Напольная акустика — Polk Audio T50

The T50 is a passive floorstanding tower from Polk Audio's T series, supplied as a single speaker in a black finish. Polk presents it as an affordable upgrade for home audio, meant for both music and home theater, with support for Dolby and DTS surround formats. It uses a two-way driver layout with passive radiators in place of a bass port.

Key specs that matter

A 1 inch Terylene dome tweeter works with two 6.5 inch bi-laminate paper woofers, and two 8 inch passive bass radiators support the low end. The crossover frequency is 2,700 Hz. Polk states a total frequency response of 35 Hz to 40,000 Hz and a sensitivity of 89 dB at 1 W and 1 m. The T50 is listed as compatible with 4 and 8 ohm amplifier outputs, with a recommended amplifier power per channel of 25 to 200 W. The cabinet measures 23.5 cm wide, 102.6 cm high and 31.8 cm deep, and it weighs 15.9 kg.

Engineering and use context

Rather than using a bass port, the T50 relies on two passive radiators, unpowered diaphragms that are moved by air pressure inside the cabinet. The woofer cones are described in two ways by the maker, as bi-laminate paper in the specification list and as lightweight Dynamic Balance polypropylene cones in the product notes. Dynamic Balance is Polk's proprietary driver technology, which the company credits with better midrange and stronger bass response. Polk also describes the drivers and tweeter as wide-dispersion types that project sound over a wide area for every listener in the room. The Terylene dome tweeter handles the band above the crossover point. Polk markets the speaker as one that repays a look under the grille, which snaps off to reveal the drivers. The input terminals are a single pair of nickel-plated 5-way binding posts.

Pairing

Polk states that it designed the T50 to work with most home theater receivers, stereo amplifiers and home theater processors, and describes it as easy to set up. Its flexible impedance matching and good sensitivity allow it to run from modest stereo amplifiers as well as mainstream AV receivers within the stated power range. The price Polk quotes applies to one speaker, meaning a left and right set requires buying the T50 twice.

Alternatives

The Polk Signature Elite ES60 is a larger tower from a higher series, with three mica-reinforced polypropylene woofers, rated for amplifiers of 50 to 300 W and priced at USD 599 per speaker.