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hound dog Unregistered guest | Why are there so few mentions of Polk out there? I heard a pair of R50's at a friends house and thought they sounded good. Any defenders? For the price he paid ($400 for the set) I thought they were a good deal. |
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New member Username: EdisonPost Number: 151 Registered: 12-2003 | Polks are not bad, but you can do better with athena or axiom. Athena can be bought at bestbuy.com; axiom at www.vertigoonlne.com Ascendacoustics.com is good also. Polks are good in that they are unfatiguing - better than Bose, but the tweeter is not transparent and lively, and the sound is little mushy. Still a good value and sounds ok with enetry level electronics. RT series and Lsi series sound better than R series. |
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New member Username: Paul_tPost Number: 44 Registered: 12-2003 | Don't forget Paradigm... They are where I always thought Polk would be,, Had Polks in the early 80's through early 90's and found they just seemed to lose the edge they used to have through the years... Paradigms have gotten better and better with each model version update.. Their Studio line is incredible and all in house built where Polk is now using other manufacturer's tweeters and such.. I was a big Polk lover at one time.. |
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Anonymous | Hound Dog...I have also wondered the same thing. I think most people deal with lower end Polk models and I admit they really arent special at all, and from there generate their own opinion of Polk speakers. I however do own higher end Polk speakers and I have been very impressed with them. This is my second pair after being satisfied with the first. I noticed the words "entry level electronics" used to describe them above. True, many of Polks products are what I consider low end, but at the top, their product are hardly "entry level." Going by specifications alone they blow away other speakers by a long shot. But of course, we all know it's how they sound that counts. And obviously this is up for everyone's opinion so not much can be done here. Tweeters are ok for me...mid range is a little dull, but the bass will simply crush most other brands. This does not merit more details. I would be a defender of Polk speakers though. Their upper models can compete with anything not rediculously high end. That said, I am very much aware that Polks are not the greatest things in the world. People need not remind me. I have dealt with many other speaker worth much more, and simply are much better than anything Polk can offer. But I anything high end in Polks line should be considered high end audio. Though in one last note, I have heard some Polks that are a few years old..between 5-10 years. There is a difference between those and the ones I have now that are 2003. Had I heard those then, I would probably had no desrire to buy them at all. But...Polks can hold their own. They are good speakers. Sorry to be so general, but trying to convince others of sound quality in this type of forum just will never work. |
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New member Username: ScoobsPost Number: 3 Registered: 01-2004 | HALE YES! i have an old pair of bookshelf polks that i still really enjoy. we're building a house with a move-in date set for may. so, for the past three months i've been beating the path searching for a home theater/audio system to go with it. yesterday i ordered a pair of LSi15's with the 404 sub. i was considering the LSi9's, compared them to the 15s and couldn't resist the sound, so i ponied up. perhaps my perception was skewed because of my previous experience with polks, but those 15's really struck a chord with me. i had listened to some lower-end vandersteens at a friend's house (model # escapes me), and i thought the LSi15s sounded richer and fuller with a bright vibrant high. the polks were hooked up to a yamaha 1400 receiver with all the settings flat. it was pretty sick. just to satisfy my curiosity (or prove the price was worth it) i also listened to the polk RTi's and wasn't impressed with those compared to the LSi models. they very seemed flat and lifeless. i agree with anonymous; the lower end polks don't seperate themeselves from bose or jbls or infinity. the LSi series certainly seperates themselves from everything i listened to at best buy IMO. i'm in the camp of "spend your money on the speakers" (regardless if they're polks or not), and get yourself an adequate receiver if you can't afford better. save up, and 6-12 months down the road step up to the better receiver...and hock your old one on ebay. you can have a great receiver, but if you get crappy speakers, it'll sound...well, crappy. good speakers and a so-so receiver will sound better than so-so speakers and a good receiver from my experience. that being said, you can't extend beyond your budget constraints. enjoy the hunt. |
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New member Username: BraveheartPost Number: 1 Registered: 02-2004 | Absolutely love Polks. I own RT25i and RT15i speakers. There punchy bass and clarity beats out most models in there price range. I used to have Bose and have owned some other brands and I like these the best. Certainly there are more top end models and brands but you get a lot of bang for the buck with these. I think that the perception of them has changed due to them being sold at CC. In any event check them out. |
