S60 vs S60E
Hey guys,
i recently got a pair of Polks S60E – emphasis on E.
As some of you may or may not know, the E-Model appears to be a slightly different european model. The S60E go from 36 Hz - 40 kHz as opposed to the Polk S60's which go from 26 Hz - 40 kHz.
I'm driving my pair S60E's with a Denon AVR X1600H and im frankly missing the "punch" in the bass. Don't get me wrong, they do go low (but boomy) occasionally. Also, they're really unimpressive on lower volumes. Now, people keep saying these speakers are easy to drive but i'm wondering if my avr is simply too weak to bring out their punchy side. Could that be the case? Or do the 10 Hz lower on the S60 model really make such a big difference in sound and "punchyness"?
i recently got a pair of Polks S60E – emphasis on E.
As some of you may or may not know, the E-Model appears to be a slightly different european model. The S60E go from 36 Hz - 40 kHz as opposed to the Polk S60's which go from 26 Hz - 40 kHz.
I'm driving my pair S60E's with a Denon AVR X1600H and im frankly missing the "punch" in the bass. Don't get me wrong, they do go low (but boomy) occasionally. Also, they're really unimpressive on lower volumes. Now, people keep saying these speakers are easy to drive but i'm wondering if my avr is simply too weak to bring out their punchy side. Could that be the case? Or do the 10 Hz lower on the S60 model really make such a big difference in sound and "punchyness"?
Comments
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The anemic AVR is the problem.2 channel: Anthem 225 Integrated amp; Parasound Ztuner; TechnicsTT SL1350; Vincent PHO-8 phono pre; Marantz CD6005 spinner; Polk SDA2BTL's; LAT International speaker cables, ZU Mission IC's and power cables all into a PS Audio Dectet Power center.
Other; M10 series II, M7C's, Hafler XL600 amp, RB-980BX, Parasound HCA-1500 amp , P5 preamp, all in storage. All vintage Polk have had crossover rebuilds and tweeter upgrades.
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Got a recommendation? I'm still able to return the 1600.
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As I already said in another thread, something like the Yamaha s701 for two channel only, or any denon/marantz/Yamaha with preouts so you can add a power amp down the road.
I think the denon avr x3600 would be sweet if you want surround sound...Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es; Squeezebox Touch with Bolder Power Supply
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1Cambridge Azur 551r; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
you could be sitting in a bad null spot of your room. Try moving the speakers and/or your sitting position a few feet forward or backwards and see if things improve.
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So i think i finally found a way to get more out of these speakers. I'm equally happy as i'm confused. First of all, in the Settings of my Denon, i turned off "Dynamic Volume". Next, i noticed the reason why movies (and also background music in movies) sounded better in was that the AVR always uses the sound mode "Dolby Sur" in movies. When i changed the sound preset to "Dolby Sur" for listening to music, suddenly the bass was there! Also the vocals became much clearer.
Now why do my Polk Speakers sound so extremely muddy like a cheap radio when i chose the mode "Direct" and why does the preset "Stereo" not sound as good as "Dolby Sur" for music? Is is because the sound mode Dolby Sound boosts bass and treble and this isn't how these speakers would normally sound at all?
All i can say is that the Dolby Surround sound setting makes these speakers sound the way i would have expected them to sound more or less. -
I'm not entirely sure what's going on here, but I do know that for music playback you will never get that great of a result with an AVR, no matter what mode it's in.
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If you can't get them to sound at least decent on direct them something is definitely wrong somewhere in your setup. Could you post pictures of your setup and your room. Hopefully we can figure out what's going on.
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"AUTO" hit the direct button till is goes to "AUTO". THis will take the AVR to AUTO format detect. I find this best for music.
If you have a sub in the system then you will need LFE+MAIN. When LFE is just selected then when you go into a 2ch with no LFE signal you bass will be gone.When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music -
"AUTO" hit the direct button till is goes to "AUTO". THis will take the AVR to AUTO format detect. I find this best for music.
If you have a sub in the system then you will need LFE+MAIN. When LFE is just selected then when you go into a 2ch with no LFE signal you bass will be gone.
Ofcourse every setup is different but on the whole you should avoid LFE+Main. It can cause some nasty bass cancellation that can actually leave you with less or worse bass performance. If your using a subwoofer, you should leave this setting on LFE. Doing so will also save your av receiver precious amp power while also relieving your main speakers of ultra low bass frequencies it wasn't in most cases designed to play.
Keep your speakers set on 'Small' with filter set at about 80hz and let your sub handle things below that.
'Direct' or 'Pure Direct' setting will have your main front speakers playing full range music (without the sub) if thats what you want while the 'stereo' mode will engage the sub (as well as engage the crossover on the main speakers) if you prefer.
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A.F.D is what works best for my system. I have my Speakers set to large LFE+MAIN C/O @ 60HZ. Like I said this works best for my system in my room.
It's all about trial and error. OP could try to set up like my system and go either way. I can move my system to another room and it would (not could) be different. What works for some doesn't work for all.
It took me hours of reading with countless audyssey calibration to get my system dialed in.When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music -
I also have a set of the S60's-no E version- and are using them in a 5.2 system using a Yamaha RX-A2080 AVR. Have my 2.3's that I bought in '89 or '90, as fronts and the S60's as rears with a CS10 center and 2 HTS-12 subs in opposite corners of the room. IMHO the S60's hold their own with the 2.3's, whether its just music or movies, lots of punch, but not boomy, and they handle tremendous amounts of power!! The Yamaha, S60's and the subs are recent upgrades, have been broken in and I am extremely pleased with the integration of old & new and the results. Geez, I even have the wife saying" TURN IT UP!!"
