The RTS-9 speakers do a great job of providing a deep clear sound stage for stereo listening, which to me is the most important quality.

For a poly cone and textile tweeter, they have a pretty natural tone to them, and are not excessive in the midrange as I found other poly speakers to be at the time of audition.

The bass is quite natural as well, which really surprised me at the time when I was comparing them to some speakers costing twice as much (or more) with much larger cones. The low extension of the speaker is great for listening to music, but for movies one may wish to supplement them with a subwoofer, depending on the size of the room, placement, and individual taste.

The power handling of the speakers is sufficient for me, although it wouldn't hurt my ears much to handle a little more, this coming from a percussionist of 22 years.

There is a sweetness in the high frequencies that is revealed by listening to vocal music or electronic music that could be considered a weakness. I have softened this up by adding a 4 ohm resistor to the tweeter and found that doing so added resolving power to the speaker and freed up some interference with the midrange. I also updated the capacitors in the electronics which further increased the overall resolution in the soundstage. Most people probably wouldn't go this far though, they are fine out of the box.

The Sound Dynamics RTS-9, a floor standing "quasi 3-way" speaker, is a great product whose performance greatly exceeded its price tag at the time of sale and manufacture, and still does in 2006. These speakers have spent a little over six years in my listening room, and will likely remain there until Source Technologies speakers replace them. As with any speaker, when properly oriented and placed they yield their best performance. I have them spaced 8' apart, 14" off of the side wall, 21" from the front wall of my second story listening room with the listening position ~12' from the speakers.

I subject them to music from James Taylor to TOOL, from Mr. Bungle to Steely Dan, from Mozart to El-p, and find that they handle all of the aforementioned honestly and clearly.

My equipment consists of:
Sound Dynamics RTS-9s
Marantz SR 4200
NAD 2200 Amplifier
Marantz CD-63 SE CD Player
CAL Sigma Tube D/A Converter with Orion Tube
MIT Interconnects
Kimber Illuminati Digital Coax Interconnect

Customer Service

Sound Dynamics is no longer what it once was, but the drivers are still available and the electronics can be replaced by someone with moderate knowledge of the systems.

Similar Products Used:

I auditioned:
Energy, Tannoy, DefTech, KEF, PSB, and probably several others - it has been ~6 years.

Good bass, smooth and good imaging.

Extremely difficult to locate dealers.

Very good speakers for the price(500$cnd), highly recommended

Similar Products Used:

Rts-3, Energy, Paradigm reference.

SOUND!! Clean highs, strong mids, and solid bass response. Excellent imaging and sound stage for this price range. Well balanced speaker for HT and music.

Fit and Finish. Flimsy plastic bindings and cheap veneer finish.

I ran the RTS-9s on a Yamaha 795a receiver and the first thing that I noticed was that they made my Bose 301's sound like low grade clock radio speakers. I did not realize the extent of what I was missing in my music and HT. To that end, I was really torn when I decided to send them back to audioadvisor.com. For an $800 price tag, I simply could not live with the cheap fit and finish of the speakers (veneers, bindings, grill fit, etc.). Too bad, especially since these are the best sounding sub-$1000 speakers that I have ever heard. In fact, the RTS-9's sound better than a number of speakers that are over the $1000 price point. I personally consider the appearance of my speakers in my home's decor, as much as I consider sound quality. In my family room, introducing the RTS-9's into the decor was was like placing an entertainement center from Wal-Mart into and Ethan Alan showroom... They simply looked out of place. Would I have been willing to pay more for the same speaker with a better fit & finish, with the same sound quality? No Doubt! In fact, I wound up spending the extra $400 for the Paradigm Reference Series Studio 60's. Although marginally better in sound quality, the fit & finish is superior to the RTS-9s.

In giving my rating, I am allowing 5 stars for sound quality and 3 stars for fit & finish for and average of 4. Also, there are internet retailers that sell these speakers in the $500 to $600 range, which make them an excellent buy at that price point. If you don't care about the finish, I rate these speakers a "Stong Buy".

Similar Products Used:

Bose 301 Series III; Paradigm Reference Studio 60

None, a bit cheap looking cabinet.

I am always for getting the most sound for the money, and in category, I am sure that these speakers are it. But when I was shopping around for speakers about a year ago, I realized that these speakers(I bought the floor demo for under $400 at video only, who no longer carries them) held their own with the $1000 + speakers. In fact, I could not tell if those more expensive speakers sounded better, so I bought the sound dynamics. I think my amp is one of the reason why the thing sound so good. Try one of the Diana Krall's tracks and you'll be VERY pleased with the sound. It's absolutely fabulous.

I prefer very natural sounding speakers, and these speakers are definitely strong in this area.

Similar Products Used:

None. Connected to Nakamichi AV10

I started my quest looking for the best speakers I could find, and ended up with the best bargain I could buy. API is known for some great Canadian bargains and their eldest company, Sound Dynamics, is the deal of the century. These RTS-9 towers are audiophile grade speakers by every definition, at a price the common person can afford.

