Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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189 of 193 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Home Theater Speaker System!, January 19, 2007
I have not written product reviews on Amazon before but I find them to be extremely helpful and want to give some payback. In particular, I found the home theater system and home theater speaker reviews to be very useful.
The Polk Audio RM6750 5.1 channel home theater speaker system is phenomenal and an outstanding value. I had originally been looking for a home theater in a box system to mate to a newly acquired 37" LG LCD HDTV. The search was partly precipitated by the demise of the older generation DVD player we owned coupled to a failing 10 year old Onkyo surround-sound system. As I poked around on-line reviews and shopped Circuit City and Best Buy it became clear I could get more value and flexibility buying a receiver, an upscalable DVD player (improved picture with regular DVDs on HDTV) and a new speaker system than with home theater in a box.
The room housing our entertainment hardware is a family room -- 20 X 20+ with a vaulted ceiling, fireplace and hearth on one end and lots of upholstered furniture -- a relatively big space to fill. However, I did not want bulky speakers. I was initially intrigued by the Amazon reviews on the Yamaha NS-SP1600, quite favorable, great price and describe great sound output for small speakers. Sadly, I couldn't find these to purchase anywhere locally, nor get them from Amazon or even from Yamaha. I heard a set that I think were badly wired at a Best Buy -- good sound, not much power. Yamaha's next higher line NS-SP5700 were bigger and clunkier looking than I liked and I couldn't find reviews. They sounded OK in a poorly set up demo.
I kept shopping and was very happy I did. I looked at speaker manufacturers' websites and rapidly coned down on the Polk Audio RM6750 as looking to fill the niche I sought balancing size, quality and price. I was able to listen to them in a well set up home theater showroom at a local Circuit City and was immediately sold on the clarity and power. I bought a set for $299; they're a steal at that price and better on Amazon for $249.
I brought them home, hooked them up with the Yamaha 5930 receiver ($179) and upscalable Toshiba DVD player with HDMI ($89) I had also acquired and connected to the HDTV. This is a true dream system! The speakers generate enormous high quality sound. We tested them out with "Master and Commander" -- clear highs from all, natural voice from center channel, terrific oomph from the subwoofer and amazing surround sound experience in the early battle scene. Next test was a Down to the Waterline on a Dire Straits CD -- I heard notes I never knew were there with great balance and driving bass. (The Yamaha gives multiple modes of play including 2 concert hall variants, 2 movie variants, 2 and 5 channel stereo and a few others I haven't played with yet.)
I have filled this large room with amazing sound without going beyond 60% of full volume. I am a very happy customer.
I had looked at the low end of high-cost speaker lines -- Bose and Cambridge Soundworks. With them, you get single speakers in front and surrounds as opposed to 3+" plus tweeter in each of the Polk Audios. Also, the Polk Audio RM6750s sound better to my ears and cost much, much less.
Speaker wiring is straigtforward; wire is not supplied and best to buy/use thick gauge to handle power. Speaker set up instructions from Polk are relatively meager, especially about the subwoofer, but their website is very informative and makes a compelling argument for hooking up subwoofer in parallel with front speakers rather than using subwoofer port and sound is terrific this way.
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66 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Speakers, June 23, 2007
I do consider myself to be picky when it comes to electronics. And I am absolutely floored that speakers this good can be had for a price this low. If you are reading this review, you are probably asking yourself the same question I was this time last week. That being: Are these speakers too good to be true?
During my buying process, I read about these Polks and consequently made a trip to a dumpy Circuit City with a poorly set-up sound room. Before the speakers were played, I picked up one of the sats. and was extremely impressed with its build quality... nice materials, very attractive... and the speakers have a solidness/weight to them that let you know these are not those cheap pressed-wood speakers you'll find in most HTIB systems. Secondly, I was impressed with the sound even though the rears weren't hooked-up and the sub-woofer was poorly placed.
After my trip to CC, I called J&R Music World and had a set of RM6750s shipped to me (J&R is a great store, by the way).
Yesterday I finished installing the speakers... largely using the rich amount of educational information available on the polk audio website that helped me with speaker placement and hook-up. Note: I did NOT use the sub jack on the sub woofer.
The sound is phenominal... especially considering I paid $245. There is no doubt, that if told that these speakers only were sold for their MSRP of $599... that I would still buy them. These speakers meet so many of my requirements:
(1) Great Sound
(2) Attractive
(3) Blend into the environment (i.e., they are small)
(4) Great price
(5) Quality Name
The sound image created by the front 3 is amazing and the rears are perfect.
I am not one to crank my system (I have young kids)... but the sub puts out a great bassy sound that is not too over-powering (note, when I heard these speakers at Circuit City their sub was poorly placed and hooked-up with a sub jack... and it sounded very boomy and over powering).
I am driving the system with Pioneer's top of the line VSX-1016TXV... which is another item, like these Polks, that I probably wouldn't have purchased (I was ready to go the Onkyo/Dennon route with my amp purchase) if someone walked-up to me on the street and recommended it. But after careful research... it, like these Polks, offers an astounding value for the money.
So... long story short... I thought I was going to have to spend $1,800 on my home theater system. I was convinced that a bottom line price for speakers would be roughly $1,100... and the receiver would hit me for another $700.
But, this long story has a really great ending... thanks Polk for a really great product... and for all of the knowledge information you have on your site.
PERFECT!
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49 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great for the price, but don't expect jaw-dropping sound., October 22, 2007
These speakers are a great buy if you simply want an affordable 5.1 setup. They work fine and do fill my room with sound decently. For such small satellites, the quality is pretty decent.
That said, they're no replacement for larger, more powerful speakers. They lack strength at some lower frequencies, and I've frequently noticed that deep male voices aren't particularly clear or powerful through the speakers. It's particularly noticeable with the center channel, since that's where most dialog will be placed.
Unlike some reviewers, I actually do feel that the sub is an adequate match for the speakers. A bigger, better sub WILL be bigger and better, but the included subwoofer isn't worthless and certainly does add to one's experience.
On my setup, I replaced the center channel with a Polk Monitor series speaker, and found that the upgrade improved my sound greatly. The other sats and sub provide decent positional audio, while the upgraded center provides fidelity for dialog. I'd recommend a similar upgrade for anybody considering these speakers.
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