I bought both the HTD Level 2 Towers and Center channel and also the Polk 75t towers and CS2 Series II center channel. I hope this helps others in their search for a speaker set up. I'll keep this brief per I have no objective data and this is merely a matter of preference and observation.
I started first with the HTD Level 2 set up.
Shipping - These were double boxed and shipped carefully. No damage could come to these in shipping.
Looks- These speakers look very nice and understated. Not overbearing at all in any size room.
Sound - sound stage was excellent. The highs and upper-mids were fantastic. Truly this is the best strength of the system. Unfortunately, the lower-mids and lows were very lacking. It almost sounded like there was no response for a large frequency range right in the mid-region. female voices and high notes were beautiful, but mostly because there was no mids to interfere with them. They also did not produce much volume. I really had to crank them up quite a bit to get any real volume out of them. I had a sub filling in on the low end but ultimately, the sound was unacceptable for anyone looking to get a full range of response. I returned them after having given them about three weeks of a good fair trial.
Here is the bulk of what I put on amazon for the 75t's. I'll give you the summary up front: the Polk 75t and CS2 set up is very solid. The highs could be a little more emphasized due to the ever-so-slightly overbearing mids and lows. All-in-all, this is a great budget set up.
First, shipping. These were single boxed but with thick styrofoam inside to protect the speaker. Wow, these things are physically deep but cosmetically very nice, especially considering the price. The wood laminate looks convincing from any distance. The plastic feet come across as a tad cheap, but seriously, you won't notice from your couch.
They have the option to bi-amp but it is really not necessary as my 90w per channel Denon 1912 can push these past anyone's comfort level. Even right out of the box these speakers sound fantastic. Incredibly full sound. It begs to be said again, very full sound. Highs, Mids, Lows are well represented. As other reviews will indicate (many from the Monitor 70 line), these are never too "bright" or forward. In other words, the extremely high frequency range is never overbearing which makes for great listening for any length of time. With other speakers I found myself getting a headache after only 15-20 minutes of listening due to their 'brightness'.
I have listened to everything from Metallica to Opera, classical and rap. These can handle it all. I will say that my absolutely only critique of these is that the tweeter could be ever slightly more forward that what it currently is. The lows and mids seem to over power the tweeter just a bit. But, that's just a preference, nothing objective.
Music- these things rock. . . literally! I want to go louder and louder because they get better as they get turned up! You'll know what I mean when you hear them. They are pretty good at lower levels but they beg to be cranked up.
Movies, when paired with a matching center channel (25c or CS2), they play beautifully. Despite being a fairly laid-back speaker, they do quite well for movies. Never piercing sound but forward enough to be engaging through any movie. I tested them thoroughly with Skyfall and LOVED every scene when I turned it up to -15db. WOW.
For the lower response range, or LFE, I would highly recommend a subwoofer. These things can create a full range of sound that will satisfy many people, but for an aspiring audiophile, a subwoofer will be a must to get below the 40hz range. I will refrain from advising on what sub you should get. I have the Polk PSW10 at the time of this review. It's mediocre at best for movies, not much better for music. Spend more get much more...
The sound stage these present is just average when compared to true audiophile speakers. With most rock music (my style) you can tell where the music is coming from. With rap music, which is actually produced better, the sound stage is excellent. You would swear the center channel is on when it is not. I use several degrees of toe-in to help with the sound stage.
Summary, I highly recommend these speakers. The highs could be more refined/present for classical music but they're just fine for most any purpose. At the price they can be had, the Polk 75t is a tremendous value and I am pleased to recommend them to anyone. Movies will never be the same again. Now I want to go back and re-watch everything I own.
PS. Polk's customer service has thusfar been an absolute pleasure to work with for my experience.
technical info - I ran the audio set up Audyssey for my room which is 17' wide, 14' deep, 8' tall and open to the back into the kitchen. I used the Polk CS2 series II for the center channel (perfect timber match). I have a perfect triangle for my center-couch seat and my towers.