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Silver Member Username: Elitefan1Post Number: 190 Registered: 12-2003 | Michael, I agree completely with your comments about the RT25. I used to have a pair of them in my kitchen and I think they were some of the best speakers in their size and price range I have ever heard.Very good clarity and imaging and a real steal. I have a friend who needed a pair of the 25's to expand his Polk system into a 7.1 system and he could not find any so I traded mine to hime for a pair of Paradigm Atoms which are very good but not as good a match with my Elite as the Polk's. I miss them and found their only weakness to be a lack of ability to play at very loud levels. Overall great speakers. IMO that generation of Polks was better than the newer versions and I always like their lower models better than the more expensive ones. |
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peach Unregistered guest | I think Michael might have hit on something when he said that many people think they are no good because they are sold at CC. Granted CC has less than exemplary custumer service, but that is no reason to diss Polk. I think the current RTi series are some pretty good speakers, especially if you can find them on sale. |
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New member Username: ScoobsPost Number: 5 Registered: 01-2004 | i need to make a correction, i went back to american TV two nights ago to look at some rear channel inwall speakers. the floor standing polks i was listening to (comparing to the LSi's) were the R's not the RTi's. oops! |
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sharp note Unregistered guest | I am a college student majoring in music. My roommate is also a musician and several of the guys on our hall are musical. We had an arguement over whose speakers sounded the best. One of our friends is an electrical engineering major and as one of his class projects he did an experiment. To try to settle the issue , at least in part, we brought in four different sets of speakers, all floor, and 2 different receivers. He hooked them all into a switcher system so we could quickly change from one system to the other. The four speakers were Polk, Axioom, Athena, and Energy. After the six of us listened we got 10 other people to listen. Guess what, Most of us could not identify our own system, and over all the Polk's were rated as the best sounding by 8 of 16, and 2nd best by 3 people These test were all done with the listeners blindfolded. We also played different kinds of music. Maybe this says that college students don't know jack about sound. Maybe it says that Polk is better than people give them credit for. By the way, my system was not polk but axiom. |
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Bronze Member Username: BilldashillPost Number: 59 Registered: 12-2003 | sharp note, I think its all about matching the best receiver to certain speakers. The Polks probably had the best match as far as receiver went. Blind tests are not the final word IMO. I'm curious, which receivers did you use? |
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St. Louis Blues Unregistered guest | My Polk 6700 'stopgap' system is actually pretty good. |
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sharp note Unregistered guest | jeff, one of the receivers was the HK 525 the other was a marantz . We also used both receivers with all speakers. We did not use more receivers because one of the other four guys had an HK 325, which we figured was very similar to the 525 and the other guy had a cheap panasonic. |
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anon Unregistered guest | jeff, in you in you opinion, what is the fianl word? Seems to me like shape note has a point? |
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New member Username: LaurencekarlPost Number: 5 Registered: 02-2004 | I purchased a complete set of the RTi series: Front RTi70 Center CSi30 Rears RTi38 bookshelf Sub PSW404 MSRP is $2079 and I got them for $700. I am trying to match a receiver to them so I will report back with my experience. My reservation so far is that they seem to have a sort of muffled/dull sound unlike the LSi series which sound very good. Antithesis of bright sounding for sure. If any of you have any suggestions for receivers I would love to hear them. |
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Silver Member Username: Elitefan1Post Number: 254 Registered: 12-2003 | Are you saying you bought this whole set for only $700? Wow! While not a favorite of mine at full price for $700 that's a steal. I am kind of surprised at your description of the Polk sound as my reaction is just the opposite. I found the 70's to be a bit on the bright side when I heard them with a Onkyo 800 last year. My suggestions would have been the mellower brands like Marantz and Elite but I hesitate to mention any as we obviously hear differently. Great buy on the Polks and good luck on the receiver. |
