I bought my RT600 a couple of months ago during the Polk promotion whereyou get a free center channel. So I got the RT600 with the CS300 center for $680
from Circuit City.My Onkyo 454 drive the Polks and my old Pioneer takes care of the rears for now.
I really wasn't expecting much from a tower this tiny.Surprise! These little
jewels can sing.The Trilaminates sounds sweet, the mids just right for my ears,
the bass is almost accurate if not deep for a 6.5" driver.The overall sound
balance is excellent.The soundstage is big and imaging is good.By the way,you can listen to these speakers all day without fatigue even at optimum level.
For Movies,you can't beat the RT600/CS300/$$price combination.There's quite a
convincing impact during loud boom scenes even without a sub.The dialogs from
the CS300 grabs you and the left/right effects from the RT600s puts you inside
the movie as if you're actually there and not just merely watching it.
So for $680 divide by 3 makes it approx. $227 per speaker which is quite a
bargain these days.I'd have to give the RT600 five STARS for price/performance/
and great value.
RSO

Value, appearance, quality.

None

After reading the reviews contained in this site as well as others including hometheaterforum.com, I decided to purchase these speakers at the Wiz. some $50.00 off MSRP. I probably could have done better on the price but was anxious.
I use these speakers primarily for home theater and have no complaints - use SONY Receiver 835.
I have not experienced any distortion, etc.

Similar Products Used:

None

I have been a long time Bose owner, but after reading the reviews on this sight and speaking with several salespersons that sell Bose, I decide to try another brand. I narrowed my search to th Infinity and Polk brands after reading a number of reviews. I spent nearly an hour at Circuit City compary several models before deciding on the RT 600. Why?
Sound: The sound was more full and covered the complete range of octives (unlike the Bose that are somewhat weak in the mid levels). Also the base is outstanding. And when coupled with a good sub, they can't be beat in this price range.

Quality: The fit and finished are outstanding, and they have gold plated terminal. However, the five year warranty in not transferable.

Price: I paid $438.00 for the pair. Others on this sight have paid as much as $200 more!

The speakers sound better in my home than in the showroom because my Yamaha 995 and Sony 80ES CD player were clearly superior to the store's demo units. I now use my Bose cubes as surrounds where they perform quite well.

I've spent three months contemplating the most suitable set-up for a currently small loungeroom . Home theatre was of secondary importance to stereo music so I'm really glad that I bypassed the comparative convenience of a satelite system and decided instead on floor standing speakers.I've owned a pair of Polk monitor 4.5 's (bookshelf speakers) for 12 yrs and so impressed with their performance bought the RT600's. I didn't expect to be able to obtain much more listening pleasure but was astounded with the performance of these very small floor standing speakers.I've replaced my old Rotel receiver with a Yamaha RX2095 and found that my concerns regarding both brand and style(2 chanel v/s home theatre)have been alleviated. I've not done a comparison yet with the older Rotel but don't believe that I've compromised on sound with the Yamaha(of course the Yamaha is a much more expensive unit)despite being told the contrary by a couple of salesmen.I'm not exactly sure of Hi fi jargon(sound stage ,sweet spot etc) but believe I have a discerning ear and can commend these speakers without reservation . Put simply they recreate a recording in a precise manner .You can close your eyes when listening to jazz and really feel there's a band performing in the loungeroom.And they do an equally good job for digital 5.1 movies.In closing I'd like to thank the comments from previous reviewers which I relied on quite significantly.
Information for those in Australia -I paid AUD $1100.00(RRP $1500.00) +$500.00 for the CS300 center speaker.

I love these speakers. I looked at many different setups from infinity, Pardigm MB quart. These speakers give the best reproduction of sound that can be had for the price. Especailly now that Polk is giving the discounts on the center channels when the floor speakers are bought. No one can match the set of three for the price or the performance. I got a pair of the RT600 and a CS275 for $680. Now I just need to get a sub and a pair of surronds.

