Customer Reviews

Polk Audio Monitor 60 AM6025-A 2-Way Floorstanding Speaker (Single, Black)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased my Polk Audio Monitor 60s after auditioning "higher end" (read alot more expensive) floorstanding speaker offerings from KEF iQ series, Klipsch RF and F series, and similarly priced speakers from Wharfedale, the Boston Acoustics Horizon floorstanding speaker, and also Polk Audio's own Monitor 50 and Monitor 70.

To my ears, the Monitor 60s combine the best elements from all of these speakers. They have a wonderfully open, spacious and detailed sound that results in realistic reproduction of instruments, voices and soundstage. I was bothered by the brightness of the KEFs and Boston Acoustics speakers though these speakers may have had slightly better soundstaging capability. I didn't like the sound of the treble from the Klipschs (specifically their tone and their detail/resolution capabilities), though they had better bass extension and great dynamics (slam). I found the Monitor 50's sound too lightweight, and I was surprised that I didn't like the tonal balance of the Monitor 70s - they sounded too dark to my ears.

As other reviewers have noted, the bass is a little too light for home theater use (i.e. to really create floor shaking explosions) but adding a subwoofer (I already had two) removes that problem. On their own, without a subwoofer, I find the bass more than enough for critical music listening. Your mileage may vary, but I have never liked the sound of any subwoofer for music listening (it's too boomy), and the Monitor 60's tonal balance sounds just right for everything from rock, classical, jazz, latin, electro. The bass is very fast and tight and extends deep enough to reproduce nearly all instruments, except deep organ notes and some electronic bass.

So I'm very very happy with the Monitor 60s particularly at their low price!

Here stands the narrow, but deep and tall Monitor 60 (M60), the middle performer of the Polk Audio Monitor series, between the lesser endowed 50 and bigger sibling 70. It's dimensions and tower design make it well suited for home theatre and two-channel music listening. At a height of 37.5 inches it pairs well with TV's perched on cabinet or wall mount. No need for cement bricks or adjustable stands, the 60 will put the seated listener's ear and the center channel speaker on the same plane. The upper three drivers, placed at the top end of the speaker's cabinet, will reach over even the most prominent sofa arms. The cabinet feet are of a hard plastic, spike design that works well enough for carpet or hard surface flooring.

The Monitors sound quality is fairly clear and detailed, a slight bit on the bright side, but fairly neutral. I'm certain no one would accuse the Monitor of possessing too much warmth. To answer the million-dollar question - does the Monitor 60 have sufficient bass using a small woofer? My answer is the safe one, drawing up specs (depth versus output), considering intended use (music, movie, listening environment), and understanding human differences, it depends.

The M60's frequency response ranges from 38Hz to 25kHz. For those unaware - the human range of hearing is generally recognized to be 20Hz (bass) - 20kHz (treble). Therefore, the 60's bass output leaves room for improvement in terms of depth. However, it's rare for music to reach below 40Hz and for movie watching with deep Low Frequency Effects (LFE) a subwoofer is the ideal choice.

Out of the box, prior to break-in, and with no Receiver/EQ adjustment, my preference found the bass lacking prominence when playing a wide variety of music selections. Using the Receiver's "Direct" minimal circuitry setting the M60 produced just enough bass to be adequate for my taste. In fact, at this point, increasing the volume to feel the bass, you'll probably notice the pain in your ears far sooner. However, after about a month of break-in and adjusting the Receiver's EQ, the bass is sufficient. Increasing the bass tone control on the A/V receiver may be enough for some. Most modern A/V Receivers include graphic equalizers for each speaker as well. If the only intended use is music listening, the Monitor 70 with its added depth and three way design is probably worthy of the extra cost, just as the M60 is a better choice than the M50.

When considering theatre use and for those who want the deepest, most prominent bass in their music, purchasing a powered subwoofer is the obvious. Similarly priced subwoofers drop down in the upper 20's and mid 30Hz area, thereby filling in the need for any added depth. The Monitor 70 rivals the RANGE of a subwoofer with low frequency output at about 30Hz and seems to be a good choice. However, bass VOLUME superiority from the subwoofer is far more than marginal. The difference is most noticeable on paper when reading SPL measures, but easily identified by even the ears of novice listeners. A tower speaker's added output during movie effects is noteworthy as opposed to the subwoofer which is proud and loud. If you're listening environment precludes heavy bass output, then a pair of Monitor 60 without subwoofer is an excellent choice.

