Polk Audio RT35 Floorstanding Speakers

Polk Audio RT35 Floorstanding Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

bookshelf

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 57  
[May 17, 2009]
BallinWithNash
Audio Enthusiast

I paid 80 dollars for these amazing speakers off craigslist. Some people have said that these speakers aren't very bright well that is a lie well at least from my experience. I am currently using a Marantz to power these things and they can crank!! Before I had a Denon pushing them with 70 watts and they were still bright. These speakers are very well made, have clean crisp sound, tight and accurate midrange and bass, i would definitely recommend a subwoofer with these though that way you can hit those low notes but they sound great with out a sub and amazing with one!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Aug 20, 2002]
Xbrawn
AudioPhile

Strength:

Good bass, tight and accurate (not the best), pretty accurate midrange, good imaging also, wide soundtage, a easy listening tweeter...no very bright which can be good

Weakness:

If you like alot of bass i dont sugest this speaker unless u have a subwoofer, if you like real bright sounding speakers, i dont sugest this one either, if you dont like sorda laid back speakers, you wont like em, although i find nothing really wrong with them for 300 dollars

These Speakers as been said are laid back...not very bright...Although, if you have a yamaha receiver, it brings out the treble alot and makes them sound alot more detailed. They are very good speakers for 300 dollars, very detailed, great imaging, although the bass is not the best, but is very tight and accurate, the vioces are very accurate, but the instruments are not airy, and cant tell where their at etc, vut they sound probally the best in its class for 300, Polk Audio gives you a whole lot for the money... Newayz speaker looks great, sounds great, is great...for people that are used to 5000 dollar speakers and go out and buy these and exspect superb sound (unless u have bose speakers) dont exspect them to sound awesome to you... Equipment used: Center: Polk CS245i Mains: Polk RT35i Surrounds: Polk RT25i Subwoofer: Miller and Kriesel: MX-125 Receiver: Yamaha Htr-5460 Newayz these speakers are awesome, them and their younger brother rt25i are awesome speakers...highly recomend.

Similar Products Used:

Jvc, Aiwa, Klipsch, Philips, KLH, Optimus, JEF

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jul 19, 2002]
TheDrake
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Smooth and very listenable , bass is fine for a small "lively" room.

Weakness:

It's not an audiophile speaker but then again it doesnt cost like one.Upper midrange doesnt have the clarity of the Infinity's and no where near Klipsch.

I bought these at CC about a month ago,love em. For the price, 200 bucks, (floor models) they were a steal.I compared them to my other bookshelf , Infinity IL10. I have to say the Infinity's are more accurate and punchy but the Polks are more listenable.I find the Ifninity's accurate but not as enjoyable as the rti35.The "Power Port" in the back reproduces nice soft base, not boomy or flabby.Overall , I highly recommend this speaker if you like a laid back sound for a reasonable price.If your a bass hound your going to need a sub of course but you probably already knew that. Five stars for cost v.s. price (220bucks) Four stars for perfmance , there are better , much better

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch , Infinity, Polk and I have auditioned many since this is a hobby of mine.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jun 05, 2002]
jimmy
AudioPhile

Strength:

nice price for the working man

Weakness:

zero , except neighbors are too close. , hardly get my nad pre-amp past the 8'oclock position , and they,re wondering why the neighbor is in a rock band

these puppies really are tight. , great imaging, wide dispersion., i wanted to hear them before i hook my boston power-sub to them, and wow. , i was almost tempted not to run the sub. , coupled with my carver amp , and nad pre-amp., i,m quite impressed , i really push the envelope on them too. , the chamber brothers "time has come today" [long version] never sounded so good.

Similar Products Used:

sunfire , b&k , parasound , hafler .

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 30, 2002]
setup001
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

good sound and price.

Weakness:

a little heavy for drywall mounting. be sure to use sterdy wll anchors.

I use the rt35i as surround speakers. They are more than good for surround however. When listening to CD's played in all channel stereo mode they match up well with my rt600i main speakers which isn't too suprising as i think they have the same components. they have a natural ballanced sound and I think they would make good speakers for a small sound system or home theater.

