Signature S50 vs S55

LloydBraun

Hi all,
I’ve seen enough good reviews on the Signature series to get a pair of floorstanders. I know I don’t need the S60 because I have an SVS PB-12 to handle the lows.

Now, my question is, does anyone have much experience comparing the S50 to the S55? I’ve searched and searched, and the only real comparison I’ve seen is by a member here who had listened to them side by side and preferred the S55 slightly more.

This is for a 2.1 setup, btw.

Thanks in advance. I really appreciate the knowledge, and patience that this forum provides to a new member.

Milito

When I had my S55's I also considered the S50's as my wife didn't like large tower speakers. However just about every review I read said people preferred the S55's. After I got the S55's I was glad I went with them. The speakers I upgraded from were Polk Monitor 60's.

I run a 3.1 setup with a HSU sub. Even if you have a sub, I would consider the S60's based on the reviews I've read as they are an improvement over the S55's.

My wife was out of town at her mother's house when I ordered the S55's and I already knew she wasn't going to like me getting bigger speakers so I didn't get the S60's as I didn't want to push it too far with her at that time as her mother was sick and her frame of mind wasn't good. I figured I would get her used to those and get bigger speakers at a later time which I did when I got my 705's. She got use to the bigger speakers and did admit each time they sounded better than the previous speakers.

polrbehr

My .02, it's not all about handling the lows. If you have a subwoofer, great, but most people suggest setting the fronts to small and crossing over at 80Hz. That still requires the mains to produce the lion's share of the audio range, even more if it's crossed at 60/40Hz.
And I can't really speak to the S50-S55 comparison, but I do know I like my RTi10s more than I did a pair of R50s (and mine are set to small/80Hz).

LloydBraun

I haven’t written the S60’s off completely. I’m just trying to save a little where I can.

As far as the Rti series is concerned, I do like them quite a bit. However, all the towers seem to be very power hungry(user reviews) and I don’t want to have to do separates (amp/pre/dac,etc).

Although, with the pricing on the Rti-A7’s right now, it sure is tempting.

They will be replacing Monitor 70’s, and will be powered by a Yamaha A-S701 integrated.

polrbehr

It's not a set in stone thing, get what your budget allows, I think any of them would be an upgrade for you. The RTiAx line would be an excellent choice too.

Agreed, they will benefit from external amplification, but I've found that my Denon AVR (3312ci) is more than capable of driving them when they are set to small. It used to get pretty warm during heavy use, but not since I changed the settings.

LloydBraun

Well, my budget is affected by my brain’s extremely effective ability to choose “wants” over “needs”.

I need to finally accept the fact that I need to add in some crossovers for my mains. I just like the simplicity of my integrated not having tons of settings to screw with. Also, just having the minimal amount of equipment and wires. Although, an avr really wouldn’t add anything cable wise, just re-arrange the hdmi.

polrbehr

I wasn’t suggesting an AVR over what you have, just giving some idea of what I’ve been using. For music or movies, I think your current integrated will be fine, I see no need to replace that.

LloydBraun

No worries. I just feel that I might be able to get more out of my mains if they’re crossed over, which my current amp does not do.

The avr seems to be the most reasonable choice as the Denon AVR-x3500 is $550 currently. The Outlaw 2160, and Yamaha RN-803 are both $200+ more.

My main goal is keeping it consolidated to one unit vs separates. I don’t really have the space, and especially don’t want the clutter of more cabling to deal with.

Saying all that to say this, I think I’m going to watch the prices on the S55, and go with them. Also, look into a different receiver/amp to not waste lower frequency power on the mains.

Appreciate all the helpful replies.

F1nut

Good God man, do NOT swap your integrated for an AVR.

Since this is a music rig get the S60 and if you still want to run a sub dump the ported one in favor of a sealed version.

LloydBraun

Don’t worry. It wouldn’t be leaving the house, just changing rooms. Haha.

The thing is, I don’t want an avr at all. What I want is an efficient way to run a 2.1 setup with high pass for the mains. However, the demand for that product is about zilch, apparently. Well, aside from the Outlaw 2160.

To clarify, as this thread has drifted a bit. My concern with using a high pass crossover has existed for awhile. Polrbehr suggesting running the mains set to “small” just reminded me of the benefits of relieving stress on the amp. Now, my rationale is, I really don’t want multiple pieces of equipment. That seems to limit me to around the 100w x 2 power range. So, in order to more efficiently utilize my power available, I thought the high pass recommendation was good.

I actually did have the SVS SB-12nsd before the PB-12, and ended up exchanging it. It just didn’t have the volume and extension that I wanted. The PB-12 definitely covers those bases, at the cost of losing some accuracy. However, I think it still sounds good for my musical choices.

F1nut

A sub for 2 channel first and foremost needs to be accurate and therefore tight otherwise it's difficult to blend with the speakers. You should not realize the sub is on until you mute it.

Forget the high pass idea, your integrated has plenty of juice. Now, if you were running an AVR.....well, that's a different story.

LloydBraun

That’s the odd thing in this case. The PB-12nsd blends very smoothly with my m70’s, as where the SB-12 just seemed to completely get lost at certain frequencies. I currently have it crossed over at 60 Hz. You can’t localize it at all.

I tried a few different bookshelf’s with both subs, and you could definitely tell where the sub was, even crossed over at 80 Hz or lower.

That’s why I decided against the LSiM 703’s. Well, that and I just don’t trust my dogs not to cannonball the stands.

rpf65

There are a lot of companies that make integrated amps, and quite a few that make subs with line level inputs.

