Hello. I am looking to get some new speakers but I am on a relatively tight budget. WAF is important for me in the buying decision.
I have found a pair of Polk Audio S50 towers for $200 each and that seems like a good deal, but I don't really see any Polk Audio on the recommended lists. Not even in the WAF section. I would prefer a Tower speaker, but I suppose I could go with some good bookshelves on stands.
Here's what I'm considering;Polk S50 Towers (White)Polk S30 Center (White)Polk ES15 Rear's (White)Polk RC60i In Ceiling speakers (for atmos)
All in, I can get this for about $880. It SEEMS like a good set, though I have nowhere to listen to it locally. I really like the aesthetic and haven't had any arguments from the SO yet.
That all being said, the fact that these don't come "recommended" in any of the buying guides has me worried that I am doing myself a disservice by not looking at other speakers.
I don't see ANY white towers anywhere near that range, but there are some bookshelf ones. More specifically, I could get the KEF Q150's for L & R at $300/pair, but then I don't know where I would be able to go from here for center, surround, and atmos speakers. Would the KEF Bookshelf be better than the polk tower? I'm in need of some guidance here.
Just go with the Polks; the S series sounds fine. From what I can gather, you are trying to build out a multi channel system and the Polks with be just fine for that. At under a grand with the need for white and visually appealing there won’t be a ton of options. What are you planning to do about a sub? If you aren’t going with a sub you will want towers as mains to get any real bass output.
Modern Polks usually aren’t on recommended lists (E.g. Stereophile) because they are consumer grade and not really in the considersation set of most audiophiles. Not to say they sound bad or anything its more that they are too inexpensive to be taken seriously. This is changing somewhat with their recent Legend series. Some folks here are spending more on a pair of cables or a phono cart than what all those Polks cost combined.
P.S. Polks (RT400s) were my first real speaker purchase back in the mid 90s as a teenager. I loved them and they are what got me into audio. I had to buy one at a time since I couldn’t afford a pair all at once; the sales guy helped me out since I was a kid making minimum wage and saving up for my system piece by piece. I still have those speakers and bust them out to enjoy them on occasion.
Hello. I am looking to get some new speakers but I am on a relatively tight budget. WAF is important for me in the buying decision.
I have found a pair of Polk Audio S50 towers for $200 each and that seems like a good deal, but I don't really see any Polk Audio on the recommended lists. Not even in the WAF section. I would prefer a Tower speaker, but I suppose I could go with some good bookshelves on stands.
Here's what I'm considering;Polk S50 Towers (White)Polk S30 Center (White)Polk ES15 Rear's (White)Polk RC60i In Ceiling speakers (for atmos)
All in, I can get this for about $880. It SEEMS like a good set, though I have nowhere to listen to it locally. I really like the aesthetic and haven't had any arguments from the SO yet.
That all being said, the fact that these don't come "recommended" in any of the buying guides has me worried that I am doing myself a disservice by not looking at other speakers https://showbox.tools/https://speedtest.vet/.
I don't see ANY white towers anywhere near that range, but there are some bookshelf ones. More specifically, I could get the KEF Q150's for L & R at $300/pair, but then I don't know where I would be able to go from here for center, surround, and atmos speakers. Would the KEF Bookshelf be better than the polk tower? I'm in need of some guidance here.
Magnepans are great speakers. Certainly some of the best in their price category. But they need high current amplification and a very natural sounding signal (tube preamp helps)… so good cost of speaker… but support electronics must be up to it.
In that price line, what ever you get, take it apart and line the inside. Make it inert. Then restuff it with long hair lamb's wool. Nothing else. You will impress yourself.
I have a pair of Polk Towers and I enjoy the very much. I also have a Polk sub that blends nicely. I use Bose satellites for the other sides. Sound is excellent. Just remember you need enough clean power to make them sound good.
I have not heard that particular model but I have owned 3 pairs of Polk speakers and I've been very happy with all of them - particularly for the price.
Polk is part of Harmon Group and the reason that's noteworthy is because they have extensive speaker engineering, design, and manufacturing capability. Polk is a value brand and the reviews nearly always say they punch way above their weight.
It looks like the S50 has been superseded by a new model which is the reason they are so discounted right now. I would jump all over this deal and get them ordered. This is a flaming good deal and I am very confident that you will be happy with them.
The only thing I would recommend is that once you get them set up you should save up for a subwoofer. It doesn't have to be a big fancy model. It will add the bottom octave and enhance your sound tremendously.
I am running a pair of older Infinity 360 speakers for my TV which have a similar design to the Polks. Like the Polks they got great reviews for such an inexpensive speaker. I added a Mirage 10" subwoofer (Omni S10) which was a huge improvement (I run the Infinities full range). [BTW, I have a full blown system upstairs with big Thiels and Krell gear.] My best audio buddy who has a world class system came to visit and when we watched a concert video he was blown away by how good that modest little system sounded. For TV, movies, and concert videos it does a heck of a job.