My Polk speaker system consists of the Monitor 60's in Front, Polk Audio Monitor Series CS1 Center Channel Speaker (Single, Black), and Polk Audio Monitor 30 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers (Pair, Black) in surround and rear positions. The subwoofer is a 250 watt amped, 12 inch HSU Research to which all bass is crossed-over at 80Hz by the Receiver, a 95 Watt per channel 7.2 surround Yamaha with High Definition audio decoders. Content is provided by a Samsung Blu-ray player and HP Home Theatre PC storing music in .WAVE and .WMA-lossless format. I listen to a wide variety of music, mostly Jazz and Classical, some pop/rock, occasionally techno/industrial, blues, world styles, such as Irish Trad. The 60's seem at home with each genre. However, primarily my system is used for DVD/Blu-ray playback.

For added perspective, I listened to music with the M60's connected to a 100wpc Carver Integrated amp and matching CD player in a smaller, less lively room than that where my Home Theatre resides. The room seemed to lend a little upper bass forwardness, but the overall neutral-bright sound was pretty consistent. In addition, I bi-amped the speakers using a 200wpc Adcom 2-channel amp powering the three 5.25 inch drivers and the forementioned Yamaha powering the tweeters. There was no recognizable improvement. I believe that the post processing bi-amp configuration in the Receiver diminishes any potential gain. However, since this is advertised as an efficient 8-ohm speaker with a two-way design, high current configurations probably add minimal improvement in audio quality.

Last, Polk speaker quality is well-known in audio circles and the Monitors are no exception. Binding posts, rubber driver surrounds, bi-amping, and solid MDF/wood cabinetry are just some of the obvious signs. It was my ownership of Polk products in the past and their great reputation that had me looking at them in the first place. I must make a confession. Purchasing seven new Polk Monitors for just over $500, with no shipping charges, was a very big factor in choosing this setup. Initially intending to upgrade the Monitors after a year, I'm finding little motivation after a COUPLE of years use, and very happy with the bang for buck performance. After visiting several stores and listening to various setups, it's my honest belief that a noticeably improved upgrade would cost around $1,000 for the pair.

I purchased my Polk Audio Monitor 60s after auditioning "higher end" (read alot more expensive) floorstanding speaker offerings from KEF iQ series, Klipsch RF and F series, and similarly priced speakers from Wharfedale, the Boston Acoustics Horizon floorstanding speaker, and also Polk Audio's own Monitor 50 and Monitor 70.

To my ears, the Monitor 60s combine the best elements from all of these speakers. They have a wonderfully open, spacious and detailed sound that results in realistic reproduction of instruments, voices and soundstage. I was bothered by the brightness of the KEFs and Boston Acoustics speakers though these speakers may have had slightly better soundstaging capability. I didn't like the sound of the treble from the Klipschs (specifically their tone and their detail/resolution capabilities), though they had better bass extension and great dynamics (slam). I found the Monitor 50's sound too lightweight, and I was surprised that I didn't like the tonal balance of the Monitor 70s - they sounded too dark to my ears.

As other reviewers have noted, the bass is a little too light for home theater use (i.e. to really create floor shaking explosions) but adding a subwoofer (I already had two) removes that problem. On their own, without a subwoofer, I find the bass more than enough for critical music listening. Your mileage may vary, but I have never liked the sound of any subwoofer for music listening (it's too boomy), and the Monitor 60's tonal balance sounds just right for everything from rock, classical, jazz, latin, electro. The bass is very fast and tight and extends deep enough to reproduce nearly all instruments, except deep organ notes and some electronic bass.

So I'm very very happy with the Monitor 60s particularly at their low price!

I recently purchased a pair of these speakers and added a 10-inch subwoofer as well as two bookshelf monitor series speakers. WOW! For speakers that Polk Audio considers entry level these are an excellent choice for someone who wants to save money and get a well rounded speaker system that covers an array of music genre. From Classical music to Rap, these speakers will do the job.

I got these for my home theater. I previously had the JVC 1000-Watt system TH-C5. Needed something with more clarity. Here's my setup: Front R&L - Polk Monitor 60s, Center - Polk Csi3, Rear - Polk RTi4, Sub - Hsu VTF-2MK2, Receiver Onkyo TX-604.

I did alot of research before finally ordering these speakers and heard alot of speakers at my local Fry's. First off, I really wanted floorstanding for my fronts, but wanted to spend under 700/pair. Alot of people complain about how there's no Bass with these speakers and they are right. These speakers need to be supplemented with a subwoofer (which is essential for any home theater system in my opinion). But the high/midrange of these speakers are amazing for the price. The speakers sounded better than the Monitor 50's especially at higher pitches, and they did sound crisper at duller volumes. But I did not notice a big difference between these and the monitor 70's. So, I'd recommend these M 60's over the 70's as the 70's dont justify the higher price tag.

