I am not going to go into specific details about the speaker because #1 I'm tired at 3 o'clock in the morning and #2 God knows that I've been into details too much for these past couple of years. All I have to say is that last year when I was looking for the best bookshelf speakers that money can buy, I read every review, article, and message board, and went to all of the electronics stores to try out and compare bookshelf speakers. Every time I have always seen Polk's RT7's mentioned somewhere or by someone, and every time I compared speakers in Nobody Beats the Wiz (I won't go there anymore because I tormented them) the salesman and I always concluded that the Polk RT7's stand out above all of the other bookself speakers in the store. Now I could talk to you about specifications and so on and so forth, but all of that won't matter when you bring speakers home and you won't like them. All I have to say is that these bookself speakers are the best bookshelf speakers that money can buy. I know that there are specially crafted luxurious speakers out there that can possibly be better than the RT7's, but I know that they would cost thousands of dollars and in the end, there won't be any big difference in the sound--I would rather feed a hungry baby in Somalia. In conclusion, with a pair of RT7's and a voice matched CS275 or CS350LS, you won't go wrong in being absolutely amazed at such beautiful sound for a bookshelf speaker, and with a pair of voice matched LS f/x surround speakers, you'll be in CARNEGIE HALL with those trilaminate dome tweeters giving such a beautiful symphony.

Crystal clear, Tweeter, built quality, lower midrange

too heavy to be a bookshelf speaker !!!

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

Similar Products Used:

Magnepan, Atlantic Technology, Infinity, Accoustic energy, Yamaha, Bose, Accoustic Research, Advent.

I'll go out on a limb and make a rather bold statement: for the money, these speakers cannot be beaten. Period. If you wonder why I'm confident enough to make such a sweeping, unequivocal statement, just listen to a pair.

Good imaging and midrange

Low-end frequency response

I spent a few months researching and reading reviews of these speakers. I bought them back in Summer 1998 and have no intent of replacing them any time soon. I use them about 90% of the time for playing music, and around 10% for playing computer games. I have a Monster Sound MX300 hooked into an older Pioneer VSX-D704S Pro-logic receiver. When I bought these speakers, I was more into acoustic music than anything else. With this in mind, I would have to say they would be a perfect match even without a subwoofer to anyone listening primarily to this genre of music. Since then however, I've started to listen to more beat-driven music. While they still sound excellent, I would have to recommend pairing them with a subwoofer. You can't put them at fault though because bookshelf speakers aren't designed with low-end response in mind. After 18 months of regular use, they have held up and sound great. Another piece of info to consider, since they are in wood enclosures, the outside surface can be refinished if needed to remove surface scratching.

Clean smooth highs. excellent bass response considering low price & small size

Only one set of binding posts. The bass gets a bit sloppy when used as fronts.

I have used the RT7s for a couple of years as my front channel speakers. These are an excellent speaker for use as front channel, center, or surrounds. I really like the sound as front channel until I replaced them with a set of Snell Towers. While the RT7 isn't in the same league as these towers, I am now using one for a center channel and I I don't think I could be more pleased. The balance between the fronts and center is good.

The polks delever a clean clear sound I really like the Polk sound. Not too dark, Not too bright. The bass is pretty tight and goes very low for a bookshelf. The dual ports help to keep an even response.

B&K AVR101 Receiver
Onkyo 606 cd
Snell Type D Front Speakers
Polk RT7 Center Channel
Paradigm Titans Surround
Audio Magic Scepters Speaker Cable

Clean midrange/highs, imaging.

After a year or so of use one of the 7.5" drivers puts out a rattling sound at low end of bass frequencies.

I bought these a few years back for use as my fronts in my pro-logic system. After about a year or so of use (at 120w RMS) one of the woofer cones now makes a rattling noise with low bass frequencies. It is only noticeable at high volume and if you are really close to the speaker itself. Other than this apparent inability to handle high wattages/volume they have clear highs and mids, good imaging. They are little weak in bass frequencies (should be paired w/a decent sub).

Overall I would say this speaker has been really nice for my home theater fronts/stereo music, but like I said a sub w/ these speakers is almost a neccessity for my tastes. However the partial failure of one of the woofer cones has steered me away from any other or future Polk Audio purchases.


Power plant that I used with :
-Old Sony pro-logic receiver (120w rms x2 stereo, 75x3+30x2 surround)