Great speakers for stereo or Surround Sound . Allways a great sound stage and never gave me a moment where it wouldn't take more power . I use a 9 channel Pioneer amp rated at 160 watts and never heard anything that would make you believe it was strained at all !

None at all .

Good transparency, soundstage, looks great.

Lower bass, mid bass, and high-end detail.

I would definitely agree with the last reviewer. These speakers are an amazing bargain for what you get, but by no means are they a high end speaker. I believe the soundstage on these speakers and lack of linearity are the best I've heard in this price range. However, they do have limitations. No midbass, and weak lower bass leads to popping. The sound is mellow with no harsh highs, but can't get there if you want that pure sax sound. For 800 bones, they are a deal, but the rating in not AUDIOPHILE quality.

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Infinty Kappa400, Intermezzo, Prelude, Kef xq, q, reference,

They are good low/mid fi Home theater, good for the average listener at Good Guys

Cloudy low-mid range, same trick as bose to emphasize a portion to make it sound like it has a deeper soundstage thereby ruining the music

I emplore people thinking about buying ANY retail speaker to go to a Hi-Fi store and listen to their selection. If you cannot see the difference between say Dynaudio Countours and Polks, BUY POLKS! I feel I need to help correct the review system here, most people say that this speaker is better than all other $1000 speakers, just as every other review says. I got an excellent deal on infinity IL60s, so that is what I have. Polks and Infinity have different approaches to making good sound, and for the most part they both succeed. Still, I believe the IL60 is a far superior H/V speaker becuase they are brighter, have a higher tweeter height, and have a better transient response than Polk. For music, I would encourage anything from B&W, Dynaudio, Revel, Amati, Audio Physic, Avante Guard, Linn, you know the bunch. The point is HT is relatively easy to please the listener but for stereo listening Circuit City/Good Guys/whereever is not the right place to buy speakers. Anyway I have nothing personal against Polk, but I do have a rant against Circuit City employees. ANYONE who suggests that Bose speakers are even half-way decent does not deserve the priveledge of trying to tell me that polks are better becuase they are 'deeper' when all that he was referring to is the sensitivity of the polks is 3dB greater than Infinity. One more rant about the reviews I read...Most reviews on this speaker, in my opinion, are not qualified in the sense that they have tested both HIGHER and lower end products to know exactly what to say about these. If YOU can't hear the difference between these and hi end speakers, GET THESE! Otherwise it is useless to post a comment saying it is the greatest speaker when you mean, FOR YOU it is great.

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So many...Infinity, Bose, Yamaha, Dynaudio, Linn, B&W, Amati, Audio Physic, Revel, Avante Guard, Sony, JBL, others

i had an opportunity to audition the b&w dm603s3 against a couple of competitors over a weekend. after hearing the smaller 2 way version in this line side by side with the paradigm monitor 7 (which i own), i was eager to hear the 2.5 way design- dm603s3. in comparison with the paradigm, the 2 way seemed superior in terms of definition, clarity, lack of emphasis, etc. however, the 2 way did not go low enough for quasi-full range music. so, the 2.5 way dm603s3 was recommended (but not yet in stock). when available, i auditioned them against the magnaplanars @ roughly the same price point and the polk rt800i @roughly half the price of the b&w. i chose the polk because of the (clearance)price, range and comparable size . in short, if your priority is on music, particularly non-rock, the performance of the magnaplanars is astonishing in the level of detail and musicality. they require substantial current and dominate the landscape visually. unless you are a rocker or want to emphasize action films on home theater, i can not imagine choosing the b&w over the magnaplanars. ( i used them to watch apocalypse now redux. the planars made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end - not for the bombast but for the detailed, hoographic presentation. also, i failed to mention the extremely forward nature of the b&w. seemed almost 1 dimensional in terms of depth compared to either polk 800s or mag. if you want an excellent (but not state of the art) dynamic speaker with good bass(not full)frequency extension, consider the polks and save $500 over the b&w! also, they exhibit much better depth, though the bass is not as low or as tight as the b&w. if you plan to use a sub, this is probably irrelevant. translation: great value! but the sound of the magnaplanars is bewitching. expect to have the reaction: yes, that''s it! i was disappointed in the b&w, but have since heard briefly the bw cm4 @$1500. for an extra $400-500, you get much greater detail than with the dm603s3. if you like the forward sound and want much greater detail for $1500/pr., these could be for you.

Properly setup, it can compare to other speakers that are hundreds to even a thousand dollars more! Great imaging, clarity, response...

After a year and a half... none so far...

