system along with an SVS PB12-NSD sub. Keep in mind that I do get an employee discount with the Polk Audio speakers but if its quality that I'm sacrificing, then I'd rather go with the AV123 speakers.

 

[j_garcia]

Get the X-series. They are EASILY better than the Polks. PB-12 is a good choice for a sub.

 

[guitarplyrstevo]

Get the X-series. They are EASILY better than the Polks. PB-12 is a good choice for a sub.

The X-Series are really that good? Isn't Polk Audio one of the top speaker companies?

Also would that sub drown out the bookshelf speakers? I've heard that the PB12-NSD sub is a really powerful woofer.

 

[mike c]

while Polk Audio has some great sounding speakers, it doesn't mean ALL their speakers sound good. Polk Audio has great market distribution and marketing, which is why lots of people think they're "one of the top" speaker companies. an example would be bose, many stores sell bose, a lot of people have bose, bose has lots of advertisements that say they're the best ... thus many people think they are, so did I, once upon a time. It was a good thing I couldn't afford bose then.

 

[j_garcia]

The X-Series are really that good? Isn't Polk Audio one of the top speaker companies?

Yes Polk is a respected name, but their lower speakers just don't match what you can get from Internet direct companies these days. Personally, Polk is also sort of riding their namesake because their speakers are good, not great, to my ears now compared to their former offerings IMO. Companies like AV123 don't have the overhead that a larger company does so you tend to get a lot more for your money from them - everything goes into the speakers, not advertising and dealer chains.

Also would that sub drown out the bookshelf speakers? I've heard that the PB12-NSD sub is a really powerful woofer.

I have a 15" sub with my bookshelf speakers.... If properly calibrated, it will all work together fine.