Polk Audio AM1501-A

This brand new Polk Audio R15 2-Way Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Pair, Black) Good inexpensive speakers, but not for golden-eared listenersBy E. OxenbergThe R15s from Polk can be had for as little as $50/pair if you spot a good sale, and are a reasonable buy for under $125/pair. They are small, not too heavy and nice looking. Like a lot of smaller speakers, they tend to open up more when played loudly than they do at lower listening levels.These ported speakers sound decent with lower-powered amps (I have a Proton 100, maded by NAD in the '90s, puts out 25 honest watts RMS) but may benefit from higher power in increased accuracy and balance. Since my amp sounds a bit warm, I found the output from the R15s was soft and too concentrated in the midrange at the expense of bass response. They don't have much extended bass, and benefit from the reinforcement of a decent subwoofer. I tried them alone and with an NHT 10" powered sub, and the low end was definitely improved with the added bass output.Compared to better --and more expensive -- bookshelf speakers, the R15s color their sound somewhat with thicker vocals, compressed guitars and horns, somewhat thumpy bass and drums and a noticible push in the midrange. I found them, however, a definite improvement over similar size units from Sony or JBL.I played music ranging from electronica and rock to jazz and classical. Hip-hop music tended to sound best because there really is no midrange in a lot of hip-hop tracks, so the speaker could concentrate in the highs and lows. Rock songs suffered from too-heavy guitar and weak bass response.Bass is improved by moving these close to a wall, though the speaker may get boomy, and drops off noticably when moved more than a foot out.The bottom line is, these speakers are pretty good for moderate stereo systems, smaller rooms and less discriminating listening, but better sound comes from other brands like NHT, Paradigm or Atom for a bit more money.See all 32 customer reviews... » More Information about Polk Audio R15 2-Way Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Pair, Black).

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