I have been listing to the cheapaudioman. I wanted to replace my fronts. Back and forth on speakers because of my cheap Denon AV receiver. Well, I purchased the Polk ES15 because of this review. He sounds like BS, but he is right on. Your the man !
I purchased the ES15s for a commercial project I was doing and the client was so impressed, he bought some for his home. I did the same. I've got a pair as my rear surrounds and also use them as near-field monitors in my studio. I also have the older top-end LsIM series for my primary speakers in my home theater. Polk continues to blow me away with their exceptional quality.
I bought these speakers based on this video. They sound great. I use them in my office which doubles as a sound room when I'm not working. They' put out plenty of sound for the size of my room. I also use them with a subwoofer which really makes a difference. The only thing that makes me nervous is the way they mount on a wall. I don't have room for floor stands and the single keyhole on the back limits how securely you can put them on the wall. I used heavy duty anchors, might swap them out for butterfly toggle bolts for a little more peace of mind. I've pictured them falling off the wall when I have the music levels high and it's a disturbing visual.
Excellent review I plan on buying its larger brother soon. After some very serious life-changing events I'm able to piece together a two-channel audio system. It will be the es twenties and the Yamaha 301 integrated amplifiers
I have the ES20s, and they sound surprisingly great! I cross them over at 60Hz with two RSL Speedwoofers. Even crossing them at 40Hz sounds good. Crossover below 80Hz on any speakers I've auditioned ALWAYS sounds better in my room. Of course, I choose speakers that are capable of playing well below 80Hz.
I paired these with a ES30 center, a JBL 550p sub and a Denon AVR-X1600H receiver. WOW, what an amazing sound! I thought I would need bigger speakers, but no, I don't.
What's your opinion of the ES30? I'm torn between the ES30 and a single ES15 for center channel duty. Given the MTM design of the ES30, I wonder how good the horizontal off-axis response is. A single ES30 sitting in the center on the TV wouldn't have any MTM-related off-axis phase issues, but a bookshelf speaker is obviously taller and less visually appealing.
I just picked a pair of these up for $230 shipped. Two years later seeing this review is still valid for ES15, a nice speaker which definitely is not fatiguing. Nice little music box and well-constructed, takes well to EQ. Replaced QA 3020 and this sounds thicker with some caramel. Just using Fosi SK-01 for EQ & they work well together, another item I found from your reviews so thanks!
I love the Polk s20 as it is. But if the new es version is a little warmer with a little more detailed mid-range, they might have just improved an already great speaker.
@@cheapaudioman 😲 I've watched your review of the S20's (twice) where you revised your thoughts and said you were gonna replace your Elac Debut B6's with them and said "I'm not gonna sell them". Polk has a deal the S20's right now for $240. Guess they're about to get discontinued. I was about to pull the trigger on them but first would love to know why you got rid of them. PS love your channel, I sometimes even watch stuff I'm not really interested in just for the entertainment value.
I just got the ES20 and am impressed. Breaking them in, and fussing with the bass to integrate with my sub. Got it for $320 and used my Amazon points to drop it tp $220 for a bargain. The es20s have a DEEP cabinet, so bulky for near field. But worth it.
That is an interesting bass plate - it uses the air on the outside of the case to load the port, as you mentioned, to extend the bass a bit lower than a similar sized speakers. And it probably makes it easier to place them closer to the wall. I think it was a Wharfdale that has the bottom slot port all the way around the cabinet - is essentially the same mechanism. And yes, the velocity of the air is greatly reduced at the openings at the edges of the bass plate. EDIT: there is another way to tune a speaker, in addition to flat, or U, or V "shaped" tuning - and that is a so-called *room* *curve. A room* *curve* tends to have lifted bass below about 200Hz, and ideally flat from 200-1000Hz, and a slight slope down above that. For me, a 1dB per octave lift below 200Hz (or 160Hz) and about 0.5dB slope down per octave above 1kHz. That totals +3dB total in the bass, and -3dB total up to 20kHz. This *room curve* is a mild version of a Harman Curve.
Polk also does that “power port” on their towers. Difference is that it’s a plate on the bottom. It sounds similar to the Warfdale from you description, but I have seen the Warfdales.
Thanks to this video I got the white version for $99. Polk had it on sale for around $140 but they had open box items in white. It was sold quick. Thank you!
Thanks! As a returning audio buff after years of family distraction, in a good way, I appreciate your insights. I'm starting to build my new music listening studio based on your recommendations.
