Customer Reviews

Polk Audio TSi300 Floorstanding Speaker (Single, Cherry)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I picked up a pair of TSi300's and they perform much better than I would expect from speakers at this price level. The TSi series is positioned between the Monitor series and the RTi series and rightfully so. They are an evolutionary improvement to the Monitor 50 (improved matierals, better bass response, better imaging, more detailed highs), though they lack the pristine clarity of the RTi series. They are, however, definitely a world ahead of the cheap R50's that they replaced in my living room, and will easily outperform budget speakers and even some higher end speakers.

What really strikes me about the TSi300's is the sophistication and dynamics of the sound they provide, especially relative to the price point they're at. Considering the compact size of the speakers, they provide suprisingly good sound imaging, projecting a wider sound-field than you'd initially expect, without getting needlessly loud or overbearing. They sound very smooth, rich, and natural....highlighting audio details with little effort. Where lesser speakers lose audio detail at low volumes, and sound harsh and wastefully loud at high volumes, the TSi300's brings out subtle details even at low levels, and really brings them to life at higher volumes. They're subtle and smooth when they should be, and can get loud and dramatic when they need to be, without any loss of detail or distortion going between volume levels.

Where I would say they lack a bit is in the mid-bass response. Unpaired with a subwoofer they at times sound a little brighter than I would like. Even when paired with a subwoofer covering the deep lows, there's a feeling that 'something's missing' at the mid-level. The TSi400 and 500's models have extra mid-bass drivers which give them more presence, but these come at a premium price, and once you start budgeting over 300 dollars per speaker, you avail yourself to deals on higher end lines such as the RTi series.

Low frequency bass response is what's expected of a floor standing speaker. For certain genres of music you could make by without a dedicated subwoofer, but for bass-heavy genres (hip-hop, electronica, smooth jazz etc etc), and for home theater use, the TSi300's, need a dedicated sub to cover the deep, heavy bass. This isn't to the fault of the TSi300's...the woofers on floorstanding speakers simply aren't designed to handle deep, dramatic bass.

Aesthetically, the rounded corners and sleek lines of the TSi series are very sexy, and I would say they're the best looking series in Polk's line-up. The piano black trimming along the top of the speaker matches very well with the bezels on most of today's HDTV offerings. The grill, piano black trim, and the cabinet flow smoothly together almost seamlessly, giving them a very clean, minimalistic look. Personally I prefer the cherry finish with Polk's speakers, as my living-room uses a lot cherry and dark ash woods. The TSi300's really look like an intentional part of my living room's decor, rather than random pieces of audio equipment sticking out like the elephant in an otherwise meticulously decorated room.

All in all, at [...] bucks a speaker, these perform extremely well for the price, and I couldn't ask for much more without expecting to pay much more. There is a part of me that would like more a bit more clarity and better mid-bass response, and I'll probably end up upgrading one day and moving these to the rears....but for what I paid I am downright impressed by these speakers, and am very happy with my purchase.

-----(edit)

After breaking them in a bit, the mid-ranges really started to come alive, and the TSi300's have quite a bit more presence now. I also found that by setting the cross-over frequency on my sub-woofer higher, I was able to better fill the mid-range gap from the TSi300.

For music, one may want to look at the TSi400 or 500's as they should provide more accurate low frequency performance. But a good sub that produces tight, accurate bass with the TSi300's will easily outperform the 400 or 500's without a sub for home theater use.

These speakers are great with almost any kind of music. Crisp, filled with great dynamics in sound, and potent at any volume level, these speakers are truly amazing for the price. I purchased two of these towers and power them through a Sony 2.0 channel stereo receiver. They stand right in front of me at my computer desk.

Sound is clear through all thresholds. Nice bass, good (though slightly muddled) mids, and very good highs. The speakers carry the music very well from a variety of styles (from rock to pop to classical). They are very good with the lows. Vocals are clear and distinct against the background of instruments.

