Polk Audio Speakers...R these any good?

[rivrbyte]

I've been going back and forth on purchasing HTiab receiver with it's own tinty speakers, or going with these Polks... Has anyone have any problems with these?

I posted AVR vs. HTiab post today becuz I am also looking for a receiver,but most importantly looking for good speakers that will not break the bank. I was told to stay away from Sony and Bose.


I've been told to spend a little more than the THiab units for something like the OnkyoSR606, along with these polk speakers...

2)Polk Audio PLK M10 2-way bookshelf, 89db
2)PLK M20 (amp power recom, 20-150w) or M50 Floor monitor,
1)PLK Center CS10,and
1)PSW Sub 10" (8 ohm all nominal impedance)

Thank you for any help.

 

[skers_54]

I've got a Polk setup in my living room. They're not bad speakers for what they cost and are easy to drive. Any good entry reciever will have no problems with them. They work well for movies, just ok for music. Much better than an Onkyo HTiB I had. The Dayton subs at Parts Express (or Audioholics store) will perform better and cost about the same as the Polk subs. The Infinity Primus are in this price range and are frequently recommended so you might want to take a look at those as well.

 

[zumbo]

Have a look around this site:
http://www.svsound.com/index.cfm

 

[A/VUSMCSGT]

I can't speak for those specific speakers, but I have a whole Polk setup and I love it. It's great for music and HT.

Good luck whatever you decide!

 

[Cruise Missile]

Polk RTi's here. I like them, but the deciding factor needs to be your budget and your ears. Try to listen to speakers BEFORE buying! In YOUR home would be ideal.

Also try and decide on the speakers first. The reciever you'll need to drive them will depend on how hard the speakers are to drive. ( 8 ohms= easy/ 4 ohms or less= tougher load)

 

[rivrbyte]

Sorry for being so redundant...

HELLO, and HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

Bottom line, I guess it boils down to finding a AVR/Speaker setup that sound better,fuller, and less tinty than your basic Sony,Panasonic,LG, Samsung Theater In A Box systems,that won't break the bank and will have some staying power.

OK, I have the TV, Time Warner DVR,now looking for a AVR receiver. Don't have loads of money, but don't want a cheap, tinty,sounding HTiab speaker system. YES, I DO KNOW YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR,BUT....There's got to be a middle ground,without spending a modest $1,000 on both the AVR and the speakers.

Are Component speakers better than HTiab speakers? I'm guess HECK YEAH!

Besides being unindated with all the decoding, upswitching, upconverting, neural sound,THX,etc.,etc., now I have to be concerned with finding matched,unmatched or timbered or un-timbered speaker sound.

I want good speakers and better than HTiab, so I guess it's component time for me.

What I saw at Circuit City was this:

2)Polk Audio PLK M10 2-way bookshelf, 89db
2)PLK M20 (amp power recom, 20-150w) or M50 Floor monitor,
1)PLK Center CS10,
1)PSW Sub 10"

Or

Polk RMS75 5Channel for about ($350.00)
Polk RM10 Speaker System setup (5 plus sub) ($204.50)
Are good prices for these polks? Are Polks even worth the money or should I check out other lines?

The room I'll be putting this in for now, is about a 12' x 9', and can do just fine with 5.1 receiver, BUT IF I ever wanted to move to that bigger room in the house, a 7.1 channel would be more sensible. I don't want to buy two AVRS.
Do you know if I could use only a 5.1 setup in a 7.1 AVR setup without any consequences?

And I'm entertaining with one of these AVR's:
(these are BestBuy prices not Fry's or Amazon) The Yamaha is a little pricey for me)

Pioneer VSX-1018 AH 7.1 (910w) ($430.00)
Pioneer VSX-918 5.1 (120w) ($265.00)
Onkyo TXSR-606 7.1 (90wx7) ($338.00)
Yamaha RX-V633 7.1 (665w) ($500.00)

It sounds very stupid and naive to think I could get a killer system for less than $700.00, but could I possibly?

What I think...
I will need 3 HDMI - 1 out and two in,minimum)
TV HDMI to AVR,
Blueray HDMI to AVR,
TimeWarner HDMI to AVR

Thanks to all who reply, and again, sorry for repeating myself. Just in case someone new chimes in, I want him /her to know what's i'm doing. ;-)

 

[cfrizz]

Polk makes great speakers for all budgets. I've had my mains speakers for 18 yrs & counting.

I'm a firm believer in getting what you need for now & in the future even if you have to spend more now. (It will be less you will spend in the future.)

Get a receiver that has all the bells & whistles that you want it to have & preamp outputs for future upgrading.

If you go over to www.polkaudio.com/forums/ folks over there will most likely be able to give you a better idea about the speakers.

 

[R-Carpenter]

Cheaply made, cheap looking and sold for little. Last time I heard towers in PC Richards I found them painful to listen to. May be it was just a setup there.

 

[rivrbyte]

In/outputs on the back of a Polk PSW10

Ok,

R-carpenter, so you say you do not like Polk speakers?

This gets more interesting the more I look at potential home theater speakers. I looked at the back of the Powered Sub PSW10, and what did I see?

1) There is a Right and Left LINE IN...

