Polk Audio T30 Home Theater Center Channel Speaker - Vocal Clarity, Deep Bass Response, Dolby and DTS, Single, Black

For the price, these are excellent speakers. They sound super-clear with accurate full-range reproduction and even a bit of bass. i got them at a sale price which made them somewhat of a no-brainer, although i considered Yamaha and Sony 3-way bookshelf speakers and the Polk tsi100 which is almost functionally the same except it has an active crossover, which these lack.However for my purposes, that didn't matter -- i am using them as surrounds in a 5.1 system, all Polk, with a Sony receiver. You could pay more for surrounds, but why? Sound quality is excellent, and they handle transitions between complex passages to more isolated ones faithfully. They also do well with both acoustic and electronic musical elements. If i had to describe the soundstage, it's present, with clear separation between frequencies. They are maybe a little on the crisp side but not shrill, in terms of tonality, though that will also depend on what music you play through them.(EDIT: It's been a few years now, and I've listened to lotta of music and movies through these speakers. As long as you know their limitations and strengths, you'll be fine with these.)I havent done extensive testing yet, nor put them through their paces with a home theater audio source, but their performance with music raises no expectation that they wouldn't handle typical movie audio as well. They are only rated to 50w continuous/100w peak, so that is something to consider if you are thinking of using them as mains. (EDIT: in engineering these, Polk chose to emphasize sound fidelity. These aren't going to have bass like a 3-way speaker. They have a max. volume rating which may preclude use as mains in larger rooms. But they are under $100 for a pair and sound fantastic for what they are.)I would say they are perfect as surrounds in a 5.1 system, which places lower power demands on rear speakers so the wattage rating doesn't matter. But i could see going with 4 of these in a home theater set-up, or 4 plus a subwoofer, for a small room. The freq. response only goes down to 60khz, so you are not going to get deep bass from these. But you will hear some bass, which sounds surprisingly clean on sound selections where low-end is isolated and "ripples" through all channels.I personally chose the Monitor 60s as my mains because I listen to a lot of music. But honestly, those might be overkill in some regards because it doesn't take a lot of volume to fill the room they are in, which is around 15' x 20'. Anyway, the M60s sound great paired with the T15s and PSW10 and could easily work as a main system in a larger, living room space. i would also have no reservations about swapping the T15s with my Yamaha surrounds on the main system, except they are just a bit larger and bulkier. They do have a keyhole opening on the back if you want to wall-mount or secure them. The cabinet itself is very well-made and these look impressive without grilles. Overall, very pleased with my purchase, so far they have performed flawlessly and are exactly what i expected. if you want bigger bass from a bookshelf speaker, your options become at least2x-3x more expensive, but will also be limited by physical space. For example, the Yamaha 3-way advertised as a bookshelf speaker packs a largeish woofer into a midsize cabinet, where it can potentially overpower the treble and mids. maybe that's an option for mains if you dont have room or budget for a subwoofer and/or floor-standing speakers, but also probably overkill for surrounds in a 5.1 setup. The T15s, on the other hand, aren't trying to give you floor-speaker performance in a smaller package, but they do compare favorably with more expensive 2-way bookshelf speakers. At this price point, they are something of an engineering/design marvel, and as long as you have realistic expectations, they will meet or exceed those expectations.

I am very experienced at listening to loudspeakers as I designed and manufactured the nOrh brand of loudspeakers a few years ago. One of the speakers that we marketed was the nOrh 3.0 which sold for less than $100 a pair. It had a full range driver and could produce sound above 80 Hz. There is no end to the uses a small/low-cost loudspeaker can serve. Whether it is for a low-cost system to put in a garage, rear speakers for an AV system or desktop speakers for a computer system, small, low-cost loudspeakers have many applications.I wanted to do an experiment to produce a low-cost system that sounded good. I bought a Mo-Gu 50W Class D amplifier for about $30.00. I bought a larger power supply than what was furnished for another $12.00 or so. I then found the Polk T15s on sale for $50.00. I had not heard these speakers before but at $50.00, I knew they would be good enough for my experiment.When the speakers came in, I wired up the pair of speakers and connected the system to the Amazon Dot that I bought on sale for $29.00. I could have also used the Google Audiocaster but that would require me to always have my phone to control the system.For less than $100.00, the Polk T15, Mo-Gu amplifier, and power supply could produce sound is quite respectable for less money than the many Bluetooth boxes that are sold for more than $200.00. Combining the system with the Amazon dot, pushed to the total cost to just over $100.00 but greatly increased the functionality. For less than I had paid for my Grace Internet Radio, I now had a voice-controlled music system capable of playing Internet Radio or streaming music from a variety of sources. The Mo-Gu amplifier also features Bluetooth.At first play, the Polk Audio T15 sounded a bit shrill and constrained. I recognized this as meaning the speakers needed to be broken in. After 100 hours of breaking in, the Polk Audio T15s have lost all their shrillness.On the good side, the Pold Audio T15s play loud and confidently. They are tonally balanced and don't have any bad characteristics. I still find them a bit bright but not offensively so. Obviously, there is no deep bass. I would suspect that the speakers roll off about 70Hz. The bass that is produced is clean. The T15s don't suffer from trying to overdo what they are capable of.The Polk T15s are capable of filling a room with pleasant sound from the modest Class D amplifier I was using. I didn't push them very hard and the small amplifier was more than enough to fill my room. I asked Alexia to play all sorts of music. I listened to lots of jazz, folk and blues. I spent over an hour listening to the Persuasions.The Pok T15s never blew me away but they never offended me either. The stereo effect was very good but there was no imaging what so ever. The sounds were either coming from the right or the left. While many audiophiles would not like this description, having left and right information clearly presented is much better than what many people listen to with so many sound systems jamming lots of speakers in a small box where there is no separation at all.The little Polks tried to produce sound that comes outside the box but never managed to extend its sound field more than a foot or two from the box itself. The Polk Audio T15s always sounded like a box speaker but got an E for effort trying.The Polk T15s would be great for rear speakers. They are loud, clear and balanced. The port is in the front making it easy to hang on the wall. They look very good for their price.For about $100 when the T15s are on sale, you can put together a system much cheaper than what it costs to buy a Sonus. The Sony Play5 does have better bass but you could mate the T15s to a low-cost subwoofer and blow away the Sonus Play3s or Play5s.The Polk Audio T15 is a very good choice for a low-cost over achiever.