Speakers Reviews

If you are interested in these speakers shop around - Circuit City overcharges for this set.

First of all - I have 2 polk towers and they know how to make speakers. These speakers are great for rooms where you dont want big speakers cluttering up the place and the sound for the high's & voice are outstanding. That said they are tiny and you will need a more 'mid-range' speaker to blend the sound of these speakers with a subwoofer. One set of high quality floorstanding speakers will do fine - try the Sony MBH350 - you can get a pair for less than $100 and they are outstanding. The polk speakers are heavy for their size but are easily mounted on walls. Also for the price you will have a difficult time finding a better speaker this small that still sounds good - you will pay over $100 more for the 6700 series. You can get larger models that may sound better for less but then you have to deal with speaker clutter so for an average sized room these are the best speakers you can buy, especially on a budget. Hope this helps.

I'm no stereophile, but I'm thrilled with these Polk speakers. For my first home theater setup I decided to go with Polk since it was a brand I knew was known for high quality. These speakers are Polk's entry level offering, but they are great.

The four satellite speakers are small so they don't stand out in your room. They are also very easy to attach to a wall since they are so light.

One thing to remember when considering this speaker set (or any of Polk's other sets for that matter) is that no subwoofer is included. You'll need to purchase one separately.

No complaints on the performance of the Sony SAVAD900 Home Theater System by Sony, which I believe is their top of the line DVD/CD surround system, EXCEPT that this model does NOT play CDRs! I made the mistake of checking the lower priced model which apparently does play cdrs, but was talked into getting this one by my girlfriend because of the relatively weak subwoofer on the lower models. I cannot believe that for $1,000.00 this thing cannot play cdrs. I think it is because on this model, the dvds/cd player is housed in the speaker, as opposed to the lower models wherein there is a separate unit. SO IF YOU INTEND TO PLAYS CDRS IN YOUR HOME THEATER SYSTEM BUY A LOWER MODEL OR GET A BOSE OR A PIONEER UNIT.

I have had this system for over 8 months now, and have compared it with similar systems, including BOSE, and I prefer this one. You really get a lot for the money. The system holds 5 DVD's, which is great, radio is great with plenty of presets. It is VERY loud and clear. Also, it decodes DTS, which, IMHO is AWESOME!!!! For example, compare Saving Private Ryan in DTS and DD, and you will long for DTS. The remote is a bit complicated, but once you get the hang of it, you will probably enjoy it, I know I did. The only thing I didn't realize was that I had the sub woofer mode off for the first few months, and wondered why the base was not that great! HAhahaha, what a difference. I have this system in my living room, (my wife is awesome), and the room is over 4000 cubic feet, with the viewing area 16 feet away from the CC and mains and sub, and I have never turned the volume up past 15 (I think it goes up to 30, I can't even imagine how loud that is). If you have a WEGA, it is a perfect match and will run everything on the remote. Btw, if you are as lucky as I am, and you have your PS2 hooked up to it, you will love the surround on the games, just switch to Game sound mode. Set-up is a breeze. Keep in mind this is NOT a "serious" home theater set-up, but then, you are not spending lots of money either. My suggestion is, always to try listen to whatever you are going to buy, because everyone's ear is different. Also, if you are going to spend as bunch of money on a speaker system, don't! Sell your DVD player, or save up some more money and buy this system. If you have a DVD player and a receiver, this is probably not the system for you, and you can get better speakers for a decent price. The only bummer about this system is that you don't have too much control when you are trying to balance out each speaker, (again, keep in mind that my living room is more than 30 feet long, so that is kind of important for me). Still, I love this system. Keep in mind what it is, and I think you will love it too!

Small speakers, good sound quality ( If your not looking for amazing sound quality). Portable, if you don't mind carrying around a speaker thats the size of a small computer speaker. It's sony.

I bought this for my kids computer when I bought a new one for hubby and myself... these speakers sound better then the more expensive ones I have.... I highly recommend these speakers

...you can get the BEST 2 speaker set for computers. I am talking about the Bose Mediamates. Search for them and check out the review I wrote for them.

If you are looking for a pair of active speakers for your PC or MP3 player, look no further. This is the one to get. The sound is exceptionally good and amazing.

I am not a fan of Sony, but they got it right for this one!