Great sound for the money, Polk quality & reliability, excellent bass, looks great

considering what I paid, none

I picked these speakers up a year ago for about $360 for the pair and have thoroughly enjoyed them ever since. The RT600i had just come out and these were on closeout. I've always been a big Polk fan and was looking for a set of speakers that would be great for music (I mainly listen to jazz and classical) and home theater. Previously I was using Polk RT3s up front and Bose 201s for rear speakers along with a Polk PSW120 subwoofer and a JBL center channel (which has been replaced with a Polk CS245i).
The RT3s were great in my old apartment, but with a larger space I wanted a fuller sound. Anyway I moved the RT3s to the rear and sold the Bose. With the Denon AVR3300 and the Polks I can really rock the house.
The RT600s really do well with all music types, especially old jazz. You can really hear all the instruments and along with the sub they do a great job when listening to an upright bass - which can stress a lesser speaker like the Bose. I've listened to the RT600i and can tell a slight difference on the treble with it, but hey you can always adjust the sound.

Here's my system:
Denon AVR3300 Receiver
Harmon Kardon FL8380 HDCD Changer
Panasonic DVD120A DVD Player
Polk RT600 front
Polk CS245i center
Polk RT3 rear
Polk PSW120 subwoofer
Toshiba 32" TV (waiting for HDTV prices to drop to pick up the 40" widescreen)

I know there are a lot of you out there with better systems, but the the money I'm really happy with mine. Plus in an apartment I really don't want to make the whole building shake (I already have to live on the ground floor)!

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Bose

Great highs, great mids, good companion to strong sub.

None

I love these speakers! They give true reproduction of sound. When watching movies, all sounds are very clear. Breaking glass, gunfire, crashes voice nace reproduction. When listening to music they crank guitar. I listen to a wide range of music (Ottmar Leibert to AC/DC) and I took about 6 months choosing these speakers. The combination has worked wonders!!!

My system:
4 Polk Audio RT600i
1 Polk Audio CS400i
1 Yamaha YST SW800
1 Yamaha RXV1000
All inputs are fiber optic.

Similar Products Used:

Everything available.

Great looks, Good bass, good highs

None so far

I recently upgraded my Polk R40's to the RT600i. When I orginally bought the R40's there was a significant price difference and I did not think there was alot of difference in the sound when listening to them at the store. Circuit City has an upgrade program I took advantage of when the RT600i's were put on sale recently. When I got these home and hooked them up to my Denon AVR2802 I noticed a big difference in the sound quality especially in bass response. After owning these two lower end Polk models and listening to similarly priced Klipsch, Infinity, Def Tech, and Boston speakers I would tell evryone it's not worth thier time looking around. The Polk's are by far a better product. The RT600i's blow away anything I've heard even close to the price I payed ($199.00 each).

Similar Products Used:

Polk R40

Clean, clear, well-balanced sound

None at this price

The polk RT600i is not a speaker an audiophile would buy; it is a speaker a normal person would buy. And for the money it’s a pretty good speaker.

It also wasn’t my first choice. But after looking at much more expensive speakers, I settled on the 600s. Here is my tale:

I had had Advents for nearly 25 years (the New Advent Loudspeaker). For the money, I hadn’t heard anything I liked better (yes I know there are better speakers out there, but not affordable ones). They were very neutral sounding yet capable of prodigious bass output if present in the musical content. Originally I purchased 4 of them for a quad system. In 1991, I changed to a Dolby ProLogic system but kept the Advents. Moving to DC a couple of years ago into a much smaller apartment (cost of living is way too high here) meant I didn’t have room for 4 speakers in my much smaller living room (12’x18’), so I downsized to 2-speaker stereo listening. Sadly, last year, a woofer blew on one of the Advents and I knew it was time to get new speakers. I also decided it was time to upgrade receivers to the latest Dolby digital and go the 5.1 route.

I decided from the start that I wanted full range speakers for the front and rears. I listen to music 99% of the time, not movies, and my small but rapidly growing collection of DVD-audio and Super Audio CDs really require it, since they don’t have any subwoofer bass management for these discs yet. The sub/sat systems I heard were all lacking something. There was always some gap in the frequency spectrum between the sub and the small satellites, and usually room positioning for the sub was too fussy, resulting in boominess too often (and I didn’t have much space to maneuver for a sub). So I wanted some full-range speakers that didn’t necessitate the use of a sub in a 5-speaker system (remember, I listen to music mostly, not explosions in movies). And I wanted towers, not speakers on stands.

