Tight clean sound in all areas when set up appropriately, solid bass, great stereo imaging.

None that I have found

Wonderful speakers for home theater enthusiasts on a budget. I am a college student in an apartment, so I couldn't afford very expensive gear. NHT's have slightly cleaner sound, but only decent bass response. I don't have a sub yet, and the Polk's will easily suffice until I can afford one. These speaker provide wonderful front imaging and power in both DD and DTS movies as well as all types of music from Hendrix to Hayden. Overall, these are very impressive coming off of my Yamaha HTR-5240. One pointer - the closer the back of these are to a wall, the tighter and cleaner the bass response will be. If you need something affordable with incredible sound, the RT-55 is a great buy!

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10-yr old Technics, NHT Super One's

Hold books together very well

sound

I bought these thinking Polks were a good speaker and it was a good value when it came with a powered sub. I've got a 11 year old pair of German made Magnat speakers that I figured it was time to replace. Mistake. These Polks flat out, and I mean FLAT, sucked. They sounded so flat and boxy I kept cleaning out my ears thinking they were full of wax. Some music sounded ok but when the vocals came in it sounded as if someone was singing with his head in an old tire. High hat symbols are nearly inaudible. I have the Dennon avr3300 so its not like I was driving them with some crap. Make sure if you insist on checking these out bring a disc that as good vocals and compare them with something like the Klipsch rb5. They're just too damn dull sounding.

Similar Products Used:

rock

Solid build quality, weight, great imaging.

None

For the price I paid for these (399pr) I don't think these speakers can be beat. There awesome for HT and not bad for music either. I'd also say the bass is pretty decent for bookshelf speakers. Anyone looking to buy a new set of speakers for HT should seriously consider these.

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JBL

Good overall sound. Strong bass, highs, and mids.

Lower end(35Hz and under) but these speakers were not designed to pick up bass that low.

These speakers really got my attention at the store. As soon as I listened to the Display speakers I was impressed. For speakers this size these twins can rock. When I took them home and hooked them up to my Onkyo receiver that pushes out 100 watts and channel and played my Eagles CD. When I played Hotel California I could hear the guitar sounds so clear without having to turn up the bass or treble. The moment that the bass hit I knew that I had made the best choice........

System:
Onkyo TX-8511 Receiver
Onkyo DX-C370 6-DISC Changer
Polk RT55 Speakers
Polk SW350 Powered Subwoofer
Monster Interlink Reference II RCA Cable
Monster XP Navajo White Speaker Cable

Similar Products Used:

Bose AM5, 301, 701

accurate sound,high and low,bargin for the money.

None really ,though you must have a good high current amp to make these bloom into full glory...then they blossom big time.

These are just perfect speakers, BUT you must have a top notch amp to drive them. Like nakamichi or better. if you have a sony or jvc or other just ok amp/receiver then these are not your speakers. They wont color the sound at all,so they will end up sounding dull on low end gear.I have a nakamichi 55watt rms receiver, 80's model. and it brought these babys to life. When i first got these home i hooked them up to an HK receiver I bought at the same time at cc. And was not that impressed I had the same problems others are complaining about. The Dull sound. So I hooked them up to the nak and they showed me what they could do. Hope this helps you in your quest.

Similar Products Used:

polk,wharfedale,nakamichi,old sansui

solid build nice looking

treble bright/harsh at high volumes muddy bass unless you have a good high current amp

