Polk Audio RT800i Floorstanding Speakers
Polk Audio RT800i Floorstanding Speakers
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[Sep 19, 2000]
Jason Wong
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
good bass
Weakness:
Extremely bright and fatiguing to listen to Polk audio's upper end stuff have to be the most fatiguing speakers to listen to. after about half an hour of higher level listening I couldn't take any more. I used to work at circuit city until I realized they are largely the most idiotic electronics dealer ever to exist. But lets keep that seperate from the review of these speakers. The reson I don't like polks upper end models is because of the tri-laminate tweeter, sure it sounds more detailed then their lower end stuff but at the expense of sounding extremely bright. A good comparison is lets say a good sounding solid tweeter is a doing everything its supposed to do is a 40 watt light bulb, well these tweeters would be a 100 watt light bulb about three feet away from your eyes. Over all they are alright speakers but the tweeters really really ruins the package to the point where a potentially great speaker is handicapped by one component causing the entire system to suffer. Similar Products Used: acoustic energy, inifinity, klipsch, you name it |
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[May 31, 2001]
Greg Gant
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Clear and sharp sound reproduction,
Weakness:
Too bright for music applications, almost strictly for hometheater, lacking bass I purchased these in mind that I would use them for computer speakers (Odd? Maybe, but I'm a multimedia producer). While in store they sounded good, and they were floor models so I was able to score a good price combined with the magic of "Price Matching". I took them home to replace some older Sony's. While it was noticable how much clearer they were, they also had too exagerated highs, and "imagining" was bit too creative. Listening to music and such exausted my ears. I played with them a few times, was impressed but not enough to keep them. Similar Products Used: Sony U420s |
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[Apr 18, 2001]
WOLF
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Great highs, Surprising bass, and unmatched clarity!!!
Weakness:
None yet!! I have never been more pleased with a speaker purchase ever! Similar Products Used: JBL, B&W, Yamaha, Bose |
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[May 20, 2001]
Eric
Audiophile
Strength:
Very detailed, good looks, great for HT
Weakness:
Bass is little muddy. I post this in the rt800 section also. This is the best speaker for the money. I haven't heard anything as good for less than $1000. Blends with HT well as with music. By the way I'm selling my rt800 (not the rt800i)for $550 and its in great condition. I just upgraded it with b&w speakers since I'm becoming a more serious audiophile. But I give this a 2 thumbs up for the money its worth. Similar Products Used: Other polk speakers. |
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[May 20, 2001]
paul ventura
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Build quality
Weakness:
Sound I work at Circuit City. For the last two months I have spent a lot of time in the sound room listening to these speakers and all the others that C.C. carries, as I was looking to get a new pair of speakers for music listening. All the other guys like Polk and tried to sell me on them, but I let my ears be the judge. I EXTENSIVELY A/B'd every pair using Rhythm of the Saints (Paul Simon), Violator (Depeche Mode), Protection (Massive Attack), Amused to Death (Roger Waters), and Big Calm (Morcheeba) primarily. I found the lower midrange/upper bass reproduction of these speakers to be a bit convoluted, and thought that the imaging and overall spaciousness of the soundstage were not very good. To my ears, the best pair of speakers in the store was the Infinity Entra Two towers, which I purchased. If you have some time to kill one day, go to your local Circuit City with your favorite cd and have the salesman set up an A/B comparison with the 800is and the Entra Twos. MAKE SURE he places the speakers right next to each other, on the same level. You'd be surprised how much of a difference placement in that damn sound room makes. I predict you'll hear that while the Polks definitely have more thump-you-in-the-chest bass, it's a little muddy and the highs and midrange are nowhere near as detailed and spacious as the Infinitys. Add a powered sub to the Entras and you'll have a TRULY awesome setup. I'm no idiot, I've auditioned $15,000 Tannoy Churchills (running thru primo McIntosh gear) and I know what I hear. If you don't have senseless money to drop on a system, but don't want to settle for crappy sound, check those Infinitys out. TRUST YOUR OWN EARS AND LISTEN TO YOUR OWN MUSIC!!! And keep in mind that you need a powered sub for the Infinitys (AND the Polks, for that matter!) |
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[May 17, 2001]
Robert Sloan
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Beautiful sound that brings out the best in everything I have owned my initial set of Polk RT800i's for almost 1 full year now. These speakers are just about as good as it gets. The highs are not bright as some reviews have said rather they are very detailed and clear. The 800's do have a great ability to push out some power so the high's are a little louder but can easily be corrected on your amp. I listen to these for home theater about 80% and music about 20%. I am married with children so when I don't want to listen to anyone I turn them up and I can see the wife bickering but all I can hear is pure sonic beauty produced by quite possibly the best speaker ever made. I listen to my movies extremely loud by most people's standards. I have a large viewing / listening room 14,000 cubic feet. Yes 14,000 no typo's. 20 foot ceilings are an acoustical nightmare. The 800's have no problem filling the room with precise sound with no cutout's or distortion at these high levels. When listening to movies such as Gladiator in 6.1 or The Matrix, Independence Day, Fight Club, anything the sound is always precise and accurate. I mainly listen to Dave Matthews and a lot of classical and the music representation is wonderful as well. The strings sound like they are played individually and the winds sound like each one should sound. I get accurate music not a "noisy" sound of 40 instruments sounding like 1 instrument as with many speakers in this price range. I would strongly recommend these speakers to anyone looking for a great all around home theater speaker. Similar Products Used: Definitive Technology |
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[May 17, 2001]
Andrew Thornton
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Small profile, Bi-wire capable,Sound quality, build quality, imaging, detail, voice reproduction
Weakness:
limited bass, but with subwoofer who cares. It takes a while before the speakers break in. but as far as listening to them in theater mode it sounds better than a lot of theaters. After bi-wiring them you now can distinctly hear every detail. For music listening it's above average plus but not the ultimate. but again at $654 a pair it can't be beat. |
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[Jan 16, 2001]
Brad Bajc
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Great High's, Mid's and Low's.
Weakness:
NONE NONE NONE..... It's all here the Polk Audio "i" series. Similar Products Used: Infinity's. |
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[Jan 16, 2001]
Brad Bajc
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Great High's, Mid's and Low's.
Weakness:
NONE NONE NONE..... It's all here the Polk Audio "i" series. Similar Products Used: Infinity's. |
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[Jan 16, 2001]
Brad Bajc
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Great High's, Mid's and Low's.
Weakness:
NONE NONE NONE..... It's all here the Polk Audio "i" series. Similar Products Used: Infinity's. |