My original plan was to take my time and shop around for the best speakers within a $1000-1200 a pair range at audio dealers, not discount places like Best Buy or Circuit City. So I spent several months listening to all sorts of things. The best I heard was a pair of JM Lab towers, but they were $1800/pair, way over budget. A set of Boston Acoustics sounded good at $1000. There were a pair of B+Ws at $1600 that sounded better, but again way over budget. Other speakers I heard and liked were from Klipsch, KEF, Canton and DefTech’s 700s, the "bookshelf" ones with the powered 8" woofer (but who has outlets at all 4 corners of their room to plug the things into?). Infinities sounded OK, but lacking in low end. Oddly enough, I heard some Polk RT800i’s at one of these dealers and thought they were totally lacking in highs, with a muddy bass, at least where they were placed in that store.

The problem I found was that most of these speakers were too large for my cramped living room. Speaker placement was so fussy for some of them (2’ from the rear, 3" from the sides) that I would have had to place them a foot apart 6" from my chair! So I needed to rethink what I should buy. And paying $2500-3000 for a 5.1 system was frankly too much for my budget, I came to realize. And again, given the small living room, I didn’t see how I could squeeze a subwoofer in there.

So just on a whim, I brought a custom CD I burned of music I knew well as my demo listening disk into Circuit City to listen to some lower cost speakers. I A-B’ed the Polk RT660i’s against the RT800i’s. What I heard amazed me. First, the 800s sounded very good, not like the muddy mess I heard before (placement is everything). The 800s, while having a smidgeon more bass than the 600s and a slightly fuller sound stage, were a little more forward in the midrange. I felt the 600s were better balanced at all frequencies to my ear and that the 800s weren’t really worth the $200/pair extra (remember, I’m buying 4 of these puppies). And the slightly smaller sound stage wouldn’t matter in my smaller room.

So at $200 a piece, how do the 600s sound? Darn good. Are they the ultimate speakers? Not by a long shot. But for a room my size, they work extremely well. Bass is certainly more than adequate. They don’t quite have the lower 1/2 octave that the Advents had, but for most material you wouldn’t notice it. I tried some Techno like Underworld and Orbital and they sounded good. I also slapped on Simple Minds’ "New Gold Dream" album, which has some gut-kicking bass and it sounded deep and full. Amazing for speakers that size. I noticed you do have to crank it up to really get deep bass out of ‘em. I’ve also found they aren’t any more efficient with their ported design than my old Advents were (which are acoustic suspension speakers—basically, a sealed box).

The 600s sound very well-balanced and clear, with good transient response. If you want more bass, move ‘em closer to the back wall. For music, I can do without a sub until I get a larger room. So I’m satisfied. They sound good in my listening environment. At $200 a piece, these are very good speakers.

Similar Products Used:

Auditioned Boston Acoustic, B+W, Canton, JM Lab, Klipsch, KEF

Amazing highs

Lack of bass

At a price range under CDN $1000, I was looking for two tower speakers for a small room, and reviewed what all the above brands had to offer... I listened to the same songs on the same CDs at my best estimate of a similar loudness. (Music tends to sound better as its played louder)

I still have not seen (heard, rather) anything to make me once regret purchasing my RT600s... Except the RT800s and RT1000s, which have a more fuller sound, and higher price.

The highs are simply amazing. While there is a lacking in the lower frequencies, (these speakers are not for hip-hop) it can be owed to the relatively small drivers. I should point out that nothing I auditioned with more bass had highs that come even close to these speakers.
I can't imagine vocals sounding clearer at anything not close to $2000.

Throw in an incredibly small footprint, real wood (now in 3 finishes), carpet spikes AND rubber feet for hard floors (who has that in the box??) and what's not to like at this price?

When I threw in a Sony DVP-S570D into the system, I heard 'nuances' of sound I hadn't heard before on some CDs.

I am now seeing the lack of quality in so many CD recordings, because so may hisses and pops are all clearly evident when listening to my Polks.

Similar Products Used:

Bose, Energy, Infinity, JBL, Mirage, Mission, Paradigm, Sound Dynamics