Polk Audio HTS 10

Power Port Phase Inverter

At the end of 2017, the American company Polk Audio finally updated its subwoofer lineup with the release of a pair of HTS 10 and HTS 12 models. The hero of this review, the HTS 10, is the youngest model in this pair. The main feature of the novelty is the Power Port phase inverter, the hole of which is brought to the bottom panel. Its main feature is the cones installed opposite the pipe, which reduce the turbulence of the passing air flow, reflecting it from the bottom plate and leading it out through the front and rear slots. This decision made it possible to improve the quality and increase the amount of bass while maintaining the dimensions of the speaker, thanks to which the subwoofer can be used with equal success both in a home theater and in a Hi-Fi music system.

Heavy and tidy

The subwoofer cabinet is made of medium density fibreboard, covered with high quality vinyl film in three different colour variations. It looks especially cool in white, which contrasts nicely with the bronze speaker. But it's also good in black. Due to the rounded corners, the subwoofer seems smaller than its actual size, but this impression is deceptive — it is quite large and weighs about 17 kg. All controls and outputs are located on the rear panel, and the inputs are also located there. The set is quite traditional: sound level, crossover frequency and phase controls, plus a pair of RCA for connecting stereo and a mono LFE for supplying a signal of low-frequency effects already filtered by the receiver. Plus there is an auto-off feature.

Will appeal to both music lovers and movie fans

If you look closely at the speaker, you can see the inscription American Hi-Fi on the diffuser, which suggests the versatility of this model. It's great that they are confirmed in fact. When watching The Avengers on a home theater, the Chitauri battle roar caused not very pleasant goosebumps, and the whistle of cannonballs in Pirates of the Caribbean involuntarily made me want to hide behind a chair. With audio, the HTS 10 handled extremely delicately, adding a lacking layer of power and pressure to orchestral symphonies and dance hits. And if with the soundtracks the bass sounded very accentuated and assertive, then with the music the character became softer, but agile. The main trick was to properly set up the crossover — then the subic would not have to voice frequencies in which he was not strong.