Polk Audio R150 Two-Way Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Pair)

I agree with Mr. Gruen's review: at volume (not cranked, distorted - just 5/10ths) they get kinda muddy, lose their sheen and tinkle and sound like they politely have their hand over their mouth. Odd, but at low volume they actually sound fantastic - balanced, clear, bright-but-not-tinny. I'm compelled to adjust the treble up a few db to compensate the more I turn the knob.They feel somewhat well built, a little hollow-sounding, although I haven't taken them apart to tell and frankly, since I have them hooked up and in place, I guess I don't want to know.Don't bother trying for "loud" from these little guys. They'll start to sputter break up well before you can hurt your hearing. I suspect these were engineered specifically for surround applications as sides or backs - they're very non-intrusive that way.I use them to augment ceiling mounted stereo-only speakers, feeding TV, CD's and XM Radio through a wonderfully quiet and simple 15 year old 100watt/per Yamaha reciever. When I light up the whole stystem: kitchen, great room, dining, patio (through a Sima balancer), they do the job sufficient enough to get three stars.Note that stereo-only TV augmentation is very good - it's CD's and XM that sound a little muddy.

I hate to admit it but again price was driving my choice of speakers. However, when I ran across these Polks I recall friends having good luck with Polk so I had some faith they would be OK.Still, these were better than I expected. The evening they arrived I hooked them up to my Sherwood receiver. As it happened, there was a PBS performace with Herbie Hancock and the LA Philharmonic in HD. It was a great test for these speakers.I was impressed by the amount of low end. These are not equal to subs, but for bookshelf speakers they are pretty good. My plan is to eventually get a small powered sub to compliment the system.While I am sure there are better speakers (for a larger price) the sound quality and separation on each channel is good. Positioning is important so follow the direction with the speakers to help you place them in the room. The bottom line is these are great for the price. If you are piecing out a home theater system these will make a great left and right channel speaker choice. Just count on a sub or center channel to really complement the arrangement.

For the price of these speakers currently ($130), they are not worth it because of a few flaws that either are because of the quality of speakers, or because my setup is wonky. I paid $70 for these speakers for my turntable set (which I think is a great deal, woulda bumped it to 4 stars), but the quality can get a bit iffy when the volume gets higher, as stated by other reviews.The mids and beyond are a bit muddled, so I cannot always blast my music on high volume, which is what I usually like to do. They work great with lower, softer music such as downtempo, trip hop, jazz fusion, r&b, and just anything with a heavy bass. But if you're expecting to rock out in your room, then I don't think these speakers are the ones for you.Overall, it's a great starter pair of speakers, but I would stick with something else because of the $130 price tag.

I purchased these speakers as a replacement for the rear speaker pair of my bedroom theater system. They are not the greatest thing since sliced bread. But, when you consider the price, the fit and finish and the sound quality, you are getting a lot for your money.I personally don't feel that these would ever be a primary speaker pair in a quality music playing system, but they do offer quality and performance at a very reasonable price. Their designer, Mathew Polk, has been an audio engineer since the Seventies and has produced numerous loudspeakers of good qualities. This is at the low end of his product line but that doesn't mean that they are poor. Given my needs, they do an excellent job of reproducing the rear channels of my bedroom system.

I recently upgraded my HDTV and audio equipment and moved my old 42" HDTV to the bedroom sitting area. My problem was the speakers in this TV were of poor quality so I decided to move my old audio amp along with the TV and hook up speakers. After doing much research I finally decided on the Polk Audio R150's and I could not be happier. They are the perfect size and provide a great sound quality. I also hooked up a CD/DVD player and the sound from movies is great as well as music CD's. All in all, I am very happy with my selection.

Got these to replace my 40-year-old Dynaco A25 two-ways with 10 inch mid-woofers which are now buzzing. Conclusion: The Dynaco's, prior to their final woof, sounded better. (An unfair, apples-and-oranges comparison. The A25 is twice the size of the R150.) The A25's have better bass, more dynamic range, more presence and clarity. A speaker equal to the A25 is north of $350 these days. But for their size, the R150's are ok--I don't feel ripped off--they seem like quality units--but they've motivated me to replace the mid-woofs to get my A25's back up and running. It's all about the physics of sound. You can't fool mother nature.

These have to be one of the best low-budget speakers that you can buy. I have a high-end stereo system. My son bought these to take to college for his computer. He paired them with a Topping TP22 mini amp. What a great little system for little money. In my opinion, this is more bang for the buck than going with powered computer speakers.I have the Lepai LP-2020A mini amp on my desk with a pair of older Polk bookshelves for my laptop and my son's Topping amp sounds better. He chose to spend an extra few dollars and it was a good choice.