Late last year we took a look at the AMR-150, the flagship multimedia 4.1 system from Polk Audio, one of the world's most successful brands of high quality home, car and multimedia loudspeakers. That $159.95 4.1 system turned out to be so far the most musical 4.1 system I have heard below $300, thanks in part to smooth response of the two-way front satellites. The little sub also packed a surprising punch that delivered good gaming performance and passable DVD performance. Clearly this system was biased to deliver the most musical sound possible for the money. Polk Audio has now decided to also target the growing 5.1 sound card market with another moderately priced ($169.95) system, this time putting the emphasis on gaming and DVD performance, but of course not ignoring the musicality of the system. That system is called the AMR-130 and will be the subject of this initial review. In the review we will directly compare the AMR-130 to several systems in the same price range. Those are the S4-7100 as well as three systems that have hardware Dolby Digital decoders, the DTT2500, DTT3500 from Creative/Cambridge SoundWorks and the TSS1 from Yamaha. The other 5.1 system that is the same price bracket is the Monsoon MH505 but we have not heard it yet.

Overview

The AMR-130 comes with four shielded (10-1/4" H x 5-1/4" W x 4-3/8" D (26.035cm H x 13.335cm W x 11.1125cm D)) single driver satellite speakers that are angled slightly backward. It also includes a center channel that differs from the four other satellites mostly in its horizontal orientation (the cabinet appears to have slightly higher volume), an external power brick and a 5 ¼ ported front firing subwoofer. Each satellite has a non-removable acoustically transparent cloth covered plastic grill.

On the front of the subwoofer you will find the master power button and a subwoofer level control. On the rear of the subwoofer you will find the following:

• a two-pin power jack;
• three color coded stereo mini-jack inputs for the 6 channels;
• a DIN input for the right satellite;
• 5 pairs of clearly labeled spring clip connectors for the other 3 satellites and center channel.

A DIN connection is used for the right front satellite because it houses a fader control and the main volume control. That volume control knob also functions as a power standby switch when turned fully to the left.

As is typical of almost every multimedia speaker the subwoofer cabinet also houses the amplifier. In the case of the AMR-130 the amplifier delivers a total of 40 Watts RMS, 5 Watts to each satellite (into 4 ohms @10% THD, 100 Hz – 20 kHz) and 15 Watts to the subwoofer (into 4 ohms, 10% THD, 20 Hz – 1 kHz). The total system is rated to deliver 37 Hz– 20 kHz with a maximum peak output of 106 dB @ 0.5m. The site does not offer numbers on the actual predicted speaker frequency response and no crossover point between the subwoofer and satellites is listed in the specifications but Polk Audio has told us that it’s 135 Hz at default settings.

For a full list of the specifications you can check out the official Polk Audio AMR-130 pages.

Polk Audio decided that in order to keep price of the AMR-130 in a similarly aggressive manner ($169.95) and at the same time deliver a more powerful subwoofer and an extra satellite (center channel) they would use only a 3" full range driver in all 5 satellites. These satellites use the same design as the rear satellites on the AMR-150 speaker system that, unlike the AMR-130, uses a 2-way design for the front satellites.

The center channel satellite, that’s new to the AMR-130, uses a horizontal design with a rear-mounted adjustment bar for vertical angle optimization for TV or PC monitor placement. It has non-slip oval rubber feet for prevention of movement once properly positioned on top of monitor/TV. Until I tested the Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 I had not been fond of any of the computer monitor-top speaker arrangements on prior systems (DTT2500, DTT3500). But like the ProMedia 5.1 center channel, this one is very secure and effective (although the level change in a 3D sound pan across the front remains discernible when the left and right satellites are on the desktop).

All of the satellites use permanently attached speaker wires. Lengths for the front and center are more than adequate (just over 11 feet) but the rear satellites could use a bit longer wire (they are also 11 feet) particularly since Polk Audio includes wall mount for them. Thankfully, the fact that they use bare wires to spring clips makes it relatively simple to add extensions if need be. All of the wires (with the exception of the DIN cable) are 20 Gauge.

The numbers I am going to give for the satellite tested were done in two-channel input mode, on-axis with the driver. This means the test microphone is directly in line with the drivers of the AMR-130. Most (but not all) of the testing is with placement about 18-24 inches away. While it’s not unusual to be listening in off-axis positions, particularly when it comes to home theater systems, as a desktop based speaker system with appropriately angled stands (towards the ears) most listeners using the AMR-150 will at least have them in a horizontal, if not also vertical, on-axis setup.

