Disappointingly mediocre for the money. I found the highs undisciplined and harsh while vocals were muffled and indistinct. Bass was decent, but I had a difficult time integrating these with my subwoofer. You can do much better with similarly priced models from B&W, Paradigm, PSB, Energy, etc.

Great mids, excellant bass, look great, perfect wall mounting bracket on back, gold binding posts.

None

These little but beefy speakers are ready to rock. They, as
one revivewer wrote, are not muddy, but mellow. They give a good natural sound for a bookshelf no less.
I have 2 RT35s for the front, 2 for the rear. This timber matching I read is pretty important, I think it pays off.
I have a PS120 sub and CS225 center, it makes for a pretty full system.
As for the highs being mentioned as not bright enough, I think they are just right. I had some 20yr old, name dead and gone, speakers that where to bright, it hurt to listen to very long. These are easy to listen to all day long. I
received e-mail from Polk for a review from Soundstage.com,
a very good article on them, he brouht out good points, few bad, and wants to keep what he tested. That says something.
For the price and how well these speakers are constructed, the others are hard to compare, as an article also points out from SMR-home-theater, 3/4" MDF sides, 1" front baffle.
These are no light weight speaker, but hang great on the wall using there Power Port/mounting bracket on back.
Along with my other Polks, they all receive 5 stars, I can't
complain.

solid construction, nice design/good materials.

horrible treble response, too pricey.

very poor treble response. bass was adequate, but does not compare to infinity rs-3. i am re-reviewing this again (updating my june review). great quality/very heavy. high frequencies were too rolled off. very bland/mild/neutral sound. side by side comparisons proved infinity rs-3 to be superior, especially in price ($220 delivered from the internet vs $375 for the polk with tax).

Similar Products Used:

infinity rs-3.

very snappy sound-distinct.

none found yet

my Infinity's were stolen so i went to buy more.setting Infinity's next to these polk's i could tell a distinct difference in sound quality(im using these as rear speakers with rt 1000's in ft(sony da50es)the sound is awesome,i would definitely recommend !!for stereo sound they're good but what i noticed was the theater sound(kicked infinty's butt & i considered myself to be a diehard Infinity fan

Similar Products Used:

infintiy

Value, performance, very rich sound, lot of sound from small mountable speaker

Cheap grill and logo.

Got these at Circuit City for 100 bucks each. They were clearing them out to make room for new "i" series. Picked up 4 of them sinc4e i was building a music/ht system and had just bought velodyne sub. These little things do good at high volumes w/ little distortion (the power port may actually help!). Rich, very natural sound for their price ans size. Mated with cs245 center and they go well together. I would buy these again, they are a very good value.I just bought B-tech mounts from crutchfield so i can put them on the wall and swivel/tilt them.

Similar Products Used:

JBL/Harmon Kardon

Early this year I purchased three RT35's to replace my pair of RT3's and my CS235 center channel speaker (which I moved to my living room for surround sound).
I now consider RT35's to be the best all-around speakers that Polk offers at a reasonable price. I use two of my three RT35's as rear channel speakers and one as my center channel speaker (doesn't really matter that much to me in regard to sound as to whether it's placed on it's side or placed upright).

I use my three RT35's with a pair of front RT600's. But, from what I've experienced, the RT35's can be used for any position for audio enthusiasts. And, even for surround sound, the RT35's are absolutely marvelous.

Want little or no complications? Buy RT35's and keep within your budget and probably never hear the difference with larger more expensive speakers.

That's my suggestion and offer to those of you that wish to stay within your budget and get the best sound for your money.

Quality and appearance of the RT35 is superb. Pick up one of those speakers and be amazed at it's weight. Look at it...behind the grill...at the back...at the seams...at the bezel to reduce speaker grill defraction...and listen to it!!!

Five stars for this little speaker worthy for any use.

Sincerely,

Robert D. Boyd

Good Bass Response

I find them to be quite muddy, with terrible highs and no midrange

I have to agree with the review that stated for the money you can do a LOT better with a product from Paradigm or B&W. I found that while the RT's had decent base they where quite muddy. The highs however were terrible. I sold mine and am currently looking into buying Boston Acoustics or Paradigms. At the $300-$400 price point you can do better.

Very distinct and accrurate.

The speakers don't pack a lot of bass, but they're great when combined with a decent subwoofer.

I got these to replace a pair of low end Monitor Audio speakers that went kaput after 10 years. I was looking for some small bookshelves and the RT35s fit the bill at a reasonable price. I listened to the RT55s, and although they had noticablly more bass response, they were more expensive and were bigger than the space I had available. Additionally, I'm using a subwoofer and it fills out the low end very well. Overall, I'm very happy with the RT35s, all my cds sound like new recordings.

bass

treble is a tad weak on digital sources

I went to the dealer set on picking up a pair of psb image 2b's and just for fun I had them compare them to the rt35i and I ended up leaving with the polkaudios. These speakers were the only bookshelves I've heard in recent memory that don't cry out for a sub woofer or HT setup, the bass is more than very good. Unfortunately you sacrifice a little in the high end for this. I think it depends on your gear though. When I listen to records through these, WOW! supernice. cd's the high is a little crass. If you want speakers that focus on clear mids and highs to pair with a subwoofer then these are not for you(I tried pairing them up wiht a psb subsonic 2, not that cool). For stand alone bookshelf speakers these are pretty good.

system:
TT: Music hall mmf5, w/ nad phono preamp
Receiver: Nakamichi AV8
CD: Nakamichi MB8
Monster cable

Similar Products Used:

psb image 2b, b&w 602 s2

Sound

None

Thank you all for the reviews. They really made my job easier trying to find a speaker system on a budget.
The sound is just outstanding. I am running them from a JVC 8000.
I purchased 2 pairs of RTI35
1 CS245I Center chanel
and the PS250 sub for $1000.00 Canadian including taxes at the Future shop.
That's about $650 US.

Can someone tell me the best wire gauge to run these speakers?

Thanx.