great detail; excellent imaging plays loud and handles power. NONPOWERED

none

i will keep it short. These speakers spank everything around the 800$ pair retail price point. I have heard them all, no contest. Best pair of speakers money can buy under a $1000 PERIOD. Top that off with polk audio build constuction and quality and new real wood cabinets and it's a no brainer

Similar Products Used:

polk, infinity, BA

Polk Audio Quality. True, Full, and Robust Sound. And craftsmanship that will last for years (speakers and cabinet)

You can pick out flaws in recorded music. Hell, you may even be able to understand rappers!

I'm using these speakers for rear surround speakers to compliment some older Polk Signature SDA speakers I own. They fill out the sound nicely. I knew I would get clear music and sounds from Polk, but the volume and bass of these speakers are what surprise me the most. The yield VERY low distortion when I pour on the volume and/or bass. Country music sounds clear, rock sounds loud, you can feel rap music, and classical music sounds like a live performance! I'm very happy with these speakers (being used as surround sound speakers). I wouldn't really like them for my main speakers, but they are a great complement my SDAs. I have heard Polk speakers going on 15 years that still sound great after years of use (and abuse) so I know I can expect a long life out of these speakers. That is one reason I do not mind paying a little more for Polk Audio, I see them as an investment that I will have down the road.

www.polkaudio.com <--Check them out yourself!

Crisp ,clear,and detailed highs.For its size it has good bass respones

NONE

Well at first i wanted to get pretty good speakers and not pay to much so i got the Polk R40's.They were good but just was not good enough for me .So i upgraded to the RT600i's(CC has a deal were you can upgrade for one year).These were more to my likeing.They are a very good speaker for the money!They had just about the same characteristics as the RT800i's. The only problem is i have a good size room (23ft x 17ft and also has a big opening to kitchen),and the RT600i's just did not have enough sound to fill the room.So you guessed it i went and upgraded for the LAST time and got the RT800i's, and boy do they do the job!Before i got the RT800i's i did not really think they would be that different from the rt600i ,but they are.The RT800i's have alot more midrange and more bass too,not to mention you can bi-wire or bi-amp them.For HT they are superb,i have a sub with these speakers which i only use when i watch DVD's,for music i turn the sub off.I say just go ahaed and spend the money the first time and get what you want.
My system:
Onkyo TX-DS575x
Pioneer DV-333 (dvd player)
Technics SL-MC60 (cd player)
Sony HiFi vhs
Sony 32 inch TV
Polk RT800i (front)
Polk CS400i (center)
Pinnacle AC-400 (rear)
JBL PB12 (sub)
Just get these speakers (RT800i), you well be very happy with them!

Similar Products Used:

Infinity,JBL,Pinnacles,NHT,and Energy

CLEAR LOUD VERY ACCURATE

SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT THEM SOONER

SOMETIMES YOU TAKE A CHANCE ON A NEW BRAND AND IT WORKS OUT SOMETIMES NOT BUT IN THIS CASE IT WAS A GREAT MOVE.UNLESS YOU PLAN ON SPENDING ALOT MORE THIS IS AS GOOD AS IT GETS!I AM USEING THESE SPEAKERS FOR DOUBLE DUTY MUSIC AND MOVIES THEY HANDLE BOTH JOBS WELL.I'M SO IMPRESSED WITH THEM I ORDERED A POLK 650 POWER SUB,400 CENTER CHANNEL,AND FX SURRONDS.SO I PUT MY MONEY WHERE MY EARS ARE AND AM VERY HAPPY YOU WELL BE TOO.

Similar Products Used:

INFINITY I40

detail sound and good bass

none

This Review will be short and to the point. In My opinion the polk 800i is one of the best sounding speakers for the money. You just can't ask for more out of a mid priced set of tower speakers. If you have any doubts just go to your local dealer and have a listen, you wont be disapointed.

P.S. don't buy at Circuit city unless you want to pay $200.00 more.....

Similar Products Used:

Infinity, Acoustic energy, Klipsch

Very bright and detailed high. Good bass (especially when you think about the 6-1/2" speakers). Excellent packaging and good production wuality

Mid-range is bit weak.

Polk RT800i is NOT a powered speaker. It provides very detailed sound and VERY bright high. For some ears, this bright high could provide fatigue. I love it, though. I was using 20 years old Fisher speakers which originally came from a component. As soon as I connected Polk RT800i, I was amazed how detail it can provide. I was missing so much from the music I loved. RT800i sounds very beautiful. The trilaminated tweeter really does an excellent job in describing very details of music. It is good for light Jazz (Keiko Matsui, Brian Cullbertson, Kenny G, etc.) and classical music and light rock. This speaker is not for Rapp. I listened to LL Cool J and didn't sound good at all. I originally bought a pair of JBL S310Beech. The packaging sucks! Shame on you, JBL!! When I opened up the box, I found broken legs and damaged tweeter. Polk RT800i came in a sturdier box and much stronger support inside. I strongly recommend Polk RT800i to anyone who loves bright and detailed sound.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha AX-200, JBL S-310, JBL S-312, JBL ND-310, Infinity 4

Very detailed

What gives? The description shown here says "powered". This speaker is not powered. Also - I auditioned many speakers and narrowed it to Klipsch RF-3 and Polk RT800i for what I have to spend. We A-B'd the RT800i's and the RT2000i's with a track of acoustic guitar and vocals. The RT800i's sounded great, but flip to the RT2000i's, I thought the guitar had stopped! But no, his fingers were still moving. Flipping back to the RT800i's, and the strings reappeared. Go to CC and try it yourself on the Eagles A-V track. The RT2000i's midrange completely swamped the detail of the strings. Also, I like the "bright" sound and insist on detail. Anyone can blow you down with bass. Just my preference. Haven't purchased yet, going to listen to the Klipsch one more time.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch RF-3, Infinity IL

Clarity and fullness of sound, great looks and beffy cabinet construction.