I''ve had these RT800i''s for about a 1.5 years already. To this day, I am not disappointed w/ them at all. From the day I bought them, they started to sound better and better as the weeks went by (break-in period). I have tried various other speakers, and for the price range, nothing beats these RT800i''s. Originally, for the first year I was using a JVC 7000 AV Receiver to run my Polk RT800i (Towers), CS245i (Center), F/X300 (Surround) & PSW250 (Subwoofer)... Well, after reading and learning more about hi-fi systems I started saving some $$$ to get a new receiver, because I knew that I was not providing my speakers with enough current to make them shine, the way they''re suppose to. Now don''t get me wrong, they still sounded great with my JVC Receiver, but I knew they could sound better. Well, after saving enough $$$, I went receiver shopping... I tested out some Yamaha''s, Denon & Marantz and they all sounded great, but since my bro worked at a local Future Shop, I decided to take advantage of his discount =) Well, today I''m the happy owner of a Harman Kardon AVR520 Receiver. WOW!!! Did this receiver make a HUGE difference in the quality, imaging, response in my RT800i''s. Even though the HK was only pumping out 85 Watts/Channel, it was doing so with High Current. BIG DIFFERENCE FOLKS!!! Like I said, I heard HUGE difference with every aspect of sound... My High''s were much crisper, my Mid''s were more warmer, voices were true, Low''s were deep & accurate... For demoing speakers I use the song from Dire Strait''s "Money For Nothing" (Extended Version)... When I play this track on my system w/ just my RT800i''s on... WOW!!! Impressive!!! A buddy of mine (who I wish I was making the same "moolah" as him) is running a high end Integra Receiver, with THX Certified Atlantic Speakers (7.2 system). Well, all I got to say about his system is... I can''t explain it in any "human" language. It sounds so wonderful in both music & video. Anyways, the reason why I brought up my buddy is because he listened to my setup, calibrated both my system. After he was done, it sounded much more better. Even he was so impressed with it, we both sat down and watch the 45 min. battle in Pearl Harbour. WOW!!!

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Infinity, Atlantic, PSB, RCA, Sony, Quest and others....

reproduces sound

not very well for over 350 pr

these reviews are misleading,NOT a giant killer by a long shot!

Rich sound, nice for ambience. Small footprint for a floorstander.

Uninvolving sound. Poor imaging and sound staging? Poor value unless you get a DEEP discount.¿

(This review refers to the RT-800 (no i) These belong to a housemate of mine. He originally drove them with a JVC prologic receiver, which understandably did not drive them to the best of their abilities. They''re now driven by a quality NAD receiver. I don''t know why I hear these speakers so differently from so many other reviewers here, but I do not care for the sound of these. They do not seem to image well or present much of a soundstage. They produce a nice rich sound (little deep bass given the size though) but when listening to them I never forget I''m listening to a pair of speakers, unlike my Paradigm MiniMonitors that really draw me into the music. These don''t sound BAD, but given the ratings this has garnered I''d expect much more, thus a 2 - not completely happy. You may like their sound, but I''d suggest if you are considering a pair, at least check out something from the likes of B&W, PSB, or Paradigm in the same price range. Me, I''d prefer Paradigm Atoms and a small sub to these, and save some money to boot.o

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Paradigm MiniMontors, Paradigm Atom + SB-90, ADS L-710.m

Price and overall performance - great for music and DVD''s

NONE

These speakers ROCK!!! Thank God I did not purchase the Bose 601''s - I went to J&R in Manhattan and listened to all speakers in the under $1000 range and these were the best by far - highs, lows, mids - incrediable for the money.

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Infinity 15''s - got rid of em...

Excellent sound, build quality

None

I picked up a pair of these babies just hours after one of my PSB Image 2B''s got knocked off its stand and into its grave. Since it was a sunday and neither of the two semi-local audio stores were open, I decided to give circuit city a chance (a place I have never bought loudspeakers from.) I had seen these speakers several times before @ CC but had never given them a listen. Overall I was impressed in the listening room; they had a full, tight responsive sound that didn''t seem colored in the least. Decided to take a chance and brought''em home after a decent bit of examination. I use these in my bedroom for pretty much 99% music. I was surprised after reading these interviews that people referred to the treble as ''harsh'' or ''bright''. They are definately neither of these, but more precisely: ''detailed''. My Image 2B''s were *definately* bright... and at first I was kinda disappointed when crescendos didn''t have the same kinda oomph in the mid to high end that my PSB''s did (it would sound some what muddy.) Then it occured to me that maybe my amp was to blame. I have these guys hooked up to a 50 watt rms 2ch Onkyo receiver, which I would consider adequate for the size of my bedroom, but slightly underpowered for the 800i''s rating (250 watts) even though Onkyo''s 50 watts definately performs like, and often better than many 100 watt receivers I''ve listened to. The solution? BI-WIRING! This made a *huge* improvement in sound quality, in two main ways. Crescendos, specificly in the mid to high end were no longer muddy sounding, but detailed and powerful. The soundstage of the 800i''s became so in depth that they in effect disappeared. When listenting to some quite live tracks (DMB, Phish etc.) I would sometimes turn around to the sound of a cough, and see no one there. On another note, the real wood veneer is quite beautiful. I got black oak (would have liked maple) and the quality of the finish is very good. Overall the build quality is very solid and precise. Polk Audio has or is shortly discontinuing this line... so they should be available on sale at most places. Buy a pair and you won''t be disappointed

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Tall and thin speaker looks great in any setting. Incredible sound for all applications.

NONE

I am upgrading from the Cerwin Vega 15''s. The Polk is a far superior speaker. It does not have the bass of the Vega 15''s but the overall sound is incredible. They are crisp and clear. Play the as loud as you want, the sounds gets better as the volume increases. For the money you will not find a better pair of speakers.

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