I purchased a set about 2yrs ago and am totaly satisfied with my purchase.They are a fine speaker for the money.What i admired about them most was the imaging I auditioned a lot of speakers in my quest and buy far and wide they where the best of the heap.The sound stage is deep and detailed.They sounded and imaged much better than some speakers that costed much more.I could go on but whats the point I love my polks keep up the good work.

When i first got the rt's about 2 years ago i ran them with the yamaha 990 and they sounded alright at the time. Since then i have move up to the 2095 to finally the dsp-a1 and added the ct-120 subwoofer with m.i.t2 biwire speaker cables and now the 16's sound great.The only thing i want now is the nordost blue heavens speaker cables.But to get back to the 16's when i first got them the first thing i noticed was the mids loved them the bass was powerful(later to learn boomy but m.i.t. got rid of that)and i found to get the best sound you do need to move them around but you need to do that with any floorstander and a sub is a must for home theater but that was another reason i got them they sounded so real in that department.They took alittle work but rewards were well worth it.Image,midrange,depth are all there for me to get more i would have to spend about $1700.00 and with the whole polk set up (the cs400,ls surrounds,the velodyne ct120 home theater rocks and music is'nt to bad at all a decent speaker.

purchased 3/97 as upgrades to S-10. Liked very much. Then I
damaged driver 4/98. Polk replaced. Never sounded the same.
Then upgraded to Rt2000p 12/98 if you want to call it that.
Suppose they deserve 5 stars.

Great soundstage with proper placement

I have had these speakers since they were released and I have noticed that with proper placement I get a three dimensional soundstage. The drivers use use the dynamic balance technology which I think makes the sound different than other speakers.

I looked at the RT16s for a few months before buying, and they were worththe wait. I have a good setup, with all new components. My reciever is a
Pioneer VSX-505S, and my cd player is a Harman/Kardon FL-8150, my VCR
a JVC HR-S7300U. The music from the Fl-8150 sounds incredibly good compared to the other 3 home theaters in my house. On using the VCR as the
source with movies with deep, loud bass such as the THX certified Twister and
Independance Day the speakers distort as I don't yet have a subwoofer hooked
up to them. I would recommend them to anyone that doesn't like to blow hisher
ears out, but not to anyone who doesn't have a powerful sub. Still, I strongly
recommend them. They kick butt.

I have recently purchased the RT 16's ,having in mind the following that I needed a speaker that is not expensive ,could play equally good music
and especially movies.The 16's are perfect for someone seeking the above.
They need a bit experimenting in positioning but after the proper setup
they give a natural sound and a lot of punch (needed for home theater) ,
that not many speakers can deliver ,in fact none as far as I am concerned
in that price range .Tha advantage of the power port is pretty obvious when
you watch movies with a vaste low (Twister) ,so the low frequencies seem
to fill the room and they don't "attack" the one watching.The mid is in it's
right place and the high is smooth when you listen to music tending to
be aggressive exactly when you want it to be (meaning home theater applications).I have also auditioned Definitive's BP 10 ,which I must say
is a decent speaker but needs a complete rearrangement of the living room
in order to sound their best ,as well as Boston VR 40's which I did not find
according to my listening taste.After all let's not forget that what sounds
nice to somebody's ear would sometimes sound awful to somebody else's.
I concider the speaker to be a bargain for home theater and competitive
for music

Great BASS

None considering the price

I have bought the RT-16's when they came out. I like their look and I wanted to exchange my Polk S-4's and subwoofer for a pair of larger speakers.

At the time the Polk RT-16s were my best option. Today, you can play abouyt what I paid and get integrated powered subs. Back when the RT-16's came out that was not possible.

These speakers wear well, and still look good in my apartment. I have no desire to swap them for anything else.
I am using them as mains in my digital home theatre setup. I am living without a powered sub because I live in an apartment.

They are perfect for techno/dance/industrial music. I have heard that they have loose bass. I guess I have never heard speakers with tighter bass so to me they sound great. Any speaker that can handle the low bass hits in the "closer" intro by NIN is good at bass.

They are not good at low volume.

They are good for home theatre minus a sub. That's right, they kick out enough low bass that you can live without a powered sub. In fact when they speakers came out, their rated bass was as good or better than any powered sub under $500 or so.

If you find them used, and you want bargain good sound, pick them up by all means.

Reciever used most with them: Immediate successor to Yamaha RX-595. A great piece with a great amp!

Current reciever: Yamaha 795a. A decent HT reciever, but a step down muscially from my old Yamaha stereo only model.

I've had these RT16 for over a month now and believe that it is time to review them.

I went through quite some auditioning to choose a pair of speakers for 80% music and 20% HT. I started with a preference for B&W602; but after much listensing at a local store, I decided that 603 is a better speaker for my type of music: orchestral classical music / opera / jazz / vocal, because it covers a fuller range, particularly the lower end. I was ready to purchase the 603 since the store offers 12 month upgrade program. Then I by chance spotted the Polk RT16.

