Appearence and Construction

Lack inner detail, not the best midrange.

First off I do not want to discredit the past reviewers of this product. Obviously with a 4.55 of 5 rating on auidoreview and good reviews from other accredited sources, you all feel this is a great speaker. I unfortunately believe it to be a rather average sounding speaker. My system: Pinnacle PN-8 3 way bookshelf speakers, Jolida 202 tube integrated amp, Harman/Kardon HD 7400 CD, Clarity Labs Harvest Innerconnect, Response Audio Ram PC-2 Power Cord, and Van Den Hul D-352 Hybrid Speaker Cables 2m pair. I purchased the rt600i's at Circut City as Demos for $300/pr. Duriing the first song of auditioning the rt600i's on my system, I found myself checking to see if I had the speaker cable out of phase or crossed. They were not. They sounded full in the lower end, but it was if the grill cloth was 2 inches thick, or something was hindering them in some way in the midrange and highs. Over the following week, I decided to go through all the different cd's I had in which I knew the recording varied greatly in quality. I also tried various tube complements on each cd. I found that even though the Polks had a higher efficiency rating, they would get as loud as my Pinnacles, but required more volume or power to bring out more detail of the music, instead of just getting louder. The speakers lacked much of the inner detail of the music, and were not very dynamic, especially at lower volumes. I personally prefer a more subtle sound, but these speaker were just too reserved. Some attributes are the sound stage is good, and imageing was acceptable. The one thing I did like was the cabinets construction. The real wood finish and design was not only impressive, but down right "sexy". Again, I do not want to insult anyone, but I truly feel that this speaker does not represent a good sound at its price range. I am giving them a rating of 3 at the $300 price. If I had paid retail, they would receive a 2. Thank you all for allowing me to voice my opinion.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm, PSB, Infinity, Klipsch, JM Lab, Boston, NHT, B&W, and many many more.

Great price, highs, decent mids/lows. SMALL footprint (about 1' square), sound is right at ear level when sitting.

Midrange is a little unclear.

I bought these as mains for my fledgling home theater setup (in my dorm room) and also use them at home. Fortunately, I found these at a store-closing sale and got a great deal on them (1/2 off). To the point: These speakers impressed me. I like the great extension on their highs (27khz overall) and fairly low low-end. While not as commanding in the low end as I would now prefer, you can only expect so much from a 6.5" driver. I'm extremely happy, they match my CSi30, R10s, VTF-2, and Onkyo 484 extremely well. The lows are good enough on their own (if you aren't expecting room shaking bass), but an active sub would be recommended. Mids could use a bit of work, but again, this is personal preference.

Similar Products Used:

Polk, Technics (yeah... junk), Bose (they weren't mine though), vintage Cerwin Vega.

Small foot print, great price, can fill a room by themselves.

Not bi-wireable

I had bought a pair of RT800i for my fronts about 6 months ago. I was so happy with them I wanted to get a pair of rear towers that would timber match and found the RT600i's. I shopped around for a while before I found them on close out at Circuity City for $75 a speaker. I almost wet myself! Anyway have the RT800i's up front, CS400i Center, and RT600i's in the rear. Having the entire system come out of the same series made all the diference in the world. They really shine and make the Movie / Music come alive.

Similar Products Used:

Polk RT800i Bose 301 Bose 201

Value for money, Clean lows and highs, very musical, excellent for midsize rooms, soft and smooth presentation, larger soundstage (you don't have to adjust your seat), small footprint

may not impress you in mid range, passive speakers - will give you more on hardwood floors

I bought these from a friend who owned them for five months and had to leave the country for personal reasons. I was initially looking at Klipsch's and was almost sold on them before I listened to these. I have following setup: RT600s as mains, CS245 in the center, PSW 350 sub, FX300i as surrounds. I am running them with Yamaha RXV 520 (it is three year old now). The system is used purely for music 80% of the time and rest I give it to movies. Coming back to Klipsch's - they were too bright for me and that's where Polk won. The RT600s are smooth and won't rush on you like Klipsch. The soundstage is definitely better that Klipsch's and you don't have to mark your spot when you sit and listen to these. The RT600s sound incredible in a mid-size room. However, one must remember that these are 'passive' speakers and should not be placed near the wall or a corner (keep at least a foot away from the walls). Speaking of beig passive speakers, if you have hardwood floors, these will rock! However, you will have to pump up the volume a bit if you are keeping them on carpet. These are musical speakers. Clear lows, tight bass, clean highs. I do not use the sub while listening to the CDs. However, Klipsch gets upper hand in the mid-range. But as I said, choice depends on which one sounds better to your ears and I do not like speakers that just 'crash' the music on you. These are on gentle side (not as gentle as the Energy towers, but then Energy towers do not have good lows. They lack base - all of them!). Having said enough - these are excellent for the money and offer you much more for the price. Final advice for the testers - use Eric Clapton's 'Unplugged' when you test the speakers in the stores. The definitions of 'soundstage', 'clarity', 'crisp sound' will unfold in front of you. And the speakers that will help you understand these terms are the ones for you. Good luck!

