Excellent sound, small, very well made

Not audiophile speakers, but neither is the price.

Well, I was totally convinced that we were going to build a home theater system that ROCKED! We decided on a Sony Wega TV (32"), Harman Kardon receiver (AVR 210), Sony DVD Player (Model 360), and thought we would get the Bose Acoustimass 15 system. Then we actually heard the Bose next to the Polk RM6600 speakers. I could only describe it as an epiphany. Not only did the Polks sound 100 times better, they were cheaper, too! The Bose was clearly lacking the tight, low bass, and the crisp highs of the Polk system. I have had Polk speakers in my car before, but never at home. I've always liked the level of performance achieved by Polk for the price, and these babies are no exception.

I'm one of those people that over-research everything, and this was no exception. I won't go into detail about the rest of my components, but I definitely checked out everything +- $500 from my price range, and nothing came close to these (with the exception of the Energy Encore speakers, but the bass just wasn't as good.) I looked at JBL, Infinity, Bose, AR, Klipsh, but none could compare to the sound quality in this price range. I also looked at the Polk RM7500, but that was nixed by my wife since the satellites were so big. I did LOVE the sub from the RM7500 system, however, so I upgraded to the PSW650 from the PSW350 - the best extra $300 ever spent.

The satellites are crisp, look nice, and are probably the best-built speakers that I have ever owned. They are totally AWESOME for movies, and are exceptional for most music as well. If you really want to crank Van Halen at +10 dB on your receiver, you may need bigger speakers, but if that's your taste, you shouldn't be looking at satellites, anyway. For almost everything I listen to, these speakers are better than anything I've owned in the past.

The satellites are a no-brainer, but the biggest news here is the subwoofer. I thought the PSW350 (10" driver) that came with the RM6600 system was a little soft for my tastes, and wasn't tight enough to deliver the solid, smooth bass that I was looking for in my system. The dual 10" drivers on the PSW650 don't even have to work to produce 30Hz bass, and it's smooth as silk at all volume levels. If you really want to FEEL your music and movies, I highly recommend this upgrade, although for smaller rooms and mostly home theater purposes, you would be fine with one of the smaller subs.

Then, we come to hook-up options. This is where it gets tricky. Polk says to run your front speakers to the speaker level inputs of the sub, the the outputs of the sub to the front satellites. You then set your receiver to "Small" speakers for the center channel and rear surrounds, the front speakers to "Large", and turn the sub off. I spent about 5 hours positioning the sub in just the right spot in the room (left front side of the room against the wall), and found the bass to be the smoothest and most natural in that spot based on my room's acoustics. After that, I decided to do a quick check to see if Polk was on crack. Instead of using the speaker inputs and outputs of the sub with its variable crossover, I set all the satellites to "Small", set the sub to "On", and plugged the sub in via the LFE jack. The result was amazing. Not only was the sound blended better, but it was going to save me no less than 100' of expensive speaker wire! I got a subwoofer patch cable, and the rest is history. This is the setup that Polk says NOT to use, but I felt it had a better effect for me. Here's my theory:

The satellites can't produce much bass below 100Hz anyway, and that's the frequency of the built-in crossover in my receiver. When I set it to "Small" with the subwoofer turned on, the receiver crosses the speakers over EXACTLY at 100Hz, so there's no overlap in frequency, and there's no hole, either. With the sub's adjustable crossover, I had to adjust the crossover EXACTLY perfect to get that blend (and use the 80Hz crossover in the sub), and I must not have been able to do it. My sub does produce a bit higher frequency bass than when I used the other setup, but it just about got rid of the mid-bass hole that most satellite/sub systems have. With a good sub, 100Hz is clean anyway, so it sounds smooth and tight!

I highly recommend this system, and if you get a decent receiver, you will be rockin for years to come! Well done, Polk!

Similar Products Used:

None

Good bass, easy to place/mount, good price

Center channel speaker

I used Bose Acoustimass for seven years and was happy. This Polk system helped convince me that I'll probably never go back to Bose. The subwoofer had plenty of bass for me, and crushed the Bose bass. I bought the set and hooked it up to my Sony ES receiver and Sony DVD, then spent three weeks testing it. The only complaint I had was that the center channel speaker didn't produce bass. I'm not talking about deep bass, that was filtered to my sub (receiver set to "small" for the center channel). The center just couldn't go down to where the subwoofer began (sub set at 130MHz, receiver crossover is 120MHz, still there was a hole in the sound)

I returned the Polks and bought a set of Definitive technology ProCinema speakers (ProCenter100, ProSub100, ProMonitor80s, $700 delivered). With the receiver settings identical this DefTech system clearly topped the Polks. The center channel complaint I had was even more clear once I heard this ProCenter100, which is a very similar speaker but performs significantly better. While the Polk sub was sufficient for my needs, the ProSub100 is a notable step up.

