10 reviews for Polk Monitor XT15 Pair of Bookshelf or Surround Speakers, Midnight Black & PSW10 10″ Powered Subwoofer – Power Port Technology, Up to 100 Watts

1. 

   5 out of 5

   Joey 1 – January 23, 2020

   My current set up is Denon PMA-600NE Stereo Integrated Amplifier | Bluetooth Connectivity | 70W x 2 Channels | Built-in DAC and Phono Pre-Amp | Analog Mode. With an old pair of 301 Bose speakers.I mostly listen to Tidal masters copy much cleaner sound. I use this in a 400 sq ft garage where I build pro quality r/c planes so I wanted a clean sounding system in my little work shop, I’m paralyzed so all gear is at ear height. The old Bose just did not have the base for my new receiver, this is a 2.1 amp no frills other than a DAC built in and a pre-built phono equalizer. I tried several woofers and they just sucked. So I hooked up the new speakers about 6-8 inches from the wall and spread them out by 8 ft each side. Fired up the little amp and was instantly blown away. I’m running no equalizer just straight though the way the artist intended. Wow again wow. I’m adding a Fluance phono to it with ceramic platter and there top line blue cartridge to have some fun!! I have run Tidal through an 2 year old moto z plugged in and on Bluetooth honestly the Bluetooth sounds much better. The little 75 watt per channel amp is very clean sounding. I turned off everything on my phone and use it strictly as a player. This eliminates any noise, and I download the tracks from Tidal and turn off wifi.These speakers are a perfect match for small clean sounding system. Took about 6hrs of play time to break them in. As with all audio gear the right amp with the right speaker makes all the difference. I got the amp for 400.00 speakers as a pair 200.00 bucks low budget hifi.

2. 

   5 out of 5

   R.C. Rumple – January 23, 2020

   First, let me say that I’ve been a music nut since the late 60s. Speakers? I’ve had Bose, Kenwoods, Sonys, JBLs, and a host of others over the decades. I found out a long time ago that your system is only as good as the speakers you have. Thus, I’ve never shorted my listening pleasure in that area.Polk was always around, but I never really listened to their offerings. Was that ever a mistake!Needing a new set for television viewing, I purchased the 40 Series II set. Just got them about an hour ago and set them up. I checked them out with a Classical Music cd, then the first from Chicago (Chicago Transit Authority), and finally with a Snoop Dogg one (my wife chose it as RAP isn’t my thing). For music, I’d easily put these up against the Bose 901s I had back in the 70s as the bass knocks you back, the highs of the cymbals come thru loud and clear, and the mid-range vocals are without flaw.Next, I tried them with a 4K blu-ray I have. OMG, same story … plus, the dialogue isn’t hidden in the background by all the sound effects. You can actually hear what the actors are saying!I honestly can’t find an area where these speakers are lacking! So, am I happy with them? Let me just say that I’m thinking of purchasing another set to replace the speakers I have on my music room system. And, at almost $200 off the regular price, a second set would be well worth the investment. Polk … I’m sold on your product! Well done!!!

3. 

   5 out of 5

   John & Paula – March 19, 2020

   i have a home recording studio.. record mostly rock/hard rock type material. After tracking/mixing … i like to hear the progress on a bit more than phones and studio monitors; and casual down time listening of stuff like ac/dc, van halen, police, earth wind & fire, quincy jones, etc. These speakers do it all with fantastic imaging and reproduciton of source material as well as having a fantastic amount of headroom (power handling in my book) without distortion at higher volumes. I will confess; the bass isnt BANGING; after all, these speakers arent monster is size… so i connected a subwoofer to my sub pre out on my onkyo receiver/amp for increased bass… B A N G! Rather B O O M! Now all is even better and i can basically shatter my windows and crush walls (and eardrums too) if i wanted. Overall, being in the audio field one way or another for over 40 years, started in my late teens, for the price/value, you cant beat these speakers at this price for a PAIR! I couldnt believe it either. I thought i would possibly be disappointed and may have to return these because a part of me couldnt really take the reviews as they were basically all over the place… i had to test them myself. For the price i got them for on amazon, i’m truly surprised, and utterly happy with these…keeping them! For MY MUSICAL TASTES and purpose, these are hands down incredible and match perfectly to my style of music. If youre into more insanely BASS HEAVY ‘stuff’ (being nice..lol), these may not do the job as well for that. But for me, i’m totally happy!