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch, Energy, Boston Acoustics, Bose (Yeap - I have made mistakes in the past!)

Clear sound at any level. Not boomy.

None that I can find.

I am very happy with these speakers. I have them running off my Harman Kardon receiver. They have very good all around sound. The bass is clean and not boomy. The highes are clear and not ear piercing at any level. For the price I don't think you can find a better speaker. I did alot of looking before getting these. I have a powered sub I use for movies and I don't even turn it on for music.

Similar Products Used:

Not used but compaired: Polk R40's, Pioneer's, and Infinity's.

Price

Bass isn't great

I tried a couple of speakers before settling with this one. Bose and JBL but Polk Audio sounded clearer on lower sounds and didn't give out as much distortion at higher volumes as comared to the Bose. For the Price you can't get a better speaker. But if you can pay a few more hundred I am sure that there are better speakers out there.

Similar Products Used:

Bose JBL

Finish, Sound quality, Style, 5 yr Warranty

A little on the build quality, I managed to pull one of the rubber feet out whilst sliding on the floor! but probably more my fault than theirs...

Got these bad boys to build a new system around, have been into Home Theater for around 5 years... I can only compare to speakers I have had in the past (bose, Sony) but these things sound GREAT... Be realistic, if you are looking for high quality speakers at a reasonable price, you aren't going to get powered subs, multiple woofers etc. but the bass out of these is more than enough for an average sized room, and the mids and highs produce crystal clear sounds... I would definitly recommend them in the sub $600 bracket... A class above the others out there...

Similar Products Used:

Bose, Sony,

These are great speakers for the price life like highs excellent bass. but the mids are weak. but if you get them at a discount say 2 bills a piece they cant be beat!!!!

Appearence and Construction

Lack inner detail, not the best midrange.

First off I do not want to discredit the past reviewers of this product. Obviously with a 4.55 of 5 rating on auidoreview and good reviews from other accredited sources, you all feel this is a great speaker. I unfortunately believe it to be a rather average sounding speaker. My system: Pinnacle PN-8 3 way bookshelf speakers, Jolida 202 tube integrated amp, Harman/Kardon HD 7400 CD, Clarity Labs Harvest Innerconnect, Response Audio Ram PC-2 Power Cord, and Van Den Hul D-352 Hybrid Speaker Cables 2m pair. I purchased the rt600i's at Circut City as Demos for $300/pr. Duriing the first song of auditioning the rt600i's on my system, I found myself checking to see if I had the speaker cable out of phase or crossed. They were not. They sounded full in the lower end, but it was if the grill cloth was 2 inches thick, or something was hindering them in some way in the midrange and highs. Over the following week, I decided to go through all the different cd's I had in which I knew the recording varied greatly in quality. I also tried various tube complements on each cd. I found that even though the Polks had a higher efficiency rating, they would get as loud as my Pinnacles, but required more volume or power to bring out more detail of the music, instead of just getting louder. The speakers lacked much of the inner detail of the music, and were not very dynamic, especially at lower volumes. I personally prefer a more subtle sound, but these speaker were just too reserved. Some attributes are the sound stage is good, and imageing was acceptable. The one thing I did like was the cabinets construction. The real wood finish and design was not only impressive, but down right "sexy". Again, I do not want to insult anyone, but I truly feel that this speaker does not represent a good sound at its price range. I am giving them a rating of 3 at the $300 price. If I had paid retail, they would receive a 2. Thank you all for allowing me to voice my opinion.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm, PSB, Infinity, Klipsch, JM Lab, Boston, NHT, B&W, and many many more.

Warm, open sound. Good soundstage.

These are still featured on the Polk website, but they must be really close to being discontinued. I've only seen them at Circuit City in closeouts or as open box specials. I found an open box pair at my local CC, but one of the speakers was already blown. Fortunately, the open boxes are guaranteed to be "good as new", so I bought them and brought them immediately to the service counter to have the woofer replaced, which they did free of charge. I've had them for almost 6 months now, and they sound just fine. However, in those 6 months, I've had to have the tweeters in both speakers replaced because of buzzing. Both times CC did it free of charge under the mfg's warranty, but it meant several weeks without my speakers. Overall I'm very happy with the quality of the sound. I use them stricly for music. I have them in a medium-size room with no subwoofer. I don't own a TV and don't need home theater sound. I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for a moderate to cheap priced speaker, especially at open box or closeout prices.