I,ve had these speakers for approx 1 year I use them about
60% for HT 40% music. my adventure into higher end audio
begins about 2years ago when I purchased a lower end DD HT
system(Technics AX-720 I think) shortly after this I lost my mind and purchased a Bose AM5 system(open box $420 CC) I got it home and replaced my 15year old JBL L82 and was quite happy untill one day on a whim I decided to hook the JBL,s back up an do the ol a & b comparison needless to say I took the bose system back the next day (folks dont get sucked into the bose marketing you just dont get full range sound from a 2.5 cube I dont care what sub you use with it)
after returning the bose to CC I
went with the RT400 since the RT600 & 800 were just not in my budget at the time and CC has a good upgrade policy on speakers within the first year which I intended to use so I
kept the RT400 for 3 months and also purchsed a Polk CS350 center and a pair of Polk M3 II's for the rear surrounds
during this time I then took RT400 back for my upgrade to the RT600(october 15 1998) since the RT400 did not match with the CS350 for HT(wrong tweeter)I was really impressed with the RT600 as are are others on this site but still was not fully satisfied I work hard for my money and I dont buy
stuff that I will not be happy with so I returned once again
for an upgrade(2nd) and this time went home with the RT55
for $50 cheaper than the RT600 and have had them ever since
the bass seemed to be much tighter on the RT55 but did not go as deep as the RT600 towers but this was not a big deal for me since my apartment living room is kinda small 18x12
but the imaging was much better than the RT600 and this is the main reason i have kept them but as I found out you need to use a good high current amp to make them shine(as with any speaker) no more muddy bass but the highs are still harsh and the imaging seems to go away at high volumes I drove them hard with my Marantz 240 (125wpc) and they showed know signs of giving in up to 12 oclock on the volume knob so overall I give these 4 stars only because of the problems when at high volumes but you do have to consider they are listed as bookshelf speakers and as that they do very well if you are looking at the RT600 give these a listen first with a good sub you cant go wrong

current system
Polk RT55 mains CC $549
Polk CS350 Center (pawn shop $140) 5stars
Polk M3II Rears CC $100 open box
Definitive powerfeild 12 subwoofer (pawn shop $220 with a pair of polk RM5000 satelites 4stars great for HT not as good on music

Yamaha RX-692 DD-ready Receiver powering center and rears (pawn shop $150)4stars

Marantz 240 (125wpc) powering mains off yamaha pre-outs definetly 5stars (pawn shop total $250 $100buy & $150 to have it fixed best 250 I ever spent)

Sony DVD300 4stars minor problems with layer changes on some dvd movies other than that rock solid

Technics DCH500 DD/DTS decoder 4stars

so the moral of this story is dont settle for the first speaker you listen to and keep an eye on your local pawn shop but make sure you check that everything works because most pawn shops are very reluctant to give refunds most will only give instore credit

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jbl(L82) bose(301 1985 model) bose AM5 polk RT400 & RT600

Excellent mids, suprisingly 'big' sound for a small enclosure, tight bass

Soundstaging is weak (like most bookshelfs), no deep bass extension, sometimes the highs are harsh

For about $500, there are not many speakers that compare with the Polk rt55i. They have an excellent upper level crossover, resulting in smooth mid-upper midrange frequencies and clear highs. I have owned comparably priced NHT's and Tannoys, and I think the Polks are much better. The one problem is that the bass sometimes sounds 'boxy'. There is a piece of molded plastic over the port on the rear of the speaker, presumably so people wouldnt be able to shove them against a wall in a bookcase and muddy up the bass. Thus, moving them far from a wall doesnt yield as much of a benefit as it should, and perhaps this should be removable.

But this is a nitpick - these speakers are small enough that you can easily incorporate them in a home theater (i use 35i's as my rears and a 245 as my center) for good, clean sound. Sure, they need subwoofer help as they absolutely fade away below about 60hz, but in a speaker only 20inches high and weighing 30 lbs, this is ok.

The 55i's have that classic 'POLK' sound and feel; kind of 'folksy', with a little punch and warm midrange. Tonality is fairly neutral on the lower end; I hooked up my old soundshaper 3 grapic eq and analyzer for fun, and they really didnt need much tweaking to sound good in almost any room. They DO need stands, however - as floor standers, they are simply not tall enough unless you plan on laying on the floor to do your listening.

These are nice speakers, and for someone on a budget they are an excellent buy.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 602, Tannoys, Canton, NHT superones

Warm natural bass and crystal clear highs.

None whatsoever!

Finally!!! I have found the true sound of my home theater system. I have tried Cerwin Vega bookshelf and floor model speakers, and could NOT one equal up to the Polk RT55's.
Don't get me wrong, Cerwin Vega is known for their powerful bass sound but lack of clean highs. I've tried the Infinity bookshelf and floor model speakers as well, but they lacked warm tight bass, and the highs were to bright. When I finally listened to the Polk RT55, I was BLOWN AWAY by the difference! The bass was detailed and the highs were perfectly just right. Next, I took it to the next level. I bi-wired them suckers and by every chance, I could tell a difference in the sound quality. This was my first time purchasing a Polk Audio system, and by the sound, it won't be my last. Don't expect for RT55's to give you thunderous bass sound. That's where a powered subwoofer comes into play. So if your thinking about buying the RT55's, you won't be disappointed. If you do get them, do yourself a favor and bi-wire these babies.

