CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 12/08/2004
- Released on: 07/15/2004
The Monitor Series includes a larger bookshelf model (the Monitor 40), three towers, two center speakers, and two subwoofers. For this review we partnered two pairs of Monitor 30s with Polk's smaller CS1 center and the PSW10 subwoofer. The complete 5.1 system we tested retails for $879, but you can mix and match other Monitor models for your system. Want to go all out and surround yourself with a 7.1 Monitor ensemble? That'll run $1,118. Shop around a bit, and you'll shave at least 25 percent off those quoted retail prices.
Even a cursory examination of the Polk Audio Monitor 30 will reveal that Polk's build-quality standards outpace the competition's. The Monitor 30 offers a larger than average 5.25-inch composite woofer mated to a 1-inch silk/polymer-composite dome tweeter. The nonresonant 0.75-inch-thick MDF (medium-density fiberboard) cabinet construction is rock solid, and the internal crossover uses high-quality parts.The speaker's double set of heavy-duty connectors offer the possibility of biwiring (attaching two sets of wire to each speaker) or biamping (using two amp channels to drive each Monitor 30). These upgrades can result in improved sound quality over that of everyday single-wire, single-amp operation. The five-way binding posts accept bare wire, banana jacks, U-shaped spades, or pins.
For our initial music auditions, we listened to the Polk Audio Monitor 30s without a subwoofer. Singer/songwriter Ben Weaver's haunting new CD, Stories Under Nails, sounded so detailed that Weaver's guitars and banjos jumped out of the speakers. Weaver's whiskey-soaked vocals sounded a little lightweight in our large listening room, but in more intimate spaces--say under 200 square feet--the Monitor 30s' bass will sound reasonably well balanced.For our home-theater and surround evaluations, we added two more Monitor 30s, a Polk CS1 center speaker, and a Polk PSW10 subwoofer. The complete Monitor system doesn't suffer from the sort of midbass deficit we hear with so many small subwoofer/satellite systems. Bass-heavy CDs such as Morphine's The Night sounded wonderfully full and weighty. The blend between the 30s and the PSW10 subwoofer was perfectly executed, and the pitch definition was right on the money. Ably assisted by the PSW10, the 30 sounds like a much larger speaker.
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Where to buy
Polk Monitor 30 (black):
$99.99 - $265.99
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
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$99.99 | Yes |
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$265.99 | See Site |
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