Polk R30's, bass performance

AzN_plyR

Hey guys! I am new here..and I am just starting my budget HT system.... the Polk R30 seems to go for fairly cheap... 70 a pop... but I am wondering how thier performance is in bass without a subwoofer? is it decent? I would LOVE some floorstanding speakers... BUT I am thinking the BIC DV-62SI would be better subwooferless but they are bookshelfs...

Also... I can get a pair of JBL E60 for about 160ish.. HELP!

baboon

stay away from bic. best way is to go to the store and test them yourself.

heiney9

The R-30's are so much better than any other entry level speaker. Buy the R-30's with confidence. Don't even consider the BIC. The Polk's will sound better even to a deaf person.

I had a friend who knew nothing about audio/HT. He was using one of those HTiB systems and recently upgraded to an HT rec and Polks R-30's, R-15's and a smaller Polk sub and he is astounded by how much better it sounds. This is Polk entry level gear, and he's more than happy with the results.

To answer your question you may need a sub, get the R-30's listen for awhile and then decide. Outpost has some good deals right now!

B.I.C = J.U.N.K JBL are overated and overpriced. Go with the Polks you won't be disaapointed with the performance.

H9

halo

If you've never had Polk's before the R30's are going to change the way you listen to music. Better than the JBL's IMHO. You may be able to purchase them for less ($39.99 each) if you wait for Fry's Electronics to run a sale (which they do pretty often). Best of luck with your search Oh, and welcome to the club!

Schris22

yeah wait for fry's to put them on sale.

They also put the r50's on sale for a little more. The r50's would give you a little more in the region that you want but still would not takea place of a sub. There are plenty of subs in the 125-150 range if you watch a lot of movies.

Chris

BjornB17

peersool wrote:

If you've never had Polk's before the R30's are going to change the way you listen to music.

I can say the same when i upgraded to the system in my signature. Everything is just so open and clear now, much like opening my ears for the first time! I'm glad i ended up with Polk, and I may stick with Polk for a long time! Polk speakers look and sound fantastic.

adam2434

For HT, you will probably want a sub no matter what speakers you buy. The Dayton subs from partsexpress.com are a popular reco for entry-level subs:
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-633

The R30s without a sub will not be able to give you deep, powerful bass effects for movies.

I agree with the others, that the R30s are a good entry-level choice. Combine them with a CSi25 or CSM center speaker, R15s for surrounds, and a sub like the Dayton, and you've got a solid entry-level HT.

At Fry's outpost.com, we've recently seen R30s on sale for $40 each and R15s for $40/pair. Also, I've seen the CSM center for $80 after rebate at circuitcity.com.

Good luck,

Adam

AzN_plyR

O ok Thanks you guys, I just bookmarked Outpost Time to run to circuitcity/bestbuy and do some testing .. again... I heard the JBL's E80's.. out of my pricerange for a pair.. but I liked them.. didnt get to hear the Polks yets...

O and I am seriously looking into the Fluance systems too.... 250shipped for a complete 5.0 system... and they get great reviews... and this one guy had this set + a dayton sub and the sub didn't make a Huge differences

heiney9

AzN_plyR wrote:

O and I am seriously looking into the Fluance systems too.... 250shipped for a complete 5.0 system... and they get great reviews... and this one guy had this set + a dayton sub and the sub didn't make a Huge differences

No No No No Nooooooo! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Fluance are those really crappy white van speakers. Stay as far away from those as possible. Absoulte $h*t. All the on-line reviews are bogus. I've heard cheap boom-box's that sound better.

You've been warned!

H9

Is this what you are talking about?

http://cgi.ebay.com/FLUANCE-Surround-Sound-Home-Theater-Speakers_W0QQitemZ5858302510QQcategoryZ14993QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

halo

Don't forget that you only get a limited idea of what the speakers will sound like in the store. When they are in your home on your system they'll sound different. Good luck!

adam2434

AzN_plyR wrote:

O and I am seriously looking into the Fluance systems too.... 250shipped for a complete 5.0 system... and they get great reviews... and this one guy had this set + a dayton sub and the sub didn't make a Huge differences

IMO, find some good deals on the Polk R series and don't look back. Athena makes decent inexpensive stuff too. Fluance - sounds too cheap to be true.

