Well, the first ones you listed aren't really suitable for wall-mounting, the Super Zeros looked like a good fit except that they are only 75 watts where my amp is 100 watts per channel. I would hate to risk frying them at higher volume levels although I know that is unlikely.
As long as you are not clipping your amp, those NHT's can handle the power. It's better to have more than you need than not enough, when it comes to amp power.
Thanks a bunch for your info, though, the education is good. If you or anybody else has any other suggestions, I am all for it.
There are other options out there. NHT super zero's fit the bill quite well, particularly if you're wall mounting them.
So is the high frequency response of the sats less important than the low frequency response? Basically it seems like you are saying I need to match the impedence and try to come as close as possible to the crossover on the low end of the frequency response, no? I think the reason the sub crosses over at 100 is that the sub actually contains 3 speakers - a woofer and two large-ish mids, I think around 7 or 8 inches. Then the cones on the sats are 3 1/2 inches with a dome tweeter.
Don't worry too much about the size of drivers and such. I'll try to explain this, but be warned, I don't know what the hell I'm talking about.
The sub's response covers 42-100hz. Frequencies over 100hz are not reproduced because it is a bandpass type enclosure (two active 6" drivers on a baffle bisecting the inside of the sub's enclosure; one side a sealed chamber, the other coupled to the 10" passive).
The original satellites inherent low frequency response rolls off at ~100hz. They are sealed, so they roll off more gently than a ported box would.
The important thing to consider is that since this is a
passive 2.1 system, you're stuck with whatever loudness and bandwidth the Polk sub produces. The original satellites are designed to blend smoothly with the sub, so it is important to make sure any replacements are as similar as possible regarding their low end response and sensitivity.
The NHT's are close enough in these regards, and likely a big step up sonically speaking from the original Polk satellites. The originals had those cool, non-resonant composite enclosures, but the drivers themselves weren't great, particularly those mylar tweeters. They were better than the Bose systems they were designed to compete with, but not as good as what's in the NHTs.
