Back in the day (1999) when I bought my pair (for close to $2,000) I had a hometheater setup and have the matched "timber" center LS350 and the BiPole rear speakers. I still have everything but my tatses for hometheater have changed and I now listen to more music. With in mind, these are not the best speaker. They are a designed for hometheater speaker that does that aspect well. Do some HiRes streaming and they are a weak speaker with a predictable soundstage (like they're supposed to have for hometheater) and not transparent. I'm going to sell them...as soon as I choose something better to replace them.

Lack transparency. Designed for timber matched hometheater NOT for music.

I bought these circuit city 1998 when i bought my first real set... i was bent on bose 901 but when compared in samr room same driver there was no comparison... polk rt2000p best they had... i paid $1000.00 a piece and got a free polk center channel... now 2019 these speakers are still unmatchable .. awesome clear crisp very loud music... i would not trade these fir anythjng... i purchased a Yamaha receiver at the time 150watts per channel... frwaking awesome!!!

They're heavy.. Haha... but if you love clear crisp loud music best ever!!@

I’ve had these since 1999 or 2000 and still kicking! Around that time, I bought my first Sony 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround-Sound Receiver and figured to reuse my speakers from my old Fisher Rack system that was Dolby Pro Logic. Everything connected fine until I got to the sub-woofer and realized the only connection was a RCA port not speaker bindings. Turns out Dolby Digital relies on a powered sub and I didn’t know that at the time. So this is where it all started with the amazing Polk RT-2000P tower speakers. I didn’t like the idea of having a separate powered sub in the whole setup of things. And didn’t have the room for a sub to place about in the first place. So, one day I was looking through a Crutchfield catalog and came across a pair of Polk Aduio RT-2000P’s tower speakers on clearance that was exactly what I was looking for. I placed the order for the speakers and can say it was the best decision I’ve ever made, when it comes to audio equipment. They sound great and pair them with matching surround-sound speakers and center channel for the best knock your socks off sound system next to your local cinema. My neighbors hate me when I watch movies that make good use of the L.F.E. Channel, the bass. My neighbor Frank would always come over and tell me to turn down the “boom, booms!” He was an older British bloke, so to explain the terminology he used. As for the bad reviews, has to be due to an underpowered receiver that is being used to power these guys. I’ve always have used Sony ES receivers and never had a problem with sound output to date. The receiver that I currently use is a Sony STR-DA5600ES and drives these tower speakers perfectly without hesitation. So, if you come across these speakers at a garage sale, swap meet, don’t pass them up. Buy them right now, you won’t be disappointed!

Hello to all! This might be a good read for you folks bashing the Polk RT2000p Floor Speakers.
I will state my experience with Polk products especially the floor speaker were speaking of.
I have been a sound engineer for 35 years working tours with a few bands but mostly with The Dave Matthews Band.(I love this band and all the members who are down to earth and fun to be around) (No Polk doesn't design sound systems for big venues we use "The Milo System". Anyway at home I have a pair of RT2000p speakers with the built in subs and have had these speakers for approx 15 years. My kids use them as part of a home theature system as well as straight forward 2 speaker set up just for music. I've never had a problem with these and the sound is excellent for the price. They have been discontinued but Polk have equivalents. The bass will knock pictures off the wall upstairs. There in a large basement. I've had various Polks in the past and nothing but high regards for there products I've purchased. I also like Klipish speakers.
Take it from a guy who has been in the sound business for 35 years that the RT2000p are an excellent choice. Maybe your power isn't up to par. We are using a Yamaha receiver that puts out 120 watts per channel. When we have outdoor gatherings we put them on the deck and crank them up so all our guests out on the farm can hear. Volume on the Yamaha amp set at 12:00 to 1:00 all day long. Amp has also performed well without a glitch.
Best of luck.
lee

https://youtu.be/Cvhg_GLOLhk

Very happy with them !

15 years after and still love them ... And still plays great too, I rebuild the crossover for them but the rest still the same,

Pre Amp harman Kardon
Amp Harman Kardon Signature 1.5 200 Watts RMS / ch

I am very happy with these gems, and got them for a great price, i have them hooked up to an onkyo m-508 power amp, rated at 220 watts per channel, and these can take it all and ask for more, the bass is outstanding--it will pound your chest, and the mids and highs are mellow and not fatiguing on the ears, i can listen to them all day without getting tired of them, great for jazz and rock, and many other types of music, these are huge and heavy---very well made product, as you would expect from a good company like polk audio--way to go polk, you did a fine job on these gems, these are keepers, and for those who put bad reviews on these must be powering them with crappy receivers, these NEED a good powerfull amp to get there full potential, and again i will say they sound AWSOME!!!!