4. 

   5 out of 5

   Javier Vargas – March 24, 2020

   This set of speakers works very well with my old sound system. I’m a 50+ yrs old guy who still have a 20+ yrs Pioneer 4 speakers stereo system. I’m replacing 2 speakers and I’m very happy with the performance of this speakers. I don’t play loud music, so the sound quality is slightly better than the old ones.They are a good replacement and they fit perfectly with my life style. AC DC and Tom Petty still sound great through them.

5. 

   5 out of 5

   Kyle Brey – April 15, 2020

   Let me start by saying there are ZERO cons to these monterous “bookshelf” speakers.Zero.Not only in it’s current price range, but in it’s original 349 price range either. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better sounding SET of speakers for under 500 dollars.With that said, they need POWER to make them sing. I’m running a Pioneer Elite VSX-LX301 and have the front monitor 40s bi-amped, also I have m40s for rears too. Excellent setup. I was running them single amped with an older Sony 710 receiver and they sounded just OK. Then I bi amped them with the sony and they lit up. Once I upgraded to the better AVR they now absolutely SING!The highs are bright at +3db Treble (old amp and single amped they were slightly muffled at +6 treble) but never Klipsch style fatiguing. The bass could leave one wanting more, but in my experience there is no other 5in woofer that sounds as deep and punchy, I’d even go so far as to say theres no 6.5in woofer that impacts like these do.They need room to breath. They are DEEP, almost 17in deep with grills on. They’re rear ported so you need at LEAST a foot from the wall for them to really shine. Or closer to the wall, with the port centered in a corner. It gives a nice bass boost in corner placement.The Bass. When I first auditioned them in bi-amp on my Pioneer, I went to turn off the sub during a Dire Staits song only to find that I’d never turned the sub on. Wow.These speakers are “hi res” without the shiny label. They have the same Hz rating on high end as hi res labeled speakers do, without the gimmicky pricing.Music – they shine. They’re crisp and impactful without being fatiguing. I’ve noticed nuances before not heard. (I’ve owned everything from bose to infinity to B&W)Movies/TV – these sound so good in the fronts that I need to now upgrade my center speaker to keep up with them. My center is +4db and my fronts are -2db (Polk T30 and older Boson acoustics both are hard pressed to keep up)The M40s in the rear are equally impressive. I have them set to -1 on rear channels and they still give me emerson I’ve not heard before.TLDR = if you have the power to throw at these, they will NOT disappoint. They sound as good, if not better, than my Monitor 50 sii did, and in a smaller package.If you’re considering these, buy them. Buy them now. The Polk Monitor line is considered entry level, but these 40s, as well as the 70s prove that design is far more important than inflated prices.Side note, I also auditioned the “legendary” ELAC B6.2 and was unimpressed with them. Follow your ears, not the ears of reviewers who are paid to talk up little known speaker companies.You’ll thank me later.

6. 

   5 out of 5

   DW – May 22, 2020

   These speakers are a steal and provide an open accurate sound. Paired with the Polk PSW10 powered sub for under $400 you will rival systems such as ADS 810,910 Ohm, Magnapan 1 etc. I know because at 70 I have owned them. I am using a Yamaha AS 500 integrated amp so no need for expensive bi-amplification.Purist audio snobs may sneer but the ear is the final judge. Music from classical to rock is set free!

7. 

   5 out of 5

   lpetra – June 27, 2020

   These speakers are the best-kept secret in audio, I have owned Klipsch rp160’s, rp600m, Jbl 530,130’s, Martin Logans, Kef, and Pioneer speakers, these sound better than all of those, in some cases a lot better. These are great inexpensive speakers that have to be heard to believed. Before you blow hundreds of dollars on supposedly great brands, invest one hundred and fifty dollars on these fantastic bookshelf speakers you won’t regret it.