First of all, they are much heavier and a little taller than the 603 with a clean and sturdy look, and they sell for about the same price. They were displayed side by side, so I decided to do a last minute A/B test. Here is my impression after the comparison (and that impression has only been strengthened after a month of living with these RT16):

603 is mellower, smoother and indeed very pleasing in the mid range, without a sign of harshness on the top; but the low is loose and relatively poorly defined; its mids are focused but the sound stage it projects is not ideally broad; (I know many love the B&W 600 series and likely to hate me for even comparing them to "POLK"; but please do not attack me until you personally do a comparison between the two -- bring 2 hrs worth of your own music, preferably a mix of classical / jazz / pop).

RT16 sounds immediately sharper (maybe a bit too bright for some) on the top, giving a sense of very clear definition of the sound yet without exaggeration; overall clean and quite transparent sound also makes these speakers shine with good imaging; I was surprised by its broad soundstaging, and the mids are JUST AS beautiful as the 603! Now, the bass really sets it apart from the 603 -- deep, well defined, guess you can call it "tight". (Try Kind of Blue by Miles or Piano Concerto by Greig or Bach's solo cello suite).

I know that Polk makes fairly decent speakers, but never thought it could stand up to B&W in playing MUSIC. These RT16s are truly MUSICAL, even though they were marketed as HT (thus shielded, unlike the B&W 600s) speakers. A friend of mine, who has much higher end equipements including Sonus Faber and a huge jazz person, said after listening to my setup that he cannot find ANY major flaws and love the sound. They do sound very impressive for HT as well.

I bought the RT16 thinking that OK, I may return it for something else soon. But now I have come to conclusion that to really step up from my RT16, I would have to go for the B&W 604 or 805 (I love these bookshelf babies) or P5 /6, which all cost significantly more than the RT16 ($900 vs. $1,500). In addition, I am only using a good ONKYO receiver and brand new ONKYO CD player (with Audioquest Topez interconnect and Crystal plus cables), so to upgrade to a $1,500 speaker I
would also have to upgrade all the electronics as well (a matter of time).

So my verdict: I love these RT16 for music and they are hard to beat in its price range. I also spoke with Polk reps over the phone and was told that their new line use the exactly the same technology and there will not be a big difference in sound... It may be a good time to grab these speakers at low sale price.

As compared to high end B&W Matrix or M-L, I would give RT16 three to four stars. But for speakers in its price range (which is the purpose of this review), RT16 deserves the wholehearted five stars. Give RT16 a try and COMPARE FOR YOURSELF.

Good Listening!

Deep, powerful bass with or without a sub, GREAT midrange and blends in well.

Trilaminate tweeter is a bit much at high volumes.

I have had the RT16's for about 2 1/2 years now. I have them properly matched with Polk's similar products. Together these Polks are unmatched at this price level and I had shopped around quite a bit. I would also like to add that my listening range is anywhere from Beethoven, Bach, and John Williams to Dr. Dre, Pearl Jam, and U2. So, I am evaluating these speakers on how they handle all types of music and hometheater.

First with the bass. The Powerport is truly impressive. My brother has RT8's and they even have a well defined bass. The RT16's can cleanly hit surprisingly low (especially with proper placement), and maintain a musical bass that blends well with the other frequencies. I am not as much as an expert as probably most of you posting on this board, but I would have to say the Polk's can hold their own with any speaker in this price range.

The midrange is truly what sets this speaker apart, though. It is so superbly clear at ALL volumes. They do a good job with blending in and hiding the location of the actual speaker. Natural midrange is a good way to describe the Polk's.

The tweeter has great detail and is smooth at ALL volumes. It just becomes annoying at very high volume levels when it becomes a bit much and too bright.

The build quality is first-rate, they are very attractive, and the bi-wiring thing is a good plus. Since my purchase over two years ago, I have become a Polk "junkie", with other Polk products in other rooms and even my car. I highly recommend anything that this company makes.

Similar Products Used:

bose, boston acoustics, onkyo

Strong, tight bass. Can play very loud! Quite revealing when setup properly.

Benefits from high-quality wires and amplification.

I bought these speakers in Summer of 1997. I compared them to NHT, Paradigm, and some larger JPW models. Ultimately, I am very pleased with my purchase. The only remarkable comparison that I will note was the Polk's similarity to Paradigm. The Paradigms sound marvelous, I love their ability to resolve high end detail but I didn't particularly find their lack of bass extension and control that interesting.

To make a long story short, I ended up with the Polk RT16s after auditioning them! Fantastic speaker for the price I paid. Tight and controlled bass, decent highs.

My only complaint is more of an observation. These speakers can really sing with the proper gear driving them! Most audiophile elitists dismiss these speakers because their price doesn't reach the heights of many exotic brands. If you hook these up to a cheap Sony or JBL receiver from Wal-Mart, you might be impressed but these speakers can do so very much more!

Since they're no longer manufactured, you will have a tough time finding them.

If you're looking for a quality used speaker, these are great! Be sure to check for the usual stuff: drivers being worn from some kind of physical contact, gouges, broken spikes on the bottom, missing bi-wire crossover strips, etc.

I plan on keeping my RT16s for quite some time!