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- First reviewFebruary 3, 2017
- Last reviewFebruary 3, 2017
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Aldo's Reviews
Enjoy room-filling sound with this Sony Core Series SSCS3 floorstanding speaker, which features dual 5" woofers, a 3/4" super tweeter and a 1" tweeter to precisely reproduce instruments and vocals in robust detail.
Posted by: Aldo
I was looking to replace my large vintage Mach I speakers with some smaller towers. After reading many positive professional and user online reviews, it looked like the Polk T50s would fit that sweet spot of price versus performance. I bought a pair on sale at Best Buy and connected them to my 80W receiver so I could do an A-B comparison with my current speakers. I fully expected that the Polk T50s may not sound as accurate as the Mach I speakers (15" woofer, multicellular mid horn, bullet tweeter) but was disappointed to find that the Polk T50s didn't even sound as good as some smaller bookshelf speakers I had, or even my desktop computer Altec system.
I listen to vocal music and the Polks made the vocals sound hollow. Being an audio engineer, I measured the Polk T50s and found a nasty peak around 1kHz. Such a peak makes the vocals sound behind the music, as if the singer was singing through a hollow tube. To verify my "ears" and measurements, I asked my wife to listen to a few A-B comparisons and she easily found the Polk t50s to sound worse in each comparison.
I went back to Best Buy and bought the Sony SSCS3 towers (almost twice the price of the Polks) and connected them to my system for a comparison. The Sony SSCS3 towers sounded much better than the Polk T50s and almost as good as my Mach 1 speakers. Vocals sound up front where they belong and the music is free of any peaks or coloration. To me, the Sony SSCS3 towers were well worth the difference in price. I kept the Sony SCCS3s and returned the Polk T50s.
I wish Best Buy would set up the Sony, Klipsch and Polk speakers so you could do a direct comparison with the same source material. I found such a setup at one Best Buy, but it wasn't working correctly and didn't have the Sony towers hooked up. In all the other stores, they have separate displays for the three brands. Even better would be for Best Buy to include the Sony, Klkpsch and Polk speakers in their Magnolia rooms. Being able to properly audition speakers would have saved me the trouble of buying the Polks only to return them and get the Sony SSCS3 towers.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+21points
23of 25voted this as helpful.
The T50 is not your run-of-the-mill floor standing tower speaker. Just snap off the grill and take a look under the hood - you'll love what you see. With one 1" silk dome tweeter, one 6.25" extended throw composite driver, and two performance tuned front-firing sub bass radiators—all engineered with Polk’s proprietary Dynamic Balance technology, its highs send sound soaring, its mids are made to shred, and the bass you crave gets a massive boost even at the lowest frequencies. Its audio improved - for the people, by the people - signed, sealed and delivered! Easy to setup, supports Dolby and DTS, and connects to most home theater receivers, stereos or home theater processors. Have fun and play but prepare to be blown away!
Customer Rating
3
Great Value, Not So Great Sound
on February 3, 2017
Posted by: Aldo
I was looking to replace my vintage Mach I speakers with some smaller towers. After reading many positive professional and user online reviews, it looked like the Polk T50s would fit that sweet spot of price versus performance. I bought a pair on sale at Best Buy and connected them to my 80W receiver so I could do an A-B comparison with my current speakers. I fully expected that the Polk T50s may not sound as accurate as the Mach I speakers (15" woofer, multicellular mid horn, bullet tweeter) but was disappointed to find that the Polk T50s didn't even sound as good as some smaller bookshelf speakers I had, or even my desktop computer Altec system.
I listen to vocal music and the Polks made the vocals sound hollow. Being an audio engineer, I suspected that the Polk T50s had a nasty peak around 1kHz, so I checked with a spectrum analyzer and sure enough, there was a peak there. I found an online review that included a frequency response graph and is also showed the peak. Such a peak makes the vocals sound behind the music, as if the singer was singing through a hollow tube. To verify my "ears" and measurements, I asked my wife to listen to a few A-B comparisons and she easily found the Polk t50s to sound worse in each comparison.
I went back to Best Buy and bought the Sony SSCS3 towers (almost twice the price) and connected them to my system for a comparison. The Sony SSCS3 towers sounded much better than the Polk T50s and almost as good as the Mach 1 speakers. To me, the Sony SSCS3 towers are well worth the difference in price. I kept them and returned the Polk T50s.
I wish Best Buy would set up the Sony, Klipsch and Polk speakers so you could do a direct comparison with the same source material. I found such a setup at one Best Buy, but it wasn't working correctly and didn't have the Sony towers hooked up. In all the other stores, they have separate displays for the three brands. Even better would be for Best Buy to include the Sony, Klkpsch and Polk speakers in their Magnolia rooms. Being able to properly audition speakers would have saved me the trouble of buying the Polks only to return them.
I rated the Polk T50s three stars because those that use them for home theater audio or who listen to electronic, metal and other compressed music may not find the sound objectionable. So, if price is a concern, you may want to try a set to see if you are okay with the sound. Obviously, based on the many positive reviews here on Best Buy, a lot of people are fine with the T50s. Just be ready to return them and try other speakers if you aren't happy with the sound.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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11of 22voted this as helpful.
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