Polk or Pioneer??

vinyladdict

Looking for input on Polk Monitor 35B or Pioneer Pioneer SP-BS22-LR bookshelf speakers . The Pioneer are $125 for the pair and the Polk's are about $150. Are the Polk's worth the extra $25 . Looking for something acceptable punch on the low end and very clear on the upper end. These will be behind a Sony stereo receiver that puts out about 100 watts per channel. I have Polk monitor 75t's on my main stereo which I really like. Have heard generally good reviews on the Andrew Jones speaker line.

lanchile

Get the Polk! You can not get wrong with Polk.:arrowu:

B Run

I'd go Polk all day, but then again this is a Polk forum so we're a little biased.

theshawn

LOL, you're in a Polk forum asking this question? What do you really think the majority (if not all) the answers will be?

Come on now, you must be timber matched or your system will suck beyond what audiophile ears can stomach.

Honestly I really don't know as I've not heard either speaker but $25 isn't worth worrying about long term. One has a 4 inch woof and the other 5.25 so my lean would be towards the larger one. The 4" one is 6 ohm and 85 sensitivity and the larger 8ohm and 89 so the larger is actually easier to drive. Again I'd lean toward the Polk. I own no Polk speakers outside a couple older centers that just sit in a closet so....no bias found. But considering your fronts and considering the specs of both speakers I'd lean toward the Polks if it were me. Just my .02 though. Good luck

boston1450

I have some little polks and they are AWESOME----but thats my ears. Let your ears make the decission----most places have a return policy. Try them on your system. Buy both. Return the ones you dont like. Good luck

gmjungbluth

Are the new speakers going to be on the same system as the Polk 75s or another system? If these are surrounds on the same system, I agree and would go for the Polks - while surround speakers put out only a small percentage of the total surround sound, you're best to timbre-match and match speaker sensitivity - it's easier to dial in your system that way.

I have also heard rave reviews of the latest little Pioneers and their big tower brothers. I haven't seen a head to head with the equivalent Polks anywhere on the interwebs however.

theshawn does point out correctly that the polks are more efficient so you'll get louder with less watts with them, but if you are building an office or computer-top system this may not be an issue.

the Pioneers are new and so you can only really buy them from retail right now - that said newegg and others are having some amazing deals. I think the Polk Monitor 35s are not much different from what's been in the Monitor line for some time. So you may be able to peruse the 'for sale' forum here or your local CL to find used speakers that are a little cheaper and just as good-sounding and good-looking.

So based on all that, my recommendation would be to order the Pioneers new from one of the reputable online retailers, find a good pair of used/refurbished Monitor 30/35/40 online, on epay, or CL, and do a shootout and see what you like better. If they're the Pioneers, you should be able to sell the Polks on to someone else with little to no loss. Likewise if you like the Polks better, you still come out ahead because you saved money buying them pre-owned!

Oh, and if you do that, please share the results with all of us!!!!

boston1450

I went to a local best buy and they tried to direct me to buy the pioneer recently..i played around before they came to asst me..i said i wanted those little guys. They tried to sell me others. I walked out with what i wanted. Never been more happier. Put 100 watts to them and there perfect for the use i needed.

tonyb

If your worried about 25$ among speakers, your in the wrong hobby.:biggrin:

Listen to both, pick what tickles your fancy.

George Grand

Stereophile gave the Pioneers a pretty rave review if that answers any questions the MEMBERS might have.

ZLTFUL

Having experience with both, I love the Andrew Jones designed Pioneers. And if I was looking at some entry level speakers, they would get serious consideration.

But the comparison is moot. The Monitor has a larger woofer. It will dig deeper than the Pioneers. The upper end is pretty much a wash between the 2.

I would spring for the extra $25 and get the Monitors. But I wouldn't kick the Pioneers out of bed by any means.

cnh

I've tried to give those Pioneers their due, but every time I hear them, it's at a Best Buy and they NEVER sound good, are always blown out by Polk TSI-100s. Now it may just be a sensitivity thing. The Polks are MORE sensitive and seem to have more bass so right there there is a "bias" in the listening test.

Plus, BB is probably running everything off some cheap end Yammie or Sony AVR which probably can't PUSH the Pioneers like it can the Polks. Because of this, I am left shrugging my shoulders when it comes to the new Pioneer line. I've also listened to the towers against the Polk TSI-300s and 400s. Again, the Polks win, no contest. The Pioneers inefficiency does them in once more, they don't "shine" on a low level AVR. Maybe they would sound better if we had them hooked up to a NAD or C.A. integrated with lots of headroom, because they SEEM TO NEED IT!

