S55

American HiFi Home Theater Tower Speaker

• Enjoy rich, clean, full-range sound for movies, TV and music with Polk’s new Dynamic Balance designed acoustic array
• 1” high-resolution Terylene tweeter for crystal clear high frequency response that perfectly reproduces the latest high resolution audio files
• 6.5” mica-reinforced polypropylene cones for clean, clear bass, better linearity, and increased dynamic mid-range
• Exclusive Polk Power Port technology for greater, more impactful bass

AVAILABLE FINISHES

• Black 

New Dynamic Balance Acoustic Array

Whether upgrading your home theater setup with an advanced Atmos configuration or enjoying music, Dynamic Balance ensures a rich, clean, full-range sound no matter what you’re listening to. This patented technology eliminates issues that reduce speaker performance.

Custom Mid-Range Drivers

Mica-reinforced polypropylene cones with butyl rubber surrounds, massive ceramic motor structures and high-temperature Conex fiber spiders combine to create drivers of exceptionally high efficiency, for clean, clear bass, better linearity, lower distortion and greater durability.

High-Resolution Audio Performance

Our newly designed Terylene dome tweeter delivers clear and detailed high frequency response for realistic reproduction of vocals and instruments. Certified and capable of delivering 40kHz to support the latest high resolution audio files so it feels like your right there in the studio or concert hall.

American Modern Styling

Curved edges offer a sensual yet powerful look that fits with any home decor—available in a stunning black washed walnut finish.

Exclusive Polk Power Port Deep Bass Technology

Power Port® is our patented design that smoothly transitions the air flow from the speaker’s port into your listening area. It also extends the overall bass port, providing greater surface area to eliminate turbulence and distortion, for bigger, more musical, deep bass impact. Plus, it offers 3dB more bass response output than a traditional port.

Four-Driver Cascading Tapered Crossover Array

Gives you a seamless, lifelike soundstage no matter where you’re seated in your listening room. There’s no more sweet spot—instead, it’s all around you.

Quality Crafted Cabinet Design

Strong, rigid and acoustically inert enclosure reduces unwanted internal standing waves for less audible coloration. And non-resonant Meddite MDF construction, with extra bracing and minimum thick baffles, ensures a more lifelike sound.

OVERALL

SHIPPING CARTONS

• Carton 1

  47.9 lbs (21.73 kg)

FLOOR STANDING SPEAKER

• Qty Included

  1

• Availability

   US

• Height with Base

  41.5" (105.41 cm)

• Width with Base

  11.7" (29.72 cm)

• Depth with Base

  12.5" (31.75 cm)

• Weight

  44 lbs (19.96 kg)

• Driver Complement

  • (1)  1" (2.54 cm) d (Round) - Tweeter
  • (2)  6.5" (16.51 cm) d (Round) - Mid/Woofer

By Myron Ho | July 17, 2017

he name Polk invokes a certain brand promise--one of quality and value built over a long history of fine products in home audio and beyond. My own personal history with Polk dates back to my first after-market car audio system, put together with Polk dB speakers back in the early 2000s. And for the home, the Polk LSi 707s (precursor to the current LSiM series) were part of my first foray into quality hi-fi audio. So, when I was offered the opportunity to review the S55 tower speakers from Polk's new Signature line, I jumped at the chance.

The Signature line is one step up from the company's entry-level T-series speakers. There are three tower speakers in the Signature line. The S55 is the middle one in the range; it uses the same tweeter as the other two models, mated with dual 6.5-inch midrange woofers. The S50 features two 5.25-inch woofers, while the S60 carries three 6.5-inch woofers. The S55 retails for $329.95 each.

The Hookup
Weighing in at 44 pounds each, the S55s were fairly easy to unbox and maneuver upstairs into my third-floor living room, a fact that I appreciated greatly. It's an important consideration, as I often find that most floorstanding speakers--especially those with traditional driver designs--tend to be of the forklift-required variety. I don't know about you, but I certainly am not competing for any strongman titles in the near future.

