Let's Talk About Polk and JBL Home Speakers (1 Viewer)

[AVspec]

I have the S36's all the way around (6 of them) and a S-Center. Lov'em.
Hummm.... wonder were Philip Iturralde with his JBL plugs these days???? You there Phil???
Should have my full review of the S36's completed in a short while (week, two tops) and I have completed my review of the twin SVS 20-39's which will be posted in a day or two.
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-Mark
**** Digital Vortex ****
The Digital Electronic Site
www.digitalvortex.com

 

[Chuck C]

Thanks for the posts guys. I think, given the replies, that there's no way to know which combo would sound better without personally listening to them. However, for guys like me and my friend, buying equipment blindly and based off of reviews has produced satisfying results. When this thread dies, don't be surprised if I revive it with news that my friend went with something totally different!
Generally speaking, getting a consensus here at HTF is hard to reach, but I think we can get there.
p.s. if anyone can find lump combo deals on Polk or JBLs, lemme know!
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Chuck
http://www.hometheaterinsider.com
[Edited last by Chuck C on September 17, 2001 at 11:48 PM]

 

[Westly T]

I've listened to the JBL's in poor environments (Best Buy) and didn't like them nearly as much as the Polks. Also I wanted to add the larger Polk's do add to the overall effect even with ample subs. They seem to fill the room better and the mid low end sounds much better, you can hear it in most male voices as well. I have RT-800's in the front and RT-55 for the rear, of course smaller rears would have been ok. See the link below for a bit out of date photo. I also use Magnepan's for listening to music and some stereo TV.
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- Wes
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/bbs/equipment/28808.html
[Edited last by Westly T on September 18, 2001 at 10:40 AM]

 

[Mike Meeks]

Although I've never listened to the Polks, and I'm sure they stand out on their own as a fine speaker, I can only comment on the JBL's. My current home theater set-up consists of (2) S312, S-Center, (2) S38's for the rear and a JBL PSW-D115 handling the lower end. I agree with the other poster about this series not getting the respect their due. My advice would be to audition as many speakers as you can. And not just the mid price level. High end speakers can be a good gauge for sound comparison.
Keep us posted on what you finally chose. And BTW, I love my JBL's. Just watched "Cape Fear" (1991) tonight and was very impressed with the way Bernard Hermann's score sounded.
Also, I've owned the PSW-D115 for 2 years and have never had any problems with it.

 

[Kurtis]

IMHO my ears say the Polks are a better speaker and to my ear they are quite a bit better. I use to have a set of polk RT800s as mains with CS400 and f/x500s on a Sony 50ES that I loved until my NHTs and Denon.

 

[Chuck C]

the decision has been made! Polks all around...55i, 35i, cs400i...thank you all, and now it's time to find a suitable receiver!
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Chuck
http://www.hometheaterinsider.com

 

[Tom Morgan]

I have Polks all around, RT800i,CS400i,RT600,CS175 for rear center and a PSW140 sub. I use the Marantz SR-7200 to drive them. If I had to do it all over I would except the sub. I could have done better than the Polk sub.
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Tom&Amy's DVD's
[Edited last by Tom Morgan on September 22, 2001 at 07:30 PM]

 

[Phil Iturralde]

quote: Mark Knight - . . . wonder were Philip Iturralde with his JBL plugs these days???? You there Phil??? [/quote]
Hi-ya' Mark! Since August 1st, I've been spending my time @ the Toshiba Thread / HT Spot Forum and to a lesser extent, here @ the TV and Projectors Area because I've been rediscovering my DVD's by viewing them on my http://www.geocities.com/mv_us_2000/Toshiba_50H81_HDTV.html
[Edited last by Phil Iturralde on September 22, 2001 at 05:52 PM]

 

[Jack Lee]

"My ($43 each) JBL N24's reach 18.9 kHz (N-24 front left/right.... 89 Hz to 18.9 kHz ±2.7 dB) - speakers squared, not toed-in, averaged over a ±30° window, with double weight given to the most common listening angle, 30°!!! You've got to spend way more for Polks speakers to match the performance of my JBL N24's."
If by "way more" you mean double, I guess so. But then any decent speaker would be way more expensive compared to N-24.
Your frequently cited S&V article that tested the N-24's also tested the Polk RT25i's and they run about $100 each. A little less extention on the top (15Khz), but pretty comprable to your N-24s - in some respects perhaps better. In that article's technical notes, Tom Nousaine made a point of emphasizing the extremely smooth on-to-off axis response of the RT-25i vs "some roughness" from the N-24:
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/Sou...ht0130p13.html
You can always equalize a shelf. Much harder to equalize axis dependent roughness.
Anyway, the reviewer basically said it was a push.

 

[Phil Iturralde]

Quote:

But don't just take his word, . . . . Brent Butterworth wrote about the http://www.geocities.com/p_iturra/N24_Review.html