The mad experiment continues...HAHAHA

Jonesy

I understand I'm not a huge contributor here, but I lurk often and my first real system consisted of Polks, so I feel a certain loyalty and obligation to report my current findings.

That 'real system' has been cannibalized and currently exists in the basement as a secondary system. The only remaining artifacts are the center, a CS200, and the rears, Monitor 6's. Here is the story so far...

Heard the R15's when helping a friend buy surrounds and was very impressed, for their price. He bought them for his surrounds and I got a pair later for mains in the 'basement system'. I was very impressed with the Monitor 6 system, for what it was (a passive dual 6" sub and a pair of tiny satellites) and was even more impressed with the R15's, for what they cost.

So I eventually got a pair of R20's as mains, figuring they'd be even better than the R15's, built decent stands, and moved my displaced Pioneer VSXD810 to this system. It sounded very good for the investment so far, but got even better when I was able to move an active sub (Infinity IL100 displaced from the main system) into the mix. However I still thought the R20's could be pushed further.....

So, months later, like a ****, I'm looking at the over 12" of snow on my patio, then looking at my Rotel RB971 amp that powers my patio speakers, and thinking....'why am I letting this amp sit here until spring?'. My brain then kicks in and I take it down to the 'secondary' system......

The clouds parted, the sun shown down and anglels sang.....or thereabouts. The R20's opened up like walnuts on Christmas Eve. Just so ya'll don't think I'm completely crazy I'll give you a little comparative info. I listened to three CD's and one DVD right before switching the amp. Stuff I'm very familiar with on this system...selections from Norah Jones, Buddy Guy, and Pantera, in stereo mode, and the lobby scene from The Matrix.

Now I don't want to give you the wrong impression here, this ain't a rags to riches story... these are still R20's. But again, my goal with this project is to get the most performance out of the least amount of money (not by choice of course ).

So the same selections on the material mentioned above proved radically different. Of course it was louder (by 4db according to my rat shack spl meter), but everything was more defined when re-calibrated. From Norah's vocals to Buddy's ESP, it was all very tight. The 70w per channel of the Rotel screwed down the upper bass, midrange, and even resolved some very top-end highs more-so than the Pioneer's amp section.

I have auditioned some very good gear....B&W, Thiel, Dynaudio, Wilson, Vandersteen, Paradigm, Energy, Soliloquy, and so on and so on...This R20 & Rotel 971 isn't going to rival any of them. But for under $400 (used amp @ about $200 and R20's for under $140, plus source and preamp/reciever) this setup is amazing in comparison.

So I'm sorry for the long rant, but I just wanted to share my enthusiasm for yet another newly realized step in my audio-evolution, and spread the gospel for the possibility of 'budget' quality performance, particularly regarding Polk's fantastic line of products.

F1nut

Thanks for sharing, enjoyed your story.

dorokusai

You never have to spend alot of money to enjoy yourself....turn it up!

gatemplin

I was also impressed with the R series (for the money). I have them hooked to a Sherwood amp in the dinning room. Thanks for sharing the story and glad you like the speakers.

halo

I was running my R15s & R50s through a Yamaha HTR-5450 5.1 AVR and I was getting decent sound, but something was missing. I had a similar epiphany when I went into my office and saw my old Onkyo TX-830 stereo reciever sitting there (buried under a stack of paperwork). I swapped the recievers & all of a sudden the R50s came ALIVE. Just for the heck of it, I even hooked up the little R15s and the difference WAS night & day.

I think a lot of people underestimate the R series. Most reviews I've read complain about a lack of bass response . When I had 'em hooked up to the Yamaha, I'd agree . After I made the switch, no way! :mad:

If changing recievers made that much of a difference I'd love to see what seperate components could do.

Jonesy

Originally posted by peersool


I think a lot of people underestimate the R series. Most reviews I've read complain about a lack of bass response . When I had 'em hooked up to the Yamaha, I'd agree . After I made the switch, no way! :mad:

If changing recievers made that much of a difference I'd love to see what seperate components could do.

I agree that the R's are sold short. They don't compare to something like the Dynaudio 52SE (my favorite monitor audition so far ), but for the money they are really impressive. The sad thing is I don't think most people who buy these are realizing their true potential as they are probably using a receiver to power them.

I also felt the bass was more present and controled but I still think there is more to get in my setup. The Pioneer's lowest x-over point is only 100hz. I'd like to go to 80, but I suppose I'll have to work on my next 'budget' upgrade to get there.

Nice to see other people have realized the same thing I have.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/drjones92@sbcglobal.net/detail?.dir=/73fe&.dnm=c506.jpg&.src=ph