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Review on πŸ”Š Enhanced SEO: Polk Audio Signature Series S10 American Hi-Fi Compact Satellite Surround Speaker Pair - Classic Brown Walnut Finish by Carlos Long

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Great sounding little speakers

I'm a big Polk fan. I haven't bought anything but Polk speakers since I first heard them in the mid 1980's. Every time I compare them to other speakers I find Polks sound better. I recently bought a small Yamaha stereo for my office. It came with speakers that sounded ok but nothing special. I was looking for some small polks to replace them. The only ones I could find were the S15 for the bookshelf but they were too big as my stereo fits on a small bookshelf and the S15s were too big for the space. So I bought a pair of Micca MB42X which fit my space and they sounded really good (you can see my review on Revain). They were a big improvement over standard speakers. A month later I saw an ad for the Polk S10. They looked exactly what I was originally looking for. They were small, with the same 4" woofers and dome tweeters as the Micca, so I bought them. The first thing I noticed when I received them was that they were smaller than the Micca. Overall a better speaker. However, when I plugged it in and listened, I was disappointed. They just sounded flat and lacked the bass that Micca had. So I decided to connect one of the micca to one side and the polk to the other. So I was able to do a side-by-side comparison by toggling the balance on the stereo. I found the Polk had brighter upper mids and highs, but the Micca had bass. What to do, so I continued with the Polk and pressed them against the back of my book to give them more bass. It helped, but I'm still not thrilled with them. The S10s are marketed as surround speakers and I think they will sound great in that role. So maybe it's my fault for asking these speakers to play a role they don't play. t stands for (left and right front speakers). However, these are the first Polk speakers I've heard that don't sound any better than the competition. For now I'm still using them (hoping they sound better over time), but maybe I'll switch back to Micca. If you are thinking of getting these for your surround speakers I would say go for it. If you are looking for these as front stereo speakers I would say you can probably find better speakers for this role elsewhere. UPDATE: After listening to these speakers 8 hours a day for a month I wanted to write and update. I don't know if I just got used to them or if I've had a hiatus, but they sound better to me since I first bought them. I really enjoy listening to them now. Bass is still a bit lacking compared to the Micca, but pressing against the back of the cabinet definitely helped. I also found that they sounded better when played at a higher volume. I am very happy with them now and would recommend anyone to buy them as rear or front speakers. For this reason I am increasing my rating to 5 stars.

Pros
  • Slim design
Cons
  • Long delivery time