more like an S2000 to a Ferrari, Polk makes good solid audiophile speakers for the buck.
I have the Energy RC50’s which are a step down from the 70’s. It is a good deal to jump on, if you want quality speakers. You couldn’t get one speaker for this price not long ago.
Phenomenal deal. These sound great, and have plenty of bass. Most quality speakers under a grand are lacking in bass, usually dropping out at 50-70 hertz. Then you would need a sub, which will cost 300+ for a good one, and it’s still difficult matching, placing, and setting a proper crossover.
That Polk deal is awesome, 160 apiece for Monitor 70s. They certainly won’t sound as good as the Energy, but not many of us have 800 bucks to spare. I’m still using 20 year old Celestion 3s!
So… is anybody actually considering these? From what I see, you would be jumping in at $800/pair BASICALLY blind. I have been purchasing speakers for years now (granted, only for personal use) and never heard of this brand. Though Polk is basically a glorified ‘cheapo’ brand, I would still recommend their product for build quality and price.
My personal speakers consist of JBL and Klipsch, but from what I have seen I would not buy these, as better items can be bought (with better name recognition [not that name recognition means much practically] and [more importantly] better quality… e.g. Polk) for less money.
Think before buying. Just because Woot! has something does not make it a great buy, and declared ‘frequency response’ does not always tell the whole story.
Reviews were a bit buried in google, since these are discontinued.
All were comparing to $5000 sets, and came off well.
Will replace my Triangle Comete ES.
Polk is junk. Period. I have never heard a Polk speaker that could hold sound quality at high pitch range. They always drop into a “open can” sound.
I own a pair of Energy C-500 towers. They’re old (5 years now, I want to say?), but the quality and reliability that energy puts into their speakers, not to mention depth of sound is phenomenal.
As opposed to many “cheap” brands of speakers where the high range sounds tinny and the low range bottoms out (despite anything but the trained ear probably not noticing), energy rarely has that problem. I actually have a surround sound system by Energy as well.
Energy has been a low side of the upper quality speakers since the inception of the company, and if you’ll looking for a great speaker without crushing your wallet, I suggest them.
However, as with the above post. NEVER. EVER. EVER. EVER. Buy speakers blind. Ever.
Find a place near you that carries the speaker you want and go listen to them, bring music that carries full range of sound (classical usually makes for a good test setting) and listen for the high and low ranges. You don’t want to test speakers loudly because precision in sound quality cannot be heard at high volumes (the ear can only handle so much). Basically, make sure you’d be happy with the speaker. In the end, if you buy a 300 dollar speaker and your neighbor bought a 20,000 dollar speaker, if you’re both satisfied, it doesn’t matter.
Get what you want out of it.
For what it’s worth, I recommend Energy as a company, but I would never suggest buying speakers blind, its just too much of a gamble.
Good advice. My experience with Polk is only through my friends who ‘like’ their products (as I mentioned before, I have a mixed JBL/Klipsch system [with a Harmon/Kardon receiver] myself). I do not have firsthand knowledge, and support your advice of not buying what you don’t listen to first… that is, however, the major pitfall of buying online (not seeing/hearing what you’re purchasing before the fact). I love my system, but only after careful trial and error.
So… in one sentence… Know what you want, and don’t buy it unless you’re sure. Especially at $800/pair. There’s a lot you could possibly get for that kind of money.
(Edit: kind of sad I don’t know about these, as they’re a Canadian brand. I’m also Canadian. It’s not that I’ve ever lived there as a permanent residence [the University of Michigan is my school-- yeah Biopsychology/BBCS!], but STILL!!! I do have a cottage in Canada and all.)
I have a pair of these. They are fine speakers, great response across across the board.
Heh, I’ve got Klipsch Epic CF-3’s with a H/K AVR 25.
As for these Energy speakers… $800 seems a lot of money for made-in-China speakers… (And they’re engineered in Canada?) At least in audio you ought to be able to support American manufacturing…
As opposed to transportation, where people send tens of thousands of dollars overseas without blinking?
