Polk Signature Series Speakers: A Budget-Friendly Option for Home Theater Enthusiasts

For decades, Polk has been crafting impressive sounding home theater speakers at equally impressive price points. Today, we're checking out the Signature Series, which includes the s60 towers, s35 center channel, and s20 bookshelves. These speakers combined for powerful and detailed surround sound at a great price.

The s60 towers are the first speaker in our lineup to review. With a price tag of $450, these speakers come inches tall at just under 45 inches. From the moment you look at them, you can tell that Polk has put a lot of thought into their design. The vinyl wrappings and aluminum stands give off an air of quality, making it easy to see why Polk has been a leader in home theater speakers for so long.

But what really sets these speakers apart is the secret weapon hidden beneath the magnetic grille: the new terylene one-inch dome tweeter. This innovative design offers high frequency extension up to 40 kilohertz, making them perfect for high-res audio and providing a wider sweet spot below that range. The three 6.5 inch polypropylene cones offer plenty of power from the midrange down, while the post-power port technology at the base of the tower is designed to enhance bass response.

When it comes to sound quality, these speakers are impressive. In our experience, they're particularly good at delivering clear and present vocal reproduction in the mid-range, with excellent detail and pull on dialogue and cinematic effects. They also do a great job of immersing listeners in their surroundings, tossing swirling surround sound effects around the room brilliantly.

Of course, no speaker is perfect, and there are some quirks to be aware of when using these speakers. For example, they can produce a bit of extra boom, particularly for those with acoustic instruments like guitars. This can sometimes result in an overly sharp or synthetic tone, especially on tracks with light acoustic instrumentation like Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain." However, these issues are relatively minor and don't detract from the overall listening experience.

In addition to their impressive sound quality, the s60 towers also offer a great aesthetic value. With their striking design and premium materials, they're sure to be a focal point in any room. And at $450, they're an excellent value for anyone looking for high-quality home theater speakers without breaking the bank.

Next up are the s20 bookshelves, which share many of the same features as the s60 towers but with a more compact design. With a single 6.5 inch polypropylene woofer and terylene tweeter, these speakers deliver similar sound quality to their larger counterparts at a lower price point. The plastic molds at the back connect to the bass reflex ports for optimal bass response, thanks in part to Polk's post-power port technology.

Finally, there is the s35 center channel speaker, which has just over 4 inches tall and boasts an even slimmer profile than some of Polk's other models. With six 3-inch drivers flanking a new tweeter, this speaker delivers surprisingly good sound quality for its size. And with its power port technology at the back, it's sure to provide plenty of bass for any home theater system.

In our experience, the s35 center channel is particularly good at delivering clear and present vocal reproduction in the mid-range, making it an excellent choice for anyone looking for a compact center channel speaker without sacrificing sound quality. It's also worth noting that this speaker looks like a soundbar more than a traditional center channel, which can be a plus for those with limited space.

