Monitor 40

by Rick Perry, July 31, 2004

Strengths:

Incredible, wide mid-range and clear crisp treble. Vocals are mellow and warm

Weaknesses:

not much under 50-60 Hertz, so turn on your sub

Review:

It is a pleasure to be the first to review these new speakers from Polk. After 20 years of using Polk speakers, I have to say they are simply the best value for the money out there. I auditioned various brands for the last month and kept coming back to these Monitor 40s. I have gone the route of big towers, back to bookshelf, back to towers etc. and I decided to try these for the fronts since I have a very satisfactory subwoofer and FX300 for the rear. I really wasn't looking for the low end (below 50 Hz. Most people can't hear below that anyway so why pay for it?)with these speakers, just the mids and highs and I am not dissapointed!! The vocals are outstanding. Tight, clean and alive. The highs are a tad on the bright side, which I like so I am fine with that. I can actually hear things I did not know were on the original recording! I am enjoying the sound that could have cost me a lot more money. Take my advice and LISTEN to these before your spend a lot on another brand or on big boxes. If your sub is adequate,go with these.

by logan holmberg, March 31, 2005

Strengths:

Movies (cause your using a sub)

Weaknesses:

Music

Review:

Great for movies suck for music. Just not there in the low end.

by JR Marks, May 6, 2005

Strengths:

Cost. Looks. Sound imaging and reproduction.

Weaknesses:

None.

Review:

I paired these Monitor 40s with my 19 year old Monitor 10Bs. Wow do these Monitor 40s sound great! I auditioned them with my analog stereo system, which was anchored by a 19 year old Yamaha A720 amplifier and the Monitor 40s just flat out perfrom!! Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Symphonic, Rock, and Progressive Rock Music all sound tremendous. Aucostic songs sound like the performer is in our living room. I have mounted the 40s on the wall, about 6 feet high as my rear speakers and they really fill our living room with a warm sound. The highs are crystal clear, the mids tight and distinct, and the bass is solid and strong. This is true across the whole power range of the A720 amp as well as the frequency bandwidth of the Monitor 40 speakers. After auditioning these 40s for a few weeks on my old analog system I upgraded the A720 amplifier to a Yamaha HTR-5890. I also added a CSi3 as my center speaker and a PSW12 as a subwoofer. Again, the 40s sound great with all the other Polk speakers I have in the sound system now whether the program is originating from a surround sound movie, a favorite radio station, CD, cassette tape, or vinyl record. Polk Audio thanks for making such great sounding speakers!!

by clayton, May 5, 2007

Strengths:

awesome sound reproduction for the $$

Weaknesses:

a little large.

Review:

although a little large, the 40's have out performed my expectaions. at the moment i am using them as rear speakers in my surround setup and monitor 70's and fronts with an onkyo tx-sr674 as the base. As surrounds they offer clean crisp sound that can keep up witht he best. As fronts they performed amazingly easily pumpin out mids and highs.

by F. Gagnon, Qc, Canada, July 21, 2010

Strengths:

Incredibly full and precise sound. Even surpasses towers and supposedly higher end brands.

Weaknesses:

None whatsoever, superior concept in all aspects.

Review:

As I said when I registered this product, I can't believe I found these in cherry, brand new, now in 2010. Being an audio enthusiast for more than 35 years now, I can say I have experienced a vast variety of brands, and in speakers alone, I have enjoyed several nice sounding units from Bose, JBL, Infinity, Klipsch, Athena just to name a few, but I consider the concept and sound of these to be superior. I even prefer them to my RTIs. They are my new reference spkrs which I will judge others by. Great!

by Jack Arthur, October 23, 2004

Strengths:

good mids

Weaknesses:

highs too bright, harsh even

Review:

nice speakers, good mids, but highs too bright. Stick with RTi6 for better full range performance at same price

by Thomas DeShields, February 13, 2005

Strengths:

great highs and smooth mids and voicals

Weaknesses:

Review:

i love the sound of the monitor40's i brought them to replace my sony cube speakers in my home threatersystem , i found them by mistake i have a pair of r15 surround and i went to get the r30's for the front and found the monitor 40's i took them home and hooked them up and i was in love the mids and vocals came alive as i sat and listened to music i had listened to many times before i heard things that i had never heard before notes of the music just seem to come alive the mids and vocals are tight and smooth the highs are a little brass but i like the that in my music thank you polk for making such great speakers at such agreat price looking forward to replacing the sub and center channelwith your products

by Chris, February 18, 2005

Strengths:

nice highs, tight mid bass, good sound stage, looks.

Weaknesses:

none

Review:

i just picked these up at Circuit City today, and i have been enjoying them all afternoon. i had R20s before, and decided it was time to upgrade. these speakes are wonderful, nice tight mid bass, and the highs are very clean and natural. im running a pure stereo setup, these speakers, velodyne 10 inch sub, yamaha 596 receiver, and onkyo cd player. music is very important to me, and im very glad i went with these polks!

by Keith Williams, April 5, 2005

Strengths:

Cost, Highs, and mids. Imaging,Looks.

