A Few of My Favorite Things…

In The Sound of Music, Julie Andrews sang about a few of my favorite things which started me thinking about a few of my favorite things. There’s the obvious stuff that I usually talk about, Apple, Nike, Starbucks, Google, but I have some others.

Here’s my philosophy about brands and stuff that I like. I’m a believer of “you get what you pay for.” Cheap things generally tend to be, well, cheap. I’m willing to pay a bit more for quality. I don’t necessarily need the best, but I don’t want the bargain basement stuff either. Quality and room for growth are deciding factors for me.

One of my favorite things is speakers from Polk Audio. I’ve had speakers from Polk for years. First and foremost, they sound great, but they also look great. They have a nice styling and aren’t too exotic looking, just a clean and classic design. Their prices are reasonable too.

While looking to redo a 5.1/7.1 surround sound system using Polk speakers, this is what I’d do. First, the beauty of a surround sound system is the audio acoustics provided by 5 to 7 speakers scattered throughout a room. Now with little people around the house, easily-tippable floor standing speakers are child hazards. I want to reduce the clutter of speakers in a room, get the speakers safely located, and yet keep the surround sound experience.

This is possible with Polk’s SurroundBar speaker system. This single, long cabinet houses seven speakers that simulates the front, center, and rear channels. You can set the SurroundBar above or below your television set and get those floor standing speakers out of the way.

While the SurroundBar does 5.1 audio, you can still use additional speakers for a better surround effect. To reduce even more speaker clutter, I’d look at in-wall or in-ceiling speakers. While in-ceiling speakers are said not to be ideally located acoustically, you can’t beat the zero floor space needed. Polk has a family of ceiling speakers, and a pair of RC60i is good enough. Low profile, aim-able tweeters, and again quality sound.

To finish up a surround system, you have to remember the .1 which is the subwoofer. The bass fills out a room and makes sounds richer. Polk makes a reasonably priced 10-in subwoofer in the PSW10. Stick this attractive box in the corner of your room, and you’re done.

Polk Audio speakers, one of my favorite things.

Buy from Amazon:

• Polk Audio SurroundBar Speaker System, Black (Single Speaker)
• Polk Audio RC60i In-Ceiling / In-Wall Speakers, White (Pair)
• Polk Audio PSW10 Monitor Series Powered Subwoofer, Black Oak

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