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New member Username: LaurencekarlPost Number: 6 Registered: 02-2004 | Thanks. I will see if I can try those two receivers. I was listening to them on a Denon (I think) and unfortunately I didn't get the opportunity to listen to them on other receivers. Also the layout of the store wasn't so hot. Not my final verdict on the sound because I don't think that I have ever been able to give them a fair listen (only a few minutes) but that was my impression. I listened to a NAD and a Yamaha today briefly at a local store. The owner generously suggested that I bring my speakers in to try on a receiver there. The NAD T762 rocks! I am seriously thinking about that receiver. I am totally doing this backwards by buying the speakers on a whim but it seemed like too good a deal to pass up. At that price I can always shove them in another room. LK |
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Anonymous | I've been looking at the lsi9 by polk but they are 4ohm speakers and most receivers seem to be 6 or 8. I was considering a pioneer elite receiver (but that is 6 or 8 ohm). I believe the sony 3000es receiver is 4 ohm, but am hesitant with it because sony doesn't seem to honest with their specs (in terms of wattage and who know about ohm rating) and they are getting reports of a hiss from the system. maybe the 5000es by sony, but that is more costly. any advice for the 4 ohm polks. i may go with paradigms and the yamaha 14000 or pioneer elite 53tx otherwise. thanks! |
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mgalbraith Unregistered guest | look at yamaha rcvr. the higher end units offer switchable imedance (8 or 4ohm). i bought polk rt series on sale a little over a yr ago from cir city. compared them at home with b&w and magnepan costing 2-2.5 as much. prefered mag but they are just too imposing in most rooms. preferred polk to b&w for class and jazz. use your own ears and music. only your opinion matters. speakers are completely subjective. |
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New member Username: Unbridled_idChicagoUsa Post Number: 4 Registered: Mar-04 | I own a pair of polk rti-55's and a pair of rti-38's and they are paired with a denon dra-685... I have heard some say that the fact that polk doesn't produce all it's parts in house is a disadvantage, and I say how can that be... If a company shops around for parts you would have the opportunity to acquire the best parts, so that arguement isn't sound... I feel that because cc sells polks they get a bad rap and you know I bought my speakers from cc... Now as far as getting any real help there you will be disappointed but if you go in armed (with your own knowledge) and with their 1 yr full trade in policy it's not so bad... I went from the r-10's to the rti-25's to the rti-38's and will finally stop at the rti-10's all due to a generous trade in program...I am no speaker expert but I tend to agree with the poster above me as to interpretations.... Polks build quality speakers in my opinion and the rti line has been redesigned and looks pretty good... |
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New member Username: Scoobs1969Post Number: 1 Registered: Apr-04 | Lsi15 review 2 months after i ordered my speakers, american TV forced me to pick 'em up. my wife originally wanted me to put them in storage, as we're building a house and we really don't have room to store these huge boxes. i suggested we hook them up and "hide" my old polk bookshelf speakers. i hooked them up at 6pm, and tested 'em out until 130am. :p WOW. the speakers look gorgeous and somewhat imposing. these aren't my old bookshelf speakers, that's for sure. i ordered the cherry cabinets version, and the wood is beautiful. it really stands out from the deep lusterous black finish on the top-half of the cabinets. they're also tall and surprisingly narrow. they seem more narrow at home than at the store, so they fit nicely in my apartment living room - which is still rather large in and of itself. how do they sound? the first piece of music i sample was "osmosis" (track #2) from the "Liquid Tension - Experiment" CD. it took nothing more than listening to tony levin's bass intro to hook me. you could here the texture of each individual bass string as he ran his thumbs up and down doing runs. it was amazing. then to hear mike portnoy's cut in using blastix on the drums. you could hear each individual thread of the blastix make contact with whatever surface he played - be it the delicate rythms on the multi-toms or the soft shimmer of the cymbals. i tweeked the treble to +3 and the bass to +2, upped the volume a tad to open up the speakers, but not annoy my neighbors, and just marveled at the clarity and smoothness. everything was so well balanced it was almost impossible to simply listen to the highs, mid-tones, or bass. but from what i've heard so far, the bass was tight and seemingly very accurate and really resonated when the music (or movie sound-track) called for it. if there was one word to describe these speakers, it would be "detailed". we watched "the fifth element - DVD", a movie i've seen at least 30+ times and am extremely familiar with. we heard little nuances in the sound and music we've never heard previously. the sound literally surrounded us with the depth and imaging. my wife was at first, "alright. go ahead and hook