I cannot believe people are talking about polks and other low end stuff. These are nowhere in their ballpark. I own a set of these in rosenut, along with the matching RCL center channel, ESW-V10 Sub, and RC-R surrounds. I bought these a couple years ago after TONS of serious research. These are in fact THE BEST SPEAKERS YOU CAN OWN FOR UNDER $10,000. You wouldn’t believe that considering their current price tag on woot today. These used to cost $1,100 a piece and were rated far better than speakers costing thousands more. I consider myself a serious audio/videophile and I dont think I will ever replace these speakers. Especially after these really open up say after a 100 hours of usage, these are the cleanest, most amazing speakers I have ever heard in person. I just went to the movie theater for the first time since buying my home theater setup a year or two ago and I wanted to leave the whole time, because it didnt sound or look as good as home. Im tempted to buy another set of these myself since they are such a sick deal. Unlike crappy speakers you can CRANK these without hurting your ears because being of high quality, they stay clean as you turn them up. If you’re looking for movie speakers, you’ll need a good sub for the lows below 80hz to go along with these, but for music, you can almost listen to these alone! Cant recommend these enough, I have never regretted my purchase and you wont either. Everyone I know is blown away by how great these sound!
I own a pair of Energy 3.1e (“vintage”) bookshelf speakers that I picked up on impulse at Goodwill, believe it or not, for $10. For the pair. The dust covers on the drivers were pushed in and they were missing grills, but I repaired the dust covers with my age-old vacuum trick, and I don’t really care about the grills. They are solid performers. I’m an audiophile of sorts, but I don’t and can’t spend extravagantly on hifi.
Energy, like other hi-end entry brands (NHT, for example), now outsources manufacturing. “Engineered in Canada” means little if the assembly and quality control don’t meet the engineers’ standards. That is NOT to say that outsourced companies do not make good products. Like other posters have recommended, do not buy any pair of speakers without auditioning them (unless they are a $10 pair from the thrift shop). Everyone has different tastes in what he/she deems good sound and performance.
Not to take a sale or two away from Woot, but do remember that speaker technology rarely changes as quickly as other electronics advance. A pair of Jubal L65’s, well-kept and re-foamed, from the early 1980’s can still blow the shirt right off your back with stunning clarity (which is why they are sought after and can be had for a pricey premium). I’m a fan of mid-late 90’s “black boxes” like Paradigm, NHT, Mirage, Definitive Technologies, PSB, etc. Have a look around your local audio shops or classifieds for used equipment you can audition (skip over the big box retailers). You may be surprised by what $400 can buy you (for a pair of speakers, nonetheless) if you don’t mind a used set that is ~5 - 10 years old or older. Just be sure to check for damaged drivers, signs of abuse, and rat droppings near the port entry 
Just my $0.02
p.s. don’t be duped by buzz words in the name of speakers (i.e., “reference,” “connoisseur,” etc.). Others besides Energy, including some of the brands I listed above, do this and it’s a real disservice to the consumers. You are not a ‘connoisseur’ just because you buy these speakers. Be informed, intelligent, and go out and listen!
as an S2000 owner I take offense to this comparison. watch this video and you will think otherwise as well
I think some guys in a white van tried to sell me some of these a couple years back.
They said they were quality, and I don’t doubt them!
Just bought two of these! I had two RC30’s and they worked awesome, but for these being so dang low price wise I had to jump on this! Now I just need to get rid of my RC30s
At $400 per speaker, you’re definitely paying for the shipping!
Are you saying we should buy Fords built in Mexico instead of Hondas built in Alabama and Toyotas built in California and Kias built in Georgia?
And please don’t start on “well the profits go overseas” because when you buy a car built in the US, you’re supporting American jobs. As far as profits go, a company is owned by shareholders, and those people can be anywhere in the world. (I’m sure there are foreigners that benefit from the profits of Ford, Chevy, etc, and there are people In the US that benefit from the profits of Toyota, Honda, etc.)
I’m wondering if anyones going to buy 3 of these things…
BestBuy will have some nice Klipsch speakers on sale tomorrow… normally $474 each will be at 1/2 price so $474 for this pair:
Klipsch - Icon 2-Way Triple 6-1/2"
Really want to buy some bomb-ass speakers… anyone care to opine about which deal I should get (woot vs bestbuy) ?
I was thinking the same thing… As well as someone only buying 1?