Review on Polk Audio Monitor Floorstanding Speaker by Erin Brown

Let me start by saying that these monster "shelf" speakers have NO flaws. Zero. Not only in the current price range, but also in the original price range of $349. You will hardly find a SET of better sounding speakers for less than $500. However, you need POWER to make them sing. I have a Pioneer Elite VSX-LX301, a 40 bi-amp front monitor, and I also have an m40 for the rear. Excellent attitude. I used them as a single amp with an old Sony 710 receiver and they sounded good. Then I connected them to the Sony and they lit up. After upgrading to a better AVR they absolutely SING now! The highs are bright at +3dB highs (the old amp and single amp were slightly muted at +6 highs), but Klipsch-style never fatiguing. The bass can leave a lot to be desired, but in my experience there is no other 5" woofer that sounds as deep and punchy, I would even say there is no 6.5" woofer that sounds like this . Breath. They are DEEP, nearly 17 inches deep with beams. They have a rear port, so you need to be at least a foot away from the wall for them to really shine. Or closer to the wall, with the port in the middle of the corner. This gives a good bass boost when placed in a corner. Bass. When I first heard them in my Pioneer two-channel amp, I tried turning the subwoofer off during a Dire Staits song, but found I never turned the subwoofer on. Wow. These are "High Definition" speakers without the shiny label. They have the same high frequency Hz rating as Hi-Res labeled speakers but without the useless price tag. Music - they shine. They are clear and effective but not tedious. I noticed nuances I hadn't heard before. (I've had everything from Bose to Infinity to B&W) Movies/TV - they sound so good up front that I now have to upgrade my center speaker to keep up with them. My mid is +4dB and my fronts are -2dB (Polk T30 and older Boson speakers have a hard time keeping up). The rear M40s are equally impressive. I set them to -1 on the rear channels and they still give me an Emerson I've never heard before. TLDR = If you have the opportunity to cast them, they will NOT disappoint. They sound just as good if not better than my Monitor 50 sii, just in a smaller package. If you're considering them, buy. Buy them now. The Polk Monitor line is considered entry-level, but these '40s and '70s prove that design matters far more than inflated prices. By the way, I also listened to the "legendary" ELAC B6.2 and they didn't convince me. Watch your ears, not the ears of reviewers who are paid to praise obscure acoustic companies. You will thank me later.