Weaknesses:

Some may say lack a bass, but for there size, I was'nt expecting tons of bass anyway.

Review:

I recently picked up a pair of the Monitor 40,s. I listened to many speakers. Even the new Rti6. I have owned a full set of the B&W DM series 1 speakers for 7 years now, and have enjoyed them very much. I went to Circuit City the other day and heard the Monitor series speakers playing with some action movie. They seemed to be more alive, and have more of that movie theater sound. So just for fun, bought a pair on the Moitor 40's. I have one SVS sub, and two older klipsch SW12 subs, so bass was not an issue. Running them with a Yamaha RXV-992,I was very impressed with these speakers. I have put them through a good workout. Terminator 3, Pink Floyd's The Wall CD, lots of classical and jazz, ect... I like them equally with movies and music. I trully was not expecting these to remain in my main listening room. I now have the Monitor 30's, and CS1. I have listend to many good speaker's over the years, and the monitor series, for the money, are a tough one to beat. Great highs and mids, and exellent imaging. A pleasant suprise.

by Brandon, September 16, 2005

Strengths:

Very Stylish and great sound.

Weaknesses:

Very bulky.

Review:

GREAT speakers! Hooked them up to Harman Kardon AVR235 and Velodyne DSP12. The sound is amazing. When I 1st got them, the highs were fairly week, but as soon as I "tuned" the room with the HK, the sound was tremendous. Even without the subwoofer, these babies will produce a pretty low frequency of bass. Great buy!

by Antonio R.Groppo, October 28, 2005

Strengths:

acabamento perfeito, qualidade incomparavel

Weaknesses:

nenhum

Review:

Eu tenho um par de m40 e CS1, são fantasticas, tanto no audio como no visual e acabamento, reproduzem instrumentos e vozes como nenhuma outra caixa acustica consegue,ouço jazz e instrumental e elas me fazem muito feliz.Tank you Mr.Polk.

by simphiwe Sithole, January 11, 2006

Strengths:

HIghs, mids and and medium lows.

Weaknesses:

does not go low, but for the size i dont expect much from them

Review:

i bought them 6months ago just to try them, i havent looked back since, sufficient bass mids and highs, can be harsh at times depending on the amp youre using. good for small to medium sized rooms. i do suggest that one buys a sub if you want that thumpimg sound. i personaly found they took some time to breack in but once they had, they sounded excelent

by Mick Jacobson, February 14, 2006

Strengths:

Fits into most entertainment center with concealed doors with grills.

Weaknesses:

None. Just make sure you have a powered sub!

Review:

I bought these as 'open box' special from Circuit City and needed custom speakers to fit into my entertainment center we just bought at City Furniture. They fit perfect laying on their sides and after tweeking my Onkyo receiver, they sound fabulous!! Goodbye tower Kenwoods!!!

by Mikey, March 5, 2006

Strengths:

Good highs and Mid.

Weaknesses:

Slightly bigger than what I have expected.

Review:

Great sound considering they are only 1/3 of the size of my Celestion DL10. I tested them side by side and was very happy about my new purchase. The bass was a little hollow compared to my DL10 but they serve the purpose.

by Pacdog, April 9, 2006

Strengths:

Very strong for the size! Crossover is clean!

Weaknesses:

None for the $$ and Size!

Review:

A Very "Big Speaker" in a small inclosure. I had Infinty Studio Monitor 120's that were damage due to flood and was not able to shell out all the much cash on another pair. I stopped by my local Circuit City and the Monitor 40's were a open box(actually both grills were broke but who cares!) They not Olny look good, They sound Great!

by Sean Phillips, June 19, 2006

Strengths:

Mid and high end shine

Weaknesses:

I could use a little rounder warmer low, but when coupled with the Polk sub, it forms a great combination.

Review:

Very nice sound from bookshelves. I compared them head-on with JBL Arena's, and the Monitor 40's really sounded much fuller and brighter. The two 5-1/4" deliver a very wide spectrum and they won me over. For music and home theater if you've got limited space, these are priced right and sound superb.

by Reynold, August 7, 2006

Strengths:

Sound.

Weaknesses:

Bass.

Review:

It good ive heard the sound of it and its good.

by Robert Eardley, October 29, 2006

Strengths:

Repoduction of voice and mid range. Does not sound shallow at all.

Weaknesses:

None noticed. Obviously, it is a larger shelf speaker so does not rattle the windows but it is clear, with rich sound.

