Because I am a student I cannot work full time, therefore I do not make enough money to buy the kind of audio system I will be able to buy in the future. I read Stereophile magazine and was thrilled when I saw that they reviewed a small speaker made by Polk(the RT5). I was doubly thrilled when it got such a great review(which meant I could actually afford to own a pair of Stereophile recommended speakers) Let me say this first: these speakers do NOT compete with ProAc, Thiel, JM Lab, or any other speaker in ther 1000-70,000 dollar price range, but if you compare them to what's in their price range(JBL, Bose, Sony, Infinity, etc) you will find that these speakers offer very bottom level audiophile performance. For them money, they're great. I love them, especially for 300 dollars. By the way Mr. Johnson: If Stereophile has mislead you so many times, why don't you quit reading it?

Well, first let me tell you that I considereer myself an -audiophile- but due to the same ethernal question (money!!) I never had my own -audiophile class- stereo system. In any case I use to work very close to professional audiovisual equipments and environments, so I know what Im talking about.The story is as follows. My last purchase, some years ago, was a Technics SCH700 system. Nothing great, but enough for my budget. Four months ago I decided I have had enough poor quality sound (specially with classical and opera) and went for a couple of RT5 speakers. The results were, then and now, simply GREAT. Now I have great detailed bass sound, not a mass of volume where is impossible to define what the hell is playing. The basses are expanded or concentred in accordance with the orchestral behaviour. Of course I need to equalize the signal, due the RT5 are compatible with 8 omhs signals and the Technics system is a 6 ohms one. The highs are great too, clear and always at a natural level. Now I know what a violin or piano solos are.
Jus for finishing, Im starting to dream about what could happens when, in a few weeks, my stereo system will change dramatically. The Denon AVR2700 receiver and DVD2000 will arrive. Of course the 3 new speakers and the subwoofer will be Polk Audio too.

what can I say about these speakers??? WOW, I got a pair of RT5's for $299cdn which were on display. They are the best sounding bookshelf speakers I have ever heard, the highs are clear and the mid-range is just perfect. And the bass?? I never knew bookshelfs could go this deep!! the bass is deep, clean, and tight. it has that punch and smoothness which makes polk speakers so great!! they are not the smallest bookshelfs, but they sure play clear and loud and sounds HUGE. I must warn you that these speakers will sound like crap if the tweeter is not at ear level, so use a stand, got my premier stands for $59 which is just perfect for these speakers. I would recommend these babies to anyone interested in home theater, music or just need some background music in their living room because these speakers could fill up any average room with awsome sound with ease. I guarantee that if you have guests over and have a conversation while playing music from these speakers, the subject will quickly change to speakers, because the just sound so good and huge. THESE ARE THE BEST BOOKSHELFS OUT THERE, OF COURSE, I MEAN POLK BOOKSHELFS AND THE DESERVE FIVE STARS!!!!

I bought a pair of open box RT5 at Circuit City for $200. I also bought the CS 245 for the center channel and they blend perfectly. I went back to Circuit City to get the free CS 101 when you spend $400 in Polk speakers. Instead, I got an open box CS 400 and they credited $149 so I paid $150 for a $400 speaker. Great sounding speakers and a bargain! 5 stars.

I've owned a pair of Polk RT5's for a couple of years now. I bought them because they had the best midrange I had ever heard at anywhere near their price. I always thought the tweeter was a bit compressed sounding, and the balance was a bit too laid back for my taste. They also had a second order crossover, which to my ears always have a somewhat choppy sounding blend between drivers. So, I decided to rebuild the tweeter, and design a new crossover. I took the tweeter apart and replaced the hard foam behind the dome with a lighter type, and also removed some of the ferro-fluid in the voice coil gap. Then after much experimenting and listening, I found the best balance between drivers by running the woofer wide open, using it's natural top end roll off, and bringing in the tweeter at the appropriate frequency. I used a first order filter at 6khz for the tweeter, which I arrived upon by listening tests. I now think they sound perfectly balanced, and dynamic, with only bass extension and maximum output limited and bettered by larger, more costly designs. We don't have a dealer who carries B&W, Paradigm, NHT, Mission, or KEF, so I can't compare them to these highly regarded affordable audiophile speakers, but I, along with my friends, can say that they sound better than anything at twice the price from A&R, Bose, Energy, Klipsch, JBL, Infinity, DCM, or Cerwin-Vega, including the E312's I raved about in my other review, which now sit in the corner , never to be heard from again. I also like the RT400 and RT600. They both sounded pretty good when I heard them. I would like to hear the new RT35 and RT55, to see how they compare. The RT400 and 600 sounded punchier in the bass and lower mids than the RT5, but not as clear in the upper mids, especially after my tweak.

HiI bought this pair of speakers on display at a bargain price. I've had Polk RTA8 in my possession for 8 years and Polk's sound character just suits my taste... and this baby monster follow the trend. Tight deep bass, excellent midrange (the best that i found in the price range) and smooth fluid highs.
What can I say? I only run my RT5 using 65wpc Yamaha RXV-595 and the sound it produces is surprisingly beautiful... I demoed this unit to my wife who doesn't care about sound, and she was listening to these wonders with an open mouth. Enough to say... perfect for the price. Not the best speakers in the world.. but RT5 deserves 5 stars for overall value.

Way to go Polk!

Sound/Price ratio, Enclosures

Parts quality

I bought these speakers by mail for the following reasons :
- Small size, shielded, front ports (I wanted to use them on bookshelves, for my video)
- Small price, well rated in "Stereophile"
I am not disappointed. They sound great for the price, and are very well build (thick enclosures).
A few "minus" :
- Compared to my very old (but incredibly good) B&W DM-12a (roughly the same size), they are just ridiculous ! Colored, bass less deep, less details, more agressive, voices less clear, etc.
- The parts are cheap : stamped basket for the woofer, small magnet for the tweeter, quality of crossover inductors and capacitors barely acceptable.

Despite these limitations, I recommend them : what else can you get for less than $250 ?

Similar Products Used:

B&W DM-12a