Lee

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I went out to buy a set of speakers, without any clear preference. I went to a store I trusted, with a selection of CDs and DVDs of my own. I liked the Monitor 60 right from the start. they were a little out of my budget, but after an hour of switching back and forth, between those and the other speakers in the price range, I have decided I have to buy them. even if it means paying a little more.
The sound is very detailed, crisp. not harsh at all. anything from the lower mids to the highs is fantastic (for the price point and (slightly) above). the lower frequencies are a different thing. the bass they do produce is accurate and tight, but by no means there is enough of it. put it this way, I picked up my set (Mon 30,60,cs1) without a sub, and rushed back to the store 2 days later to pick one up.
once you properly setup (phase, volume, positioning, cross Over) the Mon 60s with a decent sub, you realize just how much of a steal those speakers actually are.

Strengths:
bang for the $$$, clear, detailed, staging, excellent mids. very open and natural sound.

Weaknesses:
lower frequencies, cheap plastic spikes. fragile grill.
I would not recommend teaming these speakers with a low quality , overly bright AVR (or any other amp). they really do need decent amplification in order to shine. Bi amping does wonders with these.

Similar Products Used:
Tannoy , JBL , wharfedale.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I went out to buy a set of speakers, without any clear preference. I went to a store I trusted, with a selection of CDs and DVDs of my own. I liked the Monitor 60 right from the start. they were a little out of my budget, but after an hour of switching back and forth, between those and the other speakers in the price range, I have decided I have to buy them. even if it means paying a little more.
The sound is very detailed, crisp. not harsh at all. anything from the lower mids to the highs is fantastic (for the price point and (slightly) above). the lower frequencies are a different thing. the bass they do produce is accurate and tight, but by no means there is enough of it. put it this way, I picked up my set (Mon 30,60,cs1) without a sub, and rushed back to the store 2 days later to pick one up.
once you properly setup (phase, volume, positioning, cross Over) the Mon 60s with a decent sub, you realize just how much of a steal those speakers actually are.

Strengths:
bang for the $$$, clear, detailed, staging, excellent mids. very open and natural sound.

Weaknesses:
lower frequencies, cheap plastic spikes. fragile grill.
I would not recommend teaming these speakers with a low quality , overly bright AVR (or any other amp). they really do need decent amplification in order to shine. Bi amping does wonders with these.

Similar Products Used:
Tannoy , JBL , wharfedale.

nightflier

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
4.67 of 5, 15.00 votes

Price Paid:  $175.00 from Tweeter

Summary:
I was going in to purchase a pair of Polk LSi 7 bookshelf speakers and stumbled on these. Tweeter had a sale on them so I checked 'em out. I compared them to Polk's higher-priced RT series speakers as well as both bookshelf and tower speakers from Mirage and Saphire, their own brand. These speakers were noticeably better than any of the others. Before buying, I came back later with my own CD's (selections from Massive Attack, Marsalis Classical, and Dave Brubeck Jazz, all tracks that I am very familiar with). I didn't expect these Polks to have good bass, certainly not at that price, but I was pleasantly surprised. Since Bass is harder to reproduce, it weighs heavily on my buying decision. The Monitors didn't break up in the low frequencies even on volume levels as high as +5 (we switched between Pionneer Elite and Denon receivers). The bass was not that deep, to be sure, but at the 40-100Hz frequecies, it was loud, full, and I could feel it in my chest. The larger speakers were also loud and could even go lower, but their bass seemed more muffled and less clear. But the Monitor 60's really shined in the mid ranges. Where the other speakers sounded further away, the Monitors where very detailed and "close." The higher frequencies were also strikingly sharp, fast, and in-your-face, even at the highest volumes. I know that the bookshelf monitor models are badly reviewed online, and Tweeter didn't have these for comparison, but the Monitor 60 towers were very alive to my ears. Maybe the addition of the woofer and the tower cabinet makes all the difference, I'm not sure, but I cannot think of any speaker at that price-point that can compare (they were on sale: $175/50% off, so maybe at $350, it's not that good). Anyhow, I bought them that day. I am now comparing all my other speakers to them, in my listening room. Some would say that these speakers are a bit too forward and even metallic sounding, and I can see why. But The clarity of these speakers is astounding. They are definitely not laid back. Compared with a pair of Infinity Primus towers that I am borrowing and that are about the same price, they are more lively and forward, so if you're looking for laid-back, these are not your speakers. When I got them home, I compared them to my Klipsch RB5's. These are horn-loaded bookshelf speakers that have been my reference speakers for years. The Klipsch's are more spacial and I can better make out where instruments are in a complex symphonic passage, but the Polk's do not dissapoint. Although they are not as deeply spacial, the sound is closer to the listeing position. Although they are not up to par with the Klipsch's, they certainly hold their own. I also compared them with a pair of Polk RT600i towers with the foot-vented port. I felt that this was a fairer comparison since these were the low-end standard 3-4 years ago, albeit at a slightly higher price-point. These have always had excellent bass and are a joy to listen to, especially with classical music. However, the Polk Monitors where much more detailed in the high frequencies. While the RT600i's do go a tad lower, they will break up in the lower Hz at higher volumes if not coupled with a good sub. The monitors could go much louder w/o a sub and where a much better speaker overall. I still love the quality construction of the RT600i's while the Monitors look rather cheap with their plastic silver fronts, but they were a better speaker, performance-wise. I have not thrown everything at them yet. For example, I have not used them in a home-theater setup. They certainly sound like they are geared towards this, though, since they are crisp, clear and loud, but I haven't tried this out. Overall, an excellent value. Polk has not advertised these well, there are very few reviews and I have only seen them at Tweeter. I heard they were designed exclusively for resale through Circuit City stores. This is probably not a good outlook for them. That said, if these can be scooped up for less than the MSRP, it should be a steal. Coupled with a low-Hz capable sub, they should be an incredible value. I am rating these a 4/5 because of the construction and the $350 price tag, but the performance is top-notch.

Strengths:
Loud, crisp, in-your-face speakers. Better that similar speakers from Sony, Pioneer, and the rest of the low-priced stuff out there. In my view, they bested speakers 2-3 times their price as well.

Weaknesses:
The plastic/rubber feet are not ajustable or removable. If you have uneven floors, that might be a problem. I will probably add my own spikes, instead. The front grilles are a pain to take off, but they hide a rather cheap-looking silver front (unless you prefer the college-dorm / high-tech look). Also, the bass does not dip very low, but what is does produce is loud and clear.

Similar Products Used:
Infinity, Yamaha, Other Polks, Klipsch, Axiom Audio, Pioneer, Boston Acoustics.