For the aborning audiophile I highly recommend these speakers. Comparatively they are inexpensive and they reproduce significantly higher grade music and sound than do a standard set of lower level Sonys, such as the SS-B3000 set. Sound, with good cables, is better reproduced, more certain and pronounced, and of far greater quality. The dynamics are unmistakeably cleaner.

If you are on a budget these will cost you less that $500 for a pair and you will get amazingly upgraded sound for the price. You could go with a set of lower level Sonys for less than $150, but I assure you that the clarity and power of the music will be embarrassingly reduced if you go that route with speakers. There are three components to good music: source (computer, CD player, radio, etc...), power (receiver or amp), output (speakers, headphones). All are important, but which one do you think is going to bring the sound into your ears? If you are going to extend your budget for sound upgrade perhaps you should start with the speakers. That's what I did and from where I sit right now (yes, I'm listening to some rock at the moment) I made the correct decision.

These excellent towers need to be burnt in (broken in) before their full potential is realized. Should take around 15 hours, maybe more. Out of the box, they sounded a little edgy in the upper frequencies when pushed hard. The mid range and bass response was excellent from day one and improved as the speakers were broken in. Now, after three weeks of use, they sound splendid. I listen to Classical mostly and some New Age recordings. The TSi-300's 'image' beautifully in stereo, which is very important. The soundstage is very wide. Great for home theater as well. Highly recommened...

I had my Polk surround speakers all hooked up. The very small speakers in the front were the only thing that was bothering me because of the "hole" in the sound because of the mini size. Not bad for most but when you come from an audiophile Allison and Sony ES system, things have to be right.
Well, the answer came the other day with a set of Polk Vertical floor standing TSI300's!

The sound is transparent and very flat and clean. There is plenty of bass from these smaller towers and it's nice that they are light and will fit in my smaller family room/surround room. These babies can take some volume and best of all, they did the trick. No more hole in the audio either with surround or stereo CD's. They are a bargain at any price and while Polk is not considered to be "audiophile" speakers, this set touches that goal!

Bottom line-Handsome, clean and accurate sound, small so they fit anywhere, and handsome! Don't spend more, these will do the job unless you need a huge amount of power-like 500 watts.

These are perfect!

It had been a long time since I bought speakers. I am not really an audiophile but enjoy various types of music - classical, opera and 70s rock among other genre. I am very impressed. Sound seems faithful, and there's tons of volume for my 20 by 25 foot listening area [12 foot ceilings]. I have a separate sub-woofer. As always with amazon, shipping was fast and efficient. Price slightly lower than I found here in Albuquerque. Don't forget the listed price is for ONE speaker.

One caveat however. The speakers are quite narrow. I like that look. BUT they could be tippy. They are reasonably heavy, and a fall would not be good either for the speakers or for what they fell on [antiques, small children etc]. I'm going to look into finding a way to attach them to the wall to make them more stable.

I listened to just about every speaker in this price range and bang for the buck these things took the cake. They sound better than mayny speakers costing much more (Bose did not even come close. Bose are great for the size, but lack midbass and their subs are not great0. They have very clear high to mid range, but they are light on the lower mid and obviously the bass, which they are not designed for. They clearly need to be paired with a subwoofer, but any seaker in this size would. I have them as my rear seakers in a 7.1 system with a Denon 1911 receiver, OWM5 sides, CS20 center, PSW 505 sub, and the tSI 500 fronts, and it sounds amazing. A couple of my firends that spend far more are very jellous, which is always nice. At first I was disapointed, but apparently they require a break in period and after playing them for a few days fairly regularily, they came around nicely. I am very happy with my purchase decision. As I said, you can get better speakers, but you will be paying far more.

I absolutely loved them. I used to have Sony speakers but these are far better. Definitely worth the price. I also got TSI 100 as rear speakers. Even though I have an old receiver, I am amazed with the sound quality. I applaud Polk Audio!