Similar Products Used:

N/A

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Feb 21, 2002]
out2sea
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Price, value, build quality, balanced sound, bass response, great bass-reflex engineering

Weakness:

Highs can be remote and "buried" behind the mids, a little tall for bookshelf speakers

I had some very specific space restrictions (re: wife acceptance factor) and wanted both a HT and audio system in one set-up (I can practically hear the audiophiles out there hyperventilating) and my choices eventually came down to Polk versus NHT. I auditioned the Polk RT35i bookshelves, PSW350 sub, CS245i center, and four RM60i celing speakers ($850 total) versus the NHT SB2s, SW10 sub, SC1 center, and four CS6.1 celing speakers ($1,400 total). I''m running a Denon 3801 receiver, Denon 3700 DVD changer, and Monster M series cable and connects. Well, both systems sounded very good, with different strengths and weaknesses. The NHTs were accurate, detailed, controlled and assertive, and look beautiful and elegant. However, they''re wattage cannibals on 7.1 multichannel and at high volumes, can be gritty and harsh in the midrange. While a wonderful choice for a well-recorded CD, they amplified all the hash on my broadcast cable TV to no end (I''m auditioning line conditioners now). Thus, brilliant, but very unforgiving and inflexible. The Polks were not as crisp or energetic, and tended toward a warmer, smoother and more balanced and integrated sound. The bass was not as tight or focused as the NHTs and the Polks'' highs were pushed too far back into the soundstage. Thus, pleasant and flexible, but not as exciting as I''d like. After many hours of listening to all types of sources, I came to the conclusion that the NHTs were more musical, but too "high strung," with an enchanting sound that became absolutely fatiguing over time. The Polks aren''t as engaging or interesting, but proved to be a more livable, versatile, day-to-day performer. I wound up going with the Polks, because I was concerned about the "love/hate" relationship I had developed with the NHTs, and because the Polks were much less expensive. I still highly recommend the NTS for an audition, but the Polks won out.

Similar Products Used:

NHT

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 21, 2002]
kanicker
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Quality build, crisp, wonderful highs

Weakness:

You''ll need a subwoofer for full range music and home theater

Fantasticalabulous! Pick them up now as they are being phased out for the newer models. At their original price they were an incredible bang for the buck; now, it''s just sinful.

Similar Products Used:

Acoustic Research, Mission, Wharfedale, Infinity, Klipsch

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 08, 2002]
jerry
Casual Listener

Strength:

sound quality cabinet contruction appearance

Weakness:

none

I am very happy with these. They have very good range and the bass quality is quite good for a bookshelf. I am running them on an Onkio 100w system.

Similar Products Used:

Bose bookshelfs Infinity

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jan 30, 2002]
Joel Wojciechowski
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Great overall sound, wide range, solid unit

Weakness:

None

I shopped around a lot and listened to quite a few speakers before deciding on the Polk RT 35i's. After taking them home and listening to them for a few months now, I love them even more.

My primary use for these speakers is general and frequent AV (DVD, VCR, and CD - mostly Rock and Frank Sinatra). By the way, I drive these speakers with a Harman Kardon AVR 210 Receiver. An excellent unit - see my review...

The three speaker sets I seriously narrowed my search down to were the B&W DM 303's, Boston Acoustic's CR 8's and the Polk's. In side by side comparisons at the store, the 35i's range and quality of sound was far superior to Boston's CR 8's and slightly better that the B&W DM 303's. Also, unlike the B&W's, the Polks are shielded (important for my system, as the speakers are 12 inches away from my TV).

I've seen some negative reviews (on this incredibly USEFUL!!! site) that say that the Polks lack bass. I think for this size speaker in this price range, you couldn't ask for anymore bass without sacrificing quality. However, I have a hardwood floor apartment with concrete walls and the bass is fantastic. No subwoofer needed for me.

As for the upper end, the tweeters catch everything. Listen to "Gigantic" on the Pixies' "Surfer Rosa" - the female vocals rock! My ears don't get "tired" of listening to these speakers as they do with other "higher end" brands.

The mid range is fine.

Removing the cabinets from the packing box, you get the feeling the Polk is serious about quality. These babies are heavy and SOLID! The unit is available in Black (my purchase), Cherry, and a very unique light Pine, however a salesman at Circuit City told me that Polk is only currently producing the model in black so the other schemes may be harder to come by.

I think that for this price, there is no speaker on the market today that matches the Polk RT 35i for sound quality per dollar.

Similar Products Used:

Sterling Acoustics, JBL, B&W, Boston

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 08, 2000]
Paul Chandler
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Solid construction. Good build. Excellent sound even at high volumes.

Weakness:

None so far

I really like these little speakers. It's funny. Things always look smaller at the store. When I got these things home, they were almost as big as the Cerwin Vegas I've been using for the past 14 years as fronts. They have no problem keeping up and I was only able to see the woofers start moving with the volume at 51 on my Onkyo TXDS575. These are nice speakers and have good sound, decent bass considering I have them mounted on the wall. I am extremely pleased with them, especially for the price of 149 each. I would buy them again if I had it to do over. Polk makes a good product.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 57  

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