Great sound for the quality. Tough. Warranty worked well.

None for that price.

These were the 1st components I bought for my home theater the instant i got out of college to go with an old Kenwood and 19" TV. I've expanded since then... The RT-400's are affordable and they sound fantastic. Very full and rich, tight treble. Need a sub for big bass though. I've built a massive home theater around them including a matching Polk CS245 center and RT f/x surrouds and a Velodyne CT100 sub. All in all I love Polk audio and when I upgrade to new speakers in a few years I'm sticking with them. Circuit City for the most part is pretty good to deal with too as long as you know what you're doing when you go in there. The whole stereo just sounds amazing.

I find the RT 400 a little weak for loud music but then again that's not what they're for. If you want that buy bigger ones or Cerwin Vega, another great brand but Polk's sound quality is lightyears beyond theirs. I did knock one over and break it, but it got fixed on warranty which kept me happy. The center and surrounds I have are well matched, the sub is a bit excessive but it'll last forever. I recommend this system to anyone wanting amazing sound for under a grand of speakers (sub not included... it was $500 more).

My system, note the audio setup is the best bang for the buck I've ever seen. I built one for my friend on roughly this setup too and he loves it. The center is key, CS245 goes well with RT400.

Onkyo TX-DS555 amp
2 Polk RT-400
Polk CS-245 center
2 Polk RT f/x surrounds
Velodyne CT100
Sony DVP-S9000es DVD
Sony 65" KP65XBR10W
Pioneer old ass LD-V4400 for Star Wars Laserdiscs
Playstation 2
Dreamcast
Atari 2600
GE P.O.S. VCR

Similar Products Used:

Cerwin Vega. Polk sounds much, much better for home theater. Cerwin Vega is great for blasting ghetto beats for a massive party though and waking the neighbors.

I have always wanted a pair of Polk speakers ever since I heard the 5jr. That chance came after my daughter fried the woffer in my 20 year old but not bad sounding Radio Shack Nova 6's. The difference is much tighter deeper bass, clear crisp midrange and good high end. Probably the most uncolored sound I have heard. The speakers really point out the differences in recoded material, the old speakers made everything sound pretty much the same. The RT-400's are great for multimedia since they can deliver all the bass you want without masking the midrange. Voices and dialog from movies/TV come through crisp and clear with no artificial boominess and no need for a center channel. When I bought the Polks I also wanted a speaker that was made from material that looked like it would last. I've had other speakers (EV) with foam surrounds that desintigrated after awhile. The Polks look like they are built to last. My only complaint is since they are tower speakers they could tip over easily when placed on thick carpet.

Great Sound, Crisp Clear Highs, Full Range Mids, And Oh that Bass!!!! (WOW!!!) Rich, Tight, Low and Clear

You can't Push this speaker too far, not like say a Cerwin Vega, But I'm not in College at the Frat House any more, so who cares!!!!

I have now been using these speakers for about 6 Months. They are without a doubt the best speakers for the money in there class. I was able to pick them up on an open box buy through Circuit City for $200 for the pair. Nothing, and I do mean nothing comes close in the quality of rich bass and the overall fullness of this speaker. I would Highly recomend this speaker to anyone who has a great appreciation for awsome sound!!!!!!!

My System: Marantz SR-4000 Receiver (Great Reciever!!)
Yamaha CD-500 Natual Sound CD Player
Polk Audio RT-400 Front (Main's)
Celestion F Series Center Channel
Sony SS-U310 Rear's
Polks Hooked up using M Series M1 MK II
speaker cable (WOW!!! $10 a FOOT!!)

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Sony, Cerwin Vega, Technics, Celestion, Pioner, Infiniti (Nothing Here Compares!!!!)

highs

bass

I've had these speakers for a couple of years now and I've been very pleased. They rock for straight audio system. They don't quite cut it for HT in my humble opinion, but if you like jazz these are great! I blew my driver the other day and called circuit city to replace it (I got a speaker warranty) .. Now I live 200 miles from a circuit city and they said I couldn't even mail it in (circuit city sucks) ... I called Polk and they said yeah no sweat we'll fix it , mail it on in. Not only are you getting good speakers with polk , but your getting great customer service!!!!

Price! Phenomenal clarity, amazing bass for a 7" driver- shakes the dorm room to its knees- awesome SPL. Great for home theatre and music.

