Soundstage, Uncolored Midrange, Some bass definition,
Treble extention, easy to drive and locate.

Treble roughness, not bi-wireble, polymer rear baffle.

Listening the RT-35's mid band, I think to myself: this Polk technologies (Dinamic Balance and the second tuned port) works very well. The main driver sounds smooth building a impressive sounstage. However the tweeter less merits demages overall performace. It sounds some rough but its extention (over 25kHz)is an audible difference. The bass is honest to its price, some extention, some coherence and some definition.
I use an Aura Va-50 and a Marantz PM-66 amplifiers, Nakamichi CD4 and EAD 1000 CD Players, Cables are Audioquest Type4+ and 6+ for Speakers and Turquoise and Opal to interconnect.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Titan, B&W Dm 303, B&W Dm 601.

Build Quality, Decent Bass for Bookshelf, Price/Perfomance, Very natural sound reproduction, Wall mountable, Polk Technologies

Grill and Cheesy Polk logo

For the record, my system consists of:
RT35i for front and rears
CS400i for center
PSW650 for subwoofer

Denon AVR3300 Receiver
Panasonic A320 DVD Player
Technics SL-PD8 CD Changer

These bookshelf speakers do actual produce bass well but I prefer the bass production supplemented by the subwoofer. I'm using these as fronts and rears to complete a better and proper balancing for dolby digital and DTS surround. Tried using RT25i for rears but I found they don't quite blend together with the rest of the system. These produce great mids and highs. The sound is both warm and natural. There seems to be no distortion at high volumes.

The price and performance is great since I've found through auditioning that the Monitor Audio stuff is overrated and overpriced since I'm getting comparable performance (I think better in some cases) at a much lower price.

The RT35i actual blends quite well with the CS400i and are not overpowered if channel levels are calibrated and balanced properly.

Music and movie reproduction is very good. Sounds do not sound congested or bright. Favourite samplers are DTS CDs containing music and sound effects such as Telarc DTS Sampler.

I have placed my reviews for the other products on their respective web pages.

Similar Products Used:

Monitor Audio Silver Series, Monitor Audio Bronze Series
M&K 750 THX Select, JBL, Infinity, Jamo

Buid Quality, Sound

A little weak on the midrange

I bought them used for 235$ (They are like new) at a local Hifi shop. I hook them as surround speakers for my DTS system and they do their job very well.

The soundstage is quite good but not as good as my front Polk R40. In fact, they are a little weak in the midrange. The high are good and the base is adequate. (You really need a subwoofer if you want to use them as front speakers). The build quality for the price is excellent like all Polk products. But for the same price (when purchased new), you can try a listen to the B&W DM601.

For sure they sound a lot better then any Bose (like the 301) in the same price range.

Great little speaker at great little price!!!

Similar Products Used:

JBL N26, Bose 301

small size, excellent quality and finish, incredible sound.

low end can be a bit weak.

i got the RT35i's in cherry for a pretty good price from Crutchfield.com - the total price with shipping came to just under $300 - which is an incredible deal, i think, for what you get out of these speakers. the mid-to-high sound is, as i said, incredible. i couldn't believe what i was hearing when i first cranked them up on my old Sony reciever and nearly lost both eardrums. i had an old, old, old - i'm talking paleolithic here - set of Sony cabinet speakers which held me through the poor times of high school...i couldn't believe how much of the music i was missing when i first heard what these Polk's can do in the showroom at Circuit City. however, i didn't walk out with a set that day because Circuit City is WAY overpriced compared to Crutchfield and eBay. when they got home from the UPS man and placed properly...wow. great sound from a small package, and they look awesome. the fit and finish is perfect on these little guys. as i was saying, they sounded even better at home because i took the five seconds required to read the manual and put them in the right place. the only weakness is the low end, but what can you expect from a tiny little driver? mid-bass and above is great, and i am planning on filling that low gap in the sound with a Polk PSW-350. home theater usage would require something a bit larger - RT55i's - in the front, but these are great for now. i would recommend them to anyone with limited space and budget.

open sound, good dynamics

midrange realism

This speaker is pretty neutral and had decent imaging aside from a less than palpable midrange. The very top end may add a little extra sizzle but I wouldn't call it overly aggressive. Not a bad sounding speaker, it just doesn't sound very involving. As it is this speaker rates pretty much middle of the pack on overall performance along with the kef.

Similar Products Used:

KEF Q15.2 Tannoy MX2 JPW ML510i Paradigm M3

Smooth top end

Undefined middle range

These speakers, for the price, have a nice even top end. Where they leave a bit to be desired is the midrange detail.I use a subwoofer, so the bass was not an issue, Detail in the 150 to 800hz range I found lacking. Imaging is pretty good, and to be fair, for the price these are pretty good deal. For movies, a matching front (left right and center) is very much the way to go, for as sounds move across the front of the screen, speakers of the same manufacture create more of a seamless audio palate. Still for acoustic piano on a well recorded CD, there is to my ear at least a "scooped mid" effect. Still if I want the even studio sound I will go listen to my 4312's or the Mackie powered monitors. Conclusion: For an AV system as LR or rear speakers a pretty good deal.

Similar Products Used:

Polk RT15, Jbl 4312, Yamaha NS10, Mackie powered monitors, Polk CS 300 center

Solid Cabinet, Beefy Binding Posts, Nice Finish

Considering the price range, NONE

Used to be a "HOME AUDIO NUT", but after a couple of divorces I decided to slow it down a little. This is my first experience with a truly "home-theater" setup. I never really took it very seriously before. Have listened to and owned a variety of high quality speakers in the past and consider the RT35i's to be an excellent value. Started with a RM6600 system, but wasn't overly impressed. Upgraded to the RT25i's (also excellent speaker) and then eventually moved the 25's to the surround channel and the 35's for the front (the difference between the two was substanial, in temrs of dynamics). I have the 35i's mounted on 26 inch sand-filled stands and positioned well away from the surrounding walls. I am using Polk's (also excellent value) PSW450, so I am more interested in imaging and upper frequency performance rather than bass response.

mid-range reponse of the speakers seems to be very clean, and high-frequency response is clear, but never shrill or overly layed-back. Mid-Bass response is also very clean and fast, and matches very well with the PSW450 crossed-over at about 80hz.

In the past I have always said, "if you aren't prepared to spend at least a 1000.00 on a pair of speakers, you shouldn't bother buying more than a cheapy system." The RT35i's and the other speakers in my system have proven me wrong.

GREAT POLK! I look forward to auditioning a pair of RT towers in the future.

My System:

Onkyo TXDS575x
Onkyo DVS535
Panasonic Hi-Fi VCR (cheapy)
Polk RT35i (fronts)
Polk CS245i (center)
Polk RT25i (surround)
Polk PSW450 (subwoofer)

Similar Products Used:

Polk RT25i, Polk RM6600, and various high-end speaker systems (ADS, Def Tech, NHT, Infinity, MB Quart, etc.)