them up", thinking the difference wouldn't be that much different to what we were already listening to - a pair of 13 year old polk bookshelf speakers sitting on the floor. she's not much of an audiophile, and i'm one who's always "wanted" to be one. once i pointed out some of the details in the music we were listening to, the "stuff" we haven't heard before (the bass string textures, the dampening of mike portnoy's drums (and the sticking...shjt!), the clarity of petrucci's guitar strings and jordan rudess's keyboards... then "the fifth element"... my wife was dumb-founded...and so was i. these speakers were only $700 apiece (i got a fairly decent deal on them). at the time, i was thinking these were expensive as hell (and they were for me). now? holycat's i can't believe i only paid $1400 for the pair. ...and i had them hooked up a to 13-year old onkyo 300 watt amp and a 5-year old onkyo pre-amp with no surround sound. the ring radiator tweeters... you can stand 10 feet to the left or right of the speakers and still hear the staging. i really don't know how to accurately describe speakers, i don't have the language for it. as i said, i'm an "aspiring" audiophile, and these speakers are an unbelieveable intro into the rhelm. and for some people (perhaps myself), these speakers would even be a great finishing point. a friend of mine has a pair of vandersteen's and those were impressive. incredibly impressive...especially compared to what i HAD been listening to. today, i will honestly say i like my Lsi's better than his much more costly vandersteens. call me crazy, but i stand by my comment. of course this is to my ears, so there will be others who would like the vandersteens better to be sure (it's all subjective). that being said, to me, the balance of the Lsi's were better and sound seemed richer. BTW, my friend also owns a sytem of 2-year old B&W's for his 2-year old home theater. now i'm itching to get my polk system hooked up in the house we're building (move in date is set 2 months from yesterday)... just to compare. i'm now a firm believer in rediscovering your "music library" with "better" speakers. ...i'd like to add "dvd library" to that as well. ;) polk is making some fabulous speakers, and i think a lot of people are missing out. |
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riches1 Unregistered guest | OK, here is a Polk supporter. I have owned Energy, Klipsch Reference, and Paradigm Mini Monitors, among others. I just sold my Paradigm Mini's and purchased the new Polk Rti 6's, Csi3 center, Fxi3 surrounds and PS404 sub, all for $1200. The reason a lot of people don't like Polk is because they are speaker snobs who think you can only buy quality speakers in snotty little botique shops owned by guys with names like Guntar. These people wouldn't be caught dead in Circuit City because they would rather pay exorbitant prices at Guntar's as a means of validating their status as an audiophile. My Paradigm Mini's sounded great, but I lost the love for them because they were butt-ugly black vinyl. Ditto the Paradigm CC370 monolith and the Paradigm Atoms that I used as surrounds (which had the same drivers as the ADP 270 surrounds but cost $500 less). What I have now are Cherry Veneered L&R Rti6's sitting on Cherry Veneer Sanus 24" Stands, a Cherry Veneer Csi3 Center, wall hugging Dipole/Bipole Fxi3 surrounds and a nice, musical, punchy sub. Read the review of the Polk RTi-25 in stereophile. It was called the best speaker in the under $500 range and the reviewer's favorite in the under $1000 range. To me, the Polks sound as good, maybe even better than the Paradigms! I can hear Guntar and his lackey's sucking in their breath now. Polk makes great speakers. Don't let their mass market availabiltiy or self professed audiophile tongue waggers, who want to make you think that they know better than you, convince you otherwise. You have to pay quantum bucks more just to get marignal improvements in sound quality. Twice what I paid would have got me into Stereophiles Budget Component of the year honorable mention speaker, the Polk LSi series. They are only marginally better than the RTi's. I'll take the money I saved and pick up the new Denon DVD-2200 Universal CD player ($599) and still have $500 for more toys! Trust your ears, don't listen to Guntar, and keep your hands on your wallet. |
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Dave0123 Unregistered guest | I won't knock Polk, but haveing worked at a CC when it came time to buy I listened to alot of different speakers. All of the Polk & Infinity towers at CC, everything BB had on display, and all of the little "botique" shops. {even the ones that sell 80,000 a pair speakers} I found the monitor Paradigm to be the best price for the sound quality. I'm running Monitor 11's in stereo on a 5 year old Pioneer, and I'm hearing small details in my movies, & music that I never heard before. The reciver is prologic only the FL chanel is staticy in surround mode and the RR is out completely(witch is why I,m running in stereo). The imageing from these 11"s is so go that all of the voices in the movies seam to come from a point directly between them(no their is no center speaker) and I've never heard Polks (any Polks) do that. |