Basically I liked the Polk system, but I was willing to spend a little more to get something better, and I got lucky by stumbling onto the DefTech system and actually spending less.

Similar Products Used:

Bose Acoustimass, Definitive Technology Procinema80

Sounds great. Compact size.

Sub hook up. To use the sub's cross-over or the receiver's is a big debate.

These really sound great! Could not be happier with this purchase! The 350 sub could knock your house down! Hooked up the speakers both ways: using the sub's cross-over and using my receiver's cross-over. My opinion is the system sound better using the receiver's crossover. Also looks better that way, less speaker wire used/visible. DVD's are unbelieveable with the Polk 6600!

My system:

Mitsubishi 45" Rear Projection
Sony STE-845 receiver
Sony 360 DVD

build-quality, size of satellites, great for music and movies

none yet

I purchased these from Crutchfield a few weeks back and took
advantage of the $250 rebate from Polk. I decided to upgrade
to the PSW 450 sub from the 350, in part b/c the 350 was backordered. Turned out to be a great choice.
After listening to a variety of cd's I found the Polk's to be up to almost any challenge and I was truly impressed. But it was when I watched my first DVD that I nearly fell out of my chair!!! The clarity and preciseness of the soundstage amazed me. The power of the sub shook the pictures on my walls. Without further adieu I was very impressed and pleased with my purchase. I highly recommend these beauties to anyone who is looking for a reasonably-priced, well-built sub/sat system. Oh and the 5 year warranty on the speakers and 3 years on the sub's amp isn't to shabby either. I really must applaud Crutchfield in all of this. Their tech and sales people are amazing. They have the best customer support in the business before and after you order. For anyone who is considering ordering electronics over the net they are the way to go. Their return policy is second to none(return shipping free and no questions asked) and their prices are very competitive(I found a lot of places make up for cheaper prices on good with outrageous shipping rates) Well Crutchfiled shipped these speakers, all 100 lbs. of them for $12.95 and in only 2 days

SOUND, DECORATIVE,BEUTIFUL AND RICH SOUND

ANY

These babies are my first satellite speakers i own. Here in my town I can´t find much variety of speakers of these caractheristics only the bose AM series.All my life i wait to buy the bose the little ones because i found them very nice and the sound was impresive thinking of the size. Almost when i decide to buy them i found these internet page with an amount of bad reviews about them. Then i start looking for POLK RM6600. Anyone here didn´t knew this kind of satellites until i contact the distribution in spain (joytel) that work before with one shop in my town .Well after one month finally i´ve installed them at home.
The guy didn´t want to complicate his life by using the install recomendation by polk and he did it by using the third option in the sub psw350 manual (rca) to the preout of my receiver because passing that amount of cables was dificult since the sub is behind the room.

i did like the sound but i was sure that the polk recomendation was better.Yes i was rigt or polk was right it is much better.With my harman Kardon AVR7000 this is incredible sound.I spent hours listening to all my cd and movies.

I am very hapy and i think these are the best you can buy. i wonder how the bose sounds in my room but my decision for the polk is already taken. Anyone looking for speakers should consider these option.
Now my friends alucinate with the sound
bye

Similar Products Used:

NONE

SOUND, DECORATIVE,BEUTIFUL AND RICH SOUND

ANY

These babies are my first satellite speakers i own. Here in my town I can´t find much variety of speakers of these caractheristics only the bose AM series.All my life i wait to buy the bose the little ones because i found them very nice and the sound was impresive thinking of the size. Almost when i decide to buy them i found these internet page with an amount of bad reviews about them. Then i start looking for POLK RM6600. Anyone here didn´t knew this kind of satellites until i contact the distribution in spain (joytel) that work before with one shop in my town .Well after one month finally i´ve installed them at home.
The guy didn´t want to complicate his life by using the install recomendation by polk and he did it by using the third option in the sub psw350 manual (rca) to the preout of my receiver because passing that amount of cables was dificult since the sub is behind the room.

i did like the sound but i was sure that the polk recomendation was better.Yes i was rigt or polk was right it is much better.With my harman Kardon AVR7000 this is incredible sound.I spent hours listening to all my cd and movies.

