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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.
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.I got a pair for $150 in a custom finish (Walnut) from Fry's and it feels almost like stealing.
First, I am not an audiophile but I wanted a home theater system that sounded really good. 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. 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. 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.
I have pair of the Monitor 50's from my front speakers (with a Polk CS2 for the center, a pair of Monitor 30's for the side surrounds and in-ceiling for the rear surrounds, with a Velodyne CHT-10 sub and an Onkyo 605 AVR). For most music only listening, I think you can skip the sub, but if you want the full home theater experience, get a sub.Once I got these set up, I ran through the auto-calibration routine on the Onkyo AVR a few times. As with any speaker, optimal placement, calibration and room configuration will make a huge difference. The Monitor 50's, though, with their dual 5.5" drivers definitely have a stronger presence in the mid-frequency ranges. I started off with my Monitor 50's too close to each other for my viewing/listening position. After a couple of weeks break in time, I must say that I'm very happy with how I spend my speaker budget.Some have pointed out that these speakers will need a sub, and I certainly agree. These speakers replaced a set of Athena.5 speakers which were actually pretty good speakers. Pay attention to speaker placement (Google speaker placement for some specific tips).
Not that I see that as a shortcoming of these speakers, I think it is reasonable to assume one will need a sub for home theater use when buying main speakers in this price range. These speakers are good down to around 60Hz, though you may want to cross them over a bit higher. The time you spend on these three areas will make a big difference. Once I dialed on the placement, sound quality for surround sound movies improved quite a bit.
I just purchased 2 pairs of these to be powered by a Marantz 2285, replacing junk Sears speakers I've had since the mid 80's. These Polks can take all my Marantz can give and then some. I was initially concerned that a 2 way speaker with no large subwoofer would compromise the highs and lows. Let me tell you, these sound fantastic. The only drawback (if you want to call it that)is the speakers need about 5 minutes to "warm up". Bass is true and rich, mids and highs cut through very well, if you want a quality, versatile set of speakers for 250-300 dollars , you need to look into these Polk 50's.
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