And wow the clarity of this system is amazing. Movies, HD television (like 24, Prison break, and Lost), and my downloaded music videos all have a whole new feel to them. Its spectacular. I love POLK! I'm so glad I got rid of my JVC's. by the way, did I mention, that speakers look sexy! Everyone gives it a wow factor when they walk in and look at them, not to mention listen to them.

Purchased sony SSF-6000 speakers because I like value and they had good ratings and were inexpensive. I was not satisfied and returned them for the upgrade to Polk. These Polks sound much better and I am satisfied with the very good sound and now feel that I have the "value" speaker I was looking for. If you truly want that "amazing quality" sound, however, you will have to spend much, much more, but I am not that picky and very happy with the Polks. I'm giving them 5 stars to show they are better than the Sony's which have over a 4 star rating.

I have heard in previous reviews about how these speakers don't have any bass and it's so absurd. These speakers have the most amount of bass I have ever heard out of a set of floorstanding speakers with no subwoofer. You truly do not need a subwoofer with this set, although with one it only makes the sound better. I find these speakers to be a superb deal for the money. I am pushing 75w RMS to each speaker and they sound beautiful with my Onkyo receiver. I am very pleased with my purchase. I have played these speakers extremely loud for a long period of time with anything from rap to rock and they do not distort and keep on playing strong. They have taken my abuse with ease and are a very good speaker for anyone who likes extremely well sounding audio, and superb durability.

I had the Bose cubes. I loved my Bose cubes. I had friends tell me, "Do not touch anything, the sound is p-e-r-f-e-c-t." I had the bottom part of the cube facing the listener. I had the top part of the cubes facing away, bouncing off the walls, because the vocals were too harsh if I had the top cube facing the listener too.

I hooked up the Polk Monitor 60's. Immediately, with no question, the vocals were prestine perfect. The sound was so good, really, I almost cried. After I listened for a few minutes I thought, "It could use just a bit more bass. I'll turn up my Polk 12" 505 powered sub a little bit more." Imagine how shocked I was to find that I had forgot to turn it on! I couldn't believe it, the Polk Monitor 60's were putting out a very, very pleasant amount of bass, with a very rich sound.

My previous system had speaker leads going to my Polk Audio 12" powered sub, and the Bose cubes were wired to the sub as recommended per the sub instructions. That setup was far superior to the passive sub that came with the cubes.

I love the Polk Monitor 60's.

I purchased my Polk Audio Monitor 60s after auditioning "higher end" (read alot more expensive) floorstanding speaker offerings from KEF iQ series, Klipsch RF and F series, and similarly priced speakers from Wharfedale, the Boston Acoustics Horizon floorstanding speaker, and also Polk Audio's own Monitor 50 and Monitor 70.

To my ears, the Monitor 60s combine the best elements from all of these speakers. They have a wonderfully open, spacious and detailed sound that results in realistic reproduction of instruments, voices and soundstage. I was bothered by the brightness of the KEFs and Boston Acoustics speakers though these speakers may have had slightly better soundstaging capability. I didn't like the sound of the treble from the Klipschs (specifically their tone and their detail/resolution capabilities), though they had better bass extension and great dynamics (slam). I found the Monitor 50's sound too lightweight, and I was surprised that I didn't like the tonal balance of the Monitor 70s - they sounded too dark to my ears.

As other reviewers have noted, the bass is a little too light for home theater use (i.e. to really create floor shaking explosions) but adding a subwoofer (I already had two) removes that problem. On their own, without a subwoofer, I find the bass more than enough for critical music listening. Your mileage may vary, but I have never liked the sound of any subwoofer for music listening (it's too boomy), and the Monitor 60's tonal balance sounds just right for everything from rock, classical, jazz, latin, electro. The bass is very fast and tight and extends deep enough to reproduce nearly all instruments, except deep organ notes and some electronic bass.

So I'm very very happy with the Monitor 60s particularly at their low price!

This review is for the cherry vinyl veneer Polk Monitor 60 Series II floor standing speakers. These have turned out to be the best all around (music and video) speakers I've ever listened to at home. IMO, when teamed with a small subwoofer they sound slightly more detailed than than the larger Monitor 70 Series II speakers. The mids and highs are detailed but in no way harsh or annoying. I can listen to them all day and not get a headache. The bass is a little light but that's when the sub comes into play. Bi-wiring seems to open up the mids a bit. Nothing drastic but worthwhile. Try it, you might like it. Check around the web and snap up a pair delivered for a little less than $250.00. Read the reviews. You won't regret your purchase. All around quality for very little jing!