Performance:

Warm, flat acoustic response
Wide sound field/stereo imaging
Taut, musical midbass
infinitely thick bass down to 30Hz; no mud, no fuzz - "100% Grade A Beef"
Great for distorted rock records as much as for bluegrass, jazz, or classical

Build:

Extremely solid and heavy cabinets
Thick front Baffle
Great looking, very powerful presence

These are no longer made, if you can even find one with busted components, buy them for the cabinet alone and have fun experimenting with different driver combinations. Get a separate dedicated sub for anything below 30 Hz, which is mostly inaudible to human ears anyway, so maybe just bolt a few Aura "shakers" to your furniture for that effect.

This one goes out to all the haters!

Have you found that, in addition to electronics, you're never happy with the car you drive, the food you eat, or the woman whose company you're lucky enough to have? I don't know to what degree these speakers could be improved versus the price paid, but to use terms approaching "crap" or "terrible" tells me that your wholly negative experiences here only reflect a much larger personal issue regarding your general dissatisfaction in life.

I would agree that, had I purchased these for a grand each, I might have a bit of buyers' remorse, but that has more to do with my frugality and limited budget than with any perceived performance limitations of these towers. I have yet to find any fault in terms of timbre and imaging; the performance overall is nothing short of spectacular in every musical vein.

Fellow reviewers, as much as we try to remain objective in our observations, with most anything else in life, human opinions are subject to external influences, whether we're conscious of them or not. Which leads me to the next point; this is merely my subjective opinion, meaning these polks are clearly competitive at their price point and work very well for me. I use them in an integrated system at home for everything from casual or intense listening and movies, to referencing mixed down studio tracks as well as composing with any number of electronically amplified instruments.

I'm sorry if you've found them to sound, look, or perform bad overall. If you've had issues with repeatedly blowing out the same individual drivers, you need only check the mirror to troubleshoot the cause. I can just about guarantee you are suffering from what I would call a "lead thumb"; treat your equipment well and it will do the same in return. I would also point out that if you're cranking these up high enough to continually break them, imagine what's happening to your ears!There really is no such thing as "invincible", except in video games, so bring it down a few notches and I'd bet you never have another problem again. So, if a rogue band of Polk speakers killed your parents and burned your village to the ground as a child, then I completely understand why you would be so desparaging in your remarks - and I'm sorry for your loss. Just remember, denial is a very powerful thing.

Having now dispenced with the underlying psychological motivation behind irresponsibly negative reviews, I'd like to say that my Polk RT2000p Floorstanding towers remind me very much of Studio Quality mid and near field monitors (with which I am very familiar) from the ranks of Alesis, Tannoy, KRK, Mackie, etc. There is a distinct lack of coloration or overreaching bandwidths resulting in a very flat and warm response. With a wonderful sensitivity of 90db, my Polks are forceful and dynamic at any listening level. And sensitivity here is a funny thing which seems on the conservative side, most likely having been measured on brand new units whereas, once broken in and free of the initial static mechanical resistance, they display much more vivid dynamics and nuanced behavior at varying volume levels. As a foundation for stereo or multichannel music, as well as Home Theater, I think I've found my musical life partners, I recommend you do the same, should the opportunity present itself.

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You name it - I've used it, probably broken it, fixed it, and then brought it back for more.

look ok

something in design makes them sound like crap

Wow,what a 4ft piece of junk.I have hated these ever since I upgraded everything I own to try to make them sound better!There are no cables,amps,sources of any type that can make these sound like $2k.Sound is like poor bookshelf on top of poor,underpowered sub.Thank goodness they quit making them,if you find used,listen closely,250.00 a pair is ok if you can't hear very well!

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rt 2000i,just as bad,but with new color driver

pure engineering marvels, quality beyond B&W or big whammy's.

Ricky's ears

Obviosly RICKY lit bombs too close to his ear cause he can't hear didly poo! any idiot who would bash polk audio is a virgin to audiophile. b&w is overpriced crap and people who buy it buy the name. ricky get a hearing aid and then listen to top end polk audio speakers again, unless you are a retard you will see the diference. you are the only one to report bad comments about polk, you must be from the ghetto and can't afford them, so you talk trash. wake up idiot!

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Not B&W thats for shure! Maybe MaCintosh speakers! but ricky can't afford them either!

pure engineering marvels, quality beyond B&W or big whammy's.

Ricky's ears

Obviosly RICKY lit bombs too close to his ear cause he can't hear didly poo! any idiot who would bash polk audio is a virgin to audiophile. b&w is overpriced crap and people who buy it buy the name. ricky get a hearing aid and then listen to top end polk audio speakers again, unless you are a retard you will see the diference. you are the only one to report bad comments about polk, you must be from the ghetto and can't afford them, so you talk trash. wake up idiot!

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Not B&W thats for shure! Maybe MaCintosh speakers! but ricky can't afford them either!