the polk RT800 is best speaker i had compare Bose 501, Bose 701, Infinity Interlude IL40, Boston Acoustics VR-30.

Speaker Specs:

DRIVERS
1 1 inch Dynamic Balance tweetwer(250 watts RMS,2500hz-26,000 +- 3db)
1 6 1/2 ich Dynamic Balance woofers(125 watts RMS, 26Hz-3,000 Hz +- 3 db)
POWERHANDLING
250 watts
FREQUENCY RESPONSE
47-25,000 Hz +-3db
28-26,000 Hz +-6db
SENNSITTIVITY
90 db
CROSSOVER
2500 Hz with 2 ohm reisistor for tweeter ,6db octave
WIRING
Tweeter - parallel to imputs
Woofer - series to inputs
Bi-Amp/Bi-Wire Capable

good midrange and highs

bass response and efficiency

The Rt800i is a decent speaker at best. The 90db rating at one watt is medocre. If you use a sub-woofer then this would be a good choice because this speaker lacks bass response. They also lack the clarity I would expect from a speaker in this price range. For the same price the Klipsh rf-3 would be a better buy.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch rf3 and rf5

solid construction, nice clean looks,

none

I just got blown away. Finally got my HK AVR65, Toshiba 3109, Veladyne sub and Signet rears all in sync and talk about studio quality music. It's very difficult to know which component contributes the most on this audio team but this I can tell you: The RT800's make it all happen. The speakers are on the bright side which is what I was looking for. If you decide on these speakers you will find it necessary to partner them with a quality subwoofer. My Veladyne seems to compliment the 800's perfectly.
Bought the speakers on a whim at Circuit City for $325 each. They sold ealier this year for about $450-500 so at this price I was ready to take the gamble without having done any research. It was a great decision.

The 800's fill the room with crisp, clear, clean music and when you run DTS, yowww, buckle in. These are a great set of speakers and deliver a sound that images very well, sits out in front (not in your face) of you and generates clarity that is the finest I have heard in any "high" end demo room. $650.00 for the pair..what a deal. They'd be a great purchase at $1,000.00 for the pair. This has been my first experience with Polk Audio and so far I am very impressed.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity, M&K, Carver

Very clear. Beautiful looking speaker. Excellent Design. Compact

NONE

These speakers are built solid and weigh a lot. They sound just as good as they are built. I've got them running as my front left and right channels and two rt25's running the rear surround. My next purchase is the cs400 center channel.So right now movies arent so great due to no center channel but it sounds excellent playing music.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer surrounds

Full sound

none yet

I am running a full Dolby Digital/DTS home theater and the Polk RT800s fit right in. I was using 4 RT7s and the CS400, received the RT800s as a gift and replaced the front RT7s(moved them into the bedroom). Pure delight! I am in an apartment now and cannot use the full power of my Pioneer Elite receiver to drive the speakers, but at mid to low levels I am very happy. I am interested in Bi-wiring them though...will post later.

Similar Products Used:

CS400,RT7

Very clear highs and very solid bass. Make great fronts for home theater. They ROCK!!

They don't wash the car or cut the grass. Come on!! They are Polk...there are none!

Ok I'm not going to bore you with a long boring review that does a new listener no good. Intead how about a brief list of the great things about RT800's and other upper end Polk speakers:

-These babies rock but they need to be bi-wired to get the full effect of their range and overwhelmingly clear highs, mids, and lows. (the owner's manual shows you how...it's easy!)

-Use the floor spikes or rubber feet they just help stabalize these tall speakers and help give you that bass you can feel.

-These are great speakers for music and absolutely awesome speakers for home theater...regardless of the source (DVD, VHS, etc.)

-If you are looking for a home theater system that will last a lifetime; team these bad boys with other Polk speakers for a seamless, powerful, engulfing, intense home theater experience.

-Visit a home theater showroom, take your favorite CD (one that you know every high and low by heart), and be amazed.

Bottom line: Unbeatable clarity, rich bass, great versatility and lasting appeal.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity, JBL, Klipsch, Cerwin-Vega

Lots of bass,clear ear bleeding highs ,balanced mids

none unless some one steals them or you dont have them already.

These aree the best speakers I have ever owned.They are made out of 1 1/4 inch thick MDF and the sides are 1 inch and the bottom is 1 3/8 inch.The sound that comes out of the port is unbelivable uindistorted bass that makes friends say where is the sub? or how many subs are internally inside the speaker? and you should see the look on their faces when I say there arent any.They are as close to a real performance as you can get without tickets and are very stylish.You simply cannot go wrong with these speakers.I bought them for $280 for both in perfect condidtion at a pawn shop and especially for that you cannot buy a better speaker.After this I have decided that Polk Audio has to be the unsung hero of loudspeakers.And best of all if you are carful(if you hear distortion turn it down!) I have had these speakers up to 128 db without distortion on a 550 watt RMS Yamaha amplifier.