8. 

   5 out of 5

   Hal Nash – July 2, 2020

   I wanted to downsize my speakers. After listening to some borrowed Polk speakers, I liked the Polk sound. So I started shopping around and settled on these Monitor 40s. I wanted to have a pair of woofers in each speaker that could handle the mid-bass well (I also have an 8″ subwoofer made by MartinLogan to handle the lower bass). I have two pairs now and drive them with a vintage quadraphonic (4 channel) receiver that has about 16 watts per channel. That may not sound like a lot of watts, but it’s plenty. (By the way, most people listen to music at about 1 watt of receiver power. Yes, that’s true.) The sensitivity (or efficiency) of these speakers is 89dB. That means that these speakers will put out 89dB of volume at 1 watt of power from 1 meter away. 89dB is pretty loud. I rarely hit 80dB when listening to music.So, with these four Monitor 40s, I’ve got eight 5.25″ woofers handling the mid-bass, and four tweeters handling the highs. To me, these speakers sounded great right out of the box. Some listeners report better sound as the speakers “break in.” If that’s the case, then they will only get better and better as time goes on.I’ve done some listening with just the front two speakers. The soundstage is quite wide. The detail is good without being harsh. I’ve not experienced any listener fatigue.These speakers are impressive as “bookshelf” speakers. The woofers can put out really decent bass all on their own without a subwoofer. Having a sub certainly helps extend the bass lower, but these speakers definitely impress with their bass output. Lots of other bookshelf speakers have a single woofer built into them. Having a pair of 5.25″ woofers in each speaker gives them a little more “oomph,” in my opinion.The grills are nice and do a great job of protecting the drivers. This is important to me, because I have a very active border collie that gives the word “fetch” a whole new meaning. Occasionally, an errantly thrown ball can hit the speaker, but the well-made grills prevent any damage.I have the speakers on some simple DIY speaker stands which tilt the front of each speaker up about 2 inches so that the tweeter is aimed close to my ear level when seated. Doing so with any speaker will often improve the listening experience.For the price, these speakers deliver a good quality audio experience. Sure, the sky’s the limit when it comes to audio, but at $125-150 per pair, compared to similarly priced (and likely higher) products, these Polks are worth your consideration.The quality of construction is very good. They are attractive. I have one pair each of cherry and black speakers.These speakers can also be bi-wired or bi-amped. If you don’t know what that is, just google it. In short, this is a method of splitting the high and low frequencies. Some persons report getting a bit better audio quality when so doing. In my case, I don’t have my speakers bi-amped or bi-wired. But it might be a feature some are looking for.These speakers are worth considering.UPDATE: I wanted to upgrade my Polk Monitor 40s one step so I compared them to a pair of ELAC B6’s which have received very positive reviews. My receiver is a New-Old-Stock Sansui QRX-5500 that I obtained about 2 months ago… so I have the capability of listening in 2- and 4-channel. I listen mostly to streamed music through 192Kbps Pandora One and 320Kbps Spotify Connect paid subscriptions. I use a Polk PSW505 12″ subwoofer. However, while doing the A/B testing described below, I have left the sub off so just the bookshelfs were playing. My living room is my listening room, too. It’s likely considered a “hard” room, with no carpet, lots of hard walls and windows, a soft couch and recliner and with no special sound treatment by me.I’ve had some Polk Audio Monitor 40s for about 9 months that have served as both the front mains and rear surrounds… with good results, at least to me. I got some ELAC B6 bookshelf speakers last week and have set up an A/B testing device using a Niles SPS-4 Speaker Selection System. I’ve been doing the A/B-ing since Thursday through to right now between the Polks and the ELACs.After reading about the ELACs I expected there to be a noticeable gain in audio quality over the Polks… but to my ears, that hasn’t been the case. Since Thursday, I’ve listened to probably 20 hours or more and the Polks have hung in there very well compared to the ELACs.Before I go further, I’m 62 years young, have moderate to severe hearing loss augmented by use of a hearing aid. My loss is mostly in the high frequency regions.The Polks have a better, clearer, more pronounced high-frequency-end than the ELACs. Of course, this is the way my ears are hearing it. The upper frequency Polk sound, however, is not harsh or overly bright but definitely comes in as more noticeable than do the ELACs. It’s almost as if the highs in the ELACs are muted to a degree. I checked and double checked that my speaker wire connections were correct.NOTE: I did some reading about speaker driver “break in” and the SCIENTIFIC view is that speaker “break in” is a myth. So, I am discounting any suggestions that the ELACs will get better over time. (Let’s not go there in this post, OK?)However, the ELACs best the Polks in the bass regions, especially the lower bass. Again, the A/B testing has been done without the participation of the subwoofer. For what it’s worth, the Polk cabs are about 10% larger than the ELAC cabs. Yet the ELACs have deeper bass than the Polks. If the ELAC highs are good enough for you, and you are not using a subwoofer, you may prefer the ELACs over the Polks.But once the subwoofer is introduced, then the Polks sound better to me than the ELACs. This is likely because the sub picks up the lower bass range that the Polks miss, and the Polks’ high end bests the ELACs… again, to my ears.As for cosmetics, both sets of speakers look great. My Polks have the cherry finish. The ELACs come with “brushed vinyl,” and they look great. It isn’t trying to be wood… but it rather looks quite modern and I think attractive in appearance. The speaker connections on both sets are 5-way jobs… though I still prefer the pinch spring-loaded varieties due to the ease of connect/disconnect.The ELACs are about twice the price of the Polks currently. “Open box” and “scratch and dent” deals can save you some money.I had hopes that the ELACs would be my choice… but it ain’t gonna happen. I’ll be sticking with the Polks for now. I might upgrade to the Polk TSi200’s since they are the heirs to the Monitor 40’s and have a slightly larger cabinet.That’s my take on comparing these two sets of speakers. I wouldn’t even call this post a “review” of these two sets of speakers. It’s just a comparison by someone whose hearing is compromised, and that “someone” is not an audiophile. I just like listening to good music over decent speakers that don’t cost a fortune.As always, your mileage may vary. Thanks for reading.