I am very hapy and i think these are the best you can buy. i wonder how the bose sounds in my room but my decision for the polk is already taken. Anyone looking for speakers should consider these option.
Now my friends alucinate with the sound
bye

Similar Products Used:

NONE

Excellent value, greatr sound for small speakers

Have not yet tried the preferred set up (am using a sub woofer cable), can't image it will sound better. I am very pleased by the big sound from these small speakers. Jurassic Park shows the bass from the PSW350. Can't wait to re watch / listen ot other DVD's. I highly recommend them as a great value- they look good sound better, the best 750 I ever spent on audio. Theyr'e hooked to a Sony STR-DE945.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsh Quintet

Everything about it is it's strenght - the sound quality, the build, the looks, ease of mounting.

There is no remote controller for the Sub.

Setup is :-

Speakers - Polk Audio RM6600
Receiver - Integra DTR-6.0
Cables - Speaker :- Transparent Cables HP 14-2
Sources :- Acoustic Research Digital Interconnects

Polk gives some good deals - I got a $250 off for the sub.
For the $1000 system range RM6000 beats everyone. The step above to this would be the Edge Audio System 5.1 system with the 12" sub which will cost you around $1500 I believe.
The Cabling should

Integra is the higher end of Onkyo just like Lexus is to Honda. http://www.integrahometheater.com/. The Integra DTR-6 is an audiophile grade receiver and it belts out 85W RMS @ 8 ohms and the Polks eat it all up smoothly. The cabling is also audiophile grade hence from my soundsources to the speaker there is almost no sound loss or distortion. And these speakers reproduces them impeccably. Also a very important variable is how your room is built. It should be a closed space like a box. My receiver volume control steps up to 65 and at step 28 my neighbours bangs the wall. Even at the max volumes the speakers does not give in. But again when I go to my frnds house and hear his system I feel that EdgeAudio is a better system but again my frnd paid double the money I paid to get it. So that makes me believe that in the $1000 price range this one is the King.

Moreover if you are in the moving business then due to the binding posts it is very easy to set up the system and due to it's metallic build one needs not worry about the speakers being damaged in transport.

The following is a review of the RMDS 1 system by the professionals at SoundStage - you can read the Speaker Section which is actually made of the 6600's http://www.soundstage.com/video/revequip/polkaudio_rmds1.htm

Remember to spend around 15% of your budget on cables and interconnects. http://www.welbornelabs.com/ gives great deal on Kimber cables - try out the 4PR and 8PR. For the front channels use 8 PR.

Incredible sound separation at all levels - The subwoofer totally fills the room with sound.

These are truly directional speakers - They need to fire into the listening area.

I also am a new convert to the world of Polk audio. I own both a Bose AM-15 and a Bose Lifestyle 25 system. While I found the Bose to be acceptable for movies and video, it fails miserably when music is the focus. The sound is somewhat muffled and weak sounding and the Bass is weak at best. At this point, I called my audio salesperson and asked about alternatives to Bose. He immediately recommended that I acquire a Polk 6600 system with the PSW 350 sub. I went and purchased the Polk... and I will never go back. The difference in sound is phenomenal! The Polk fills the room with clear and concise music that is truly pleasurable to the ear. I purchased the system and was amazed that it is actually cheaper than the Bose AM-15. To date, Polk seems to be the way to go for a good combination of home theater and stereo music. If you are thinking about the Bose... save your time and money. The Polk is a better value at every level. By the way... My Bose AM-15 is now for sale...

Similar Products Used:

Bose AM-15

Very clean sound and looks good to boot.

Very poor documentation - especially the setting of the phase switch and LFE bypass.

Paid $800 for the five speakers with a PA PSW450. After months of searching - found what I believe is a perfect set-up for a mid-sized room. Matched it up with a Yamaha RX-V620 receiver & Pioneer Elite DV-C36 DVD player. Never realized movies could sound so good. What a difference it makes using a matched set of speakers. I would highly recommend these speakers for anyone looking to get into a 5+1 channel set-up for under $1000.