Our objective tests of the AMR-130 satellites show overall smooth frequency response. Specifically the system delivers performance in the range of + 3.9 / - 4.5 from 167 Hz to 20 kHz if they are perfectly placed! However, as you might expect, it also shows a greater degree of high frequency roll-off dropping below – 5 dB between 6.6 kHz and 10 kHz and again beyond 13 kHz when it was measured slightly off the vertical axis. The roll-off was more significant starting at 5 kHz as the angle (but not distance) was increased to 30 degrees and did not change if the distance from the satellites was increased to four feet. While the high frequency roll-off increased for this off-axis testing the smoothness of the midrange up to 5 kHz was maintained.

Looking in the other direction, in the AMR-150 review I reported somewhat greater upper bass extension on those rear satellites but the drivers and enclosure size and shape are identical between the two systems. According to Polk Audio, the reason for this change has more to do with filter shapes than transient response, but they did also make minor changes to the driver to improve its overall response, something that’s important for music. In the case of the AMR-150 they could go for a lower crossover since the front satellites as noted use a two-way design so the upper end of the 3" driver performance was not important. Regardless, the AMR-130 manages to deliver good high frequency that, while audibly not on par with the AMR –150, is still pleasant to listen to, even when not perfectly placed.

Comparing the AMR-130 to the other tested systems in the same price bracket we see that in identical on-axis testing none of them have the same upper bass extension. The – 4.5 dB roll-off point is 250 Hz for the S4-7100, 185 Hz for the Yamaha TSS1 and 180 Hz for the DTT2500/3500 (not including the 3500 center channel). For on axis testing none of these systems exhibit the same smooth response as the AMR-130 with peaks as high as + 8 dB (at 3.5 kHz) on the DTT2500/2500, +6.1 (at 3.7 kHz) on the S4-7100 and +11 dB (at 3 kHz) on the TSS1.

However, these systems have much more prominent high end with the output staying above the 1 kHz reference point through to 20 kHz on all but the TSS1 which is at that point at 18.5 kHz and at –2 dB at 20 kHz.

In off-axis testing the S4-7100 has the same irregularities as for on-axis but the high frequency performance extends to about 12.8 kHz before rolling off more than 3 dB. The S4-7100 has a treble control so you have the option to boost the treble (which will further emphasize the irregularities in the response curve).

The DTT2500/3500 main satellites on the other hand actually exhibit smoother response 30 degrees off-axis than on axis. That is they have lower peaks (max of +5.68 dB at about 3.5 kHz measured at 18 inches and – 4.4 dB at 3.9 kHz measured at 48 inches). They also have strong measured high frequency response (at or above the 1 kHz reference point to around 13.5 kHz and – 3 dB at around 15 kHz) at both 18 and 48 inches. Unfortunately I don’t have off-axis test results for the TSS1.

With a similar cabinet and identical driver the AMR-130 center channel is pretty much perfectly matched with the other satellites. I say pretty much since there appears to be a bit less bass extension from the center that shows up when the testing distance is increased (the center channel was connected to the left channel output for frequency response testing purposes). Having a real center channel allows for wider placement of the satellites, which can give a more room filling, immersive sound, as well as better channel separation when seated further from the satellites (i.e. a more typical home theater instead of desktop setup). It also allows for better anchoring of the center channel to the monitor when there are multiple listeners who can’t all be in the sweet spot where a phantom center is most effective.

For a setup where the center will be used on-axis I would give the advantage in sound quality to the AMR-130 center over the DTT2500, DTT3500, TSS1 and S4-7100 center channel speakers. The AMR-130 is overall more neutral through the full range of the satellites as identified above. It also has a further advantage, more so over the S4-7100 than DTT2500 and TSS1, thanks to the better upper bass extension, something that keeps more of the male vocals up in the center speaker instead of the subwoofer.

That upper bass advantage is not there compared to the larger DTT3500 center but again there are differences in brightness and neutrality with the DTT3500 having very emphasized upper midrange and high-end that is all the more emphasized against the AMR-130. Specifically the DTT3500 center channel in on-axis tests has peaks of +8 dB between 2 and 4 KHz and again greater than +5 between 7 and 16 Khz (with a peak of between + 12 and + 10 dB between 10 and 12 kHz.

In a more typical home theater arrangement where there may be multiple listeners where not everyone can be seated on-axis and just as with the main channels we see some different results, particularly for the DTT3500 center channel.