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riches1 Unregistered guest | Dave 0123: Glad you like your Mini's. I have owned the Mini's and the Polks and have had both for "in home auditions, not just the sound room at CC or BB. I think the Polks image just as well, if not better. Here is what a professional reviewer had to say about the older RT35i's and the imaging capabilities on "Soundstage.com" "Soundstaging was one of the first things that struck me about the RT35s. These budget-priced speakers threw an excellent soundstage, extending well beyond the boundaries of their physical locations, and even the soundstage height was greater than it had any right to be. The sense of soundstage depth was quite good for a speaker in this price range, if not overly holographic. The RT35s were doing an excellent job of disappearing in my room." I tend to agree. I find no shortcomings in the imaging with the Polks, especially their newest 1"/6.5" bookshelf, the Rti6. |
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riches1 Unregistered guest | Dave0123: My bad! You're discussing the Paradigm 11, which is a five driver, 46" tall tower, floor-standing monolith - not the Paradigm Mini Monitors. I'm talking about bookshelf speakers. Hell, I paid about $1000 less for my entire Polk 5.1 speaker package than you did for your 2 towers! However - I have owned a lot speakers - from my Circa 1976 BIC's, on up through the Large Advents, Ohm L's, Boston Acoustic VR 940's, Energy Take 5's, Klipsch RB35's, Paradigm Mini Monitors to my current Polk RTi6''s. You state, and I quote: "The imageing from these 11"s is so go that all of the voices in the movies seam to come from a point directly between them(no their is no center speaker) and I've never heard Polks (any Polks) do that." Well, all I can say to that is, of all the speakers I mentioned, I have never heard any that could NOT do that - except possibly for the Panasonic 8-track that I had in the 10th grade back in 1970! And even though a lot of those systems were 5.1, I still listen in stereo mode (i.e. no center) quite frequently, and find that the vocals are coming from somewhere between, and even slightly above, and sometimes even slightly further back than where the speakers actually are! And all GOOD speakers do that. But thank you for emphasizing the main premise from my previous comments - its easy to overspend and experience marginal returns -if any at all- in additional sound quality. Personally, I'm not into large, monolithic, speakers that take over my living room. I like the mounting flexibility (stands, bookshelf or wall mount - you choose!),the superior imaging, and less cabinet resonance - the latter 2 qualities acknowledged by most audiophiles - that most bookshelf speakers provide over a tower. Not to mention the few bucks that I saved. I'm also not into irrational consumerism. I will admit that my sound system is not my life or a lifestyle with me. I do enjoy listening to all kinds of music from Tibetan Chants to Songs of the Humpback Whale to Jazz to Rock to Classical. Which is why I prefer nuetrality in the sound of a speaker, which is yet another area in which Polks excel. So do not let it be said that there are no Polk supporters on ecoustics.com. Don't take my word for it. Read the excellent reviews on Polk products in the editorial review section on this website. Thank youuuuu - Good night~! |
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New member Username: BluesPost Number: 6 Registered: Mar-04 | riches1, Great post! I've found Polk favorable to my ears for a lomg time. Your Guntar metaphor was right on brother. What are using to drive those puppies? |
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riches1 Unregistered guest | Blues: Thanks for the comments. Right now, my reciever of choice is the Onkyo TX-SR701. I purchased it at HH Gregg for $720. Glad you liked my Guntar metaphor;it's taken from my own personal experience. |
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Dave0123 Unregistered guest | hound dog Sorry if I came across like a paradigm retailer. My point is, by all means do your online research & check out recomendations. But listen to everything you can because in the end only YOU have to like what you buy. Yes some speakers sound better on some recivers and/or for specific listening purposes. A friend of mine only buys DCM's because all he listens to is rap & hip hop and can get what he wants from those speakers and any reciver with enough power to push them without a seperate sub. Bottom line be open minded & trust your ear. riches1 I was just wondering who would pay you $50 to take a Polk 5.1 speaker system being that I got my 11s for $950. |
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riches1 Unregistered guest | Dave 0123: Again my bad. I was estimating your cost based on what I saw on paradigms website. If you want to play "gotcha" head games, go ahead. However, your head is in the wrong place and you're in the wrong forum if you're coming here to bash Polk. The title of this forum is "Polk Supporters". Your disdain for Polk is duly noted. I think that I have pretty much rebutted your Polk bashing. If you like your 11's, that should be all that matters to you. But heed your own advice when you say "be open minded and trust your ears." Don't tell Polk loyalist that there is something wrong with us because we hear something that you don't. |