Similar Products Used:

Cerwin Vega and Infinity Loudspeakers

A SIMPLE REVIEW AND COMPARASON of two AWESOME speakers

None on either speaker beside price on the polks and power the polks want to see.

Well... we went speaker shopping, yep we sure did. Got it down to TWO speakers (I'd say). I am for the JBL's that sounded awesome (http://www.jbl.com/homeaudio/products/category/product.asp?product_id=549&cat=HomeCinemaMusic&ser=Studio) They were much cleaner than there 2 way brothers of the northridge series. Nice hit and clean highs (thanks to that 4" woofer and separate tweeter) The Polk's sound nearly as good, with less bass and a little stronger mid. It was a tough call between the two. Yet the polks want 200 watts, the jbl's could live with 175. that's the problem... power. We listened to the polk's on an HK unit that cost around 1400 or so w/ 100 per channel stereo RMS power. The polks sounded great, awesome bass... clean sound. Then we listened with a HK 60 watt per channel stereo RMS receiver... the bass dropped a lot and the mids got mushy, something to consider. They sounded alright, but not as nice as the JBL's did w/ a lower RMS running on a YAMAHA amp. You can see the polks here http://www.polkaudio.com/publish/RT55i-specs.htm They have two drivers and a tweeter. The JBL's are a tad cheaper coming in at 500/pair rather than 570-600. I am sure you could find cheaper online (SCOTT I have plenty of sites if you don't for speaker buy'n). The receiver/amp is another story. Yamaha looks like the top contender right now w/ the widest variety of watts vs. cost/options selection. As for cabling and future upgrades... the Yamaha allows for a PREAMP of any kind w/ RCA's... so that is a nice option. Yamaha also has a very nice THD rating, opposed to other brands such as PIONEER or even kenwood. The yamaha has about .04% THD @ 75 watts RMS, a nice thing to know. Mine is about .03% @ 85 watts here at home... a nice feature. Much lower than Pioneer's (even high end stuff) that comes in w/ a nearly .1% or higher THD (noticeable, I had one of their amps for a while). Awai is worse with over .1%, but never listed. Cerwin vega's FULL range series is quite nice too at only 150 a piece and very low power consumption . . . but scott I believe is going to get a SUB later (another QUEST).

AS FOR LOUIS' stereo... KS recommended line filters (Which we kidna knew about). I've called places, done more research, talked on the net and snooped under some peoples hoods (and seats) at amps. We are doing everything the right way. The other problem could be the wiring or the SPARK plugs, etc in the engine itself. There are many possibilities LOU LOU. Whatever it may be... its gunna be tough to diagnose ourselves... and you may just need a new head unit if all that doesn't work... so... in all... we're in trouble... I guess. Get out the $$ for a pro installation ... sorry.

Alright... for now... I am out... if you hear of any other speaker/audio info I'd care about... lemme know

hope i didn't bore you all too much!

Similar Products Used:

HLS810,HLS610, HLS41, JBL ARC series, Cerwin Vega, EV sytems and bose

They are full sounding and thats about it

89db ouch, flat, dry, huge,

Well to be brief and to the point these things sucked. They are extreamly flat and image poorly. A friend of mine bought them on sale and wanted to hear them on my high end gear so we hooked them up in place of my Sonus Faber Electors and ouch after about an hour of listening moving them a little listening more they were BAD. The took alot of power to drive them. They imaged poorly and were very flat with almost no depth. The midrange is poor, Bass on the other hand is great no problems. But for a speaker of the size they better they are huge, and ugly. I could never see a use for these things in any setting. For the same price you can get a set of AR's or Kef that make these look like crap. He brought them back 30 days later thinking they were defective and got a second pair of the new RT55i, oops same problems but now they had blue drivers. I feel bad for all of you who have these you are missing true hi fi audio. Next time spend 200.00 more and get some real speakers STAY AWAY FROM THESE

Similar Products Used:

Infinity, Sonus Faber, Vienna Acoustic, Kef,