Electronics : Polk Audio Monitor 50 2-Way Floorstanding Speaker (Single, Cherry) |
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Rating:  - * Amazing sound quality for low budget! ... I purchased these Polk Monitor 50's as front speakers to go along with a Polk CS1 center channel, and R150 surround speakers. I also purchased the Sony SA-W3000 sub locally because of the amazing price at a local retail outlet. When put all together with my Onkyo TX-SR606 receiver, I was immediately blown away from the clarity and detail these speakers were capable of reproducing. My old setup had consisted of Logitech's Z-5500 series of speakers. That was an extreme budget setup, but for what you pay for that, it was a decent setup that has gotten me by for a few years now. Fast-forward to the end of 2008 and things have changed since then. HDMI has gotten HUGE, and along with blu-ray really picking up now, I decided it was time to invest some well-spent money and step up to take advantage of this present technology at hand. The first thing I tested these speakers out on was the IMAX prologue on the Batman Begins blu-ray which shows the first 6 minutes or so of the Imax production-shot movie, The Dark Knight. Put simply, I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by the amazing clarity and detail I could make out in this scene. Everything was perfect. The glass shattering out of the building that the crooks broke out at the beginning was stunning. The noise the gun made when prepping it for a shot was dead-on. The sound of the cable being shot out across the air and onto the neighboring building... all great stuff. The tense music and the gunshots were also perfectly recreated. This was like watching the movie for the very first time again. Not only movies, but games also were like an entirely new experience on these speakers. I just re-played the first couple hours of Metal Gear Solid 4 on the Playstation 3 this thanksgiving weekend, and WOW what a completely different experience. I never noticed the insane amount of attention to the sound that Konami has incorporated into this game. I mean, it sounded great on the Z-5500's I used to use, but on this new setup, and especially the Monitor 50's and CS1 center channel, the detail came to life. I still can't get over the punctual, realistic notes you hear from all the different assault rifles and submachine guns. The sounds of the bullet casings falling out all over the concrete ground were unbelievably awesome. I found myself wasting away clips of ammo just to hear this over and over again. I've never heard such great high's coming from a set of speakers before. Music also sounds great on these. One of my favorite soundtracks was from the game Final Fantasy VIII, which I still think, to this day, is the single best video game soundtrack available. Listening to the last couple movements of the ending theme really brought out the amazing quality and clarity that these speakers are capable of producing. The ending theme is one of my all-time favorite instrumental selections and these speakers remind me of why that is. It simply must be heard to be believed. Beautiful music to the ears. Over this thanksgiving weekend, I had my brother over and he wanted to see a blu-ray on my new surround sound/tv setup. He picked out the Earth documentary (not Planet Earth, but another BBC production feature) and we watched that. This blu-ray was only putting out standard Dolby audio, no DolbyHD or DTS-HD. Just standard Dolby. The first thing he commented on was the awesome quality of the sound. He has a Sony receiver with Sony speakers at his place so this comment coming from him suggested the difference in brands was very noticable. To wrap it all up, for the price I paid for these and the sound that they produce, I am very happy with the purchase and would not look back at any other brand. My future purchases will always include Polk, because I have never heard better. Rating:  - * Can't be beat for the price ... The highs and midrange of these speakers are above average. I use these along with a subwoofer for the front speakers on a 7.1 surround set-up and am impressed with mid to highs. The only reason I didn't rate them five stars are the legs that support the towers, not good for carpet, but in the end would buy these again. Rating: - * first polk i've ever bought ... these were the first polks that i've ever bought. i bought them for a secondary setup i have much more expensive speakers in my main setup. but if you are looking for a little bit more bass than what a bookshelf can get i would definitely recommend these. there treble cable be a little sharp sometimes but overall the clarity is very good. Rating: - * Excellent sound, beautifully made for this price ... I love the sound these speakers produce, everything seems very natural, and in our medium sized living area, I can't phase them - at least at any volume level I can tolerate. Keep in mind however, this is a small speaker, it should be used with a sub woofer - and according to the manual should be set as a small speaker on Dolby receivers. It sounds surprisingly good with a full range signal though (I hit stereo direct when I listen to music, which turns off all the filtering). If anything it's too efficient with a full range signal and exaggerates the bass a little bit, but I hear no distortion. These speakers make me wish Dolby had a medium speaker size option, because I feel small may cut off too much low range. UPDATE: I learned that if the bass is a little exaggerated playing them full range, move them away from the walls, especially corners. Unfortunately, that's not really workable in my setup, but I can do it temporarily when I listen to stereo music with the projector off. I got a pair for $150 in a custom finish (Walnut) from Fry's and it feels almost like stealing. Rating: - * Great for Surround System ... First, I am not an audiophile but I wanted a home theater system that sounded really good. I've done a lot of research and I looked at speaker systems ranging from $400 to $3200. I am using these speakers for my front and rear speakers in my surround sound system. They were not by first choice, but decided to go with them as they were 75% cheaper than the some of the others I was considering. I am very happy with them and feel they are truly a great bargain. They are driven by a Yamaha RX-663 AVR and are grouped with a Polk CSi3 center speaker and a Polk PSW125 12" subwoofer. Once the calibration program on the receiver was run with these speakers the sound quality seemed to really jell. Watching movies became more immersive to the point that it would be very hard to go back to TV sound. The cherry wood veneer finish is very nice and this really helped when getting WAF (wife approval factor) for adding 4 floorstanding speakers and a 16" square subwoofer to our living environs. |
