What can you tell me about Polk S4's

C Bennett

I have a pair of Polk S4's that are like new and play fine. I am getting into(or back into HT)HT after a bit of time off from buying anything(been rebuilding a old muscle car and thats taken ALL my money). How do these "older" S4's(but still mint condition) compare with newer models out now days? I guess to me they still sound fine.....but then I don't have that "audiophile" ear and have heard some speakers that were supposedly better(more expensive) and they sounded the same to me as the Polks. What im looking for is are these/were these a good speaker for a Bookshelf and how do they stack up agianst todays speakers(I find absolutely NO reviews or oppinions on these and have asked at several sites but dont get too much). And biggest thing is since they are older im having a hard time matching anything to them like surrounds and center channel. Right now im running radioshack junk(BOSE cube looking knockoffs) surrounds and a JBL J series center channel. I like the JBL but it does not really match and I don't think its on "par" with the polks. Well thanks for any info you can give me on these S4's. I figured the Polk forum would be the best place to ask as someone would have had to have used these or remember something about them.

Tour2ma

I've seen very little discussion on the S series, CB, and have never heard them myself. And I can't find them in the product library...

I would think they could do nicely as rear speakers and you can buy mains and a center that timbre match, and your S4's would belnd just fine. Timbre matching the rears is not as critical as it is for the front stage.

Hopefully someone will be along to better answer your questions.

C Bennett

Thanks Tour....thats what im finding all over. If I had had a pair of say Monitor(Vintage not the new ones) Polks id have a answer in a second but no one really seems to know much about this speaker. Im sure it was reviewed(like evenrything gets reviewed) back in the mid 90's(they are circa 1996 Vintage so they are not ancient or anything not even 10 years yet). Thats why I keep wondering if these are really that good and if they are why no one knows anything about them . All ive been told and don't even know if its trur was they were the last of the Polks to be sold at "Audio Stores" before they went the Circuit City route, they were the first of the Polks(so a first in a new line of technology) to use the "Dynamic Balance" system. Now I don't know if any or all of thats true or not just what ive been told by others on HT/Speaker sites but those are the only 2 things ive been told.

ninerbj

C. Bennett,

I have owned the S4's since 96? I am using the S4's as surrounds and the S10's up front.
They are a good little speaker as you know. They do lack that low bass that many two way bookshelves do, but they sound great in the upper mids and work well for surround duties.

I have heard many of polk's newer lines, and I would guess to say if you went with the RT series you would get very close to the sound. Of course you could always watch e-bay for I do see some S4's and 10's come up every once in a blue moon.

If I could figure out how to attach some pics of my system I would



brad

BlueMDPicker

Originally posted by ninerbj
If I could figure out how to attach some pics of my system I would

Use the "Attach file" dialogue box at the bottom of the message screen. Make sure file size is <50k. And, don't "Preview Reply."

UncleAl

This is great ancient history for my S4 -- the year 2004. I bought mine in the 1990's, largely for the midrange and fine imaging. So, now I have one, just one. The internal wiring came loose on the other, so I have benn using this for a front speaker in a surround sound array. Must retire the box, though, because the new cabinet cannot handle the size. (I have some lovely small Polks for my side speakers. And my 1970's Klipsch sit in front.) Hope Mr. Bennett found continued life for his S4s.

skrol

I have a pair of S4 that I am using for surround with my RTA11TL (RDO198 tweeters) as front and CS-250s for a center. The CS-250s tweeter looks just like the ones in th e S4. Since the RTA11TL's have the RDO198, they all blend quite well. When I tried them in a 2ch system, they were good as long as you didn't push them with a lot of bass. Then you get chuffing noise from the port.

I also have a pair of S8 that I really like. It is pleasant and not fatiguing at all. The S series seem to be the forgotten Polk children but they are rather underrated, especially the S6 and S8. The engineer who voiced them told me that the S6 and S8 are the sweet spot while the S10 is for those who like mucho bass. I think the S6, S8 and S10 were aiming to be a more modern replacement for the Monitor 5, Monitor 7 and Monitor 10.

K_M

We have a friend that owned or maybe still owns 2 of the "S" series speakers, but do not from memory remember for sure which 2. One probably the S4, the other a decent bit bigger.

From my memories of them, they were supposed to replace the older era "monitor" speakers, but were not radically all that different in sound. Not really better, not truly worse, but also remember thinking it was more a cosmetic update, but the sound was still mostly similar.

Very forgotten line of speakers.
I think my husband said, the woofers looks very similar to the older "Monitor line".

K_M

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-11-06/entertainment/9204100540_1_speaker-systems-polk-audio-woofer


Some info about them, from back in the day.

[Deleted User]

I can't add much. A pair passed thru here. I thought they were o.k. and my wife really liked them. From memory I didn't like the bass control if you know what I mean.
Some Boston Acoustics A40 bookies beat them out after a refoam.

deucekazoo

In my opinion the S line is under rated. Great sounding speakers. A lot of people did not like the fact that the fronts were plastic. Well it looks like the whole front is plastic but it only really is the edge that holds the front grill. The rest of the box is normal plywood. That plastic does get brittle over time and the mounting holes crack. I have a whole surround sound set up with the S line. I have the S8s as the center, S10s on the front left and right and then 4 S4s for the surrounds. Great sounding setup for not a lot of money. I did have to rebuild the S10 cross over because of shipping issues. The shipping company wanted to see how high the box would bounce. I had components ripped off the cross over board.
Get those S4s fixed. Easy to do, just open them up and fix the wiring or cross over. Get them singing again.

skrol

The plastic fronts are an issue. I have seen several that have cracked and it just seemed cheap.

CGTIII

I have a pair of the S4's I was going to use for a friend. Nice sound for the size.

Here's the archived info from Polk:
https://web.archive.org/web/20130828153951/http://www.polkaudio.com/products/s4#reviews

For info on other models (hit and miss,) just substitute the "s4" in this line with the other model number.

[Deleted User]

I use my Polk speakers as friends.

msg

I gotta get somma those!