Monitor Audio vs Mission vs Polk

[coolioo]

Hello guys. I have recently aquired a new Onkyo 605 receiver. Now I would like to complete my HT setup by aquiring a 5.0 speaker set. A sub will be added later.
Unfortunately, because of my limited budget and because of the limited speaker availability to the merchant i'm limited at the following 3 speaker sets:

Monitor Audio set:
Fronts: BR 2
Sattelites: BR 1
Center: BR LCR

Mission set:
Fronts: Mission M34i
Sattelites: Mission M31i
Cener : Mission M32i

Polk Audio set:
Front :Monitor 50
Sattelites : Monitor 30
Center : CS1

Please note that I can't go to listen them because the merchant is at 200 km away.

Could someone please help me to decide which speaker set to buy?

Thanks,
Daniel

 

[mike c]

Monitor Audio BR versus Polk Audio Monitor series = IMO, Monitor Audio

i've A/B'ed the Monitor Audio BR2 and Polk Audio RTi4 (btw, Polk Rti over Polk Monitor series hands down)

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28964&highlight=monitor+audio

you will see with my a/b results that choosing between the two is purely subjective, meaning i have some songs i prefer the polk and some songs i prefer the monitor audio br series

bummer is, we can't decide for you ... we might have totally different tastes.

 

[coolioo]

Maybe this can help you: I will use the speakers for especially :

- movies with Dobly and DTS tracks including the latest TrueHD
- music : rock, and 80's

 

[mike c]

again, this is MY opinion, your mileage may vary.

i would go for the MA's over the Polks for these reasons:
-the MA's are warmer = good for rock and new wave 80's
-the MA's have great build quality
-the Polk Monitors have a lot of bad reviews even on the Polk Audio website (the Rti series is just way better) [i was able to a/b the monitors and rti's at fry's sanfo i think]

 

[coolioo]

Thanks for your opinion. I'm must admit that I'm a newbie in this area. This would be my first set of quality speakers.
May I ask what is your opinion about the Missions as well ?

I don't know if you have noticed but those Missions fronts are standfloors while the MA's are bookshelfs. I don't know if this really matters from the perspective of sound quality.

 

[mike c]

unfortunately, i have never heard mission speakers.

IMO, crappy floorstander vs. quality bookshelf = quality wins. i'm not saying the polk floorstander is crappy ... but size and number of drivers have nothing to do with the SQ, I learned this when I was comparing the Monitor 40 and the Rti4, and yes i noticed that the polks were floorstanders when i was thinking why you weren't comparing BR's to Rti's.

 

[rnatalli]

I have the Monitor Audio BR2's which I'm selling so I can upgrade to the Silvers which cost substantially more. If you're interested in the MA's, let me know as I'll let them go for a good price. They're only like 5 months old.

 

[coolioo]

Thanks for your offer but I leave in Romania.

 

[rnatalli]

Thanks for your offer but I leave in Romania.

Ah, ok. Personally, I'd take MA (obviously since I own them) over Mission and Polk. Mission speakers are great too, but won't have the detail of MA. Never liked Polk.

 

[coolioo]

Hello. Based on reviews from other forums as well , I will buy the MA set but with a B&W ASW 300 sub.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Djizasse]

Hi.

I've been considering the same set as you. I've been test listening a pair of BR2 and the BR5. I like the BR2 very much, but the BR5 has more bass extension and makes music more enjoyable. I'm trying to convince my wife on buying the BR5s instead of the BR2.
If you will listen to music you should consider the BR5s, in Portugal (and in most of Europe, from what I've seen) a pair of BR2s is €325 and a pair of BR5s is €500.

 

[dorokusai]

I've heard all three and in regards to Mike's comments, agree on the RTi series over the Monitor. The Polk Audio Monitor isn't my cup of tea, or beer, either. The new RTiA series sounds a bit more refined in regards to midrange response over the previous RTi.

It's unfortunate that you can't easily get a demo but that happens.

Out of those 3 brands, based on my ears and electronics....I'd probably go with the Mission brand. I prefer vintage Monitor Audio and the Polk RTi series is a bit too forward on my rig. I had a little pair of Mission MS50 that I loved and used for years on my computer rig. YMMV and good luck.

Mark
Polk Audio CS

 

[jsantos615]

I recently a/b'd some Polks and MA BR4s and the MA won-out because the highs were so much smoother. I'll give the Polks credit for being pretty detailed, but they bordered on too bright for my tastes. My BR4s have the same midbass driver and tweeter as the BR2s that you're considering and are sooooo smooth in the mids and highs that I listen to music for hours and not have any listening fatigue. I couldn't say the same for the Polks.

Now if I can just find someone that has compared the MAs to a pair of Swan Divas.

 

[RacineBoxer]

What types of prices are you looking at for these, specifically the fronts? Aren't the Mission's and the Monitor Audio's about 2x as much?


I'm a happy Polk Monitor 50 owner for what it's worth. Love these speakers and great value at roughly $100 apiece. Love'em!

 

[Soundman]

why only 3 choices?

Why are you limiting yourself to these 3 brands? If there are no other options near you, have you considered an Internet direct company?