This testing was done with the microphone 4 feet away from the center channels and 30 degrees off-axis. The AMR-130 was again very smooth through the upper bass and midrange frequencies (+2.4/-3 dB from 171 Hz to 4.6 kHz) through to 5 kHz beyond which there was again roll-off beyond 5 dB. The DTT2500 and S4-7100 centers are identical to the main satellites described above so I won’t repeat the details here. Basically there is a trade-off in upper bass extension and midrange smoothness for better off-axis high frequency extension. Again, I don’t have TSS1 off-axis results to present. The DTT3500 center channel is clearly the best performer in this usage with very smooth off-axis response (+5.3 / - 3 dB) from around 160 Hz to 15 kHz.

It’s important to remember that while having as smooth a frequency response as possible is very important to good sound, there is a lot more to how a system sounds than just frequency response. That’s why two systems with very similar measured frequency response can end up sounding very different.

The strength of the AMR-130 is clearly the strong upper bass and midrange performance and overall neutral sound for on-axis listening. The upper bass imaging of the AMR-130 delivers a more natural sound stage for music, and for games and movies also delivers better positional effects for explosions and other sounds that get up into the 150-200 Hz range. Those listeners who put more emphasis on quality midrange will find the AMR-130 satellites overall outperforming all of the other systems listed here, particularly in a desktop setup where placement is optimized and the system can easily deliver enough power for a loud listening experience.

Those who put more emphasis on high-frequency prominence may come to a different conclusion as all of the other systems compared offer a clearly brighter, if not as neutral, sound. For my tastes with more emphasis on upper bass imaging vs. high frequency prominence, I found the AMR-130 delivered the best overall quality for desktop usage.

In a more typical home theater setup the DTT3500 center channel will offer better performance for off-axis listeners relative to all of the other systems listed here including the AMR-130, while the S4-7100 will deliver greater volume. Just as in the desktop configuration, all of the other systems offer more prominent, if not always neutral, high-frequency response for the off-axis listeners.

The AMR-130 subwoofer cabinet is an 8" H x 6.4" W x 13.4" D (20.32cm H x 15.875cm W x 26.3525cm D) MDF enclosure. The cabinet houses a 5 1/4" shielded long throw woofer with a molded grill. The subwoofer cabinet is ported to the rear but does not use the patented Polk Audio "power port" design found on the AMR-150. Ported enclosures are used to improve the efficiency of the systems ability to produce low frequencies and are a great way to get more bass out of a given sized box.

As noted, the manual indicates frequency response down to 37 Hz. Looking at the objective test results the sub is actually down about 12 dB from the peak level at 37 Hz or 11 dB from a 100 Hz reference point. The good news is the sub does not roll-off beyond the – 3 dB point until 47 Hz or the –5 dB until about 45 Hz, which is pretty similar to what the AMR-150 sub is delivering and impressive for such a compact system. Looking in the other direction the sub is down – 3 dB at around 156 Hz and – 5 dB at about 170 Hz resulting in excellent blending with the satellites. It’s down 10 dB by 230 Hz, which explains why there is no issue with sub localization. The power handling ability and the dynamic range of the subwoofer is an area that is improved over the AMR-150 with no sacrifice in the definition and quality.

That definition, accuracy and quality is again surprisingly good for music, games and movies. That is it is relatively tight, solid, no audible port noise (unless you disconnect the satellites and play deeper notes) or rattle until higher levels of exaggeration or very high volume. At higher volumes, particularly for frequencies in the lower range of the subwoofer (somewhere less than 80 Hz the quality is not quite as good but overall still has little port turbulence.

The exaggeration level is also good, somewhere in the range of 5-10 dB with good quality. The exact range and quality depends on the playback material and overall system volume. Those looking to exaggerate their bass beyond that or exaggerate at very high volumes will need to look elsewhere as while the little sub does not lack power, it will be driven to clearly audible over excursion beyond the levels noted above. To be clear, at moderately loud levels this is not a problem with plenty of room to boost those game explosions and deliver good solid, but not room shaking, effects in movies.

The AMR-130 has two different bass management modes. In 2 or 4 channel input the system has an internal crossover network on both the front and rear satellites that filters out the bass and redirects it to the subwoofer, just like all 4 speaker systems that don’t use separate subwoofer inputs. Once a jack is plugged into the center/sub input of the AMR-130 it no longer directs the bass from the front and rear channel inputs to the subwoofer, instead depending on the connecting device for a signal to the subwoofer.