Also, the guy that had the Dayton sub that "didn't make a huge difference" must have the sub connected or calibrated wrong. Sure, the Dayton is an entry-level sub, but its bass would still trounce the bass from that Fluance set. Unless you have serious/large (and not cheap) front speakers, you will need a sub to get any real bass impact for HT.

halo

The R series really is a no-brainer at Fry's sale prices. At that price point I don't think anything new could touch them. If you want to go used, that's a different story

AzN_plyR

heiney9 wrote:

No No No No Nooooooo! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Fluance are those really crappy white van speakers. Stay as far away from those as possible. Absoulte $h*t. All the on-line reviews are bogus. I've heard cheap boom-box's that sound better.

You've been warned!

H9

Is this what you are talking about?

http://cgi.ebay.com/FLUANCE-Surround-Sound-Home-Theater-Speakers_W0QQitemZ5858302510QQcategoryZ14993QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

really? Have you actually heard them, in a decent auditioning area.... or are you just making assumptions! I mean there are like 10:1 ratio of people saying these Fluances are good:bad... Man, I should've took the time the other day to carefully listen to the PolkR30's..

heiney9

AzN_plyR wrote:

really? Have you actually heard them, in a decent auditioning area.... or are you just making assumptions! I mean there are like 10:1 ratio of people saying these Fluances are good:bad... Man, I should've took the time the other day to carefully listen to the PolkR30's..

No need to listen....they are white van speaks. But, hey if you want to waste your money be my guest.

FYI, I can set up a web site and put all kinds of testimonials on it as well and still sell junk. You need to have a certain amount of common sense in this hobby if you don't have the experience.

If you buy them I'll be waiting to hear what you think compared to a REAL speaker system.

Seriously I'm not trying to be a smartass...these and their brethern like, Theater Research, Cadence, Davinci, PCS, Digital Research, JA Audio, and others are pure crap. But hey knock yourself out what do we know :rolleyes:

H9

There's entry level like the Polk R series or the JBL's you mentioned and then there's crap like the above brands I mentioned.

AzN_plyR

So you have never listened to them, AND you're making false accusations... hmmmm even though I am a big noob... good bye and have a nice day :eek: :rolleyes:

anyways Ill be off to audtion some polks tomorrow and if all is well Ill wait for them to go on sale.. if it takes too long Ill grab some Fluance White Speakers.... lol

BjornB17

AzN_plyR wrote:

anyways Ill be off to audtion some polks tomorrow and if all is well Ill wait for them to go on sale.. if it takes too long Ill grab some Fluance White Speakers.... lol

Awesome. Fluance are awesome $10,000 speakers, but you're getting quite the bargain at $200

heiney9

AzN_plyR wrote:

So you have never listened to them, AND you're making false accusations... hmmmm even though I am a big noob... good bye and have a nice day :eek: :rolleyes:

anyways Ill be off to audtion some polks tomorrow and if all is well Ill wait for them to go on sale.. if it takes too long Ill grab some Fluance White Speakers.... lol

I've never ridden in or driven a YUGO and I'm pretty sure I can say it's apiece of crap. You came here looking for advice and now you're not happy with the advice. Good luck to you, apparently you want to learn the hard way.

Good day , Sir....I said Good Day (In my best Fez voice from That 70's show)

H9

nadams

Hmm... I like this line from their website-
Magnets: powerfully dimensioned high-performance.

I swear they just picked a few words and randomly stuck them there...

Registration information for the Fluance website-

Tronics
Deepak, Jain
4080 Montrose Road
Niagara Falls, ON L2H1J9
CA
Phone: 1.905.353.1366
Fax..: 1.905.356.8199
Email: jain@on.aibn.com

Couldn't find their address anywhere on their site, so I figured I'd do it that way.... that's not a tried and true method though, someone other than the owner could've registered the domain for them, such as a webmaster.

stonepimp

well if its not too late and it sounds like it might be ... i have a polk r30 set up and i couldn't be happier .. my brother has a jbl northridge series ht he likes it but he paid alot more money .. after listening to his yesterday i can honestly say that mine sounds better .. fluance ?? wtf .LOL .. buy the polks you won't be sorry

karpiel666

That was entertaining, anyone that rude deserves to listen to theater research.

adam2434

Oh well, we tried.

Let him by the Fl(at)uance speakers.