Overall, the Polk Signature Series is an excellent option for anyone looking for affordable home theater speakers that deliver impressive sound quality and aesthetics. Whether you choose the s60 towers, s20 bookshelves, or s35 center channel speaker, you're sure to be impressed by these speakers' ability to bring your favorite movies and music to life in a whole new way.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enfor decades Polk has been crafting impressive sounding home theater speakers at equally impressive price points today we're checking out the Signature Series including the s60 towers the s35 center channel and the s20 bookshelves which combined for powerful and detailed surround sound at a great price we'll start with the s60 towers which cost $450 inches at just under 45 inches tall these speakers create a striking look right from the get-go while we would have obviously preferred woods near to the s6 these vinyl wrappings these speakers give the impression of quality from a glance right down to the stout aluminum stands at the base slipping off the magnetic grilles reveals the secret weapon of the Signature Series the new terylene one-inch dome tweeter a picture of each of the speakers in the series the new tweeter is designed to offer high frequency extension up to 40 kilohertz for high res audio and a wider sweet spot below that are three 6.5 inch polypropylene cones which offer plenty of power employees from the mid range down as well as post power port technology at the base of the tower designed for you guessed it Richard bass extension the s20 bookshelves are much like a miniature clone of the s60 both saying both a terylene tweeter and a single 6.5 inch polypropylene woofer as well as these plastic molds at the back that connect to the bass reflex ports for that same power port technology finally we have the S 35 which has just over 4 inches tall has a much slimmer profile than most other center channel speakers including Polk's own step-down model the S 30 looking more like a sound bar than a Center speaker the s 35 features six three inch drivers flank an entirely new tweeter and still offers plenty of boom thanks in part no doubt to its own power port tech at the back side all the speakers feature magnetic grilles I connect with five way binding posts including a bonus pair on the S 64 by epic while it comes as no surprise we like the Signature Series best when auditioning movies and surround sound including favorites like guardians of the galaxy vol 2 Deadpool and the Martian the system is immediately impressive in its clarity and presence especially in the mid-range of trouble where the speaker's offer rich and present vocal reproduction and pull out the little details and dialogue and cinematic effects with ease just as importantly the speakers are also extremely well matched tossing swirling surround sound effects around the room brilliantly to immerse Euan sound when put under the microscope individually the speakers do have their quirks including some extra boom and a lower register for the s35 center channel and some extra sharpness in the upper mid-range especially present in the s60 towers this is most evident when listening to music especially in light productions like Fleetwood Mac's the change where acoustic guitar comes off a bit too clicky and bright for our taste this was more or less a trend for acoustic instruments where the organic flavours became a bit synthetic and sharp at times those quibbles aside the Signature Series speakers are impressive for the price and we had plenty of fun with their penchant for power and clarity including a great rendition of the Beatles love soundtrack in 5.1 surround well not without their quirks Polk Signature Series speakers offer great detail and impressively immersive surround sound on a budgetfor decades Polk has been crafting impressive sounding home theater speakers at equally impressive price points today we're checking out the Signature Series including the s60 towers the s35 center channel and the s20 bookshelves which combined for powerful and detailed surround sound at a great price we'll start with the s60 towers which cost $450 inches at just under 45 inches tall these speakers create a striking look right from the get-go while we would have obviously preferred woods near to the s6 these vinyl wrappings these speakers give the impression of quality from a glance right down to the stout aluminum stands at the base slipping off the magnetic grilles reveals the secret weapon of the Signature Series the new terylene one-inch dome tweeter a picture of each of the speakers in the series the new tweeter is designed to offer high frequency extension up to 40 kilohertz for high res audio and a wider sweet spot below that are three 6.5 inch polypropylene cones which offer plenty of power employees from the mid range down as well as post power port technology at the base of the tower designed for you guessed it Richard bass extension the s20 bookshelves are much like a miniature clone of the s60 both saying both a terylene tweeter and a single 6.5 inch polypropylene woofer as well as these plastic molds at the back that connect to the bass reflex ports for that same power port technology finally we have the S 35 which has just over 4 inches tall has a much slimmer profile than most other center channel speakers including Polk's own step-down model the S 30 looking more like a sound bar than a Center speaker the s 35 features six three inch drivers flank an entirely new tweeter and still offers plenty of boom thanks in part no doubt to its own power port tech at the back side all the speakers feature magnetic grilles I connect with five way binding posts including a bonus pair on the S 64 by epic while it comes as no surprise we like the Signature Series best when auditioning movies and surround sound including favorites like guardians of the galaxy vol 2 Deadpool and the Martian the system is immediately impressive in its clarity and presence especially in the mid-range of trouble where the speaker's offer rich and present vocal reproduction and pull out the little details and dialogue and cinematic effects with ease just as importantly the speakers are also extremely well matched tossing swirling surround sound effects around the room brilliantly to immerse Euan sound when put under the microscope individually the speakers do have their quirks including some extra boom and a lower register for the s35 center channel and some extra sharpness in the upper mid-range especially present in the s60 towers this is most evident when listening to music especially in light productions like Fleetwood Mac's the change where acoustic guitar comes off a bit too clicky and bright for our taste this was more or less a trend for acoustic instruments where the organic flavours became a bit synthetic and sharp at times those quibbles aside the Signature Series speakers are impressive for the price and we had plenty of fun with their penchant for power and clarity including a great rendition of the Beatles love soundtrack in 5.1 surround well not without their quirks Polk Signature Series speakers offer great detail and impressively immersive surround sound on a budget\n"