Polk Signature S60 Review
Hi Geoff,
I read that review when it came out and I agree that the Signature Series is a welcome change to the recent offerings from Polk.
After hearing all of the praise these speakers are receiving here, and on other audio forums, I went out on a limb and I purchased the Signature S60 floor standing speakers along with a Signature S30 from Crutchfield for my hybrid 2-channel/HT. The speakers arrived early last week. Now, I'm saying that I went out on a limb because I didn't hear these before buying them. I honestly believe that the only way to know how the speakers will truly sound in my listening environment is to listen to them in my home on my associated gear.
Out of the box, I was not impressed. I am not a big believer in the "break in period" in regards to audio gear because my previous experiences led me to believe that how something sounds when new is typically how it's going to sound overall. Thankfully, these speakers are quite large and I wasn't eager to pack them back up and ship them back to Crutchfield. I also got them on sale and I think the price I paid was ridiculously low so, if I exchanged them, I'd lose out on the savings. Additionally, I don't think that 'break in" was the reason the sound improved for me.
Regardless, I let the Signature S60's play for about 3 days with a variety of music and, at the end of the 3rd day, they sounded like a completely different set of speakers. In all honesty, I did play with their position in the room over those three days and I think that I probably just got them dialed in correctly in regards to their placement in the room. The down firing Power Port behaves differently than the rear firing ports on my previous speakers and I think that had a lot to do with placing them optimally.
I am now truly gobsmacked by this pair of Signature S60 speakers. The sound is very balanced from top to bottom and the soundstage is wide. I'm definitely hearing a lot more of the details in music that I've not heard so distinctly in the past. I've heard people say that it's like "lifting a veil off the speakers" and that's probably the best way to describe what I'm hearing from the Signature S60's. Initially, I was concerned that they may be too forward in their presentation of the details/top end but that hasn't proven to be the case. In looking at the rest of the components in my setup, I'd say the components have a "laid back" sound quality and that may be offsetting the forward presentation of the Signature S60 speakers so that they are enjoyable and not fatiguing. Both the Cary preamp & the B&K power amp are said to have a "tube-like" sound. I have owned other pieces of gear that were very analytical/dry/harsh but I prefer the combination this setup provides, seeming to hit the sweet spot (not too warm, not too bright, but just about right).
I have owned other Polk speakers in the past, as well as many different brands/types of speakers from many different manufacturers and, regardless of the price, I believe the Signature Series to be truly impressive. Of course, this is all just my own humble, and highly subjective, opinion and YMMV.
Unfortunately, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. If you're planning to order the speakers, as I did, and have them shipped to you, be forewarned that the packing material is pretty minimal. The shipping boxes looked like a couple of deflated balloons because the shipping box, and not the packing material within, took the brunt of the abuse during transit. When the shipping box takes a substantial hit and there is no packing material between the shipping box and the speaker the speaker, itself, will take the hit.
I do like the magnetic grills, but the fabric is easily separated from the plastic frame.
In the "stock" photos, I thought that the Brown Walnut looked pretty classy. I'm not saying it doesn't look good in person but the old adage saying, "black goes with everything" applies. The Brown Walnut will look nice in the right environment, I just don't think it looks as good as the Black Walnut would in my Living Room.
Lastly, the stickers on the front of the Signature S60 speakers are a bad idea. I had to use my fingernail to pry up an edge of the decal in order to start peeling it off of the fascia. There was residual glue left on the facia and I used the decal to try and lift it off. Thankfully, all the glue came off but I wouldn't be too happy if there were scratches or scuffs and glue on the fascia of my brand new speakers because someone thought it'd be a good idea to put a decal on there. That's my $0.02 on the new Signature Series S60 speakers from Polk