Polk Audio Audio Monitor 30 Bookshelf Speakers

Polk Audio Audio Monitor 30 Bookshelf Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

The name Monitor is special to Polk Audio. The original Polk Audio Monitor Series, produced in the mid-1970s, ushered in the modern loudspeaker era by setting the standard for performance and value. The original Monitor Series is the line that made Polk Audio famous with its simple, sturdy construction, clear, accurate sound, powerful bass and superior imagingall at a price that made great sound available to everyone. The newly reborn Monitor Series is classic Polk: a quality-built, affordable line of high performance loudspeakers for music and home theater. They are highly efficient, so they can be driven easily by unpretentious receivers, and they are voice matched for lifelike surround sound environments. The Monitor Series boasts a stylish look that complements todays flat screen technology, with wood grain finishes and modern Titanium faces. Built for speed, sound quality and value, the Monitor Series is a great introduction to high performance sound.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-2 of 2  
[Jan 07, 2012]
tim
AudioPhile

These sound okay in stock form for the price. I replaced all the capacitors in the crossover network with Jantzen Z-Superior/Z-Standard, and Audio cap Theta and boy this really unlocked the dynamic potential these little gems can offer. Even with the low end tweeter and mid base they now rival in sound that speakers costing at least three times as much cant touch. I say replace those the cheap Chinese junk caps and enjoy ! I actually enjoy these over their larger brother the monitor 40's I've also modded.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jul 24, 2011]
WILLIAM TWEED
AudioPhile

These have since been replaced by the very similar model TSi 100. I bought a rehabbed pair from Polk
Direct for less than half the MSRP, which was an insanely good deal! The fit and finish are second to none
in their price range, especially in the cherry (vinyl) finish.
These are small bookshelf speakers, with a 5.25" woofer mounted over a 1" silk dome tweeter on a silver
front baffle. The woofer has a rubber surround which won't fall apart with time like foam ones. On the
back there are two pair of gold-plated binding posts to enable bi-wiring or bi-amping; these are connected
by jumpers normally. Below the connectors is a rear-mounted flared port. Sensitivity is rated at 89 db/watt,
power handling to 100 watts and bass extension down to 63 hz -3 dB.
I'm driving mine with a vintage Yamaha CR640 receiver rated at a (conservative) 40 wpc fed by my iTunes
library from my computer. While the best sound would probably be with the speakers mounted on stands,
mine are situated on my fireplace mantle about 1 foot out from the back wall.
I expected the bass to be a bit anemic but that's not the case! In fact, I had to turn the bass control down
one notch on my receiver to avoid an overly-woofy sound. For the money, these speakers have very
good clarity, whether played softly or loudly. Picking out the various instruments or vocals is done easily,
with no apparent smearing together. While the Monitor 30's will be happiest playing in a small room, they do
surprisingly well in a normal-sized living room. Their compact size and robust dynamics make them an
extremely versatile speaker.
The bottom line is, yes, better sound can be had, from Polk or from other brands, but only for more
money. For the $73 pr. with shipping that I paid there is absolutely nothing better on the market! At the
current closeout pricing, I highly recommend picking up a pair. Those of us who were around in the
early seventies would have killed to have a small, inexpensive speaker that looked and sounded this good!!!

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-2 of 2  

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