rooftop59

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Just a quick review to say that these speakers are still an incredible value. They pop up on ebay fairly regularly and usually go for under 200 bucks shipped! As others have said, the bass response is incredible for bookshelf speakers (though they are very large bookshelf speakers!), and the imaging is smooth with a deep and wide soundstage. For true full-frequency response, you do need a sub as others have mentioned, but the low frequency response of these speakers make them very easy to blend with a sub. The also look very cool on a nice pair of stands with the grills off, but because of the size, vinyl woodgrain enclosure, and plain big-box appearance, they score pretty low on the WAF (my wife is a musician so while she appreciates the way they sound, she says I have to put them away when we sell our house because they are that ugly. Oh well...) In short, it would be very hard to get a pair of speakers that sound this good for the used price.

johnrockets

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $375.00 from Crutchfield

Summary:
This review is to follow up on a review I wrote for these speakers yeears ago. I gave them a 2 rating because I described a rattleing woofer. As I have grown and evolved in this hobby I realize that this was most likely becuase of the amp I was using and the insane volumes I would play at without a sub(probably alot of clipping). I am in the process of replacing the bad woofer, and have been able to revisit these old speakers w/ much better source and amplification hardware over the recent past. I can almost say I like the sound of these better than newer polk offerings like the rti38. The RT7's seem to be a bit more open/detailed in the highs, and a bit more bloomy in the mid-bass. The rti38's a tad more laid back and tame(not a bad thing). Excellent speakers, some of the best I have heard/owned.

Strengths:
Imaging, detail, clarity,

Weaknesses:
None that I can think of.

Similar Products Used:
Boston, Paradigm, Ascend, other Polks.

Price Paid:  $450.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
STRENGTHS: Excellent soundstage reproduction. Very good bass response, and smooth overall frequency response. REVIEW: Let me begin by saying that I have owned these speakers for about 7 years now, so I have listened to alot of music (classical, jazz, rock/pop) and watched numerous DVD's using them. I auditioned them before purchasing and was very pleased with their sound espicially the bass output (test song was Madonna's Vogue). Over the past couple of years I have been gradually upgrading my equipment to take advantage of the home theater experience. Recently, I upgraded my home theater receiver to an Onkyo TX-SR600. Wow! The Polk RT7 speakers really do a good job as my front theater speakers with the receiver (80W/ch.) My favorite music is classical. The RT7 speakers perform excellently as far as giving a realistic sound stage and ambience. I will never forget attending the Magic Flute opera with my wife and listening to the overture. We have listened to the overture at home numerous times. Immediately, I recalled how accurately the Polks had reproduced the ambience and sound stage. I looked at my wife and commented to her about it, and she agreed! That in itself says alot about these speakers. Oh yeah, the song Vogue really thumps on the bottom end with these speakers. I am constantly surprised by the bass these speakers can put out, and I enjoy watching the woofers move to produce the lower frequncies. I recently coupled these boogers with a PSW650 sub (Polk Audio), and the result has been astonishing. I would say this system will easily compete with much more expensive products. The sub pushes the lower response to 25hz for an overall frequency response of 26 kHz-25Hz for a total cost of about one grand (counting what I originally paid for the RT7s). Count yourself lucky if you can find someone willing to part with theirs. I for one am not ready to say good bye to mine yet. They have improved with age.

Price Paid:  $400.00 from Hawkeye Audio

Summary:
These are a great value. I think they should be paired with a powered sub, and when you compare the total cost of the RT7s and a sub, there is nothing that sounds as good for the price.

Strengths:
Excellent midrange and highs, better than many at much higher prices.

Weaknesses:
A bit weak on the bass, but what do you want from a bookshelf speaker?

Price Paid:  $300.00 from Local Polk dealer

Summary:
The so called "bookshelf speaker" is so heavy. Most of bookshelf speaker stands can't support it. The real strenght of this speaker is its tweeter. It goes high smoothly without hash. It's trilaminate dome (dinamic balance). I really like it compared to many speakers I currently have now. I believe it can go down to 40hz. It can play loud and clear without of any help from a sub. The bass from it is so tight and refine. whenever I switch to it, I got to turn off the sub.
it's really well built and alittle too big too be a bookshelf speaker and very heavy(about 25lbs each) and made from solid MDF and for what I like most. The woofer is rubber surrounding make it last alots longer.
in general, for the bookshelf and the price I paid for it, I would say not many bookshelf speakers out there can beeat it for value and the price.
Grab it right away when you have a chance with a good price.
Have fun

Strengths:
Crystal clear, Tweeter, built quality, lower midrange

Weaknesses:
too heavy to be a bookshelf speaker !!!

Similar Products Used:
Magnepan, Atlantic Technology, Infinity, Accoustic energy, Yamaha, Bose, Accoustic Research, Advent.