Polk Audio ES20 Review
In this review, I’m going to be talking about the Polk Adio ES20 speakers in their bookshelf form but for testing, I did also hook them up to a subwoofer and the company’s center mount speaker. I wanted to do it this way because most people would just buy the speakers and be done but it’s worth considering that Polk has designed the ES20 as part of a system that can be used for a combination of music listening and home theater audio reproduction. Whichever one you're looking at the core of the system is always going to be the speakers themselves so let’s take a closer look at what they offer.
The Concept
The Polk Audio ES20, as I mentioned above, is part of an interchangeable concept speaker line. It offers soundbars, satellite speakers, and subs along with floor standing and bookshelf units. They can call be combined or swapped out to fit the needs of your budget.
Polk has a few lines, their flagship Legend models followed by the Reserve and Signature line all in that order. They also offer a number of cheaper models that serve as entry-level devices. The ES20 we are reviewing today is part of the signature lineup. It’s a noticeable step up from budget speakers in design, builds, and sound.
The best thing about the entire Polk lineup is that you can spend your money where it will make the most difference. You do not need to buy and match the speakers in the same category. For me, a good budget setup could be the ES20 paired with cheaper satellites, sound bars, and subs. That would give me the most bang for my music but still sound better than the speakers alone for movies. Of course, you could also scale that up by buying the Legends to match with the Elite Series peripherals.
Its a good concept and priced reasonably
Specifications
Dimensions: H14.8" (37.59 cm) x W8.5" (21.59 cm) x D13.8" (35.05 cm)
Weight: 17 lbs (7.71 kg)
Drivers: 1" (2.54 cm) Terylene Dome Tweeter + 6.5" (16.51 cm) Reinforced Polypropylene Driver
Impedance: 4 and 8-ohm outputs
Frequency Response: 44 Hz → 40,000 HzSensitivity (1 watt @ 1 meter)88 dB
Amplifier Power: 20 watts → 150 watts (per channel)
Aesthetic and Build Impressions
Polk has never really blown me away with the aesthetic designs. It follows a safe and cookie-cutter approach that is designed to please the masses. Nothing about the styling will wow you and for the most part, it’s tastefully done and designed to fit in with a lot of environments. In many ways, Polk really doesn’t need to push the boundaries of the design because they have the name value and aren’t trying to establish themselves.
Yet some big-name brands are really making striking design part of the package. If we look at the KEF LS50 Meta that ethos is trickling down through the more affordable models. Whereas even stepping up to the Polk Legend I’m bored. It’s a matter of taste though and not many people buying Polk products really want their speakers to be the focus of their room.
With that said there are some nice touches within the limits of the brief. Bookshelf speakers all look the same so it’s hard to differentiate. The tweeter on top, a woofer on the bottom, and a bass port at the back. It’s really hard to move away from a recipe that just works. To do so they placed the drivers in a curved front panel and rounded off corners of the cabinet to give a more modern and fresher design than many of their competitors.
What does make me more enthusiastic is the build quality. In my review of the Polk Audio ES15, I was impressed and everything seems to have scaled up nicely to the 20s. The size has increased but there are still good quality materials and the level of finishing that I mentioned in that review.
Thankfully the poorly designed hanger system from the ES15 has been removed (likely due to the increased weight of the ES20) so you will have to traditionally wall mount them or invest in a set of stands.
Despite the removal of the hanger they continue with the use of the Bass Port system which I think is brilliant. The bass port has a faceplate set a few inches off from the back of the speaker with an inward-facing cone. This technology redirects the air from the bass port and disperses it on an x-y axis. This means you can pace the speakers extremely close to walls without having to deal with surface reflection.
Sound
If you want to know what the Polk ES20 sounds like then read the ES15 review and add extra fullness to the sound and bass. Essentially the two speakers are the same bar the increased driver size. Tuning is nigh on identical but with more emphasis on sub-bass impact. For a bookshelf speaker, they hit very hard and are indicative of Polk pleasing the masses and less catering towards audiophile markets and purists.
Most consumers will enjoy the added low-end output and this becomes especially clear when hooked up to a TV or Projector. It’s good enough that you can get away without a subwoofer at first and maybe consider one at a later point if you feel it’s necessary.
The midrange is weighty and slightly warm it does ok at detail retrieval but intimacy is a big step up due to the fullness. For the same money, I think there are better-sounding speakers out there when we are talking or listening to music. As an all-in-one music and movie speaker, it’s good. Alone they are fantastic but when paired with the ES35 central speaker and a 6 or 8-inch subwoofer is when they sound best.
Positives
Very well made
Big improvements in bass over the ES15
Can be used as part of a bigger audio system with other Polk Speakers
Full sounding and engaging
Negatives
The aesthetic presentation is a bit boring
Not optimized for music
Final Thoughts
As a speaker for creating a surround system, I’m impressed with the versatility of the Polk Audio ES20 but as a pure music speaker, there are other models that offer more wow factor to the listener. I like the build quality a lot and like that you can mix and match different speakers in Polk’s catalog to create your own ultimate setup within the budget. As always with Polk Audio the warranty is respected and if you ever need it things should be dealt with in a timely manner. A solid all-around speaker that doesn’t push boundaries but gets a lot right.
Official Website of the Polk Audio ES20: www.polkaudio.com