Any one with questions about these babies or most RT line of polk speakers e mail me at RLH19@HOTMAIL.COM or go to www.polkaudio.com

Similar Products Used:

Cerwin vega,Bose 401/901,Optimus PRO C6-5 center,Sony,Klh,B&W,infinity

Sound for the money, looks

Not a hi-fi speaker

This is a review of the RT800i. I posted a mini-review below under the name ezas. I bought these speakers and really liked them when I first heard them. Then I decided to see if I was selling myself short, so I went a bought some B&W DM602s. When I auditioned the B&W at the store I really thought I would like them better than the polks.

But I was wrong. I took a sunday afternoon and a friend, who while not an audiophile, has great ears for picking out differences in speakers.

Comparison.

Highs. B&W wins hands down. The BW sound like a hifi speakers. Highs on the Polk are nice but more subdued. You could hear the instruments equally well on both, but with the BW you could hear the reverb/note decay a little better.

Mids. Polk. The two 6.5 drivers seem to do a much better job at this than the larger (in my opinion) mis-matched speakers of the 602s. I especially noticed this on Tom-Toms.

Lows. Tie. On some things the BW sounded better on other the Polk. On one particular cut (Madonna Erotica) the bass on the Polks was outstanding. The BW bass sounded "weird" sometimes when played at low volume, but at these volumes the polk bass was anemic. So I call it a tie.

Over all Sound. While the highs are not as nice on the Polks, I found myself forgetting I was auditioning speakers more often. In short, BW better ear candy, Polk better sound to my ears. Sound was more cohesive on the Polks as well (sounds like coming from 1 driver). On the BW I kept "noticing" that the sound was coming from three drivers. Imaging was about a toss up. Not great on either, but okay for speakers in this price range.

Looks. I like the looks of the polks better. Slimmer tower, redder cherry color. I also did not really like the more industrial look of the BW with their large mounting rings and hex bolts.

Cost. $800 for the Polks, $1,100 for the BW. I also think that the Polk has better choices for surround speakers that match. With the BW you cannot get surrounds with the same drivers. The Polks have sides and a center that have the same dual 6.5 drivers as the mains. For the 5 speaker set up I wanted from each company, the Polks were $400 cheaper. $1,800 vs 2,200. Oppps, just paid for my new CD player.

Before this I was not a big fan of polks. I always found the midrange lacking. But these 800i's seem to have cured that for me. I also do not like the lines that do not have the dual drivers as well. The RTP55i's sounded almost the same with less bass, in a smaller package.

Other speakers considered. Infinity's, dynaudios, Magnapans, Monitor Audio, Paradigm, PSB...

Hmmm, never thought I would end up with consumer speakers, but having an open mind sure saved me some change. If you find yourself getting tired of the ya gotta get these boutique wires and line conditioner attitude of hi-fi, there are other choices.

Happy Listening.

Equipment used:

Onkyo 777
Onkyo CD player (340 i think)
Analog interconnect
Plain jane speaker wire 14ga, 8ft runs.

Only 4 stars for these because I am tired of everyone either giving 5s or 1's, no matter what the speaker. But for Value I give them a 5.

Similar Products Used:

B&W DM602s

Very Clean high

None so far

Wow, I hope nobody will get jealous on the price I got from good guys. Although I've been in different good guys for so many times,RT800 are US$400/pair,CS300 for $180,PSW140 for $280, RT35 for $190/pair. What a bargan, it is all because the RTi series will be out in a week time, I really don't care when they are old models. I think this may be the last comments on these speakers. I love the RT800 it sounds so clear and the base as a matter of fact is not bad at all. I played different movies and the sound is just so clean especially the high, they are gooooood! I tried to put the RT35 right next to RT800, the RT35 just can't compare and it makes me to think of changing the RT35 to energy XL16, still thinking,but don't know mix matching is a good idea or not. RT35 just don't offer base that much at all. Over all the price and the sound of the RT800 just can last me another 10 years. $1,100 is actually a bit more than my budgets.

Similar Products Used:

None

Great Midrange, sound great

NONE

Wow! Just bought these at circuit city for $300 each, and I am very pleased. I listened to the infinity R-5s as well but the polks had a much warmer and clearer sound. I listen to alot of rock and these are perfect for the job and so far any other type of music I can throw at it. They are a little on the bright side, but i like it. Bass was much more than I expected but I am still going to buy a sub in the future. I definetly recommend these.