Home > Consumer Reviews > Polk Audio I-Sonic Entertainment System 2

I'm searching for a new ipod alarm clock radio, and saw the great reviews for the Polk Isonic here on Amazon. The product looks pretty sweet too. I *almost* bought it immediately, because of the rave reviews and a deeply discounted price. But I decided to go to Best Buy to listen to the Isonic and compare to other stereos. I must say that I'm glad I didn't buy it. I was disappointed in the sound. It is quite good, but not as good as others in the $400-$500 price range. Specifically, the sound from the Chestnut Hill George was far superior- it has crisper, clearer highs, and tighter bass, while the Polk isonic had a little tinny-ness in the highs and muddier bass. Don't get me wrong, the Isonic does sound good, and its 4-speaker design gives good room-filling sound, but for $500 I expect better. If you're an audiophile, get something else (possibly the Chestnut Hill - it sounds a lot better). But if sound isn't your utmost concern, the Polk Isonic offers moderately good sound and really nice looking design.

I purchsed this system to add sound to my new 42 inch flat screen t.v.. The unit is set up in my living room apartment, so I really didn't need a very powerful sound system. With cables I purchased for under 10 dollars, the set up just took about a minute. Excellent sound from a small unit. The remote works very well.

I love listening to opera and classical music on the local FM classical station on this Polk system -- it sounds like I'm actually in a concert hall and it's magnificent. However, iPod playback is nowhere NEAR as good. The tones all blend together and lack richness and depth. My Bose wave radio does a far better job playing the iPod through the AUX IN. Wonderful depth from Bose. I am returning my Polk system because I don't want to spend $500 for a good radio. I'm considering the new Bose wave radio with digital FM and iPod connector kit, instead. If this product were priced lower -- maybe $125 -- I would probably keep it just for FM and the clock radio. Unfortunately, it wants to be a great iPod device as well, is priced that way, but fails to perform. Too bad! Would have loved to hear the same quality through iPod as through radio, or even iPod sound comparable to my Bose. I'm not a sound engineer so no idea why they couldn't make that happen -- definitely curious.

I've had the I-Sonic ES2 for a while and put it through it's paces. It lives up to the hype without a doubt. It has such a full rich sound with the iPod docked and the HD FM stations are truly excellent. This will not replace your home stereo, but it is great for what it is. Easy to use, great sound, good remote. The iTunes tagging even works well. It's a feature I didn't think I would use, but it turns out that it's really convenient and makes it easy to store the songs you like for future purchase. My only minor complaint is that it as well as the other high end iPod dock radios are still too high priced in my opinion. I would like to see the prices come down a bit. :)

Polk Audio I-Sonic Entertainment System 2
Sounds alot bigger than it is. Plenty of power for most household use. More tone control would be nice...a graphic eq would be icing on the cake. The remote works from a good distance away. There is a delay on all functions except volume control that takes some getting used to.
I haven't spent alot of time dialing in the antenna placement but, as was mentioned in a previous review, the radio isn't the greatest at receiving HD signal from weaker/more distant stations. That said, the unit does sound very nice, and is well worth the discount price.