Best Polk Bookshelf Speakers to match with a PSW12 subwoofer

canoeboater

I would like to replace two rather old floor speakers with bookshelf speakers, to get a bit smaller.

My newest piece of gear is my Polk PSW12 subwoofer, so I'd like to keep that in the system, and get two bookshelf speakers that match up well with it.

Can anyone provide advice on which Polk bookshelf models match up well with this subwoofer? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

codyc1ark

Welcome to CP! What are you going to be powering your new speakers with? What kind of budget are 'we' working with? Those answers will help us better spend your money! Matching up a sub to speakers is not very important, since they really do different things.

I judge from your name you canoe? I'm an avid canouer, just got back from a three day canoe/camp trip on Memorial Day, there is nothing like being out on that water with nothing to bother you!

nhhiep

for your case, depending on budget and amp, but I'd get Lsi9 or monitor 40. they sound good at a very good price. I like my Lsi9s, the only thing that better is SDA 1Cs

rooftop59

As Cody says, so more info would be helpful. Your sub is in the "monitor" series, so if you want to stay in that series then the monitor 30s or 40s would be a good choice. If you keep an eye on newegg.com (and sign up for their mailing list) you can get the 30s for about $80 shipped or the 40s for about $120 shipped. Very nice entry level speakers at a very nice price. However, as Cody also mentioned, matching the sub to the monitors isn't really important, except to make sure that their frequency responses overlap. in other words, you probably want a bookshelf that can hit a solid 80 hz, which both of the ones I mentioned will. Personally I always look at used speakers, because the bang for your buck is so much higher. If you want to stick with polks but get a little higher end, newegg also has the rti6s for 180 shipped. I you want to go used you might look into something like the rt251, one of my favorite little polk bookies.

Good luck and welcome to CP!

cnh

Welcome to Club Polk!

The PSW 12 was my first legitimate HT sub! I still have it in the basement. The advice above is solid. I'd think about a couple of M-40s (and a CS2 center if you're going to go HT eventually) if you're on a budget!

Some advice about the 12. It is an easy sub to "overdrive" and suffers from more than a modicum of "port noise" like its smaller brother the PSW 10, but it can do some pounding if you set it up right.

This is a "very" tricky sub to place properly. You can do a lot to eliminate most of the port noise by not running it too hot (at too high a volume) and also pointing the driver parallel to the listener rather than directly at him.

In other words put it near the left corner of the room and point the driver at the wall that is to the right of the listener. This tends to dissipate or diffuse the port noise which you "will" hear if you point that sub directly at you, trust me on this!

And have fun!

cnh

canoeboater

Thanks for all the great suggestions. Here's some more information. My receiver/amplifier is a JVC RX-8010 rated at 120W per channel. Nothing special, but it has worked well for me and it fit my budget. My existing front channel speakers are Advent Legacy two-way speakers. Same story.

What other information do you need?

Cody, you are correct, I am a passionate paddler who shares your love of being out there with nothing but the water, the trees and the sky. Glad to hear you enjoyed your trip!

nhhiep

with your AVR, Monitor 40 is your best bet. Lsi7 if u want to take a little risk, but Lsi9 is a no no because of 4 ohms