Speakers to Die For
Written: Jul 01 '00 (Updated Jul 01 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great sound; affordable price; excellent customer support from Polk
Cons: none
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| VictorY.'s Full Review: Polk Audio RT35I Speaker |
Bowling for Speakers
After moving to Seattle and getting my own apartment, I began the task of filling my new home with stuff. Speakers were on the list and so I went off to a few electronics stores to have a listen. I really wasn't prepared to spend a lot of money but listening is free and I wanted to start training my ear. I knew I was looking for bookshelf-sized speakers and after testing out several models, I narrowed the search down to Boston Acoustics, Klipsch and Polk.
I was leaning toward the Polks but I balked. To save some money I looked for used speakers and I ended up buying a used pair of vintage Polk Model 10s for $70 - this was the best deal I have ever found for any sort of purchase whatsoever. If you'll indulge me on an aside, the Model 10 speakers were top of the line sometime in the mid-to-late 80s or so. They feature a 9" woofer, two 5.5" mid-ranges and a 1.25" tweeter. The pair delivered sweet bass, great mid-range but lacked just a little on the high end. It broke my heart when I had to sell them last week to prepare to move.
Round 2
At the time of my first round of speaker shopping, Polk's RT models were the RT3, RT5 and RT7. Some time passed and they released the RT15, RT25, RT35 and RT55. The RT15s were new on the low end, while the RT25 replaced the RT3 and so on up the list. I had my eye on the RT35s which ran about $300/pair when I was shopping. Christmas '99 came and with it, a windfall of disposable income so I resumed my shopping. I again listened to the Klipsch and Boston Acoustics speakers of roughly the same price to see if they still sounded as I had remembered. They did. The Klipsch speakers were a little harsh on high-frequency for my taste and the Boston Acoustics just didn't seem lively enough. And so the Polk won again.
The Polk RT35
The RT35s measure a mere 15"H x 8.1"W x 11.9"D and house a 6.5" woofer and a 1" tweeter. Molded into the rear of the wooden enclosure is Polk's trademarked Power Port(tm). The feature doubles as a built-in wall mounting bracket. I have not tried mounting the speakers on a wall and so I cannot report on how well this works. The RT35s are black with cloth grilles which I prefer over metallic grilles both for aesthetics and acoustics. Included with the speakers is an instruction booklet (printed in English, Spanish, French and German) which describe the basics of connecting the speakers to a stereo and using the wall mounts.
At Home
In case you care, here are some details about my system: My receiver is a Sony STR-DE505 and I use my Pioneer DV-525 DVD player for spinning CDs and DVDs. My setup is in a room approximately 12' x 20' with 8' ceilings. The speakers are about 30" from the long wall and sit 2' above a carpeted floor. From Radio Shack, the RCA cables are as generic as they get, and the speaker wire, also from Radio Shack, are 16 gauge. I have no center speaker, I rarely use the rears even for movies and, on a personal note, I listen to everything with the equalizer "flat".
In short, the Polk RT35s rock! Aesthetically, the RT35s look great with or without the grilles and at $300. there's no questioning the value. Even with my humble components, the speakers deliver clean sound throughout their range which Polk reports as 50Hz - 23KHz at -3db. From the modestly sized woofers, there is ample bass as evidenced by feeding Metallica through my system. To try out the high end, I loaded up Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. Violins and harpsichord come through crystal clear.
Next I chose The Matrix for a DVD test. I skipped to the gun fight scene in the office building lobby - amazing. The scene is lush with sound including a heavily synthesized electronic sound track, gun fire blasts, fists landing with a thud, and the delicate dings of bullet shells hitting the marble floor. With the RT35s, I didn't miss a single note, effect or bullet.
Intangibles
Between Polk, Boston Acoustics and Klipsch, Polk's web site is the best:
www.polkaudio.com
Check it out.
Lastly, something I've rarely see in an electronics review is an opinion of the company. I've had some correspondence with Polk via email and I can't praise them enough. For the old Model 10s I had, I looked into replacement parts. I received a prompt response, a quoted price and instructions on how to place an order. Later, I also purchased one of their computer speaker systems and had some questions about it. This time the response came the very next day. It wasn't a form letter informing me they received my question and they were working on it. I had my answer right then and there - from a real person who was addressing my specific problem. Polk as earned a place on my short list of top-of-line companies for the quality of their products and the treatment of their customers.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
VictorY.
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Member: Victor Y.
Location: Boulder, CO
Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 5 members
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