Something for you to consider for a future video: I'd love it if you could either review Martin Logan speakers - their bookshelf speakers, anyway, if not necessarily those Electrostatic jobbies - or do a shootout between comparable speakers at their level (including, hopefully, some Polks). My home is largely a Polk Audio house - an assortment of 30+ year-old floorstanding speakers, 15+ year old LSi- and RTi-series speakers, and the newer, although also discontinued-at-this-point LSiM 703 bookshelves. All either hand-me-downs or bought at closeout prices. I have a friend who was similarly a Polk Audio person until he was turned on to Martin Logan. While acknowledging that every speaker in a manufacturer's lineup is not going to perform the same (and apparently somewhat independent of price, as demonstrated by your opinions of the various Klipsch speakers you've reviewed), and understanding that Martin Logan isn't really a 'cheap speaker' brand, I'm still curious what your impressions are of how Martin Logan stacks up against its competitors. Are they really deserving of the hype? What listening preference do they suit (U shaped? V shaped? Balanced?). I really have taken to appreciating your take on speakers, so I'd love to hear what you have to say about them.
Thanks for the excellent review (yet again) Randy. How do these Polk ES15's compare to the Monitor Audio Bronze 50's and/or the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 's ??
These ES15 speakers sound like a great speaker! I wasn't that impressed with the standard signature speaker sound. I ended up buying the Polk TSI100 speakers which you also said were much better than the S15. I was wondering how do the ES15 compare to the TSI100. The TSI series, while an older series, is currently still made and sold on Crutchfield and Amazon. Keep up the great reviews. You are someone I actually relate to with similar opinions, unlike a lot of the stereo/home theater magazine reviewers.
@@ravithompson1082 I have my TSI100s paired with my Denon receiver and they sound fantastic like what Randy found. Maybe TS speakers you had are different from the TSI speakers I have. The TSI speakers I have are not old and currently made and sold. Randy had previously stated how good the TSI100s were and how much better they were over the previous Polk Signature S15 speakers.
Started on Polk for their MM series car speakers. Now I have the S55, and S30. I don't know why they sometimes get hate, but are pretty great for the price.
I’ve been using these as my main stereo speakers for 2+ years. I was originally sold on the aesthetic but they sound good as well. This year for Black Friday, all Polk were discounted. I added a pair of Es20 as my front and Es30 for my center with Es15 in back to use as a surround sound setup. 5.1 sounds great in a medium sized room. Not sure if I want or need to add a subwoofer . At the moment, I’m happy without one.
Great review! Just picked up a pair to sub out for a pair of Klipsch B200 speakers I am using in a near field setup for film and video editing. They sound great and are actually aesthetically beautiful. I would love to leave the grills off, but nervous as that tweets feels super fragile 😮
I originally wasnt happy with this speaker and wanted to sell them. It sounded muffled with bloated bass that covered up the midrange and highs. I decided to give them one more try using the fosi v3 with the sparkos op-amp & 48v ps. Running it thru Geshelli labs es9038 dac. Wow! What a difference! Well balanced clearer sound with deep punchy bass.
I just bought the older S15e which is the Euro spec, which had great reviews and I already really like after a few days. Interestingly cheapaudioman hated the US spec S15 so I wonder if the Euro ones are closer to this ES model. Certainly they share the cosmetic changes that were applied to the Euro spec like black bolts and a matte fascia.
Polk was instrumental in my passion for audio, as well as KLH, and both those names you'd be hard pressed Not to include them when speaking in terms of audiophile. To each..there own when it comes to system enjoyment and synergy among brands. Devoted Polk fan.
Building a system with a small speaker like this really dictates that you would most likely need a sub if you plan on keeping "bookshelves" as your mains, it would be helpful if you happen to try them assisted by a sub to test out their overall potential, seeing that a sub will free up the bass speaker, how big of an effect is that with these?
Polk should be more noticed, and should be audiophilish, the monitor 7 and 10, all the sdas, rtas, all very good. Actually a fact from the past, at a convention where best in class was going on, the jbl 4311(which i love) took second place to the polk monitor 10, was voted best in class, i love monitor 10s also, and if u want to hear an otherworldly earthquake of an experience then look no further than the BIG sda models, 2.3 etc., then tell me they shouldnt be "audiophile".
One yosi song I listen to is fluid, it reminds me of one time I was in an underground lava tube in arizona…. Luckily it had cooled thousands of years ago and I had a good headlight but the way sound wrapped around you in a cave like that was trippy.
I have the S10s. Obviously a different speaker but I really like the tweeters they are using. I think it’s very detailed but smooth. Not very harsh at all. Listening to them A/B with the monitor series 2. The mids are a big more pronounced in comparison where the monitor series sounds like the tweeter really stands out.
