Customer Reviews

Polk Audio R50 Floorstanding Speakers (Each)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought these to replace my old cabinet-style 15" Pioneer speakers that I've had for a decade. They were on clearance and for the price, impossible to refuse. Compared to the old speakers, I am discovering new subtle layers of sound in my music and movies that I never knew were there. I got the cherry wood cabinets which are actually a thin veneer over particleboard. Despite this, they are very heavy and normal household disturbances such as vacuum cleaners, children, and the occasional errant foot strike will not move them from their spot. They look very nice and attract compliments from friends, if that kind of thing matters to you. The tall size comes with a footprint that is not actually that big, similar to the size of my real (size 12) foot print. They take up less floor space than my old speakers.

Strengths: nice looks, much better sound than your garden variety speakers, often can be found at about 1/3 the MSRP if you know where and when to visit.

Weak side: The bass response is not that impressive for such large speakers and you would do well to pair the R50's with a powered subwoofer.

The only real problem: now that I've had the Polk R50's for a while, I am already wanting better speakers. I am trying out some Orb speakers for a 7.1 system now that I've discovered the difference nice speakers can make.

I give this 4 stars because I'm comparing it to my powered studio monitors which I probably should not be doing :)

These speakers sound quite balanced over their range and they start taper off around 80 Hz at the low end however, I'm able to use these for movie watching in my home theater without a subwoofer. They handle the lows pretty well. Mids and highs are extremely clear. I've heard them at a friend's place paired with A PSW-10 Subwoofer from Polk and that combination is pretty good.

They are going on clearance as I write this review, but are still worth it if you can buy them anywhere. You should not have to pay more than $170 for pair. A number of stores like Frys have excellent deals on these speakers.

They sound great and the price is unbeatable. Don't pay more than $80 each though. Frys often has them on sale. I wouldn't give them 5* for $179 each but for $69 each they're a bargain. Pair them up with the Polk 10" sub and you've got an excellent setup. Not boomy or muddy like small bookshelf/computer speakers.

I'm not a audiophile or some guy that knows how a $10000 speaker system sounds. But I upgraded from a cheapy "home theater" system to my own built system using these for the fronts and R30 for the rears. My total system cost me under $800 and everyone is blown away from the sound.

Pros: Sounds like purified sex

Cons: They think I'm a rich guy now and are asking to borrow money from me. Do yourself a favor and get a powered sub if you want to 'feel it'.

These speakers can handle everything you through at them, they cam be loud and clear and they can be complimentary to other speakers in a home theater. The speakers look great and are easy to set up. Two thumbs up.

Bought them on line from J & R Music, Polk was discontinuing the product and I bought them for (are you sitting down) $99 each!!!! Ive had mine for about 6 months, GREAT SOUND for the price and their Polk's .

I agree with D. Zambrano that the sound quality is the great. I aslo want to notice here that sensitivate is great. I tested using my cd player. I linked them to my CD player line out directly. It supprised me that the music came up perfectly.