Polk Audio R30 2-Way Floor-Standing Loudspeaker (Pair)

by Polk Audio

Product Details

Product Manual [182kb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 64 pounds
• ASIN: B00006I5O5
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,013 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Polk Audio's R30 floorstanding speaker furthers the company's tradition of using high-quality materials and excellent engineering to deliver exceptional sound and exceptional value. Its slim, tower design conserves floor space (occupying less than 1 square foot), and it's ideal for both movies and music. The speaker is sold individually, so be sure to pick up 2 for a stereo arrangement, 4 four front and rear left/right, etc. The speaker features Polk's exclusive Dynamic Balance drivers for wide frequency response and low distortion in both its .75-inch dome tweeter and its single 6.5-inch cone woofer.

Dynamic Balance started with laser interferometry research done in partnership with the Johns Hopkins University. Full-field laser-imaging research allowed Polk to view a driver's entire vibrating surface, revealing the resonance that develops on speaker cones as they move. That resonance is the root cause of frequency-response distortions. Knowing this helped Polk engineers find the right combination of materials, geometry, and construction techniques to tune out the offending resonance. The resulting Dynamic Balance technology produces flat frequency response, sharp detail, sonic transparency, and a speaker's ability to play dynamic programs at life-like levels without a hint of strain.

All woofers and tweeters in Polk home speakers feature Dynamic Balance technology, giving them a shared sonic signature for coherent, seamless sound even when you mix models in configuring your home theater. The drivers' wide dispersion means they project sound over a wide area, so every listener in a room will hear open, "box-less," three-dimensional sound.

A front-firing bass port confers high efficiency and powerful bass response. The speaker's arched grille eliminates grille interference with the port output, lowering turbulence and distortion while giving the speaker a cool look. Supplied carpet spikes ensure mechanical stability on carpeted floors for precise bass output and superior "imaging."

Magnetically shielded for safe placement near TVs and computer monitors, the speaker offers convenient, high-quality 5-way binding post terminals to accommodate several wire hook-up options. All Polk's R Series loudspeakers are perfect for building starter surround systems or for small-room or multi-room settings. With the addition of a PSW Series powered subwoofer, you can build an impressive home theater on a limited budget.

What's in the Box
One speaker, a speaker grille, a speaker base with mounting hardware, 4 carpet spikes, a user's manual, and warranty/registration information.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good speakers once properly set up, October 28, 2005

By 

Ref Stanton "Refefer" (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Polk Audio R30 2-Way Floor-Standing Loudspeaker (Pair) (Electronics)

I purchased these speakers after seeing them dropped from their msrp of $300 a pair to a little over $100 at Outpost.com. After giving them an extensive listening test, I can offer the following advice on how to balance the speakers into making them sound quite good.

1. When you first get them, the won't sound very good. They'll be missing the mid-range and the treble will be overpowering. THEY NEED TO BE BROKEN IN!!! After about 10 hours of heavy bass music, they'll loosen up the drivers enough to make a night and day difference. The mid-range will be there in full force, sounding accurate, while the tweeter will settle down and blend nicely.

2. Being a Two-way setup (2 drivers, one tweeter and one 6.5" midrange with extension down to about 100 hz), to function properly they need a subwoofer or an equalizer that emphasizes the range from 70 and below(I've upped it 3db). Adding a subwoofer to the mix with a crossover range of about 150hz will make the setup sound much fuller. Lacking a subwoofer, equalizing the low end up a couple of decibels (experiment with this since the amplifier might automatically do this and depending out good your receiver is, might be unnecessary) will give you good kick and fuller low end. Be warned: the more bass you give it, the less mid-range you'll have. I strongly suggest only 2-3 decibels max.

3. I found the best position for them to be at least 8 feet apart (any closer and the channels tend to blur a bit, erasing the stereo image. Experiment though, I have a lot of furniture that sucks up sound very easily), in the corners if possible with a buffer space of about 12" from back and sides. Avoid sticking them next to couches if possible as they have a very wide dispersion of sound- Your volume from a speaker can drop by 25% if one side is to a heavily clothed object (couches, chairs, thick curtains).

If you set these things up right, they'll sound great. Avoid older receivers(15+ years) unless they are truly top notch. A decent sub-woofer (10" minimum) as a compliment will give the system great range and be quite accurate. MAKE SURE YOU RUN THEM FOR AT LEAST 10 HOURS WITH FULL RANGE MUSIC(20,000 HZ - 50 HZ) OR WHITE NOISE BEFORE GIVING THEM A SOUND TEST!!! Break them in and you will be well rewarded.

A great set of speakers.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely love them, October 3, 2005

By 

TechNut (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Polk Audio R30 2-Way Floor-Standing Loudspeaker (Pair) (Electronics)

I recently purchased a pair of the Polk Audio R30s during an incredible sale. I had a couple of older JBL bookshelf speakers and had long been wanting a set of decent floorstanding speakers to get a more complete sound. I figured that for around $100 for a pair, I would take my chances. I hoped that at worst they would sound a little better than the JBLs I was using. But at that price, I kept my expectations fairly low.

When they finally arrived and I hooked them up to my old Pioneer receiver, and put on a CD. I was completely stunned to realize how much I had been missing with the bookshelf speakers, which I had always thought did a pretty good job. I heard powerful, rich bass on songs that I never knew had any. The bass was incredible and the mid and high range were excellent as well. I could not believe the awesome sound I was getting from such inexpensive speakers. I used to think about buying a separate subwoofer, but not anymore.

From bass all the way to the highest notes, the sound is clear, crisp and powerful. I have shown the speakers to numerous friend and they have all been very impressed as well.

I am baffled as to how a couple of the other reviewers here had were so unhappy with their R30 speakers. I know that there can be a fairly lengthy break-in period (40 hrs or so) with new speakers after which the speaker loosens up and the sound "warms" up. Or maybe the difference is in the receiver they used with their speakers. Or maybe they just got a bad pair. I don't know. I can only say that I could not be happier with mine and consider the speakers one of the very best deals I have ever gotten.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Polk finally gets one of their tower models to sound right!, January 7, 2004

By 

Fireball "Fireball_SP2" (Toronto) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Polk Audio R30 2-Way Floor-Standing Loudspeaker (Pair) (Electronics)

These two towers are quite the showmen for small floorstanding speakers. The tweeters are 1" silk, and they sound nice!. The tweeters open up a little more than the usual sweet spot sound effect you'd get from others.

The bass driver is fair sized, pretty tight firing, and not too clumsy. Front oversized porting for the driver helps ease the stress of any large 'boofs' of bass on these. I found a number of larger Polk 'R' series tower speakers to sound too beefy, and not very clean sounding when it came to detail. These smaller ones mop the floor with them when it comes to clean bass and detail, and still give plenty of power to boot!

If you really want a fantastic speaker that's equally priced, but constructed better with superior sound (honestly), look into Paradigm, or PSB! Still, thumbs up for Polk. These are quite the little towers. Not the gold medal, but definitely a bronze medal contender!