There are a lot of subwoofers on the used market for relatively cheap. A Mirage Omni S8 would probably do the job just fine for under 150 bucks. There are tons of used subwoofers on eBay. I would look for something closeby so you can pick it up and avoid the shipping.
My advice is to pull the trigger and don't look back.
Jamo S 809 I’ve had Polk (a few different models) and they are fine but I think you’ll find a more dynamic range / soundstage if you shop around a bit. Polk has very good midrange, but their bass can be mushy/boomy, not crisp. I was a skeptic but based on a reviewer’s recommendation, purchased a pair of Jamo S 803 for under $150.00 for a kitchen/work island application that met with the WAF. She didn’t mind them at all! I was shocked how good they performed. Jamo also offers center, sub... in the same family and style. Jamo also offers a tower S 809 in white for $375.00 a pair. Purchase via Amazon and you’ll have free returns. And you can get them in white, black, or walnut. You can also order direct from Jamo and they also offer a return but you may have to pay shipping. BTW, Klipsch acquired Jamo in 2005 so that may say something about their design and quality. Oh, and another BTW, they’ve got a clever design for Atmos (you mentioned that) expansion that’s looks impressive. So you could easily expand for a home theater.
In the reviews that Cheapaudioman did, the new lower end Polks did well. I came very close to buying their Reserve R700 last year when I found them on sale for $849 each (and I kick myself for not getting them). Currently in my den I have a set of Wharfedale Diamond 12.2 paired with a modest Polk subwoofer, old JBL center channel, and small JBL surrounds. I know for purists the sound tonality should be the same across all speakers, but it hasn't been a problem for me as I mostly do two channel listening anyway and only watch movies a few times a month. Anyway, be sure to check out the Crutchfield "Open Box" Outlet or even scratch and dent sales. You can find great buys there and still have a full mfg warranty. Good luck.
Note that Crutchfield is showing the S50 as being a "discontinued" item, so maybe Polk had second thoughts about them. You might want to save up and get the ES50 instead.
You might consider doing what my nephew did: Start out with a better two channel system and then every few months save up and add another speaker until you get the full surround setup you seem to want.
Just thought I volunteer my two cents worth as a newbie here. The polls are a nice set, I particularly like the rti series. I can see that from your post that you have a relatively good budget. Definitely check your local Facebook marketplace listings for speakers. I’ve had good luck with a few recently. This marketplace is also great for products if you can spend for shipping. The kind of speakers you want depends on your listing desires, ie rocker, heavy metal, classical, etc. My own preference is older Kef, especially reference series. Very efficient and if you don’t like them you can resell easily. Used is the ticket!! Stay away from the big box stores. Their only goal is to sell what they have in stock. Thanks and good luck.
YouTube reviewers like CheapAudioMan have extensive reviews of speakers in your price range. He’s found some real gems, you should check out his reviews.
Just to be clear - I have no affiliation with CheapAudioMan, I’m just a fan.
For the price range you are in the Polk's will do you justice. They punch above their weight class. Get them, be happy with them for a couple of years and save your money then upgrade.
@okalautar - The big question is what your goals are for listening. If you’re interested in stereo listening I’d skip a center channel and consider going with very inexpensive rear speakers and possibly a decent subwoofer.
What is the rest of your gear?
I've never heard a single piece of PS Audio gear, but you might consider a PS Audio Sprout100+ Elac speakers that they sell for $1099. I would expect it to be a pretty decent stereo setup with a high WAF.
The youtubes of the Polk Reserve series speakers at Axpona 2022 suggested they were excellent performers for the price. Of course, it's difficult to extrapolate from that particular model series to others.
My experience with Polk from a couple decades ago was that they were outstanding bargains… sounding outstanding. I doubt they have changed their approach. I have heard praise off and on…these are budget speakers so are not likely to get mentioned often here.
This isn't The Polk Audio of Sandy Gross days. They are Best Buy level now.
There's a pair of Monitor Audio towers plus a center for sale here. They would be approx. 650,000 times better than the Polks. A pair of MA stand mounts should be an easy find. And voila!
I have a set of Bowers and Wilkins FPM-6 Speakers listed on Ebay. They are at $315 for the 3 speakers. You can't go wrong with B&W at that price point.
My experience with Polk from a couple decades ago was that they were outstanding bargains… sounding outstanding. I doubt they have changed their approach. I have heard praise off and on…these are budget speakers so are not likely to get mentioned often here.
For $880.00 the Polk HT speaker rig sounds like a good deal. I haven't heard them so discount my opinion. Back in the day when I sometimes heard Polk speakers at stores they were never SOTA, but they were a quite credible product.
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