In many ways, they are similar to their brother the Energy e:XL series. The RTS-9 is dual-ported, identical 6.5" polyprop. cones but a different tweeter. Sound Dynamics uses a soft dome tweeter that lends itself to a more laid back sound as opposed to Energy's more forward sound. However, clarity and definition are not compromised whatsoever and I find this speaker can be played for hours with zero listening fatigue. As all the SD propaganda suggests, these speakers indeed have a deep, real bass without the mid-bass hump of lesser speakers. 'Very smooth... I also find that the sound is completely uncolored. My other initial choices, Paradigm and PSB, were more colored in their tone than Sound Dynamics. That makes these RTS-9's ideal for every kind of music, not just classical (PSB), or rock (Paradigm).

Though they are priced like the midrange Monitor series from Paradigm, e:XL Energys or PSB Century, I would easily put them in the category of the higher end lines such as Paradigm Studio, Energy Connoisseur or PSB Stratus, at a mid-range price. To me, this makes these speakers a bargain and a great buy.

Similar Products Used:

Compared against the whole Paradigm, PSB and Energy series. B&W 603 S2

Defined bass.

Average mids.

This is my first pair of audiophile grade speakers, and I have to say that I'm glad I made the investment. I bought them from a guy who had to sell them--for $450! They were only three weeks old. Great deal!

I have them attached to a Cambridge Audio A3i amplifier with T4 cables (Audio Advisor's product). After letting all of these play for a couple of days, I started to listen seriously.
The first cd I played was a jazz recording featuring bassist John Clayton, Christian McBride, and Ray Brown. I figured, if this music can't test the bass range, I don't know what can! I could easily tell the difference between the three basses--by the sounds of the instruments, not the style (although there's no mistaking the great Ray Brown). I was finally HEARING my fivorite instrument.

If I was at all disappointed (too strong a word?), it was with the mids. The piano accompaniment seemed somewhat back in the sound stage, whereas the bass and the highs tended to the forefront. This is a very minor "complaint," considering the price I paid for these loudspeakers.

All things considered, these Sound Dynamics will be the center piece of my system for a long time. Five stars.

Soundstage, imaging and detail.

Really none at this price; however, if you like to crank up the volume then they can sound somewhat congested.

These are not super high-end loudspeakers, but they are not priced into the stratosphere either. You really do get a lot more than what you pay for with these loudspeakers. As with most good speakers, better electronics translates into better loudspeaker performance. A taste of high-end for a bargain price.

Similar Products Used:

B&W, Infinity, Watkins and Mirage.

Bass, looks

Cheap cabinet, slightly warm treble

I bought this speaker based on reviews I had read. When I got them, one corner was nicked and the finish was peeling off. The box wasn't damaged, so it had to have happened before it was shipped. The highs were a little warm for my taste, and although the mids were full, were slightly dull.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch, JBL

Not to sound cliche, "great soundstage & depth." Warm and inviting - pulls you in gently and lets you have the impact of a live performance

Binding posts have plastic thumscrews, instead of brass. I wish they offered real wood veneer option for a modest increase in cost.

I enjoyed my music search. Exploring technolgies ranging from front radiating, bi-polor, omni-polor, time aligned & time array. Soft dome, silk dome metal dome & gold dome tweeters. Speakers made from paper, platic, Kevlar (able to stop a speeding bullet!), aluminum, carbon, and other exotic concoctions.
Two way, 2 1/2 way, quasi, 3 way, 4 way - vented, ported, dual-ported, semiported, sealed, closed & butterworth.
In the end, we all hear differently. Some have more variations to "the norm" than others.
The Canadians must have a lot of time on their hands - perhaps attributed to the long cold winters. They have come up with a winner. Do not let the price of these RTS-9 fool you. Would it be a more serous contender if it cost twice as much and had real wood veneer?
Rich sound, plays loud - not overly busy trying to get the sound of a pin dropping, instead plays with the MUSICALTY that draws you in and keeps you wanting more. Not fatiguing, can listen for long periods of time and ambitious levels without your ears hurting from high-end overload. Defined bass, warm mids, but not too heavy for female vocals. Upper mids and highs are soft, yet at the same time very present - a wonderful comination.
Good, solid contruction. Has at least two internal braces through the mid-section. Speaker placed in nice, flush oreintation. The front grills do not cover the entire front of the speaker - leaves lower third exposed to the cabinetry which is a nice touch.
Spin Mozart, Rachmaninof, Natalie Merchant, Joe Young, David Sanborn, Van Morrison, Metallica & Limp Bizkit. You will be very satisfied.

Similar Products Used:

B&W, NHT, Hales, Tannoy, Vandersteen, PSB, Ohm, Mirage

Accurate, affordable.

None

Simply great sound for the money.
I've heard better, but at more that triple the price.
:-)

Similar Products Used:

R-515's