I took the bait and got the OMD-15s. They peaked my interest a few months ago at Vanns and when they dropped $100 each it seems like a no-brainer. I had Mordaunt Short Avant 908s for over 5 years that served me very well. At most volumes they sounded great but in my room (bare wood floors) they could get bright at loud volumes and led to fatigue after extended listening periods. I did various amp/ receiver, cable upgrades and minor room treatments which helped but I was still looking for something to catch my eye and ear. My wife decided to redecorate and this gave me a reason/excuse to upgrade because she wanted a darker wood furniture. Thus the Rosewood OMD 15s sit in my living room.
Initial impressions are very positive. They are quite beautiful to look at the design, quality, and workmanship are exceptional. Great binding posts. I only have 20+ hours of break in time on them. They sound much more open than my MS 908s and fill the whole room with sound. You can sit/stand almost anywhere and still get a solid soundstage. They treble is too die for IMHO. Perfect sparkle, clear and not bright or harsh. MS 908s had deep and full bass, but the OMD 15s are much more defined, controlled. Acoustic guitar, male/female vocals, drums sound outstanding. The 908s sounded "thicker." OMD-15s sound more like instruments playing not just the sounds the instruments are making. The sound overall is a little better and a lot different than my previous speakers. I've listened to some high-rez Bluray music and SACDs that I'm very familiar with and the OMD-15s give me a much greater sense of the room or venue the musicians are playing in. My 908s could give me some sharp imaging when playing some Jazz SACDs that felt like the musicians were playing right in front of me. I'm not getting that with the OMD-15s yet. I'm still fine tuning the positioning and hope to see some improvement with break in. BTW, the manual makes a pretty big deal of allowing for break in and care with positioning/fine tuning.
I've never owned Polks. My neighbor has some Polk monitor 50s (maybe 60s?) and I was pleased with what I heard but I didn't do any critical listening and he was playing music through his iPod docked to his receiver so the source may not have been the highest quality.
I was considering the Polk RTi10s, 12s which can be found pretty cheap. I really liked the Polk RtiA9s which are newer and more expensive at street/web price. My brother-in-law has some Mirage sats and a sub and I thought they sounded open and detailed. This with the price drop of the OMD-15s led me get them and so far, no regrets. They look and sound like an expensive speaker. I'd be happy if I paid twice as much.
I would decide based on your existing equipment. I understand Polks are usually easy to drive @ 89-90 dB, 8 Ohms. The OMD- 15s are rated at 89-90 dB but are 6 Ohms. I got 14 awg cable going from my Marantz SR6003 and its powering them fine, but I haven't really cranked the volume yet. The SR6003 can bi-amp and I may try that to see the difference. If you have a powerful receiver/amp that can drive 6 Ohm speakers I think you'll be more than pleased. Hope this helps.