The foam in the packing boxes doesn't hold up for moving them places! Both top and bottom portions for each speaker cracked from moving back and forth from the dorm too much. I now have to wrap the RT400s in a blanket or pad them in some other way to transport them. Not a big deal by any means... kidding! No weaknesses at this or twice the price!

I can't believe some people here got these for $100/ea. or less... what a steal. Even at the $139 per speaker price I bought these at, they were a steal. I would have paid twice the price.

I too have noticed a slight hiss, but I think it's because of my pos JVC reciever that is 5 years old (upgrading to a Sony STR-DE675 this month). Good speaker wire is highly recommended to remove any flaws that may exist and hinder the system.

These speakers are just absolutely amazing. The small footprint (less than a square foot) is a perfect match for this dorm room-dwelling college student. The bass is absolutely amazing... I've heard reports of tremblors from 6 doors down, and 2 doors down from the room above me... and this is a concrete/cinder block walled dorm hall. They enjoy being played at high volumes, but don't max the bass on your reciever. Other recievers might be different, but my RT400s are happiest at about the 60-80% bass level. It's rare to make the bass distort on these speakers, but it can be done if you're not careful. The clarity is amazing, and DVDs sound like you are THERE inside the flick. Truly amazing sound... it just cannot be beat at this price level. The RT400s shine in every aspect they can possibly perform in- even playing Need For Speed: High Stakes on my PC- the Porsche 911 never sounded so good. Music is amazing- put on a Sheffield Labs, or other audiophile/testing CD, and prepare to go into drool mode. One of my favorite pasttimes is just kicking back with the RT400s and listening to good, clean, crisp music. Close your eyes and you're on stage.

I had a speaker grille rubber cup get screwed up from showing off my drivers too much (grille on, grille off, grille on, etc) and I contacted a Polk Audio rep about getting a new one. A very friendly lady PERSONALLY replied my E-mail within 1 day and sent me 4 grille cups for free via UPS, which I recieved 3 days later. What service! Polk knows what they're doing, and I highly recommend them. Their equipment can compete with stuff that is 4x as expensive.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

-Chris

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Considered DCM and JBL- the DCMs came close (awesome speakers), but didn't have the brilliance and clarity of the Polks.

I was searching for some front channel speakers that would represent my music as well as my brand new DVD player and these Polk's did the trick. Although the tweeters do get a little brassy when you play anything loud with the treble increased, the speakers offer powerful sounds with an exceptional range of sound. The bass is pretty good considering. I plan to upgrade to either the RT-600 or the RT-800, only because of a different design of tweeter. These speakers are great for the limited budget person. The sound they put out beats any speaker in its price range.

Bought these used from my friend. Sounds great with all different types of applications. Just watched Starship Troopers on DVD with these and you can hear individual members getting torn off. Be sure to compliment these with a nice receiver like the Yamaha RXV-592 and you are set.

Bought these babies summer of '98 for $398, was the first pair of "decent" speakers I ever bought, and you know what; they sound great!Mid and highs are clear, bass is strong and tight, and overall, has a solid sound quality. Not so good for classical music for some strange reason (sounds kinda muddied), but pop and other stuff is good, and for movies, its excellent!
Of course, I originally planned on getting the awesome RT-12s, but Good Guys pulled the good 'ol bait-and-switch scheme on me, first telling me over the phone that they had them, then telling me that they were all sold out when I got to the store...bastards...so I ended up getting these RT-400s, but like I said, they are great!

I'm not going to mince words here, these speakers are phenominal. I've always enjoyed the sound that Polks produce, but could never really afford them. I bought these recently and have never been happier. I have an Onkyo ds555 receiver to drive them, which helps, that is a great receiver (but that's another section). I'm not a speaker afficionado, but I have had my share of experience with bad speakers, and here's what makes these great: They reproduce sound equally at all levels, they are crisp, offer clean bass, and don't hiss or pop when you really crank the bass. I recommend these to any one just starting out in the home theatre game, they are an excellent value for the price. I'm giving them a 5. While I know Polk makes better speakers than this, these are just too good of a value to pass up.

I own a pair of RT-400 speakers and I have to say they are some of the best I owned. They blow my Infinity RS speakers out of the water, and the RT-400s don't have powered sobwoofers! Extremely well balanced, they offer the best sound in its price range. The bass resonance is just amazing! I used to be a great Infinity enthusiast until I bought this pair.
They definitely deserve a 5 out of 5.