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JSR Unregistered guest | Polk must be doing something right! Stereophile Magazine gave the Polk RT25i loudspeaker a "Loudspeaker Product of the Year Award" in 2002 and bestowed a Budget Product of the year Runner up status on the LSi7 in 2003. Here's what they said about the LSi7: "In the areas of detail resolution, high-frequency performance, soundstaging, and wide-range dynamics, I doubt there's another affordable speaker that can approach the overall performance of the Polk LSi7". Here's the quotes on the RTi25: "The Polk RT25i has set a new benchmark for what an entry-level speaker can accomplish in many areas. Given its price and diminutive size, its few weaknesses are forgivable. It is far superior to any speaker I've heard for less than $500/pair, and has become my favorite speaker for under $1000/pair." |
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Dave0123 Unregistered guest | riches1 I don't not like Polks. I was settled on either thr RTi8s or RTi10 & an Integra DTR6.4 or 7.4 untill I heard the 11s, and still recomend Polk to friends. My only point is that people need to get out & listen to many different speakers because they may be surprised by something else. |
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New member Username: Scoobs1969Post Number: 2 Registered: Apr-04 | here are three GREAT reviews, all from wes phillips. and he seems very unbiased in his reviews, as i've been sifting through them frequently. i've added a couple of pull quotes under each rather lengthy review link. ***** from onhometheater.com - lsi home theater package review: http://www.onhometheater.com/product/20020215.htm "Set up in my big living room, the Polk LSi surround-sound speaker system was bigger than life -- but absolutely true to it. I'm sure I could have built a very impressive home-theater system around four LSi7s, an LSiC, and a PSW650. But, and especially in my large room, the added solidity and seamless musicality of the LSi15s made music listening something special. Out of all the impressive components that make up this system, these floorstanders are something special. I want to keep them around a while and listen to them more in my stereo system, so look to onhifi.com for a full review there in the near future." ******from onhifi has two articles: the first is the Lsi-15 review: http://www.onhifi.com/product/polk_lsi15.htm "For acoustic music, the LSi15 is almost as perfect a speaker as I've heard under $3500." "In its current LSi series of loudspeakers -- and most specifically in the LSi15 -- Polk is making the finest speakers it has ever manufactured." ***** the second is the 2002 products of the year: http://www.onhifi.com/product/2002_productsoftheyear.htm "With acoustic music, the LSi15s had an enveloping sense of presence I've never heard from any speaker even approaching their price point. Their seamless integration of the entire musical spectrum is startlingly even-handed and natural. Feed 'em some hard-driving rock'n'roll or soul or jazz and they'll roar like a lion; feed 'em a soothing folk air and they'll purr like a kitten. And no matter the musical material, the LSi15s delivered its letter and spirit intact. That's not just pretty good for a speaker under $2000/pair -- that's pretty good for a speaker." |
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Rookie Unregistered guest | How about the new RTi12 ? Does anybody have any comments or reviews on them? Thanks ! |
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New member Username: Riches1Atlanta, GA US Post Number: 4 Registered: Apr-04 | I recently upgraded from the RTi6 bookshelf and CSi3 Center to the RTi8 Tower and Csi5 Center on Crutchfield's 30-day return policy. I continue to be amazed at not only the great sound - (neutral to slightly warm, tight bass, crisp highs, good detail and imaging)- but also the great value Polk offers. My speaker package wound up costing me $1447 (with some nice incentives from Polk) from Crutchfield and consists of the RTi8 towers (1" tweeter, two 6.5" drivers) the CSi5 center ( same components), Fxi3 surrounds (switchable to either dipole or bipole , with two 1" tweeters and one 5.25" driver) and the 404 sub (10" woofer and 200 watt amp). The whole package is great for movies. I recently watched Apocolypse Now and American Beauty,both for the "n'th" time and was very pleased. In DTS mode,Steely Dan's "Two Against Nature" never sounded better! Chris Potter's sax riff on "Janie Runaway" was holographic and sweet! I just saw Jonny Lang live in concert and his "Long Time Coming" CD sounded much like the real thing - only better! The RTi8's played in the "pure mode" on my Onkyo TX SR701 were very lush. One other benefit is that these Polks look great with the real cherry veneer. So when they're not rocking or playing the occaisional Chopin CD, they are have major Wife Acceptance Factor because they are gorgeous just to look at as well. Yes, you can get more, but you have to pay more. At this price point, I think that this represents a great value. My most recent speakers before this system were Paradigm Mini Monitors, center, etc. Those are great speakers as well. This time though, Polk matched the paradigm sonically, but beat the comparable Paradigm sysmtem in price by about $450. If I heard any difference, the Polks may have even been slightly better! Throw in intangibles like cosmetics (the polks are prettier) and it was an easy decision for me to choose the Polks. BTW- the customer service at Crutchfield was superb! |