I love that you always use good music, well in my opinion, for testing speakers. A couple songs I use when auditioning speakers is Breakdown by Tantric. The guitar on that song is phenomenal. And then Touch, Peel, and Stand by Days of the New. That song will show you if you have a full or lean speaker instantly. Anyways just thought I’d drop some song recommendations that I think you might like. :D
i have some es-20s running thru two mono schiit Gjallarhorns - with a magni, a modi and a loki mini+ paired with dual polk psw 10 subs . i recently got some klipsch rp-600m on sale thinking better sound and efficiency. i was wrong. my polk es-20 have a bit of meaty mids and smoother highs that made the klipsch sound tinny and hollow. i was surprised. soundstage and width was better on the polks and a more smooth and cohesive auditory delivery than the klipsch. the klipsch might have been cleaner at exceptionally high volume...but my 54 year old ears can only take that in small doses. after a-b-ing the es-20s and rp-600ms, i prefer the polks. wider, more spatial and less shrill and hollowness.
I'm really interested that you hated the older S15 but this one seems to have won your praise. I just bought the S15e "euro tuned" for a song (£99) in the UK, and my thinking is it's closer to this ES model as it shares the cosmetic changes like black bolts and matt fascia - they also did some work to the crossover. Plus I really like it and most of the undesirable traits you picked up I can't hear when hooked up either to my Naim Uniti Atom or a budget Tangent Ampster BT II. It sounds exactly the way you describe this ES model - balanced, slightly bassy with certain music, with a smooth but not too covered mid and treble, that in my mind is the perfect companion to brighter class D budget amps.
I was looking at these and a couple others for my bedroom marantz 2215. Do you have any advice for me with that receiver. I listen to classic rock and love my old Friday the 13th scores on vinyl . Kind of new to the game but love your channel.
Polk and Bose seem to be the favorite brands that a lot of people take pot shots at on many of the forums. I haven't heard Bose often but I've owned Polk and have heard Polk in stores and they seem to have reasonably good sound quality for the money. Unlike some companies, Polk strikes me as the kind of company that if they ever find or invent the perfect speaker drivers, they wouldn't charge you a kings ransom for it. Audiophile is a word like gourmet. There's no absolute as to what qualifies as either, or how far from state of the art sound something could be & still be considered to have audiophile sound quality. The people with the best price no object stereos sound like they have singers on their ceiling, like on an elevated stage. Every note has a rightness and purity of tone that tickles you with stunning tonal beauty. I still don't think you would be able to hear a pin drop 10 feet behind the mic, but I do think you'd hear a pen drop. Do people who use cheap cables ever achieve that kind of sound? No! Most peoples systems might be clear enough if an empty can of pop dropped onto a hard surface not too far from the mike. When we occasionally play classical music, we often hear chairs squeak from musicians shifting their weight to bow their instruments. A lot of people who think they have achieved the heights in sound quality would need a cello players chair to break during the recording to be able to hear it. Or they might only hear it if he cussed loud enough after hitting the floor.
And do people actually miss all those chair squeaks, breaths and flies passing through, to pay top dollars for "audiophile" equipment? -It's a marketing BS, mostly, IMO...
a lot of bose products were pretty bad cough, cough acoustimass... but they used to make pretty decent stuff, and even their new bluetooth headphones are pretty good.
How dare you breath the name Polk together with Bose! I don't know what forums you spend time in, but there's a huge Polk fanbase among audiophiles. Like any company (except Bose), the more you spend, the more you get, but as you noted, with Polk you get more for the $$$.
I had some Bose (602s maybe?) in the late 80s. They seemed to do well for most things but that’s the last time I was thrilled by a Bose product. I do kinda like the 191s for rears if you have a small room and no floor space. I’m currently running some Polk TSX330T fronts, DIY (Paul Carmody designed) rears, a Polk S35 center and a Dayton Audio 12” sub off an Onkyo TX-NR686. I don’t hate this setup but seasoned audio guys probably wouldn’t be satisfied. Far as Bose versus Polk, I can’t really take Bose seriously after owning these TSXs.