This means that in 6-channel mode it must be used with an outputting device that has a small speaker mode. That includes popular sound cards such as the Sound Blaster Live and Audigy, Philips Acoustic and Seismic Edge and the Hercules Game Theater XP (with the 3.0x drivers), but not the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz in all modes. This could also be problematic with some external decoders that either lack bass management or the bass management is not optimized to the AMR-130.

While the AMR-130 does not redirect bass from the satellites to the subwoofer in 6-channel mode continues to both filter bass from the satellites and higher frequencies from the subwoofer for optimum performance.

So how does the sub compare to the other systems mentioned in this review and outside this review? First for some context and clarity I don’t want you to get the wrong impression from my very positive comments above. That is the AMR-130 sub is more like the other subs mentioned in this review when it comes to power, dynamic range and depth than it is to other more expensive (($400) ProMedia 5.1/ ($300) 4.1) or surprisingly powerful and deep (($200) Logitech Z-560) multimedia subwoofers, all of which are significantly ahead of the AMR-130 in these areas.

Shifting to the systems referenced in this review all are pretty good from a gaming perspective. Here great definition and depth are not as critical as the ability to give good impact to explosions and other bass heavy game effects, and all will do this. How each person ranks them may come down to bass exaggeration ability and in that context the S4-7100 would be at the top and the AMR-130 probably a bit behind the TSS1 but slightly ahead of the DTT3500.and DTT2500. I can also say that I have now played many hours of games using the AMR-130 and have been nothing but pleased with the subwoofer performance.

From a musical perspective I found the AMR-130 sub to be the best performer, slightly ahead of the S4-7100 and clearly ahead of the DTT2500 in terms of definition. I would also put it ahead of the DTT3500 and TSS1 on that same basis but not to the same extent as against the DTT2500. Mega-bass fans who like to exaggerate to extreme levels or listen to music with that kind of inherent emphasis will find the S4-7100 and TSS1 to be better options and perhaps even the DTT3500 at lower volumes.

When it comes to movies the much larger S4-7100 sub is the overall best of the bunch. It’s a bit deeper, somewhat more powerful than all of the other subwoofers compared here and the 6.5" driver covers a wide portion of the frequency range, including the full combined range of the AMR-130 driver and port. I also found the DTT3500 sub to sometimes offer more of a rumbling effect for deeper explosions but the impressions was not a consistent nor a strong one and it’s not backed up by my objective test results. I think what was causing it is a hump in the lower range of the DTT3500 sub caused by some room effects. The AMR-130 sub outperformed the DTT2500 sub for movies but in this context it was much closer than for music. My recollection is that the TSS1 sub might also deliver more movie punch than the AMR-130 where as the AMR-130 will be more even in response.

One other very important aspect of a sub/sat system is how well it blends and in this respect the AMR-130, while not quite as seamless as the AMR-150, is clearly the best of the systems compared here. The closest to the AMR-130 was the S4-7100, then DTT3500, TSS1 and DTT2500. Mostly this comes from the lower crossover point but the overall balance between the subwoofer and satellites also comes into play. Of the systems compared the AMR-130 was the only one that spun a truly convincing illusion of there being two large speakers (with no subwoofer) in front of me!

Noise levels are very good. The power handling ability of the system is also very good delivering volumes in excess of 90 dB with good quality.

As is typical, particularly at the lower price points, the system despite its clear strengths won’t be for everyone. If you are someone who wants extremely loud sound, really likes to blast your bass well beyond neutral, want extra deep bass (below 45 Hz), or if you tend to want as much treble as your system can deliver then this is more than likely not your system.

On the other hand, if you tend to prefer more neutral sound or even somewhat exaggerated bass and want to use the system on the desktop or to fill a small room such as a dorm do check out this system. For me it’s one of these systems that the more I use it the more I like it and I started out liking it so that says loads…

AMR-130 major strengths are the overall balanced neutral sound particularly from bass through the critical midrange frequencies and great blending of the subwoofer and satellites to deliver a sound much bigger than the actual system. The compact nature of the subwoofer will also be a plus for many space-challenged users, as will the relatively good dynamic range it offers. Factor in the attractive price and it becomes apparent that Polk Audio clearly has another winner on their hands. The AMR-130 is truly a system where the total package delivers greater quality than looking at any single piece individually might indicate.  It's also a system worthy of our 3DsoundSurge Surge of Approval and a Silver Medal of Excellence.

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