Original Review Jan 2009:

This is my first ever speaker set for my living room. I don't have a room for a dedicated home theater. I have two of these and a CS10 center channel. They have good midrange. The deep voices sound nice. These are the cheapest towers you can get IMO, and they beat any satellite speaker system out there. Those tiny cubes cannot produce the midrange to lowrange frequencies at all. Watching bluray is fun. I need to play some TrueHD/DTS-HD MA tracks and see how they sound. If you are looking for entry level these are good. I auditioned Klipsch and I like the sound of Polks better because they are neutral. Klipsch speakers have horn-loaded tweeters which emphasize the high frequencies and hurt your ears after 30 mins of listening. Polks don't have that. If you have previously owned tower speakers and are looking for something better than you currently have you should look at higher priced towers. These are entry level and good for beginners.

EDIT Jan 2011:

I'm updating this review after 2 years. These speakers still sound nice. Unfortunately I don't have listening experience with other loudspeakers (Definitive Tech, Paradigm, etc), so I can't compare them to these. For those who are looking at the Bose speakers, please stay away from them. Bose sound the worst. The Bose Satellite speakers are crap and the Bose bookshelf speakers are horrible as well. Back to these Polks, even though I have an open living room they are nice and loud. My living room is open to the dining room, kitchen, and the front entrance which is about 30ft high. So even though we have a large open area, these speakers (with my Denon AVR) are more than enough to give you a full sound.

MY SETUP:

I am running a 3.1 setup (FL: Polk TSi300, FR: Polk TSi300, C: Polk CS10). In a few months I will get the Polk TSi100 bookshelf speakers and that will complete my 5.1 setup. I'm running the Denon AVR-789 receiver, which is nice as well. Without the rear speakers I can't get the full experience watching a movie so I need to get some rears.

I knew I was getting a pair of these for Christmas. I used to use the TSI100's for my front speakers, but now I'm using these and will use the TSI100's for my surround speakers. Shipping was perfect from Amazon as always (free 2 day).I was pleased the second I hooked these speakers up and turned on some music. The sound is alot better than the TSI100's. The sound is fuller and there is more bass output like I would expect from floorstanding speakers vs. bookshelves. Even though these are floorstanding speakers, a subwoofer is still needed. The woofers on these and alot of other floorstanding speakers just aren't big enough to produce the low bass subwoofers are supposed to, and these speakers shouldn't be criticized for that reason. These speakers do exactly what they are designed to, and I love the sound! I'm using an Insignia (Best Buy's store brand but it's manufactured by Onkyo) 5.1 Receiver that came with the HTIB system I bought over a year ago, and if these sound good with that, any reciever should be able to make these sound good. My AVR allows me to adjust the bass and treble to how I like so I have a really nice, warm sound coming from these for music, movies, or games. For the money, theses speakers are really great. Paired with a CS20 center channel and TSI100 surrounds, my system sounds really great and I really don't think I broke the bank with my system. I really love Polk Audio, and these are great budget speakers. I can only imagine what the TSi400's and 500' sound like. Unless you have an incredible AVR to correctly power and bi amp the TSi400/500's, or any higher priced towers, these should be just fine. Great speakers!

When I decided to finally replace my ancient Bose 901 Series II speakers with something more suited to my room dynamics and wanting a surround system for movies, I was really worried about finding reasonably priced speakers that would also sound great with music.

After auditioning several systems, I kept coming back to these - even preferring them over the larger TSi400's due to tighter response. I was prepared to pay considerably more but as it turned out, there was no need. I purchased these for front L&R, the PSW10 for a sub, and two TSi100's for surround.

When I got them home, I put them to the test with every kind of music I could throw at them, in addition to several demanding movies. These guys not only sounded great, they actually started sounding better after playing them for a week or so...I guess maybe the cone travel loosens up a bit or something, but in any case here is my opinion:

Very good transient response, giving tight imaging and crystal clear highs, especially on such sharp peaks as cymbals and triangles.
Clean midrange, something I found surprising as I was used to the Bose, which had the cleanest mids of any speakers I had ever heard. The midrange of the TSi's are never tinny or muddy, just well defined and clean.
The bass response, without a sub, is not terrible but of course given the size and the fact that they are towers, they really should be paired with a powered sub for the best results.

I would definitely recommend them, and I will probably purchase Polk Audio from here on out.