Polk Audio Atrium 45 All-Weather Speakers (Pair, White)
By: Polk Audio Average Rating: 5.0 Total Reviews: 35
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 On: 2008-07-03
I bought these speakers in 2007 and have had them attached to the outer wall of our cabana by the pool. The quality of sound is good. There is no "pounding" bass from 20 feet BUT within 10 you can hear and feel bass. What I am really impressed with is being from Northern NYS and the weathering these speakers have taken. 50 degrees in early April to 30s at night to July high 80s and they sound the same! The speakers have been exposed to rain, sleet and sun and continue to perform better than I expected. I would definitely buy again.
On: 2008-06-27
Im very pleased with the sound quality from these speakers. The price is great too. Much lower than I found at Circuit City/Best Buy. The construction is nice also.....sturdy/durable. Installation and connection was very simple.
On: 2008-06-21
They have much richer sound than the Yamahas they replaced. Lets see how long they hold up under the eaves of the house.
On: 2008-06-02
These speakers had nice separation and spatial presence, and good mid to high frequency response. They did need a bass boost to bring up the low end, give them some power and they will rock your outside world. Only had them for a month, so I cant say how well they hold up over the long haul. They sounded so good, I bought a second set as back-ups. Highly recommended and one heck of a deal at $75 a pair!
On: 2008-06-02
These speakers are a great addition to our outdoor patio. They have great sound quality and good bass output. They are priced very reasonably and are constructed extremely well. I would recommend these or any Polk Atrium speaker to anyone considering adding sound to their outdoor experience!
On: 2008-05-31
They sound great, easy to paint, nice price point. Impressive bass response for such small speakers.
On: 2008-05-19
This speaker sounds fantastic! I have them installed below my second floor eave and they sound absolutely terrific on my patio below. The sound is so full and rich, you would think you were sitting in your family room listening. I would definately recommend these to anyone looking for a great pair of speakers that wont break the bank.
 On: 2008-04-10
I have been very pleased with the sound of these indoor/outdoor speakers. Although I normally go for higher priced speakers, I was a bit more on a budget this time and have been pleasantly surprised by the crisp highs that these speakers deliver. They really fill up the new deck we had built. And surprisely, the bass response is much better than I would have expected from such a small cabinet. You cant do much better for the price.
On: 2008-03-25
For the price, this is an excellent sounding set of exterior speakers. I replaced two older sony speakers with these and the sound quality is much better. Installation is easy and packaging and instructions are well put together.
On: 2008-01-19
Bought these speakers to have some music for my pool in the backyard and used them for a couple months this summer. They sound great and dont get distorted at high volumes. I mounted them under the eave of the roof and installation was pretty easy. The mounting bracket lets you tilt the speaker to where you want the sound. Id recommend these to anybody looking for a nice set of outdoor speakers.
On: 2007-12-31
These are replacements for a year old pair of KLHs. I couldnt believe my ears the Polks sounded so much better. I would buy again without a doubt.
On: 2007-12-08
Great sound - hooked up to 30w Denon. Easy mounting, poolside at the beach in Florida. Harsh salt air environment, unprotected wet area, sealed speakers and mil spec important for salt/corrosion resistance. Sound great, other neighbors purchasing same after seeing and hearing these.
On: 2007-11-14
I was hesitant to purchase but these Rock. They sound the best when listening to classical. Nice crisp sound. The bracket is somewhat integrated into the speaker which hides it alittle to make a nice install.
You should never have to remove the grills but you will need a screwdriver or something cause the grills are on tight. Thats not big enough for a negative. Just mount and wire & so sweet sounding.
On: 2007-10-10
Have Polk audio speakers for home theater, and purchased a pair of these for the courtyard previously. Liked them so much, I bought a secong pair! Bass response is unbelievable for a speaker of this size.
On: 2007-10-10
I bought these after listening to a neighbors pair that he had out around his unenclosed pool deck. They had been there for a year and looked brand new. He had another pair on his porch that were three years old and looked almost as good.
The bass response on these babies, despite their size, has to be heard to be believed. The outside enviroment is murder on bass, but these speakers sound great! For the price and size, you cant beat them.
On: 2007-10-08
No mounting hardward, but I knew that. I listen to sports and music and both seem good.
On: 2007-09-14
great price for decent speakers, they look great and sound just fine, mounting is very simple. i have them on the far end of a 30x16 deck and they fill the whole area with plenty of sound. one cool thing to consider is an Audioplex outdoor volume control which is what i installed with these, $95 on partsexpress. its good to have especially if your source is an ipod, with the different source volumes on a lot of songs, plus just never having to go inside to turn it up or down is pretty cool :)
On: 2007-09-06
Easy to mount (running the wires through the wall and under the house to the stereo inside was the hard part), and now I have music outside without having to turn it up super-loud inside. They sound great!