Someone with username Aaa Aaa replying to my yesterdays post responded that he thinks hearing breathing, chairs squeaking and subtle stuff like that on recordings is BS. With all due respect it shows that you've never had equipment capable of resolving much in the way of nuances and subtlety. Those kind of things don't actually contribute that much to the musics enjoyment, but they contribute to the realism and if your system resolves things like that, you know that your system is also resolving actual low level music subtleties as well, and that does bring about greater music enjoyment. Along with spatial subtleties, hall ambience, how a musician is emphasizing or shaping notes, whether it be a piano or bass guitar or anything instrument for that matter. It all adds up to and enhances the realism, and its a real nice feeling hearing your stereo is not missing much of anything, no matter how subtle. Those who buy too cheap don't get to experience low level resolution like that. They've never heard anything that could truly be mentioned in the same sentence with "state of the art." If I was at the beach and couldn't hear the waves of the water coming in, I wouldn't really feel like I was at the beach. Take a vacation from doubting and pretending that your stereo is about as good as it gets, and try to hear something that is about as good as it gets, if you're interested enough. Even if you couldn't come close to affording it, it will give you a reference point, to get as close to as you can, but don't expect to get too close. In a recent Audiophiliac video, Steve's guest Herb from Stereophile would tell people at a show "Go the 3 or 4 rooms and listen and then come back in here and listen to this. If you can't hear a difference before you sit down, then don't buy it. It's not for you.
My experience with Polk speakers is that they always sounded a bit muddy for my taste. I'd like to hear these to find out if my ears still don't care for Polk Audio. Thanks for all the bookshelf speaker reviews! Informative and entertaining, BTW, I recently dusted off a pair of HSU Research HB1 Mk2 and think they sound like the best traits of Emotiva B1+ and the Sony CS5 mated together. Good top end sparkle and a bit of rock n roll. If you have the chance to listen to HSU speakers, I think they're a good option for a lot of people and the price comes in under $400. I find them to be less fatiguing to listen to than the Klipsch speakers I've heard.
Good point. I wish my Polk tower would surprise me with some clarity, reminding me that it's present (in my four-speaker set-up). It seems as though Randy's theme this month has been that Polk has awakened, and has gotten serious about its' entire lineup.
Excellent excellent review, I like the sound of the speaker do you like it better than the C 93, IA, also I still have beef with Crutchfield for the way they tell you they give you free shipping but if you don’t get the two day shipping you save about $25-$30 on the price
When you say compliment the Emotivas, are you saying to combine them? I am racking my brain out with choices on building a 5.1.4 set up. I see some people saying the es10s would be good height channels. My room size is 13 x 13 (with open to kitchen and hall etc) but sitting area is around 11.5 feet from tv. If I describe my preference (I assume this is what I like) as being able to hear fingers move along guitar strings--hearing the warmth of keys but also clarity in voices (for movies too) and the crispness of classical instruments such as the high peaks of violin would you say these would work? I keep hearing people saying neutral but I am worried about a flat or lack of color to sound? I also will be mounting to the wall for the front and rears (not on wall but on brackets etc) as I have no other choice--kids running around), so I am not sure if most of the speakers recommended would even work for me. I know everyone has their own opinion but audioscience review/avs forum seem to hate or ignore polk? Most tend to recommend Emotiva or JBL 130 (although audioscience say it has a muddy sound) or Elac Br5.2 or br 6.2 or Infinity R152/162 when on sale. I am not an audiophile but when I listen to music I want to smile and hear clarity, and when I listen to movies I want to feel it and hear clarity also. Budget is key. My wife is content with a soundbar, I am not. I am just worried the Sonys won't have enough power in the room? Its driving me freakn insane with how many dang choices their are (as others talk about BICs, Paradigm, Q Acoustics, DSL CG3, and too many freakn others). HELP! EDIT: on and add Cambridge Audio SX 60
Give the Emotiva a try. If you don't like them all it will cost you is the return shipping. Cheap speaker rental if you look at it that way. I really enjoy my Emotiva T-Zero towers, C1+ center channel and SE8-Flex sub woofer. Someday, I'll get a pair of the B1+ to round out the system.
I have the Elac debut B6 2 for about 2 years, I think this speakers are hard to beat specially when there are on sale, make sure to power them with enough watts to have its better performance
Pretty high praise there..I appreciate. I've got the original S series, S55 Towers, S15 surrounds and for a 2 channel S15 setup in office. Is the ES series worth the upgrade or can we just swap in the upgraded crossover?
Mark, I'm not sure at all. I found the ES to have quite a bit better bass and lower midrange than the S series. I'm not saying you need to run out and buy them but I was really surprised and how good they were.
I have the same setup (S55 + S15) for my current 7.1 system and I quite enjoy them. I did use GR Research’s liner inside of the towers to help brace the box though. I’ve really enjoyed these and was intrigued by this ES version.