Which are you trying to find?

LloydBraun

I’m aware that the Outlaw 2160 has the features I want. I just can’t drop that much for an integrated with the same power as my current one. It does have high pass for the mains, but that’s a lot of money for an experiment.

I appreciate the patience. I’m overwhelmed with info right now trying to research everything.

This started a year ago when I got the Yamaha A-S701, and the Monitor 70’s, thinking that would be it.

However, I started noticing how the lack of low frequency extension was really starting to ruin my experience with most of my favorite songs.

After adding the initial sub, it triggered an unexpected full blown case of audio enthusiasm(insanity), that has sent me researching everything.

F1nut

LloydBraun wrote: »

That’s the odd thing in this case. The PB-12nsd blends very smoothly with my m70’s, as where the SB-12 just seemed to completely get lost at certain frequencies. I currently have it crossed over at 60 Hz. You can’t localize it at all.

I tried a few different bookshelf’s with both subs, and you could definitely tell where the sub was, even crossed over at 80 Hz or lower.

That’s why I decided against the LSiM 703’s. Well, that and I just don’t trust my dogs not to cannonball the stands.

Crossed over at 80Hz is pretty darn high even for bookshelf speakers. The 70's -3dB point is 40Hz, so you could lower the sub crossover to say 45Hz.

LloydBraun

Oh no, I only referenced the 80 Hz to say that it blends well, even to that point. I really like how it sounds right now. It’s probably about 55 Hz to be exact, if SVS has their marks on point.

The whole power/crossover debate comes from me reading from several people that the M70’s really come alive with higher wattage.

My eye opener was running some Rti4’s, and RtiA3’s on the same amp. They are able to go significantly past the volume level(knob not spl) that the M70’s can without distortion.

My pea brain deduced that it’s because of the amp better matching their power handling levels. This could be completely wrong, I’m just guessing.

That experiment also revealed the lack of clarity that the M70’s have vs both Rti bookshelf models.... which has led me to the debate of which towers to get.

rburgess714

Your Yamaha 701 will easily drive the Signature 60s. I have ran my 60s with the 501 and it was a good match. I say get the 60s and don’t look back.

LloydBraun

Ok, S60’s are on the list. However, if the S55 keeps dipping into the mid to low $200/ea range on amazon, I’m not sure I can pass on them.

Now, for a curveball. I’m in the minority that actually likes the Rti series for music. I know, I know.

With that being said, I think these will be the 3 that I choose from.

-S55
-S60
-RtiA5

The current pricing on the Rti and S55’s(they drop frequently on amazon), would be dang near half of the S60’s. Now, I try to be a buy once, cry once type guy, so would the S60’s be worth the upgrade at potentially twice the price?

Thanks again, folks. Y’all are an awesome bunch.

Milito

How long are you going to keep the speakers you buy? If it's a long time why not get the better speaker? If you get the other ones you will always wonder how much better the S60's would have been.

LloydBraun

Hopefully a long time. I’m tired of swapping things around!

polrbehr

LloydBraun wrote: »

Hopefully a long time. I’m tired of swapping things around!

Then get the S60s, hook them up, and enjoy them. The 55s are tempting at that price too so either one will be fine.


Oh, and delete your account here and forget you ever heard of Club Polk - that way
you'll get to keep your money awhile longer.... and don't say you weren't warned. We live for this.

dromunds

Are you keeping a good eye on the Adorama sales? They have the best prices around for Polk speakers when they are having their sale. I haven't followed the Signature models, but the LSiM models have been on rotating sales for awhile and their prices are no-brainers when they come up. They may be over for the LSiMs but people have been thinking that for awhile and they keep popping up, but not for long each time. I seem to recall the low price for a pair of LSiM 705's was $800.

LloydBraun

polrbehr wrote: »

LloydBraun wrote: »

Hopefully a long time. I’m tired of swapping things around!

Then get the S60s, hook them up, and enjoy them. The 55s are tempting at that price too so either one will be fine.


Oh, and delete your account here and forget you ever heard of Club Polk - that way
you'll get to keep your money awhile longer.... and don't say you weren't warned. We live for this.

I’m definitely going 55 or 60, thanks to the nudging. Now just sit back and watch for sales.

Also, deleting my account sadly will not stop my expert level ability to spend money that I shouldn’t.

LloydBraun

dromunds wrote: »

Are you keeping a good eye on the Adorama sales? They have the best prices around for Polk speakers when they are having their sale. I haven't followed the Signature models, but the LSiM models have been on rotating sales for awhile and their prices are no-brainers when they come up. They may be over for the LSiMs but people have been thinking that for awhile and they keep popping up, but not for long each time. I seem to recall the low price for a pair of LSiM 705's was $800.

I have not, but will start keeping watch on that site. I tried earlier, but after about the 6th “Are you a robot”, select the pictures of item “x”, I gave up.

After about the third one, I started thinking that maybe I am indeed a robot.

DaveHo

Usually the Polk Adorama sales require a special link to get the discounted price. Keep your eyes on SlickDeals for links.

LloydBraun

The S60’s are dropping in price on Amazon. Currently $418/ea, down from $450/ea. yesterday. These trends usually keep going for awhile before they bottom out.

What would be considered a reasonably good price for the S60?

And yes, thank you all for encouraging me to convince myself that I “need” the S60. 😝

F1nut

$418.00 each.

LloydBraun

Touché

mrloren

$350 each