On: 2007-07-23
I purchased 2 sets of these speakers for my 1 acre backyard. They were a breeze to mount, but the mounts only afford you the ability to go horizontally or verically. No big deal really, as I was able to tilt and direct the sound where I wanted it. I was impressed by the depth and clarity from these little workhorses. I like to listen at moderate levels, but when I took them for an all out test run, they really sounded consistent. No break-up or excesive noise. If you are comparing to other similar speakers, look no more. These speakers appear to be marine durable and they cant be beat for the price.
On: 2007-07-21
I purchased these speakers to replace an older model that died. These are great because they are truly all weather speakers and dont require mounting under a covered area. I have mine mounted on each side of my deck and they sound great.
On: 2007-07-10
I am very pleased with these speakers. I have them mounted outside under the soffit above my deck. I was a little concerned about outside speakers disturbing the neighbors, but with these speakers you dont have to crank them up loud in order to get a clean full sound. I dont think that you could find a better pair for the price.
On: 2007-07-08
This is my first set of outdoor speakers to purchase and I love the atrium 45. They are smaller than most other speakers with the same power. Easy to install and the sound is great. I have a backyard with pool and have 2 of these installed. They have more than enough power to fill up the outside with music. Great buy in my opinion.
On: 2007-07-03
I bought these speakers based on previous experience with Polk and their price. I now have a pair on my front porch and a pair in my study. They are small, discreet and blend into a white background. They seem to be heavy and well constructed. As for the sound, thats subjective, but I am happy. I have listened to some well recorded folk music and I felt the sound was very lifelike. I think the bass is as good as can be expected given the size of the woofer. Placing them in a corner helps with the bass. I think these speakers are as good as you will find unless you want to spend twice as much for the next level of Polk Atriums.
On: 2007-07-02
K so I havent had them installed that long, however, for the bit of time that I have had them installed they have worked great. As the summer wears on I will see how they last. As for sound they are extremely clear, and can be turned up loud enough for the neighbors to have a legitimate complaint.
Installation: They are extremely easy to install. I modified the the installation slightly though. Instead of using the screw slots I placed a large lag bolt through the speaker wire hole so I can rotate the speakers left or right. Eventually when I am satisfied with their positions I will probably set 2 screws to help stablize the bracket as they were designed.
On: 2007-06-28
I listened to these speakers at circuit city where they were listed at $190. I thought they sounded as good as the other models selling for $300 or more. I checked the price on Amazon and could not believe they were only $125 with free shipping! I recently installed them in my screen room and they sound great. Fantastic sound and a great price.
On: 2007-06-27
Overall, the speakers work great. The bass response is a little low, but not unexpected for the size of the speakers. These speakers have endured some heavy thunderstorms while installed in exposed conditions on my deck railing but are still working as well as the day they arrived.
On: 2007-06-27
I have been using these speakers for about 2 months, and Im finding them to be one of my better recent purchases. Ill go through the main categories and give you my impression:
SOUND: Obviously the most important factor. I set these up in my living room and let them play for about 2 straight days in order to break them in a bit. Once I put them outside, they really shined. They fill our deck and pool area with a pleasing and musical sound. They are not going to get you a ton of bass, but at the same time the music sounds "full" and does not have a "tinny" or overbearing treble sound. My wife and I agree that these are nice sounding speakers.
APPEARANCE: I got the white ones, and they match perfectly under my gutter overhang. Theyre well made and look like a quality item to anyone that notices them up there.
INSTALLATION: Clearly this can vary, but I found them easy to install. Basically just screw in the holders, then attach the speakers to the holders. Running the cables to the speakers is the tricky part, but i managed to hide it under the gutter as well. If youre using them outside, youll need underground low voltage wire (like they use for landscaping lights). I bought my wire at Home Depot - cheap, $17 for 100.
VALUE: For the price (I paid $125 including s/h) theyre an excellent value.
MISC - One huge benefit of these speakers is they require very little power to drive them. Im using an old Denon receiver with 60 watts (30 to each speaker) and its more than enough. I can barely turn it up before it reaches a level that would be annoying to the neighbors.