AzN_plyR

well, I said i was gonna wait.. until the polks goes on sale... and I read some more non-computer websites reviews on the Fluance from members at AVS... and I guess there's some that says they sound like 50 bucks speakers... and the COST to make and stuff and profit thigns or w/e... I guess Ill skip Fluance then...

Anyways... tempted to pick up a pair of Polk's R30's for under 180 shipped... BUT I think I am gonna regret it big time when Outpost has them on sale for 40 bucks a pop...... or the R50 for 160 a pair....

Also tempted to grab some Athena's factory refreshed B2.2's for 150 bucks a pair also... but they are bookshelves... which I LOVE the looks and probably better peroformance of floorstanders! SIGH... so much to decide on.

heiney9

AzN_plyR wrote:

well, I said i was gonna wait.. until the polks goes on sale... and I read some more non-computer websites reviews on the Fluance from members at AVS... and I guess there's some that says they sound like 50 bucks speakers... and the COST to make and stuff and profit thigns or w/e... I guess Ill skip Fluance then...

Anyways... tempted to pick up a pair of Polk's R30's for under 180 shipped... BUT I think I am gonna regret it big time when Outpost has them on sale for 40 bucks a pop...... or the R50 for 160 a pair....

Also tempted to grab some Athena's factory refreshed B2.2's for 150 bucks a pair also... but they are bookshelves... which I LOVE the looks and probably better peroformance of floorstanders! SIGH... so much to decide on.

Well after the last time I was going to leave you on your own, but I'm feeling generous. Athena would be a very good choice. I guess it's up to you if you want floor standers or book-shelf. The AS-B2.2 are a rather large book-shelf and to set them up properly you need to purchase stands (a min. of $50). I think the R series from Polk and Athena are comparable. I think the Athena's model for model offer a better overall sound for the buck at retail. I say if you can hold out until Fry's puts the R's on sale again, go for it. Either choice would be great. I've been impressed with the Athena line at it's price point. Of course when the R series is on sale that's the better buy strictly based on budget.

H9

AzN_plyR

well thanks for the heads up heiney9... sorry I gave you a hard time.. but you know how noobs are, and besides... all that talk you said got to me...So I am gonna ditch Fluance and go for a more well known brand name..

Also, what do you or anyone else think about the JBL E60's? I can fit those in my budget.... that's only if the R30's doesn't go on sale... Well the R30's are "kinda" onsale at outpost today... they came back in stock and dropped 30 bucks or so.. was 100+ now 83 bucks each.. Bleh.

adam2434

Glad to see you're off the Fluance and back to the Polk Rs and Athenas - both solid choices for the money. I truly believe you'll be much happier.

Don't know anything about those JBLs - you may want to check audioreview.com for reviews, and of course, listen to them if you can.

I hope there are more opportunities to get the R30s for $40 each (got somebody at work interested in a R series set-up), but there's no guarantee of that deal coming back.

Good luck.

heiney9

AzN_plyR wrote:

Also, what do you or anyone else think about the JBL E60's? I can fit those in my budget.... that's only if the R30's doesn't go on sale... Well the R30's are "kinda" onsale at outpost today... they came back in stock and dropped 30 bucks or so.. was 100+ now 83 bucks each.. Bleh.

I personally haven't heard the JBL E60's. I've never been a huge fan of JBL in the past. You really should listen to as many of your choices as possible. If it were me I'd still stick to Polk or Athena for the money. But I think you've reached the point of narrowing it down to a few choices and the only thing left is to get your listen on and see which you prefer.

I bought my Athena's for my 2nd system without hearing them and based on audio mag reviews. But I also knew if they didn't work out I could return them for a refund. The only way to know for sure is to listen, or in the case of the R series listen to the people here that love them and the reasons why they love them.

H9

halo

Patience is the key. On sale again they will be.

AzN_plyR

lol.... those R30's at outpost came instock for less than a couple of days and now they are out of stock again.. lol

halo

Yes - but if you place your order during the sale - you get the sale price when they are back in stock

adam2434

OK, obviously not as good as the $39 each we've seen in the past, but still a pretty good deal at $59 each. I just ordered a pair for $144 total shipped.

http://shop1.outpost.com/product/3241451?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

halo

adam2434 wrote:

OK, obviously not as good as the $39 each we've seen in the past, but still a pretty good deal at $59 each. I just ordered a pair for $144 total shipped.

http://shop1.outpost.com/product/3241451?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Definately still a great deal. You can't beat the performance at that price - congrats!