sheldont

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $800.00 from suckit city

Summary:
I would definitely agree with the last reviewer. These speakers are an amazing bargain for what you get, but by no means are they a high end speaker. I believe the soundstage on these speakers and lack of linearity are the best I've heard in this price range. However, they do have limitations. No midbass, and weak lower bass leads to popping. The sound is mellow with no harsh highs, but can't get there if you want that pure sax sound. For 800 bones, they are a deal, but the rating in not AUDIOPHILE quality.

Strengths:
Good transparency, soundstage, looks great.

Weaknesses:
Lower bass, mid bass, and high-end detail.

Similar Products Used:
Infinty Kappa400, Intermezzo, Prelude, Kef xq, q, reference,

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I emplore people thinking about buying ANY retail speaker to go to a Hi-Fi store and listen to their selection. If you cannot see the difference between say Dynaudio Countours and Polks, BUY POLKS! I feel I need to help correct the review system here, most people say that this speaker is better than all other $1000 speakers, just as every other review says. I got an excellent deal on infinity IL60s, so that is what I have. Polks and Infinity have different approaches to making good sound, and for the most part they both succeed. Still, I believe the IL60 is a far superior H/V speaker becuase they are brighter, have a higher tweeter height, and have a better transient response than Polk. For music, I would encourage anything from B&W, Dynaudio, Revel, Amati, Audio Physic, Avante Guard, Linn, you know the bunch. The point is HT is relatively easy to please the listener but for stereo listening Circuit City/Good Guys/whereever is not the right place to buy speakers. Anyway I have nothing personal against Polk, but I do have a rant against Circuit City employees. ANYONE who suggests that Bose speakers are even half-way decent does not deserve the priveledge of trying to tell me that polks are better becuase they are 'deeper' when all that he was referring to is the sensitivity of the polks is 3dB greater than Infinity. One more rant about the reviews I read...Most reviews on this speaker, in my opinion, are not qualified in the sense that they have tested both HIGHER and lower end products to know exactly what to say about these. If YOU can't hear the difference between these and hi end speakers, GET THESE! Otherwise it is useless to post a comment saying it is the greatest speaker when you mean, FOR YOU it is great.

Strengths:
They are good low/mid fi Home theater, good for the average listener at Good Guys

Weaknesses:
Cloudy low-mid range, same trick as bose to emphasize a portion to make it sound like it has a deeper soundstage thereby ruining the music

Similar Products Used:
So many...Infinity, Bose, Yamaha, Dynaudio, Linn, B&W, Amati, Audio Physic, Revel, Avante Guard, Sony, JBL, others

Price Paid:  $520.00 from circuit city

Summary:
i had an opportunity to audition the b&w dm603s3 against a couple of competitors over a weekend. after hearing the smaller 2 way version in this line side by side with the paradigm monitor 7 (which i own), i was eager to hear the 2.5 way design- dm603s3. in comparison with the paradigm, the 2 way seemed superior in terms of definition, clarity, lack of emphasis, etc. however, the 2 way did not go low enough for quasi-full range music. so, the 2.5 way dm603s3 was recommended (but not yet in stock). when available, i auditioned them against the magnaplanars @ roughly the same price point and the polk rt800i @roughly half the price of the b&w. i chose the polk because of the (clearance)price, range and comparable size . in short, if your priority is on music, particularly non-rock, the performance of the magnaplanars is astonishing in the level of detail and musicality. they require substantial current and dominate the landscape visually. unless you are a rocker or want to emphasize action films on home theater, i can not imagine choosing the b&w over the magnaplanars. ( i used them to watch apocalypse now redux. the planars made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end - not for the bombast but for the detailed, hoographic presentation. also, i failed to mention the extremely forward nature of the b&w. seemed almost 1 dimensional in terms of depth compared to either polk 800s or mag. if you want an excellent (but not state of the art) dynamic speaker with good bass(not full)frequency extension, consider the polks and save $500 over the b&w! also, they exhibit much better depth, though the bass is not as low or as tight as the b&w. if you plan to use a sub, this is probably irrelevant. translation: great value! but the sound of the magnaplanars is bewitching. expect to have the reaction: yes, that''s it! i was disappointed in the b&w, but have since heard briefly the bw cm4 @$1500. for an extra $400-500, you get much greater detail than with the dm603s3. if you like the forward sound and want much greater detail for $1500/pr., these could be for you.

Price Paid:  $1200.00 from Future Shop (price i

Summary:
I''ve had these RT800i''s for about a 1.5 years already. To this day, I am not disappointed w/ them at all. From the day I bought them, they started to sound better and better as the weeks went by (break-in period). I have tried various other speakers, and for the price range, nothing beats these RT800i''s. Originally, for the first year I was using a JVC 7000 AV Receiver to run my Polk RT800i (Towers), CS245i (Center), F/X300 (Surround) & PSW250 (Subwoofer)... Well, after reading and learning more about hi-fi systems I started saving some $$$ to get a new receiver, because I knew that I was not providing my speakers with enough current to make them shine, the way they''re suppose to. Now don''t get me wrong, they still sounded great with my JVC Receiver, but I knew they could sound better. Well, after saving enough $$$, I went receiver shopping... I tested out some Yamaha''s, Denon & Marantz and they all sounded great, but since my bro worked at a local Future Shop, I decided to take advantage of his discount =) Well, today I''m the happy owner of a Harman Kardon AVR520 Receiver. WOW!!! Did this receiver make a HUGE difference in the quality, imaging, response in my RT800i''s. Even though the HK was only pumping out 85 Watts/Channel, it was doing so with High Current. BIG DIFFERENCE FOLKS!!! Like I said, I heard HUGE difference with every aspect of sound... My High''s were much crisper, my Mid''s were more warmer, voices were true, Low''s were deep & accurate... For demoing speakers I use the song from Dire Strait''s "Money For Nothing" (Extended Version)... When I play this track on my system w/ just my RT800i''s on... WOW!!! Impressive!!! A buddy of mine (who I wish I was making the same "moolah" as him) is running a high end Integra Receiver, with THX Certified Atlantic Speakers (7.2 system). Well, all I got to say about his system is... I can''t explain it in any "human" language. It sounds so wonderful in both music & video. Anyways, the reason why I brought up my buddy is because he listened to my setup, calibrated both my system. After he was done, it sounded much more better. Even he was so impressed with it, we both sat down and watch the 45 min. battle in Pearl Harbour. WOW!!!

Strengths:
Properly setup, it can compare to other speakers that are hundreds to even a thousand dollars more! Great imaging, clarity, response...

Weaknesses:
After a year and a half... none so far...

Similar Products Used:
Infinity, Atlantic, PSB, RCA, Sony, Quest and others....

Price Paid:  $569.00 from cc

Summary:
these reviews are misleading,NOT a giant killer by a long shot!

Strengths:
reproduces sound

Weaknesses:
not very well for over 350 pr