Small foot print, sleek design

Does not use Polk's quality cones, poor bass response, not optimal for music listening

This speaker does not have good mid to low sound quality that is needed to listen to music. I would recommend this speaker for home theater use or as surround speakers, but not as mains if you listen to music and want a full sounding speaker. Spend the extra $ and go with the Polk RT600i which sound 10x fuller for music and home theater and has great bass response.

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Polk RT600i

price, clarity when playing loud, size

not quite enough base, but thats what subwoofers are for

I just bought these speakers and I am very pleased. For $200 each you can't go wrong. If you are looking for good music speakers in a somewhat compact area, look at these speakers.

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Sony CDP-CX 300, sony STR-DB 840

Price, narrow profile.

Could use a bit more bass

I'm quite pleased with these speakers. I was testing Polk speakers at the local dealer and initially planned on getting bookshelf speakers. The moment I switched from the RT35i to the R40's, I knew I had to get them. They had a much fuller richer sound than the RT35i bookshelves. And since they are tower speakers you don't need to get any speaker stands.

They don't have the "newer" technology as in the RTi series but you should buy speakers on how they sound, not the latest technology.

I use these as my front speakers in a HT system, matched up with Polk's R10's/CS175i/PS250 connected to an Onkyo 575X.

This is Polk's entry level tower speaker, the next step up is the RT600i with a better tweeter, larger mid-woofer and a Power Port. Of course at a 50% increase in cost.

I wouldn't use the R40's to play real loud music though. They are more for HT systems and playing audio at a reasonable level. They are quite accurate reproducing sound at these levels and tend to lose more bass at higher volumes.

The narrow profile is a plus for positioning the speakers in the room.

I would recommend these speakers to a mid-level audio enthusiast who is looking for a good sounding speaker for an HT system / audio system

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Acculab, AR's

Small footprint, big sound, price.

Doesn't have the Power Port.

I bought a pair of these after we upgraded our HT to a big screen TV. Replaced a pair of 21 year old Infinity Qb's. Tried them out in the store first, without any subs, and their bass response was good, even though I have a subwoofer, I wanted to hear what they could do. These speakers are very clear sounding, they look good, and even have good binding posts, something you don't see on most speakers in this low price range. When combined with a subwoofer, this is even a better sounding system. I would recommend them to anyone. I have them 8 feet apart in my listening area, and the sound field is very deep and detailed.

Clarity, highs, natural sound, small footprint!

not enough bass, unless you listen to alot of acoustic or classical

I needed to pick up a pair of tower speakers for my dorm since conserving space was a must and my old technics with 15" woofers weren't cutting it. Picked up at pair of R40's at Circuit City, and I have been very pleased! These speakers handle vocals extremely well, and that is their strong point. The mids are well defined, and I am surprised how loud they can get without distorting at all. I was especially impressed with the quality and loudness of the bass they put out, but definately invest in a subwoofer (Yamaha's are good for value, but go Velodyne if you have the money).

If you are looking for a good high quality speaker that goes for quality sound over just a pair of "party speakers" these will definately work. They are great mains for home theatre as well, and when paired up with a CS245 center and R10 rears the overall experience is amazing. I was very impressed the first time I watched the Matrix from start to finish, I had no idea what I had been missing in terms of audio.

My Setup:

Sony DE835 reciever

Polk R40 mains, R10 rears, CS245 center

Yamaha SW90 subwoofer

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Technics, Infinity

Very clear and precise sound

Considering they are mid/woofer speakers: none

Before I bought these speakers, I tried a couple of other brands in the same price range with the salesman at the store using the same amp that I have (Kenwood VR309 DTS). I tried some Bose and JBL speakers. (I must admit that I was very disapointed by Bose. In the other hand, JBL rocks!

The Polk Audio R40 were simply the best in the lot for my needs. The sound is so clear you can here sounds you never heard before.

I strongly suggest that you buy a subwoofer with those speakers for a richer sound cause the R40 are only mid/woofer speakers.

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JBL N34/ Bose Acoutismas

Great mid-range and highs

No wall-shattering/roof lifting bass (not a problem for me -- and I've got a sub).

I'm very happy I bought these speakers and ended up getting what I wanted. Although some commentaries here criticise the lack of bass, I'm happy enough with what they put out and ended up getting what I was looking for -- clarity -- especially in voices (I'm more of a music fan than an HT fan).

As I've only listened to these speakers through mid-level A/V receivers and stereo amps (US$300-$500 msrp)at home and in overly product-crowded stores, perhaps there is something you can criticise them for, but I haven't noted anything yet and (perhaps) won't until I'm in a different, more normally shaped listening space. Another maybe is the fact that I've used a sub and let them do what they do best -- mids to highs (what can you expect from a 6.5" woofer?). A word of advice -- I think that the way these speakers sound will depend a great deal on which amp & sub they're paired with. An amp that excells in the lower range frequencies and doesn't do much with mids and highs compared to others may benefit from a brighter speaker. The Polk site sets out which high-current amps work best with their speakers as a starting point.

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Cerwin Vega, JBL, Celestion, Kenwood, Yamaha