Polk Audio RT8 Floorstanding Speakers

Polk Audio RT8 Floorstanding Speakers 

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 10  
[Jan 28, 2020]
toddn.robinson


Strength:

Very very musical, very solid construction. I’ve had them for more than 20 years and they still sound great. On top of that they handle a ton of power. A great bargain on today’s market, if they are in good shape.

Weakness:

None tgatvI have experienced

Price Paid:
450
Purchased:
Used  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Jan 07, 2019]
Skinner


Strength:

Use these as rears in my HT setup . Great for most any kind of music or soundtracks. Matches my RT800I well , in concerts dvd or bluray these rock .

Weakness:

Could use a bit more bass . But that's what a sub is for .

Price Paid:
125.00
Purchased:
Used  
OVERALL
RATING
4
[Jul 03, 2007]
adam grandstaff
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

I was optimistic about bass response and was not let down. Pipe organ was well represented . It is by all accounts the most varying instrument of all and these speakers did a fine job bringing it to life. All I listen to through these are albums. Digital music just does not do these justice. All was not perfect though.

Weakness:

Older jazz recordings of female singers, such as ella fitzgerald, rosemary clooney, and katarina valente lost the vocals behind the instruments sometimes. The mids were lost in some other types of music also. Bass can get a little boomy sometimes but never muddy.

I bought these at a garage sale for $20. The woman was splitting from her husband and was selling his stuff. My last polks were monitor 10's and I loved those. These are very appealing with loud boisturous music like wagner and mussgorsky.

Similar Products Used:

polk monitor 10's, Boston hd8's

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 14, 1997]
Doug Goodwin
an Audio Enthusiast

I picked up a pair of these on clearance for $299.00. I mail ordered them, which I am rather hesitant at doing. I own a Polk DB10 car subwoofer and a pair of DB6930's. Based on these wonderful speakers, I went ahead and ordered them. I would absolutely recommend these. They have a very balanced sound, very open with a large soundfield. The highs are clear and airy and anything but harsh. The lows, while only from a single 6.5" driver, are quite exceptional. They don't overwhelm with low frequency output, but their extension is simply amazing. These speakers never lose their composure. Under high power, they simply output amazing levels with ease. They also happen to be the most pleasing speakers that I have listened to at low power levels. The detail these speakers are able to convey is simply amazing. These are the first speakers that I have listened to under $1,000.00 where you can clearly distinguish exceptional recordings from others. I am having quite a good time going through my CD collection catching details of recordings that I never heard before. My only complaint is that I am having a difficult time getting my JBL PS50 subwoofer to integrate very smoothly with these, but I believe that to be a placement issue with the sub. Even at their original price, for the money, they can't be beat.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
[Jan 22, 2001]
Michael
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

These speakers are great to watch movies with and listen to all shorts of music with. The highs are through the roof and the lows are (deep for the money)

Weakness:

The speakers are great however, my reciever pushes to much bass to them and if the bass is to high then the sub starts to distort the sound. This isn't a problem unless you turn the bass all the way up. If you are building a system make sure to invest in a sub (this will ensure that you will not be trying to run to much bass through these speakers).

When I began my search for some low costing great sounding speakers, i thought i would never be satisfied. However, when i came across these i couldn't pass them up. Now 2 years later i still using them. The build quality of these is unusall for the cost. I would have expected these (for the price) to be a light and unstable pressbox. But these were a plesent surprise. Now i'm moving and leaving these behind. I find my self in search for an upgrade, and my experiences with this brand has insured that polk will always on top of a short list for build quality and sound for the money. I hope that this has been of some help to some one!
-Good luck and happy listening
6 star value on a 5 star scale

Similar Products Used:

First set of polks and love them!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 12, 2000]
Steve Benson
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Spacial sound.Wonderful bass on modern recordings-try it with Tracy Chapman.

Weakness:

Can sound thin on older recordings,particularly in the mid-range.

I nearly bought the Rt10's but preferred the rt8s'tighter
sound.Bass can be wonderful and tight.Top end is great,but
the mid range is lacking on older recordings.I use an old
pair of mission 700's to overcome this problem,which add
warmth to the mid due to their slightly boxy sound(both
pairs running together)I am using a Nad 314 and Marantz
CD-63se which should give a less edgy sound than they
do with the Polks.I have never experienced any boominess.

Similar Products Used:

Mission

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
4
[Oct 17, 1998]
bob branson
an Audio Enthusiast

I bought these speakers new about 10 years ago and I am *still* amazed at the sound of these floor standing mini-towers. Vocals are transparent, airy and at moderate to high volumes come thru better than speakers much more
expensive. There is that Polk sound, boom at the mid bass, but it's not something that really bothers because everything else is so superbly balanced and clean sounding. Clean and clear, all around.

I run with an Adcom G535 amp at 60/channel. This is a fairly clean amp with high current design, so they are a great match for the lovely little Polks.
I remember listening to these and the next model up with a bigger bass
speakers, but the smaller Polk system sounded a bit better balanced
where the music is. Bass is a bit weak, but I like jazz ... at the midrange is
very good to excellent. For the money, nothing sounded quite as good.


OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
[Sep 08, 1999]
PolkFan
an Audio Enthusiast

The Polk RT8's are the best speakers for the money. Buy them in closeouts since Polk is introducing a new line. The best speakers I have ever owned.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
[May 27, 2000]
Carver Buff Shmo
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Crisp open sound

Weakness:

Boomy bass ...not very tight at all

These sound pretty good, but the bass I found to be artificial if anything...after a year of owning them, I've clogged ports on both speakers..now the sound more book shelf like, but bass is very tight now, and I think they've improved dramatically.
I'll add a sub..hopefully a REL soon...to accompany these for a full spectrum sound..I am really happy with these regardless, as they sound great and didn't cost me all that much.
Accompanied w/ Rotel rx950 reciever and Rotel rc950 cd (find cd player finicky)
Wish they sold Carver stuff over here in OZ

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm 11se Deluxe

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 21, 2000]
Thomas Newsome
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

really great sound for the $, great open highs, really nice low bass extention thanks to the power port (its no sub of course), the adjusted crossover point allows the mids to be produced much cleaner by the 6.5 other than requiring the tweeter to dip down below it potential. overall great sound

Weakness:

the 6.5 distorts a little bit to easy but only at high volumes with a large amount of bass in the recording

obvously, these speakers have their limits considering their price, but i have not heard many speakers that can produce this quality of sound for anywhere near this price. i have a pioneer elite powering these with audioquest cables and i am very satisfied. the 6.5 produces great bass extention at low levels. you might find yourself looking for a sub hidden somewhere, now they wont rattle off pictures, but you will hear very low bass from them. the highs sound great at low, mid and mid-high levels, but at high levels the 300$ price tag shows with some harshness. but for a den, bedroom, or even a small hometheater, these speakers are deffinately worth looking at.

Similar Products Used:

paradigm 3se... ive listened to countless speakers

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 10  

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