In short. What is Pioneer thinking making such an "inefficient" speaker, and knowing that MOST AVRs can't deal with that in the surround mode? It does NOT make any "consumer" sense! (Pioneer 85 db/6 ohms, Polk 89 db/8 ohms?)

cnh

jtwong220

vinyladdict wrote: »

Looking for input on Polk Monitor 35B or Pioneer Pioneer SP-BS22-LR bookshelf speakers . The Pioneer are $125 for the pair and the Polk's are about $150. Are the Polk's worth the extra $25 . Looking for something acceptable punch on the low end and very clear on the upper end. These will be behind a Sony stereo receiver that puts out about 100 watts per channel. I have Polk monitor 75t's on my main stereo which I really like. Have heard generally good reviews on the Andrew Jones speaker line.

i have the polk 75ts as well, thinking bout the 45Bs to match them, rather than 35Bs. right now newegg shows $150 for 35bs and $200 for 45Bs, but they're not even on sale right now. a week ago, i believe the 45Bs were $150 and the 35Bs were down to $120? also pioneer listed at $125 are retail, i've seen it go for real cheap. amazon had it beg of the month for only $69 a pair! tigerdirect usually has them for sale daily and best buy has the whole pioneer series for 30% last week.

archi2this

Not sure your take on "new old stock" but check out Polk direct (ebay store by Polk)

New monitor 30's 90.00
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Monitor-30-Series-II-Speakers-CHERRY-Polk-Audio-PAIR-NEW-/390562092801?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item5aef509701

New monitor 40's 150.00
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Monitor-40-Series-II-Speakers-CHERRY-Polk-Audio-PAIR-NEW-/230955190751?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item35c60089df

I read nothing but great reviews from the Polk Ebay store & tomorrow will get a delivery of 5 new Polk Audio monitors to replace my 5 satellites. I wish I could have got 5 black, instead of a black center and 4 cherry front/rear's, but I loved the price.

Just depends on if you can handle them being cherry and new old stock, but monitor II 30's for 89.99 +tax w/free shipping...I'll take that all day long.

marvda1

the pioneers are on sale at best buy for $90 (got mine for $77 at frys) i think and the sub is also on sale. this is a good sounding little speaker if you don't expect a lot of low end out of it, but you can listen to it long term. here is some discussion on it by ava audio, dennis murphy, and the designer of the speakers of tad($$,$$$) fame.
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=113182.0

sodablue

cnh wrote: »

I've tried to give those Pioneers their due, but every time I hear them, it's at a Best Buy and they NEVER sound good, are always blown out by Polk TSI-100s. Now it may just be a sensitivity thing. The Polks are MORE sensitive and seem to have more bass so right there there is a "bias" in the listening test.

It's very common at Best Buy that their speakers are connected with polarity reversed and they sound like crap.

Been that way for years...

MillerLiteScott

I picked up a pair of the Pioneer speakers because I am a sucker for a cheep, good sounding speaker based on the rave reviews from other boards. I got them at BB for $77 and have them hooked up to a 1980's Nikko something or other integrated amp that I paid $20 ( Thanks GG ). Some Kimber 4TC speaker cables that I paid $30, Monoprice interconnect maybe $3. The are sitting on a pair of 24" stands I got off CL for $25. Source is a Toshiba HD DVD player that I got for doing about 15 minutes of caulking. So for just shy of $160 I have a very pleasing bedroom system. The Pioneers image extremely well and have an impressive soundstage. I listen to them w/o a sub and everything is there but the lowest octave, what you would expect from a 4" driver. I could not be happier with my purchase and my little cheap and cheerful system.

Scott

George Grand

I'm extremely proud of the part I played in that rig.

RamZet

If you can swing another 50 bucks get the Polk Monitor 45b.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290269
They are great speakers on there own.

crcostel

Get the Monitor 30's
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Monitor-30-Series-II-Speakers-CHERRY-Polk-Audio-PAIR-NEW-/390562092801?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item5aef509701

or 40's
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Monitor-40-Series-II-Speakers-CHERRY-Polk-Audio-PAIR-NEW-/230955190751?pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item35c60089df

from the Polk Official Ebay store for even less. There is no real difference between the 30 and 35b