I have had these speakers for about 2 months and I am impressed!! They are by now pretty well broken in. They are clear and distinct and have a descent bit of Bass to them.

My rig: Sony STR-DA30ES; Sony CDP-CA7ES; Polk CS-300; Polk RT-55; Velodyne VA-907; Infinity MPS (surround).
I picked up the RT-55 at J&R Music World for $450. The only other speakers I seriously considered (though I auditioned dozens) were the Infinity Compositions 1, Infinity RS-3, and the Bose 301. The RT-55 won out because of the smooth mid-range and natural bass, unlike the Compositions 1 which also had nice bass but were a little too warm for my taste.
The RT-55's treble is clean without being too hot or screechy. I also like the raised bezel--it gives the speaker a very distinctive look--and rock hard baffle. The conical plate "Power Port" also cuts down on wind noise at high levels.
The dual 6 1/2" woofers generate a lot of energy, and makes many unpowered floorstanding speakers sound pretty thin, though you have raise volume to really get a feel for the bass. More importantly, the speaker has a low enough end to mask the postion of the sub-woofer nicely. Many small speakers don't go low enough and subwoofers can become audibly visible.
Some may consider RT-55 large, but I have mine on stands and the cabinet size helps raise the tweeters to a proper listening height. Besides I'm sick of pee-wee flimsy bookshelves anyway.
I plan on buying the Polk F/X 500 surrounds next, and the new PSW 650 subwoofer as soon as some reviews get posted from one of my audio enthusiast comrades.
Polk is a roll with it's new line. Just for fun, I still go to many "Audiophile" shops here in New York and audition bookshelves that cost double and triple the money, and most of them don't sound any better than my RT-55, and sometimes worse (i.e. the Jamo Concert 8).
Solid Purchase!

I JUST FOUND THE PERFECT COMBO WHICH IS THE POLK RT55 AND YAMAHA RXV-2095 WOW PEOPLE YOU HAVE TO HEAR THIS COMBINATION THE BASE IS EXELLENT AND THE HIGHS ARE JUST PERFECT I HIGHLY RECOMEND BOTH SPEAKER AND RECEIVER.

go get some B&W 602's for this price.. what an overpriced midend speaker..

I just got back from terrorizing Abu the immigrant audio rep. from central Asia at the local Nobody Beats the Wiz near me, poor guy new full well I wasn't buying and I spent an hour there. Gonna eat beef tonight and enjoy it!!
on to the review. I listened to the Polks compared to the other bookshelf offerings in the store. Standard mass fi fare, jbl, klipsch, and some others, all around $4-600 a pair. I have been looking for the best bookshelf I can get for less than $600. I currently have awesome Klipsh KLF Legend 20's but my listening room is small, (10x15) and unfortunately the klipsch are overkill. they are great but made for a big, 300+ sq ft room. I found the polks to have a very rich, full and balanced top to bottom sound, the midrange was just as smooth and sweet as the big klipsch, the top end was clear but not piercing or sharp, no listener fatigue. I was expecting no bass after reading other reviews here, but it was better than expected. I was impressed as I was not expecting much, many on this site advised me to stay away from Polk saying they are all marketing and advertising, I have not heard the Energy C-2, which is the model most commonly recommended to me as an alternative to the Polk.

My overall impression was very positive, speakers are solid, heavy, nice looking and well built. Sound was the best of all the bookshelfs in the store, easily filled the room with good sound. Imaging was better than the horns on Klipsch 3.1, so was the bass. I found them very pleasant at all levels except very loud, I put in my Live AC/DC cd and cranked it up and they began to struggle a little, they didn't measure up to my awesome KLF 20's, at half the price, That is expected. Really though, how many bookshelf speakers exist than can knock you off your feet. If you have a smallish listening room (less than 300 sq ft.), and normally don't listen at levels that rock the neighbors house to the ground I would recommend these speakers. I plan to purchase them as soon as I can sell my beloved Klipsch. I am not a super audio expert, but I have done a decent amount of in store comparisons over the last few years, and I can say that there is nothing wrong with these speakers that should turn someone away from them.

They accomplish what they were designed to do.

5 stars.

I Listened to these speakers at circut city and was impressed so I decided to buy them. When I got home and unhooked my old speakers and replaced them with these I couldn't believe what I was hearing, all that effort for something with no bass even with a sub, what a big disappointment. I ended up hooking up my old speakers again and returning the polks. "DOWN WITH NARROW SPEAKERS"

I bought my RT55's last week ($585 @ Circuit City). I wanted to couple a set of main speakers to my existing Polk RM 5400 surround system. To be up front - the RT55's lack depth - even in conjuntion with the RM 5400 system. Vocals are OK, but I'm very disappointed with the low and high end. For comparison, I hooked up my 22 year old Cerwin Vega's (2-way, 10" woofer). The CV's sounded better than the RT55's. Just to let you know - I have tried various speaker locations. I'm still shopping while I have the 30 day return option. My receiver is the Technics SX720 (100 w/channel). The sound is better using the "club" mode on the SFC setting. Good speakers shouldn't need to be pampered (perfect location, etc.) The sound just isn't natural with the RT55's - sorry Polk.

I've had the RT55's for almost a year now. I have them tied in with the PSW150 sub. The sound that I get in both movies and music is terrific. The tones are all very well defined and clean. I can really rock the house! And with the $550 price tag, they don't rock my bank account.
IMHO, the best price/performace bookshelves on the market.

Those of you complaining about a lack of bass from the RT-55 I have two things to say: 1. If you want a lot of bass from a main speaker don't by a bookshelf speaker. 2. If you are limited to a bookshelf speaker because of room, but you still want a lot of bass, get a powered sub. A powered sub will make any system sound better whether you get a lot of bass out of your main speakers or not.
I am a former owner of Infinity RS 5's. They were great speakers. When I first listened to the RT-55's I was impressed by their clarity and also by their power handling capabilities. In my opinion the RT-55's are an all around better sounding speaker with cleaner mids and highs, and much more detailed highs. They do lack a little bass, but my Velodyne more than make up for that. The RT-55's get a well deserved five stars

sleek design, crisp highs, great midrange

slightly weak bass

This is a great set of speakers. The RT 55's are incredibly powerful and natural sounding. Vocals are warm and inviting. Even though the bass is not able to provide bass in the crucial bottom octave of the audible range, it is tight and fairly well defined. When coupled with a good sub, this speaker is among the best in this price category. Its no wonder why Polk considers this to be its best bookshelf model!