I'll mildly disagree with the other reviewer - yes, the effect is subtle, and while it's a pleasant enough add-on, it's not really worth investing in. I really wanted to keep the overall visual impact of the system to a minimum. To be honest, for $80, it doesn't do enough to warrant being the largest single element in the system. Yes, you can toss it on the floor or next to the couch, but it's still littering up your area someplace, and the ever-so-slight improvement of low-end bass isn't really worth the price. It's actually a credit to the Kloss line that this thing is fairly extraneous; I get very good bass performance out of the existing Model Two/Model CD setup I have, and I guess I was expecting that if they could extract that much low-end tone from the M2 speaker, they'd really punch out some bass from the subwoofer. Not the case. Try the M2 setup first; if you're really starved for more bass and have a spare $80 burning a hole in your pocket, give it a try, but I'd let the stock M2 setup grow on you first. Not a bad product; just not up to the standard set by the rest of the HK line.

The Tivoli Model Two radio sounds great all by itself, but the Model Subwoofer gives it just a touch more oomph at the bottom end that makes it even better. I had serious doubts about the performance of a "subwoofer" with just a single 5.25" speaker, but this little thing really works. Lows have more volume and impact, but the subwoofer doesn't call attention to itself, or misbehave by sounding tubby.

The effect is subtle, and won't necessarily show up on all material, but in my installation, music from Robert Cray to Mannheim Steamroller to David Sanborn benefitted from the sub's contribution. The small cabinet is easily hidden if need be, but looks good enough to be placed out in the open, too. The volume control is useful for tailoring the sound to its location.

You can get along quite well without the Model Subwoofer, but once you listen to it, you'll be glad you spent the eighty bucks.

The problem:

I have an audiophile's appetite for electronics, but my budget doesn't include money for an audio system with the price tag of a Mercedes. OK, not even with the price tag of a used Toyota. Until I bought this sub, I was using a spare pair of 25 year old Koss speakers with 10" woofers to handle the bottom end. The Koss were designed for music reproduction, and not for the sound effects of movie soundtracks. They just didn't have the rumble and thump of a friend's $20,000 HT system. So, I figured I needed more umph at the bottom.

The Solution:

I started looking for a good budget Subwoofer. I had been considering 12" subs by JBL, Infinity and HSU when I found a used Velo CT-100 in the Recycler, a magazine in Los Angeles which provides free classified advertising.

Veoldyne has a reputation for making some of the best subs on the market. I called another friend who used to be a rep for Harman Kardon about 30 years ago and asked his opinion. He said I'd like the driver. I immediately pulled the money out of the bank and drove the 150 mile round trip to buy the sub.

Impressions:

I got it home and attached it to the "Low Frequency Effects" out on my HK Signature 2.0 preamp/processor. I stuck the sub between my main speakers in the middle of the room -- positioned all wrong, and it still sounds good. I played Pink Floyd Dark Side (SACD), Govi - Andelusian Nights (CD), The Who - Tommy (SACD), Fourplay (DVD-Audio), and Steely Dan - Two Against Nature (DVD-Audio). This sub proves to be very musical.

Setting my preamp to pump out everything below 100Hz to the sub gave the bottom end a great deal of authority. Even though my Koss speakers are supposed to be flat to 30Hz, they don't match the volume and control in the bottom two octives. The Velo is neither boomy nor a 1 note wonder. And, it is reasonably efficient. I was able to pump all 400 watts of power from my Harman Kardon Citation 22 amp into my main speakers, and the Velo kept up pretty much effortlessly.

Next, I tried to find a DVD with a good LFE track. I tried Gladiator, Harry Potter - Chamber of Secrets, and X-Men 2. None were satisfactory for a real workout. Finally, I turned to George Lucas. Star Wars II -- Attack of the Clones has a use other than as a coaster after all! All those marvelous Lucas space ship engines. And things getting blown up! And arms getting cut off by light-sabers! It isn't as good as the one in my friend's $20K system with something like 1000 watts into 3 subs, with the dbx bass enhancer, but it is close enough.

All in all, I'm very happy with the sound and build of the unit. I think I'll keep it.

Strengths:
Good solid musical bass end down to 32Hz and ample power.

Weaknesses:
Cheap spring loaded wire connectors, crummy black box appearance.

Velodyne's 10" sub is a good addition to a small home theater set-up depending on the bass output of the front speaker. The results are a more defined bottom end without it being overpowering. Best advice: buy the product from a retailer where it can be easily returned if it does not work well with the rest of the system.

