Polk AudioOWM3 Wall and Bookshelf Speakers | The Most High-Performance Versatile Loudspeaker | Paintable Grilles (Pair, White)

I love Polk speakers. These Polk Audio OWM3 speakers are perfect for surround sound. Very crisp and have a nice tone. This is the second pair I have purchased over the last few years.

People have written endless reviews on these things about how well they work in 5.1 setups, or other surround sound configurations. Even the few I read that were using them alone were using them with a sub. I was frustrated with the lack of reviews on how well they would work in a nearfield configuration. In my case, by themselves with a Yamaha MOXF8 keyboard.I recently got rid of my standup piano in the main room and decided to migrate my MOXF8 in to replace it. To make it easy for the rest of the family to use it, I decided to set up dedicated speakers for it as well as to keep some headphones handy as an option. The speakers were to be set right behind the keyboard on the wall on either side, so they are only a few feet way from whoever is playing the keyboard.I've been using them for a while now, and I can say that they are really working out very well. The speakers do fine as nearfield speakers for this kind of application, and they really sound fantastic. There's no booming base to fill the room, but that's not what I bought them for. They are clean and clear sounding, and have impressed me in how good they make the keyboard sound. As nearfield speakers, there is enough base to realistically reproduce most of the keyboard output, and as a result I am very happy with my purchase. They are not "studio" speakers, but that's not what I bought them for.As a note: for those who are not familiar with them, studio speakers are not intended to sound fantastic. They are intended to very accurately represent the sound so that someone who is producing music for a wider audience can fine tune the sound. HiFi speakers actually color the output a bit in a way that is pleasing to the ear. These are not studio speakers. I just wanted to mention that as the MOXF8 is frequently used by people who would actually prefer studio speakers, but that is not what I have it set up for.

I bought these before Christmas last year thinking I would have my system up an running then. Well that didn't happen. My biggest complaint with these speakers is there is no mounting hardware. I had to search hi and low to find the proper mounting hardware in the right color. I chose white. Polk if you are reading this, either include the mounting hard ware or at least have it available for your customers. I called polk and the were less than helpful. So make sure you are prepared to supply your own hardware. I can't take a star off for that because that has nothing to do with the sound. These sound AMAZING! I have a 7.4.2 System so they don't need to have any bass. I got TONS of that. These are not designed to be front mains or center channel speakers so do NOT use them for that. They are designed to be mounted on the ceiling or on the side walls or even the rear wall. For that they work great. I finally got my system up and running properly and boy they sound great. Whether you are using DOLBY ATMOS or DTS-X they just fill the room with sound. In fact I am using them with my AVM60 listening to youtube and they even sound fantastic with that! I seriously don't think you can go wrong with these. And hey it's Polk Audio so you know they sound good. I guess if you turn off the subs you could say they sound tinny, but why would you run them without bass? I really don't think that a valid comment. When set up properly running with either speakers front speakers with full range (like I have) or subs they pair nicely. I use the OLD AR9's for fronts and the klipsch 500 for the center channel. So to that end they pair nicely. I am an audiophile and a musician. Take it from me if you buy these to make your home theater better, you won't be disappointed. Just don't use them for what they are NOT intended.

These are all around excellent speakers for use in a surround sound system. As others have mentioned, the sound is very good and the build quality is solid. I like the fact that they come in white, and wish more speakers were available in white, as this was a main purchasing factor for me.When I unboxed these speakers, I quickly attached the bases and set them on top of some bookshelf speakers, then switched out the wires to see what the Polks sounded like. After I determined that I would keep them for my surrounds, I thought I would detach the bases, as they would not be needed for wall mounting. I soon learned that there is no easy way to detach the bases, but they are advertised as being removable, so after a few careful attempts to detach them, I finally figured out a way. If you ran into the same problem as me, you should be able to remove them with a little bit of know-how and careful application of pressure in the right spots.First, remove the center screw (phillips head) from the metal base and set it aside. Take a thin, wide blade (not a screwdriver, as this will scratch the plastic) and pry between the metal bottom plate and the plastic of the base. I used a letter opener and worked my way carefully around various points of the base until I had loosened it up a bit. Other than the screw, the only thing holding the metal plate to the plastic base is a bit of glue, which will loosen up as more pressure is applied. After a few seconds of careful prying, you should be able to lift the metal plate from the plastic base and set it aside.The reason I removed the metal plate is that it provides extra stability to the base, which makes it harder to remove from the speaker. When the plate is gone, the plastic has more flexibility and can be worked a little easier. Looking at the plastic of the base, you can see the "ribs" that have been pressed into the bottom of the speaker to form a tight grip. The hardest part of this entire operation will be "unlocking" one of the outer ribs so that it can be worked out of the bottom of the speaker. To do this, look at the narrow gap where the plastic base meets the back of the speaker, viewing it from the top of the speaker, not the bottom. You will see four tiny points where the "ribs" slide into the back of the speaker, locking it in place. You can carefully pry into this area, applying light pressure to either of the outer ribs to try to dislodge it. When you dislodge it, you should be able to pull that side of the base away from the speaker a little bit. Keep working the blade in this gap until you are able to pull the base entirely away from the speaker. It takes a little bit of effort, but it can be done.