9. 

   5 out of 5

   AmazonCustomer#19373628AmazonCustomer#19373628 – August 6, 2020

   The media could not be loaded.  Bought these refurbished for my dad’s garage. Was around $160 each.Before these he was using multiple different ones from goodwill. These are in a whole different league that’s for sure. As long as the speakers arrive undamaged and normal, you will definitely not regret this purchase.If you’re thinking about getting 2 pairs, it really is like doubling the experience.

10. 

    5 out of 5

    Carol – September 25, 2020

    The Polk Monitor40 Series2 are very Impressive.Like other reviewers I was surprised by the sound and value.I bought 2 pair to be placed in the corners of my 15×35′ living room a PSW10 sub and a XT30 center. They may be overkill as rear surrounds but they fit the positions and the sale price wasn’t much different than smaller satellites. Right out of the box the sound was conspicuously crisp and clear including the strong tight base sound. I have yet to hook up the PSW10 sub that arrived at the same time. Had I known how good the monitors alone sounded I might have been hesitant to get the sub.In my situation the tall narrow speakers on height adjustable stands fit my locations and look good. I assumed they wouldn’t be light but didn’t expect the 14 lb. ea. weight so the 36″ stands will have to be stabilized for earthquakes.I wondered if the (2ea) 5-1/4″ woofers were better than one larger one? but with a total of 10 5-1/4″ woofers and 5 tweeters in one room they sound really good to me. Even at very low volume levels the sound is still full range and clear which I attribute to the smaller drivers. My mid power AV receiver drives them well enough to annoy my neighbors if I’m not careful. I appreciate realistic base levels and they have more than enough to rattle the dishes and windows. I was test listening to some SPA type music and someone said they could not tell where the sound was coming from. Streaming videos with accomplished drummers, saxophones and harmonicas are very impressive. When the sounds bounce and roll around the room it makes me smile.Very live sounding.If all Polk Audio speakers are as good as these they will have my loyalty.