First, the speakers do not look quite like they do in the picture (for the Maple version). They are significantly darker than they appear. Second, the quality of the speaker cabinets is disappointing. It is far too clear that the exterior of the cabinets is a cheap laminate. A bit disappointing given how attractive other Wharfedale speakers can be. So if you're looking for a home theatre speaker system that looks better than is typical, think twice. They do look better than most, but not that much better. Regarding the sound, it seems to be ok, but I'm not blown away by them. They don't strike me as being far superior to most of the other surround system speakers that you can buy. I have yet to watch a movie where I thought that they yielded a significant improvement over the system that I previously had without a subwoofer. Having listened to them more and more over the past month, I still don't get a sense that these speakers really dominate those that you would get in a standard low end home theatre system.

Finally took the plunge into home theater. Due to funding constraints, was looking for starter system to put into a moderate sized family room. Listened to Sony's, JBL's, etc and really didn't like what I was hearing (everything sounded like garbage compared to my Spendor BC1 stereo speakers). Saw this Wharfedale on sale and knowing the very good reputation for its stereo speaker systems, decided to take a chance and bought it without an audition. Coupled with a 100watt Sony AV receiver, the sound is just wonderful. First listens were with the LOTR Two Towers and Pirates of the Carribean. Simply wonderful. While small, the subwoofer really does a good job. I was really shocked at how good music CDs sounded when played in a Hall and Concert mode on the receiver. Listen to these before you spend hundreds more for speakers. Plus, the construction and gold-plated speaker inputs are top quality, and the maple finish, while only a vinyl veneer, exudes class!

First, the speakers do not look quite like they do in the picture (for the Maple version). They are significantly darker than they appear. Second, the quality of the speaker cabinets is disappointing. It is far too clear that the exterior of the cabinets is a cheap laminate. A bit disappointing given how attractive other Wharfedale speakers can be. So if you're looking for a home theatre speaker system that looks better than is typical, think twice. They do look better than most, but not that much better. Regarding the sound, it seems to be ok, but I'm not blown away by them. They don't strike me as being far superior to most of the other surround system speakers that you can buy. I have yet to watch a movie where I thought that they yielded a significant improvement over the system that I previously had without a subwoofer. Having listened to them more and more over the past month, I still don't get a sense that these speakers really dominate those that you would get in a standard low end home theatre system.

Finally took the plunge into home theater. Due to funding constraints, was looking for starter system to put into a moderate sized family room. Listened to Sony's, JBL's, etc and really didn't like what I was hearing (everything sounded like garbage compared to my Spendor BC1 stereo speakers). Saw this Wharfedale on sale and knowing the very good reputation for its stereo speaker systems, decided to take a chance and bought it without an audition. Coupled with a 100watt Sony AV receiver, the sound is just wonderful. First listens were with the LOTR Two Towers and Pirates of the Carribean. Simply wonderful. While small, the subwoofer really does a good job. I was really shocked at how good music CDs sounded when played in a Hall and Concert mode on the receiver. Listen to these before you spend hundreds more for speakers. Plus, the construction and gold-plated speaker inputs are top quality, and the maple finish, while only a vinyl veneer, exudes class!

I thought these speakers were excellent considering the price, I would definately recommend these speakers to someone that doesnt want to spend much for good quality. However i didn't like the fact that the you cant get them to play at a very high volume level. These are a must for someone looking for a great deal on good quality speakers.

I have a PC but don't get me wrong, I love to accessorize, especially my speakers. When I first bought this 3 piece, I was impressed by its features: 27 Watt subwoofer OF WOOD so it doesn't have distortions, Magnetically shielded sattelites so you don't have to worry about putting it close to your PC. Best of all, it comes with 6 colors, one already on the satellites, five others including yellow, red, green and blue (already on) so you can accessorize accordingly to your iMAC. It has a bass knob on the subwoofer and a volume control on the right satellite.

This stylish system packs a nice 40 Watts, the two satellites together are 13 and the subwoofer is a generous 27. It comes with a nice cord that will look great with your current mac. It's got a input jack you easily hook to any microphone/line source and the AC adapter has a coiling wire that stretches so you can place the subwoofer under your desk, next to a table of wood which is good for the subwoofer to vibrate and shake on. I can feel it on my desk right now, do not underestimate these fancy looking speakers, they kick and has lots of boom!

So far, there's nothing bad, I only dislike the poorer treble quality of the satellites but they're not all that bad-only a little worse compared to my old Creative ones but that's because they were 20 watts, not 13.

If you are looking for a great speaker package to style your mac, go for it, if you have a PC and you are a hardcore gamer/frequent mp3 downloader or just listen to music a lot, I recommend the ACS5x systems. I think you'll find them to your liking with more bass and slightly more treble.

For macs, or the newer ones, to replace your Harmon Kardon speakers is a crime! Don't! Skip on these Altec Lansing ones for now unless you desperately seek deeper, richer bass.