Wireworld's Silver Eclipse were my cables of choice to connect the Polks to the Anthem MCA 525 amplifier or, alternatively, my reference Crown XLS 2500 amplifier. Two sets of speaker posts on back allow for bi-wiring, if desired, and it was very easy to access them to connect the cables. The Anthem AVM 60 served as preamp/controller, and the Sony PlayStation 3 spun my shiny discs.

Performance
I'm a huge Trekkie. With Star Trek Discovery (the first Star Trek series on TV in well over a decade) coming this fall, I was in the mood to do some reviewing of old material to make sure I am fresh on all the important stories in the Star Trek universe. I know that Enterprise (Blu-ray, Paramount) isn't the most well liked series of the bunch, but it has, in my opinion, one of the coolest theme songs: "Faith of the Heart," featuring British singer Russel Watson doing his rendition of an old Rod Stewart classic. It's a great song for testing out the musicality of any speakers. You get Watson's voice smooth with that familiar classic-rock ballad-style passion, but a bit deeper and with more gravitas than Stewart's original version. The accompanying steel stringed guitar was presented with excellent clarity. The S55 didn't have quite the precision and crispness up top that you get from a higher-end performance class--like Polk's own LSiM speakers, for instance. Then again, at $660/pair, one ought not to expect that. The S55s also did a good job with the tone of the viola, but I didn't feel the full heftiness of it until I brought in my SVS PC-13 Ultra sub.

In two-channel mode, without subs, the Polks effortlessly filled my room (which is about 17 feet deep, 13 across, and 9 feet tall and shaped in a fairly symmetric enclosed rectangle); I didn't sense any gaps in the room in terms of coverage. However, when I opened the doors, leaving the left wall largely exposed to the rest of the house, the sound got a bit thinner. The S55s still managed to pressurize the space, but I was left with the feeling that they were working harder to do so.

Next up was a little instrumental from Kenny G's Breathless album (CD, Arista). I cued up his hit "Forever in Love." The Polk Signature S55s did not disappoint here. They locked on to the texture and tone of Kenny G's smooth sax just right. Midrange notes were done well, with great detail so that you could hear all the air that went into each note change. I could even make out the sound of air resonating in the sax chamber. No, it wasn't as detailed as I hear through my reference B&W CM6 S2 monitors; but again, at this price point, I was highly satisfied with the Polk speakers' musicality.

Polk also sent along the S35 center ($249.95) and a pair of the S15 bookshelf speakers($199.95/pair) so that I could do a complete multichannel system evaluation. The S35 features a one-inch tweeter and six three-inch midrange drivers; Polk labels the S35 as a slim center speaker, since it stands roughly four inches tall and has a depth of 6.1 inches. Its low profile allows it to sit on a mantel or be set in front of your TV, with less likelihood of blocking the screen. It's also wall-mountable. The S15 combines a one-inch tweeter with a 5.25-inch midrange driver.

Putting the complete system through its paces with The Matrix (Blu-ray, Warner Brothers), the Signature speakers were able to fully deliver from all angles with my favorite torture test: the Lobby Shooting Spree. Bullets ricocheting, concrete bits flying, kung fu punches and kicks--all portrayed with very good clarity. Playing with just a 5.0 complement (no subwoofer), the Polks still did well with the low bass notes in the background score. But together with a competent sub like my SVS PC-13 Ultra, the system really excelled. I'm sure if I did an A/B test with a much more costly system, I could hear some differences--but in listening to the Polk system on its own, I couldn't point out any significant shortcomings.

Dialogue through the S35 was clear and easy to follow, which made for an overall engaging movie experience. You don't get that hollow, tinny sound that's so common with lesser-quality speakers in this price range that just scream cheap. With all speakers firing, even when I opened the doors to my listening room, the Polks had no trouble driving sound to pressurize the whole listening space. The sound presentation wasn't quite as even as that of my reference speakers when I moved outside the sweet spot listening position.