Review:

Great warm sound. Mid range voice and jazz horns sound great to me. Great buy. Polk Audio builds a fantastic speaker.

by ron clavette, November 5, 2006

Strengths:

very nice separation and clarity surprising bass when bi-wired

Weaknesses:

a little too bright at times

Review:

very nice speaker but needs bi-wiring to really put out all it has . I have them wired to my b speakers on a marantz h.t 7500 and it really cleans up the sound try it you won,t be disappointed

by Heath Hartsfield, December 27, 2006

Strengths:

The sound that comes out of these things is huge. Clean and bright high-end and full robust mid-range sound.

Weaknesses:

It is an odd size, not quite big enough to sit on the floor, not at all small enough to wall-mount. When listening to music they don't quite have the punchy bass you want but adequate for a bookshelf, and help from a powered sub should compensate.

Review:

Great speaker with amazing clearity and big floorstanding sound. I ran these for a few days without a center channel and was pleasantly suprised by the clearity of dialouge and high-end brightness. I am using them as the front speakers now in my suround system with M30's in the rear and a CS1 center. I have yet to hook up my sub but I played a rummbly train scene from "The Polar Express" and managed to rattle the windows, without a powered sub.

by Bob Palermo, May 6, 2007

Strengths:

Mid range was very crisp and detailed.

Weaknesses:

Bass was lacking for music.

Review:

Excellent sounding speakers for their price. I got them for my 2-channel system with no Sub. The bass was a little lacking for what I was looking for. Traded them in for the RTi6's. Much happier now. Polk does make a very good speaker.

by Elliot Fox, May 17, 2007

Strengths:

I was surprised about the amount of bass these speakers do have. Just using these speakers are great for a 2ch system. Highs are great as well.

Weaknesses:

I've had these speakers for about 1 year and can't think of any.

Review:

These are really amazing speakers for the money. Competing brands don't stand a chance. As of right now, my system consists of these 40s as my fronts, with a Polk CS2 center, Polk CS1 rear center, and 2 not so good JBL rears, along with a great powered Yamaha Sub.

by David, September 7, 2007

Strengths:

Clarity, dialog

Weaknesses:

Highs way too harsh, mid tone is there but rolls off too soon on the low end. Highs fatigue my ears.

Review:

Sound great with dialog, but everything else just falls flat. Highs are way harsh and my fatigue your ear, definitely get ear fatigue after 5 minutes of listening time. Mid range is good, but but the harsh highs just ruin it. Warm mids + harsh bright highs are not a good mix. Polk you need to warm the highs or round them off better.

by Trevor, October 26, 2007

Strengths:

very smooth, detailed, uncolored sound.

Weaknesses:

thin wall enclosure, not effecient. enclosures a little deep. lacks deep bass. not real wood. needs lots of power. they break up at loud volumes. need i keep going?

Review:

I bought these at the brick seeing them 1/2 off the reg price of 500 CAN. excited to get such a deal, my enthusiam wained when i tapped on the walls. specs claim 3/4" mdf, but upon checking inside, they were only 3/8" thick! false advertizing if you ask me! After putting on beefy stands, properly placed, the bass still sounded loose and uncontrolled. I then internally braced the enclosure wall with 3/4" MDF, and properly insulated the inside...much better now! Bass now sounds like a true hi-end speaker, not like a boomy box. These are a great speaker, but cost savings have been designed into them, with thin walls, and lack of insulation. These also need a higher end powerful amp to sound best.

by wade white, June 10, 2008

Strengths:

crystal clear highs ,good bass but not chess pounding but more than adaquate,I use my sub to pound the chest.

Weaknesses:

no key hole wall mount.needs stands,be nice if they were included or specially made for these speakers

Review:

I have the pro 400 polk sub which are excellent together with the polk mon 40s.hooked them up alone it supprised with great sound highs & lows.I would recomend these speakers in a heartbeat.

by Matthew, December 4, 2008

Strengths:

Look and sound great

Weaknesses:

Need a lot of power for them to get them to sound there best.

Review:

They are some of the best speakers I have heard but when I first bought them, they did not sound right after hooking them up to something like 120 watts of power Wow what a difference. They are now some of the best I have heard in the price range.

by Tim, October 17, 2009

Strengths:

Powerful, clarity and nice big 'ole bookshelves, almost like a crossover vehicle, not an SUV, not a station wagon, but both....Not a floor model, not a bookshelf, but a crossover speaker...Buy it now....

Weaknesses:

Leaving them home alone without me.

Review:

wOw These could easily be fronts or hooked to a 2 channel somewhere. POWER FULL. In my setup, they are currently relegated to surrounds and easily handle the job, in fact I think they are bored. They are also bi ampable, and do believe I could put these at the front of my system without any issue. Buy these now

OnSpeakers.Com
2007

"The Polk [Monitor 40] speaker system provides a balanced sound through dynamic balanced drivers. These drivers offer low distortion and sound that is smooth...clear and precise."

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