Polk Signature Elite ES55 Tower Speaker - Hi-Res Audio Certified, Dolby Atmos & DTS:X Compatible, 1" Tweeter & (2) 6.5" Woofers, Polk Power Port Technology for Effortless Bass, Contemporary Walnut

I'm not an audio snob my budget was $2500, I decided to build a HTS using ES55, ES30, ES10, ES90 and an RSL Speedwoofer 12, I finished it off with a Yamaha A2A receiver. I got most of the speakers renewed and the amp was refurbished and it sounds better than any sound bar on the market, fact is it sounds better than I expected. Since we don't get to go to stores and hear speakers anymore, we have to go off what others say. That said; my system musically sounds good it seems to lack in the upper mid range but the sound is warm, trying to fix this using EQs only highlight the gap. For movies the ES30 does a great job with the dialogue and it's not lost in action scenes. The ES10 are great surround speakers but set the crossover high, let your sub do the heavy lifting. Yamaha as usual does a great job providing a good product that will probably last multiple generations of upgrades before you actually need to.

I will preface this review with the fact that I am not an audiophile, but I know what sounds good to my own ears. These Polk ES55's replaced a pair of BIC America 6.5 bookshelf speakers. Those, and a BIC America center channel speaker served me well for many many years in an 850ish square foot apartment, but once moving into a home, just did not have what I needed in terms of sound. These Polk's are in an approximately 14 x 20 ft room, and right out of the box I am in love!! I have them wired with a set of k4b Bi-Wire speaker cables, which are also amazing for the money. I am using these for a stereo set up only, mainly vinyl, with a Yamaha AS 501 integrated amplifier. They have exactly what I wanted, more bass, while maintaining the clarity that I love. Personally, I don't think an extra sub is necessary, They are perfect for what I need. I also have them right up against a wall due to space, and with the down firing port, they sound amazing. They also look amazing, I love the rounded tops, and they are beefy to boot, excellent construction. Find these on sale and they are well worth the money.

Spectacular tower speakers with great treble, mid, and bass. These are a huge improvement over my 40 year old Infinity SM 122 speakers. Best paired with a subwoofer (Klipsch or Polk).

Excellent look and style. I set up for bi-amp.

I recently had a pair of Micca RB42s that I did like a lot, but they would distort at higher volumes and those I felt were too small to drive audio for a medium/large open format living space. I ended up returning those RB42s and replaced it with these Polk ES55s...My goodness, what a HUGE upgrade. Highs, mids, and lows all sound so much better with the Polks. No distortion even with higher volume too. If you're an audio/music enthusiast looking for a pair of speakers that don't need necessarily need a subwoofer these are perfect for that and they provide plenty of thump for music use. The pair of them put out bass similar to my Sonos Sub I use for home theater duties (albeit a bit cleaner sounding!) I mostly enjoy Alternative and Classic Rock and I have sampled a bunch of music (via Apple Music Hi-Res Lossless or my CD/DVD player connected to a Topping E30 II Lite DAC and a Yamaha Amplifier) from The Eagles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sick Puppies, Bee Gees, Creed, Staind, Nirvana, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, STRFKR, The Black Keys, Rage Against the Machine, Pearl Jam, Chiodos, A Day To Remember, The Amity Affliction, The Cure, Rush, and Bullet for my Valentine. The MAJOR reason I'm bumping it down a star is the plastic banana plug covers on the back are a huge pain in the butt to take out and I ended up cutting myself from the plastic edges getting damaged from my attempts to try and remove the plug. I ended up having to take out my electric drill and the smallest of drill bits to get one of the plugs to loosen to a point where I could finally pull it out. Lastly while aesthetics aren't a huge deal to me, these DO look quite beautiful without the cloth magnetic cover on them too. I do wish I was able to get the walnut ones instead of black, but woot had a steep discount on the black ones so I can't complain too much! Overall, I absolutely would recommend these speakers, just keep in mind that note about the banana plugs if you plan to use those.

I have enjoyed my ES55's for two months. They are outstanding ! My JVC receiver is pushing 50 watts per channel. The speakers are rated for use between 20 and 200 watts. Meaning, I am on the really low end of pushing power. I was concerned and expected I would probably have to upgrade my receiver to get the most out of these speakers. However, I could not be more wrong. I cannot turn my stereo up more than half way because it's so freaking loud. You can hear them thumping and rattling my walls while standing in my street, and the sound is crystal clear. Beautiful ! Some reviews I read about these suggested that you need a sub. I have a 10-band/channel EQ that I use to adjust the sound to my tastes, and I like a bass heavy sound. These speakers THUMP !!. You can feel the bass in your chest even at low volumes. It's great. I don't need a freaking sub. If you have, or can put an EQ on your system. It's all you need. The only complaint was that one of my speakers had shipping damage and one of the feet was ripped out and loose in the box. I have good repair skills and was able to fix like new without returning. So if you buy, beware of shipping damage.

Comes with front cover which was not shown in the ad. I already had one, I couldn't afford 2 at once, so I had 1 of these and 2 smaller Polk T15 on stands pending a matching walnut color to come on markdown. Thanks Amazon Prime Days! But I was concerned about the cover - see my picture as to how important these can be. The covers are totally hand washable at the sink with microfiber cloth and mild detergent, see the after picture. Covers easily attach magnetically at bottom by placing the top part on. The speaker is pretty heavy, on arrival the box shows us to turn box upside down to open, then turn it over to lift box off. The feet are non slip, so if you can it makes sense to unbox close to where you will want the speaker to end up. Plan on getting down on the floor too, because the screws to open holes for wiring are at the bottom. It's a little tall to be leaning over, I had to sit on the floor to get it done. I also use extra 16 gauge speaker wire in case I want to move the furniture arrangement a bit, and underneath in between the speaker and feet is a kind of cubby shelf that I tuck the extra bundled up into, it's perfect. As you can tell I'm not the audio tech lady! But I found it simple, and Polk also has awesome customer service available. Now my 4 channel Sony AV receiver is fully wired up and the room (and 1200 SF cottage) fully filled with great sound.

I bought these to use with me Denon AVR-X4700 and they just don’t perform at all. Wish I never would have swapped out my old Sony speakers for these.