If you’re short on time and just want the highlights of this article, here it is:
Overall, I think the Polk Audio Signature Elite ES15 speakers offer great sound quality and plenty of features that should appeal to a wide range of users. They offer plenty of detail and clarity in the highs and mids, as well as good bass response. They’re also able to handle a wide range of volume levels and are compatible with various amplifiers and receivers.
The speakers also offer plenty of connectivity options that make them suitable for almost any home audio setup. They are compatible with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, as well as Hi-Res Audio services like Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music HD, and Qobuz.
That being said, I think the ES15s are most suited for users who are looking for an affordable bookshelf speaker that delivers great sound quality and plenty of flexibility. On the other hand, the ES15s won’t be able to compete with more expensive speakers in terms of sound quality, so they may not be the ideal choice for users who want to get the most out of their music and movies.
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Now let’s get to its bolts and nuts.
Polk Audio Signature Elite ES15 Review: Sound quality
Let me tell you something right off the bat.
The sound quality performance you'll end up getting from a speaker will always depend on your room acoustics - particularly room dimensions and speaker positions.
The impact of the combination of these two is actually so strong that in most cases, it doesn't even make sense to utter a single word on sound quality without speaking of them.
This is also why it's not unusual to see completely different reviews of the same speaker.
In one case the speaker might be placed in a sweet spot inside the room and hence the user might be satisfied. In other cases the same speaker might be ill placed and hence user might even have returned it.
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The point most people miss here is that it mostly isn't even about the engineering behind the speaker itself. It's about where you place the speaker inside which room.
So, in order to solve this problem, I've partnered with Acoustics and Audio Engineering PhD Andrea Cicero from AC Acustica and created Soundton - a simple, 2D, browser accessible online speaker placement calculator.
With Soundton, now there's a way to figure the sound quality of most speakers before you buy them.
Read more about its working principles at soundton.com.
The end colormap provides you the locations with the best (green) and worst (red) acoustics.