To anyone considering these speakers, I highly recommend them!
by: Anonymous On: 2007-06-08
They sound decent...I am also using them in a wide area so i was not expecting to much. but they did a nice job even w/ the sub not hooked up yet. They actually thump quite well for small speakers. Using the x over at 100 and then using a powered sub...the speakers really shine then.
overall very pleased
by: mercedesharar On: 2007-06-01
I was looking for an outdoor set of speakers for my semi-enclosed 4oo sq foot porch. After reading many reviews and studying the pricing I purchased a pair of these. All I can is WOW! I do not have a subwoofer and the overall frequency response is sensational. I have the speakers attached to a nice Denon reciever which helps. Great value for the size and price point! Do not even think twice.
I purchased throught Amazon.com. They arrived at my house in less than five days perfectly. Now I am looking for matching white speaker wire.........
by: Anonymous On: 2007-05-31
Its pretty simple really. For this money you are getting a great little solid speaker that will do the job - that being to deliver a nicely rounded, crisp sound to a (not large) outdoor area.
The product looks good and seems to be made well - Top marks for this level.
On: 2007-05-31
I was looking for an outdoor set of speakers for my semi-enclosed 4oo sq foot porch. After reading many reviews and studying the pricing I purchased a pair of these. All I can is WOW! I do not have a subwoofer and the overall frequency response is sensational. I have the speakers attached to a nice Denon reciever which helps. Great value for the size and price point! Do not even think twice.
I purchased throught Amazon.com. They arrived at my house in less than five days perfectly. Now I am looking for matching white speaker wire.........
by: Anonymous On: 2007-05-16
I installed by my pool. They look great, are easy to install and sound great. Look no further. Wonderful.
by: Anonymous On: 2007-02-01
These speakers are exactly what we needed to replace some older main front speakers for our "home theater". We already had a newer powered sub-woofer for the deep lows. In addition to the audio paramters, we wanted these speakers to be a white color to blend in with the wall paint. We have been very pleased with their performance and appearance. To obtain the positioning we desired, I had to re-form the wall brackets so that the speaker would be aimed down towards our seating position (previous location was above ear level). This was relatively easy to do with a vice and a hammer. Aiming left and right is a built in feature of the mount.
 On: 2007-01-23
I read the other reviews and was worried about the bass output but not to worry! I hooked these up to my new Denon 1707 receiver and adjusted the bass and treble manually instead of the default settings and these speakers are awesome! I can hear all kinds of background sounds and the bass is just fine! Make sure you buy them on-line! Listen to them at a store to see what you are getting but buy them at Amazon and save $$$$. Great buy!
On: 2007-01-09
The sound is great from these speakers. The bass is what I was worried about since I have a 3/4 acre back yard with virtually no trees or structures to bounce off of. Securing them under the eave of the house was all I needed. Oh, and they crank out too!
The only issue I had was the hangers, they only swivel longitudinally, but the big wing nuts to attach the speaker to them made it very easy to mount 20 feet up.
On: 2006-11-07
I bought these speakers originally as a replacement for a pair of weathered Boston Acoustics attached to our overhead lattice in the back yard. These speakers are very detailed and I can hear components of music within tracks that I would not expect to be able to hear outdoors. Having said that, bass extesion is not great, but, given the frequency range, I didnt expect it to be. I ended up reconditioning the Boston speakers and also hooked these up. The combination of their bass extension (must be 40-50Hz) with the detailed Polks is extremely compelling, making outdoor listening surprisnigly good. Even though one might pay more for the lower extension Polks, it is probably worth it if you like music. These are good for the price, but limited. Thats not a critisism, as I knew this when I bought them; I was just hoping physics had changed since the last owner of the house bought the Bostons!!
On: 2006-11-06
I bought these speakers originally as a replacement for a pair of weathered Boston Acoustics attached to our overhead lattice in the back yard. These speakers are very detailed and I can hear components of music within tracks that I would not expect to be able to hear outdoors. Having said that, bass extesion is not great, but, given the frequency range, I didnt expect it to be. I ended up reconditioning the Boston speakers and also hooked these up. The combination of their bass extension (must be 40-50Hz) with the detailed Polks is extremely compelling, making outdoor listening surprisnigly good. Even though one might pay more for the lower extension Polks, it is probably worth it if you like music. These are good for the price, but limited. Thats not a critisism, as I knew this when I bought them; I was just hoping physics had changed since the last owner of the house bought the Bostons!!
On: 2006-07-24
I just purchased my second pair of Atrium 45s to add some sound to a patio addition. My first pair is 2.5 years old and still sound great being that they are hanging from a wall that is largely un-protected from the weather (Seattle rain). I can go out in a down-pour, crank the music up and the sound is still excellent.
I may not judge products properly, but a tell-tale sign of a decent outdoor speaker for me is the weight and these are heavy! Make sure you hit a stud when hanging these!
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