After 25 year listening to my JBL L-36 speakers (little brother of the legendary L-100 Century) I finally wore them out. I loved my L-36's so much that I would have bought another pair of JBL's but they just don't make the same quality of speaker anymore at a price I can afford. So I started to shop around and found most stores didn't have more than two of the brands I was considering. Thus, it was difficult to make truly fair comparisons between the various brands available. My solution was to bring along music I liked (rock, jazz, and Latin) and knew well. Then go back to the same stores for multiple listen sessions before eliminating or picking any particular speaker. After about three months shopping around and listening to a variety of speakers I decided to buy a pair of the Polk RT800i towers.

In the end, I thought the Polk RT800i's had a clearer and fuller sound than similar priced speakers made by Boston Acoustics, JBL, Klipsch, Paradigm, PSB. Except for the JBL's, these other brands had a flatter sound which I think caters more to home theater than serious music listening. One of the great strengths of the RT800i's is their clarity. I noticed (as have other reviewers) that they are so clear you could tell the difference between poor quality recordings and good quality recordings. Unfortunately, I think a few RT800i reviewers have confused poor recording quality on some CD's with what they assume to be coloration of the music by the speaker. Of coarse it is difficult to know exactly what the original recording is supposed to sound like. But, that is why we bring music we know well to the store with which to compare speakers. I never noticed the clarity I herd in the RT800i's in any other speaker I listened to in this price range, ~$1000/pair.

Other speakers I seriously considered were the Triangle Zephyr II's and B&W 603's. Both of these run ~$1100 a pair whereas the Polk RT800i's are only ~$800 a pair. Both had a slightly fuller sound than the Polk's RT800i's. However, while listening to the Zephyr II's and 603's I felt that something had been added to the music (i.e. it had been colored), almost an overdone sound. Both are great speakers but there were other concerns too. There is only one Triangle dealer in Houston. Thus, potential repairs could be a problem. Additionally, I found out that the Zephyr II's are marked up about twice what you would pay for them in France where they are made. The wood like vinyl on the 603's cabinets looks cheep, while the Polk RT800i's have beautiful real wood veneers! Finally, the Polk's have the most beefy cabinet construction by far! After three months listening to the RT800i's at home I couldn't be more pleased and I expect they will last me another 25 years!

My System includes the following:
Onkyo TX-D575X Receiver
Onkyo DV-C601 DVD Player
A 10 year old Onkyo CD Player (still works great!)
Polk RT800i Front Speakers
Polk CS400i Center Speaker
Polk PSW450 Powered Subwoofer
Bose Acoustic Mass 5 Surround Speakers*

*These were a big mistake as far as listening to music, but they are OK for home theater (i.e. explosions, helicopters, trains, and bullets whizzing by). I bought them 10 years ago without listening to them much and have regretted it ever since. They have no depth, mid-range (i.e. fullness) or clarity. I hope to replace them with a pair of Polk F/X500i's in the next year.

Great Imaging, Accurate sound in HT application

No good for music.

I purchased these along with a Polk Audio CS400i Center for my home theater and I am extremely happy. I compared these with 3 different comparable models of B&W's and it was no match. The B&W's were on display in a home theater demo room and the Polks were on general display at Circuit City and they still out classed the B&W's. Polk had a better price also and Polk was throwing in a pair of R10's for free.
They really excel on Home Theater apps but I did try playing a music CD (Pink Floyd) thru them and my Sony STR-825 and was not pleased to say the least. I did try to compensate by readjusting the eq on the Sony but it was not much of an improvement. These are Home Theater speakers and that is how I purchased them and their inability to play music is not a negative for the speakers. Just don't go out and purchase these with the hope's or intentions of using them for both Home Theater and music applications, you will not be happy.

I am thinking of purchasing the RT55i's to use a rear speakers.

Other equipment:
Mitubishi WS-65857 TV (Love this TV)
Sony STR-DE825 Receiver
Sony DVP-S330

Upgrading soon:
Pioneer Elite VSX-39TX
Pioneer Elite DV37 progressive scan

Efficient speaker, good bass and clear highs

None

Without going on and on I'd just like to say that I really like these speakers. They are efficient and provide exceptional bass along with some very clear high end sounds. As with all speakers, personal preference is a HUGE determining factor when it comes to speakers. I suspect that this is why these speakers have gotten some bad reviews. Everyone has an idea of what speakers should sound when they listen to them - some people like distinct seperation and others like a more robust sound. I found that these speakers match my own personal preference for speakers perfectly...