2) Then there is a right and left Speaker level INPUT
and also a right and left Speaker level OUTPUT, then there are a few more switches.....Silly question, what are these in/out for if I hook up the speakers to my Onkyo 705 or 606 receiver?

I'm still sitting on the fence on whether to go with (Polks, RM10 or RM6750) or (JBL ES20, or ES30 Harmon Kardon, but 10.5lbs, and19.5lbs respectively,probably too heavy to hang.) Or Infinity Primus Theater Pack II......or some other speaker package.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas with 3-way fronts 89-91db sensitivity, a center speaker I've been told that matched the fronts design,without a regular horizontal design config., because the regular loudspeaker design sounds better as a center speaker. (? I don't know, I don't make this stuff up)

Also want to be able to wall mount, so they can't be extremely huge or heavy. Don't have too much money for high end stuff,but do not want Sony entry level crap sound either.

My friend across the street has Bravia HTiab, spent about $300.00, and those dinky little speakers are crappy sounding, but you can't tell him that.

 

[MatthewB.]

Speakers are different for everbody, I like DefTech, some hate em. Some like Polk, some don't. Best thing you can do is go out and sample as many speakers as you can. Best to sample speakers above your price range and then go out and try and find speakers within your budget that closely match upper end speakers that you like.

I love Dynaudio Contour C1's but at 7,000/pr just out of my price range, but the next speakers I buy will try and match the sonic qualities of those.

Polk makes decent budget speakers and pretty much anything is better than HTIB systems, also check out used speakers, save a ton of money going that route also.

 

[R-Carpenter]

Yeah, as Mathew said, I'd go for a used pair of Sonus Faber or Pro Ac or even Magnepans for the money. It's safe to buy a used pair, it either works or it doesn't. Check Audiogone for private deals. You get a better sounding, better looking speaker with better resale value.

 

[TLS Guy]

I've been going back and forth on purchasing HTiab receiver with it's own tinty speakers, or going with these Polks... Has anyone have any problems with these?

I posted AVR vs. HTiab post today becuz I am also looking for a receiver,but most importantly looking for good speakers that will not break the bank. I was told to stay away from Sony and Bose.


I've been told to spend a little more than the THiab units for something like the OnkyoSR606, along with these polk speakers...

2)Polk Audio PLK M10 2-way bookshelf, 89db
2)PLK M20 (amp power recom, 20-150w) or M50 Floor monitor,
1)PLK Center CS10,and
1)PSW Sub 10" (8 ohm all nominal impedance)

Thank you for any help.

Polk speakers are mediocre to poor. You can do better.

 

[rivrbyte]

Thanks guys!

I went to best Buy and went into their "High End" Speaker room. The guy pointed out that those Line in/out is for the AVR, and those other four Inputs/outputs are for pre-amps. Then he pointed out the monster Line cable with a splitter for both the line Input/ouput for monsters price of $55.00!!!! ....speaking about LOL!

Some of the brands in there were of course Polk-Audio,and Klipsch..I saw the klipschWB14 bookshelf speaker (espresso color finish to match the new component furniture piece) but their price was $600 a pair!
I also saw Definitive technology 5.1 speaker system for $800.00,he said the 10" sub was 200w,but the center speaker was so small and funky looking.


To buy as separates...I'm guessing these are better than the 800.oo bundle set.
The PromoN1000's
Mains were $440.00 a pair.
Surrounds were $440.00 a pair.
the SubPro1000 for $500.00, and the
Center CRL2002 for $530.00,
This is about $1900.00!!!! Thanks, but no thanks.

They also had Mirage, and yet another expensive $1500.00 for a 5.1 system,but that name escapes me.Sorry.

I never made it to the stand alone small home theater shop yet..he sells all kinds of speakers he rattled off to which I have never heard of like Paradigm to name one. I never heard him say Hsu or SVS, but for his overhead and expenses, I'm thinking he's going to be over the top for me anyway.

Best Buy does not sell Onkyo, but like the old "Good Guys" electronic stores, they push the Denons,and Yamaha's, along with the high priced Monster cables.

He was also trying to sell me a Yamaha663, instead of the Onkyo 606,or the 705 AVR. (he thought I had my BB credit card) I decided I do not want the higher watt AVR that uses the 4 and 6 ohm speakers, I want something cooler,so I'll use the 8-ohm 606 or 706.

Another concern is speaker placement. I don't really have room for floorstanders, but maybe have to accommodate this thought because of the way this small room is laid out. Mobile home,double wide,12'x9' TV is on the long wall width wall with a door into the bedroom on the right of that wall. I could hang the speaker in the corner above the door but if I use 18 or 16 wire, it will be hard to hide around the door jam or under the carpet. I could also place the mount on a stud on the left side of the door, and on the wall, fish the wire along side the stud into the hollow wall and hope I could find it somewhere below...or just get the floorstanders. Thanks again guys.

 

[zhimbo]

I never heard him say Hsu or SVS, [...]

I decided I do not want the higher watt AVR that uses the 4 and 6 ohm speakers, I want something cooler,so I'll use the 8-ohm 606 or 706.

Hsu or SVS are internet only (well, almost only. I think SVS is available in a few locations?). You can audition and send them back if you don't like them, check their websites for the terms of that.

If you are using 8-ohm speakers, any of the receivers you've mentioned will be fine.