Nice review and have been enjoying your other videos. I don't have any Polk speakers but I am thinking about getting these to see if they can replace my old but well kept Infinity SL20 bookshelf speakers. Currently using a Fosi Audi BT20A Amp and Fosi DAC-Q4 and playing lossless tracks. They sound good but I wonder if the new speaker technology will make a difference.
Hi Randy Thank you for this review. I am starting to build a New Hi-Fi system. My plan is to buy the 2021 Bluesound Powernode and buy budget bookshelf speakers. Hopefully within a year or two I could upgrade to a higher category bookshelf speakers. Therefore, I was thinking of buying the Sony SS-CS5 based on your reviews or the Polk Audio ES15 which are a bit more expensive here in Canada than the Sony's. I wonder which of these two speakers would you recommend buying that really have overall very good sound quality for its price. I listen to Various Music Genres. Progressive Rock like Camel, Pink Floyd, ... to Extreme Metal like Behemoth, Dark Tranquility, At The Gates,...etc. Rap, Hip Hop, Blues, ...etc. Thank you for your time and for creating this channel. Happy New Year
I really like your reviews, and reviewing all these bookshelf speakers is important, but I’m thinking bookshelves get a little too much attention. I took your advice on the Amazon Music 3 months free deal, very happy with that. I liked your video about music, and I wish to acknowledge that, even if you only have a good boombox, a stereo is only as good as the music you play on it. This was illustrated by a Canadian friend of mine who lives WAY in the wilderness off grid. He only has enough solar power to drive a quality boom box….but he has the greatest jazz collection on CD that I have ever seen!! I myself, have 4 Heresies, driven by a Kyrocera 651 receiver, and a MAC 4100, both are 40 years old and both still sound GREAT. Though the MAC sounds better, the Kyrocera sounds just about as good, which brings to mind, that the Kyrocera’s with their unique conductive ceramic circuitry were deliberately made to sound warm, like a tube amp, and they are ignored by video makers who discuss vintage equipment. The Heresies are SO efficient that a volume setting on #1 in a big sound room, is almost too loud on both receivers. Am I an “audiophile” maybe…I’m interested, but not in modern equipment too much because of the cost. But the software….the music, is always primary. Good job.
You’re not into modern equipment because of the cost, but you have 4 Heresys and a McIntosh receiver? Literally everything CAM has reviewed (with the one exception of the time he reviewed Heresys) is way way cheaper than your Mac or Klipsch Heresys when you adjust for inflation. This is probably the case even if you don’t adjust inflation
Would you consider these a good pairing with a vintage receiver? The "warmness" is really what caught my attention. I'm using a Harman/Kardon 930 from the 70s, and my music collection is pretty varied, from jazz to rock, punk metal etc. I'm after the kind of "do it all" speakers because of that. I don't want to match my speakers to a specific genre. Also, the space is at premium in our household, so speakers much bigger than this are really not an option.
It's understandable, though...Polk calls the series the "Signature Elite" and then uses the letters ES...In reference to the port noise, don't forget Portnoy's Complaint.
It would seem that the polk S15, S20,ES15, and ES20 have the bass response Polk is typically known for. I bought the RTiA3 polks a couple of years ago, and they don't seem to have the bass punch that my previous Polk's have, but they are probably a more linear/flat design as far as frequency response. I'm wondering, out of the following three Polks, would anyone know which one has the best bass extension? ES15, ES20, and R200 (from the Reserve line). Also, small speaker behaviors can be easily corrected by tone controls, so if your speaker is too bright, dial back the treble, if it's too dominant/shouty in the midrange scoop out the midrange by dialing back your midrange, and same with bass, if it's too boomy, dial back the bass. My hearing is sensitive to midrange, but I like the slight bottom end boost (gotta when you enjoy awesome Geddy Lee Bass!!! And Moog synth bass lines) and slight high frequency boost too. If u have triple tone controls and unlike slightly boosted highs and lows, try lowering/scooping your midrange level, as this makes lows and highs more prominent. To me, a flat speaker can be stressful to listen to, as I need the slightly boosted lows and highs. I've played bass guitar for many years so bass better be there, but not so much it's gonna drowned out the middle frequencies - that's not good. Well, nice review on the ES15 product. Thanks!!
Great and informative videos ! I am looking at upgrading my Polk RTi A1 and centre channel. I am considering the new Polk ES15 vs ES20 and was wondering if there is a significant sound difference between the two to justify the price difference? Overall, do you prefer one over the other for overall listening ?
I recently got a demo of both ES15 and 20, both have same sound signature but 20 because of the bigger driver and depth has better lows. Mids and highs are exactly same. So if you have a slightly bigger space, ES20 is better overall.
