first I tried the Josh Groban CD, switching between the speakers, immediately noticeable with the Polks was that Groban's voice was more forward than the music, while the MA's soundstage was the same depth. Initially, I thought the Polks were louder and clearer (I thought it was because of the 8ohm and 6ohm difference between the two), and as many of you know, louder is perceived as better. I tried to balance the volume of the two, but dropped the idea because there was too much time spent in between switches ... with the current procedure, it only took 1-2 seconds to switch. I continued on with Susan Wong's CD ... again, the Polk was louder but this time I realized what the words "bright" and "warm" simply means. the MA's had a warm sound, sound that you would be able to listen to for a long time. the Polks had the advantage with the vocals but after awhile, you'd get "listener's fatigue" again, something I've heard before but only now just discovered.
I never believed speaker break-in and probably won't in the near future, but for those who do, I have to inform you that the BR's were pretty new and the Polks have had their share of games for awhile.
I scrolled through my "favorites" folder of mp3's this time choosing songs I actually listen to regularly (surely you didn't think I regularly listened to Josh Groban did you? j/k!), these were the ballads and pop songs of the late 90's and early 2000's. This time the MA's had the advantage, they sounded "fuller" while the Polks sounded "thinner" at the mid to low end. So I removed the grill's to look at what's happening to the drivers while playing the bass heavy rap songs I always keep around to test subwoofers. Now in theory, a smaller driver would have to move in and out a lot more than a bigger driver would to move the same amount of air. But, Lo and Behold, the MA's were pumping out the bass while the polks mid/bass drivers were barely moving. note that the MA's had 6.5" drivers while the Polks had 5.25" drivers, at this point you'd say that this was a lopsided shootout, but is it? when they actually have similar SRP's.
The bass I got from the MA's were amazing considering the manageable size, they had a similar footprint with the polks but it was a few inches taller.
Conclusion:
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, or ears in this case. If you like bright and detailed and is purely for HT, then the Polks will do. But if you plan to do any extended listening, the MA's might be better for you. They each have their forte, the Polks are forward sounding and good for Josh Groban
. the Monitor Audio BR2's are warmer but doesn't actually give up any detail. the Polks actually sound like they have a +6db boost in the treble. I tried toning them down with the treble control and this in fact pushed back the vocals to the same dimension as the musical instruments.
It was unfortunate that the BR series wasn't available when I was choosing a bookshelf speaker, otherwise, I would have ended up with the BR's but during that time I was more into what the speaker looks like than what it sounds like. I've already read a lot of reviews that the MA's were beautiful sounding and competition defeating at each of their price points, but the previous bronze series' looks just didn't do it for me. the current Bronze series however has both the looks and sounds to turn heads! audition these when looking for a 10+thousand php bookshelf.
