POLK AUDIO R50 Floorstanding Speakers (Each)

Other products by Polk Audio

Product Details

Product Manual [182kb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 40 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B00007BGSP
• Item model number: 50
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #26,030 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)

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  Electronics > Home Audio & Theater > Speakers > Floorstanding

• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 25, 2006

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

When it's time for serious music or home theater, it's time for Polk Audio's R50 floorstanding speaker, which is built to deliver years of high-quality, full-range listening. The R50 furthers the company's tradition of using high-quality materials and excellent engineering in service of exceptional sound and exceptional value. The R50's slim, tower design conserves floor space (occupying less than 1 square foot), and the speaker is ideal for both movies and music. It's sold individually, so be sure to pick up 2 for a stereo arrangement, 4 four front and rear left/right home theater use. Other Polk Audio R-series speakers would provide perfect timbral matching for use as surround speakers, but keep in mind that most music-only surround mixes such as those heard on DVD-Audio and multichannel SACD are intended for full-range surround speakers.

The R50 features Polk's exclusive Dynamic Balance drivers for wide frequency response and low distortion in both its .75-inch dome tweeter and its dual 6.5-inch cone woofers. 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," 3-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." The speaker is magnetically shielded to permit distortion-free placement near TVs and computer monitors.

Convenient, 5-way binding posts provide an array of secure hook-up options, and the speaker is covered by Polk's standard, non-transferable 5-year warranty.

What's in the Box
A single speaker with removable grille, 1 speaker base with mounting hardware, optional-use carpet spikes, a user's manual, and warranty information.

Product Description

Building incredible-sounding speakers at reasonable prices has made Polk Audio a powerhouse in the audio industry. The R Series Loudspeaker models continue the Polk tradition of using high quality materials and excellent fundamental engineering to deliver exceptional sound at an exceptional value.R Series Loudspeakers are perfect for building starter systems, or for small room or multi-room applications. With the addition of a PSW Series powered subwoofer, you can assemble an impressive home theater system on a budget. Use them as surrounds in a den or bedroom system. Wall mount them in your workshop or basement rumpus room for "industrial strength" durability and great sound.PRODUCT FEATURES: Superior home theater and music performance; Slim tower design conserves floor space, occupies less than one square foot; Polk Audio's exclusive Dynamic Balance drivers and tweeters for wide response and low distortion; Wide dispersion drivers and tweeters project sound over a wide area so every listener in a room hears open, "box-less, " three-dimensional sound; Dual 6.5 inch (165mm) drivers provide nearly the bass radiating surface area of a 10 inch woofer but with the imaging, clarity and detail advantages of smaller drivers; Front-firing bass port for high efficiency and powerful bass response; Arched grille design eliminates grille interference with the port output, lowering turbulence and distortion (and it looks real cool too).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice looking, quality sounding speakers for the money, November 1, 2006

By	Shiro Tokisada Amakusa (Mountain View, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Value for Money, Sounds very clean, September 5, 2006

By	Vikram Kalyanaraman "V-Drummer" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

21 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't sound better for the price, February 7, 2005

By	D. Zambrano (Beach Bum Capital USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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'.