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New member Username: Riches1Atlanta, GA US Post Number: 5 Registered: Apr-04 | BTW - If you are audtioning Polks at someplace like CC, check to see if they are runnning some decent wire to the speakers. I heard these at CC on thread-like wires and they did not sound good at all. Audition them in your home before making the final decision, if you are leaning towards Polk. Also, bi-wire the speaker (replace the gold jumpers between the binding posts with quality wire like Monster Cable XP) to really "open up" the sound on Polks. |
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New member Username: Riches1Atlanta, GA US Post Number: 6 Registered: Apr-04 | PS BTW - Use good source material to test these babies because they are so neutral and accurate that bad recordings will sound bad and good will sound good. I recommend Sarah MacLaughlin's "Surfacing"; Eric Clapton "Unplugged"; Warren Zevon "The Wind"; anything by Dianna Krall; Jonny Lang "Long Time Coming"; and Aerosmith "Honkin' on Bobo" for CD's. For DVD-A, try Steely Dan "Two Against Nature", The Eagle's "Hotel California" (of course), and REM "Automatic For the People". All of these are excellent source material for auditioning speakers. |
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Nathan Brown Unregistered guest | If anybody has any comments or reviews on the Polk RTi 12's I would truly appreciate it if you would share them in this thread. I am trying to determine if they would match well my P.E. 53, I already have infinity tower speakers for surround. Thank you ! |
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New member Username: Riches1Atlanta, GA US Post Number: 7 Registered: Apr-04 | My most recent upgrade for my Polk RTi8's/CSi5 center has been to go from Monster XP spooled speaker wire to Monster MCX-1S and Z1 speaker cables. I kept the Z1 and returned the M series cable because the Z1 had some features found on the MCX-2S, an upgrade cable over the MCX-1s. The result was a noticeably tighter, more defined bass; and a "cleaner" sound, with greater detail compared to the sound with Monster XP speaker wire. The major difference was in the much larger soundstage. Was it worth $140? Absolutely. (I used some Monster XP wire to make jumpers between the dual binding posts to replace the gold plated ones that came with Polks instead of "biwiring".) I continue be very happy with my Rti8's. They have crisp highs without being bright or harsh, despite not sounding rolled off. Vocals are realistic and ever so slightly on the warm side. Acoustic guitars have a nice "ring". Bass is punchy and tight, and more than adequate for moderate listening volumes, although I do recommend a sub (I have the Polk PSW 404 - which is very good) for home theater and for listening to music in "rocking-out mode". After 2 months of listening pleasure, I think that the Rti8's represent a great value for $699 per pair. The Csi5 is an excellent center channel with well anchored dialog, vocals, and center effects. The Polk PSW 303 just received some nice reviews as good budget sub. The PSW 404 is an even better value IMO. The FXi3's are an absolute steal for surrounds at their price. Hi-Fi Buys and affiliated Tweeter stores have just picked up the Polk Audio line. I encourage you to audition these speakers in whatever price range you are considering before making any purchase. |
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Bronze Member Username: Mark_of_cenlaPlaucheville, Louisiana USA Post Number: 17 Registered: Jun-04 | Count me in as a Polk fan. I bought a pair of RTi4's at Circuit City for $200. I use them in a music system in my bedroom. The music sounds very natural and true, very balanced. I really like them. I also listened to a pair of Paradigm Titans in a different store. I prefer the Polks. Peace. |
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M Jones Unregistered guest | I have a 5.1 system of Polk LSi's: LSi9's front LSiC Center LSi7's back SVS PCi Sub The only reason I bought them was the store had a 14 day return for any reason policy. I had read a number of reviews of the LSi series and was intrigued. Auditioning these speakers in the store made me doubt the sanity of those reviewers however. Do not trust the typical Polk dealer to be able to demo LSi's properly! These are 4ohm nominal speakers and require both higher current amps and thicker speaker cable than a typical 8ohm speaker would. Without the proper equipment LSi's sound pretty weak. I've had them for a year plus and I'm still very happy with them. I've heard better speakers, but not anywhere near the price point for these. I also have a pair of rti10's for my bedroom. I'm not nearly as happy with these. They're being driving as a zone2 from a different room (using my main amp + sources (Rotel RSX-1055) to the zone2 amp (Rotel RB-1050). I should have stuck with LSi9's but at the time I wasn't ready to upgrade to a high current amp for zone2 at the time when I bought them. |