Smooth, musical and balanced speakers that want a nice stereo to play with.
Written: Oct 06 '03
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Pros: Smooth, natural, involving sound, with accurate sounstage and little fatigue.
Cons: Not many -- a little large, cabinet is kind of plain and boring.
The Bottom Line: Great speakers for a basic stereo listening system where music is the priority. Nice balance between airiness, presence and bass, without making your ears tired.
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| mediageek's Full Review: Polk Audio RT600i Main / Stereo Speaker |
Introduction
I've come to realize that many of the products I review for Epinions are discontinued. That's mainly because I am a bargain shopper, and know full well that you pay a premium to have the latest and greatest. Sometimes, that premium is worth it, especially with technology that is still pushing the boundaries -- like cell phones and digital cameras.
But with speakers, the technological advances aren't usually too enormous nor too speedy. Last year's model speakers don't necessarily sound much different than this year's. Ask some audiophiles, and they'll tell you about great speakers or components that they wish had never been discontinued, or others that have been manufactured the same for years.
Even though many items I review, like the Polk Audio RT600I speakers, aren't available brand new in stores any longer, they are still available in more out of the way places. They're open box specials (that's how I bought mine), clearance specials, used or on Ebay. Even when you're shopping for these kind of deals, you still can use some Epinions to help make an educated purchase. That's why I review these products -- they're not new to market, but they're new to me (and maybe you).
In the realm of stereo equipment, speakers are especially subjective and personal. Without a doubt there are some objective stats you can use in evaluating a speaker: power handling, power sensitivity, frequency range, physical dimensions. All of these factors will likely influence your buying decision.
But you can listen to two different sets of speakers, each with identical stats, and they'll still sound different. They can even both sound very good, but different. Which one you prefer, then, can boil down to individual preference.
However, there's also a level at which some speakers simply sound bad, and will sound bad to most people. It's these commonalities that allow us to write useful speaker reviews at all.
The Purchase
I bought these speakers to use in a basic two-channel stereo system. These days I think a very large percentage of people buying stereo equipment are creating a home theater. And while the qualities that make a good or bad speaker are similar between simple stereo listening and surround sound home theater, each type of listening has it's own unique requirements.
When I stepped into Circuit City I was actually hoping to audition a pair of Polk RTi28 bookshelf speakers. Their predecessor, the RT25i, had received an uncommonly good review from Stereophile magazine -- which usually reviews speakers costing at least ten times more -- and from how they were characterized in the review, I thought they would make a good complement to my new Sharp SD-NX10 mini-system (read my review of that system to see why I would even dare pairing a mini-system with nice hi-fi speakers).
Unfortunately I found the listening set-up for bookshelf speakers at my local Circuit City to be too sub-par to give me any good impression of how the RTi28s would sound. On top of that, the price was kind of high compared to other dealers, and I wasn't really there to buy anything just yet.
A little disappointed at not getting to hear the speakers I'd come to listen to, I wandered around into the listening room where the tower speakers are kept. I looked at the Polks and found them to be all way out of my current price range, except for one pair of RT600Is. Instead of $200 each, they were an open box buy at $65. I wasn't immediately familiar with this particular model, but taking off the grill the drivers looked pretty much identical to the ones used in the RTi28s (actually, I would figure out that the bigger driver is more like their big brother, the RTi38).
Unfortunately the RT600Is weren't set up, and with the assistance of the nice, but clueless salesperson, we managed to at least determine that they both worked. I couldn't really do a proper audition, but the salesperson assured me that even with an open box buy I could bring them back for any reason within 30 days -- plenty of time to do a good home audition, which is really better than any showroom audition, anyway.
After some difficulties ringing up the speakers, the manager came by to get things settled and told me, "You've got the best deal in the store." I'd asked the salesperson why they were on open box special and she didn't know, but relayed my question to the manager. He told me that they were returned as part of Circuit City's upgrade deal, where you can get full purchase price back towards better speakers any time in a year, provided they are in good saleable condition. Then he tells me their original price: $375 each.
"Bingo!" I thought as I signed the credit card receipt.
The Setup
The system I bought these speakers for has a super efficient digital amplifier rated for 25 watts per channel. The speakers that came with the system were adequate, but too bright and really nasty at higher volumes, especially close to clipping.
The Polks are relatively efficient -- 90db at 1 watt -- so I was hoping they'd do pretty well with just 25 watts.
Size-wise, honestly they're a little bigger than I wanted, but pretty slim and svelte for tower speakers. The drivers only take up the top 45% of the cabinet -- the rest is a bass chamber with a down-firing port. According to Polk the design is supposed to eke more bass out of relatively small 6" woofers that normally reside in bookshelf speakers. Now, aside from woofer size, cabinet volume is the other factor that limits bass response in bookshelf speakers, so I expected that I'd get some decent bass out of the RT600Is.
Overall build-quality is very nice, with a real wood-grain cabinet (not vinyl laminate) in a tasteful, if boring, black matte paint. A good rap on the side with your knuckles brings a solid "thwap" sound -- no hollow resonance here. The speakers are also elevated about 2" on their own integrated stands, so that the bass port can fire down, not out.
The Sound
After hastily getting them hooked up to the amp with basic no-frills oxygen-free 16 gauge speaker wire, I hit play on a nice jazz CD -- the remaster of John Coletrane's "A Love Supreme."
I noticed an immediate difference from the old speakers included with my system. The soundstage opened up, and there was a nice presence of real bass (note that, compared to rock and pop music, acoustic jazz doesn't have much real low-bass). And that nasty high-end of the old speakers smoothed out, but didn't go away.
I swear I could hear the keys on 'Trane's horn as he sped through runs -- the strained reediness of his tone was quite palpable.
I turned the volume up all the way, and it was all very listenable and accurate up to about the top (39 out of 40 on the digital volume control), when things got a little shrill and messy.
Listening to these speakers through a variety of music at pretty high volume for about an hour, one word comes to mind: unfatiguing. They did not tire my ears out like a lot of other speakers that emphasize highs and bass and the expense of accuracy.
In my review of my Sharp SD-NX10 minisytem, I noted that it did less well with compressed hard rock and heavy metal. So I decided to give it a shot using these new Polk speakers.
I put in Metallica's "Master of Puppets," a pretty well recorded album for mid-80s metal, far surpassed by the energy, complexity and passion of the performance. I won't lie, I didn't suddenly think I was at a Metallica concert. But that's more the fault of the amp, at just 25 watts per channel, than the speakers.
Yet I was amazed and how much rich and accurate bass came out of the speakers' little 6 inch woofers. I was expected kind of decent bass down to like 60 Hz and then some sloppy sound below that. But the wild percussive slapping of Cliff Burton's bass strings was in full presence, with Lars Ulrich's double-bass action strongly underneath.
In other reviews I've read, reviewers have mentioned that they thought the low bass was lacking, that a subwoofer is very necessary. In my opinion, this is only true if you plan to use these in a Dolby Digital or DTS home theater set-up, where low bass is a channel unto itself.
For most music, except for high-energy dance/electronica where you really want that THUMP, a subwoofer is really not necessary with these Polks. Frankly, I think that with the advent of the subwoofer, people have gotten accustomed to a really unnatural level of bass. High levels of real low bass below 60 Hz is just not all that present in most kinds of music -- even rock music. Until the advent of home theater, audiophiles really only worried about low bass for listening to Bach's pipe organ works, or the 1812 Overture's cannon fire.
If you're mostly listening to music, I think you can save yourself some money (and do your neighbor's a favor) and forgo the subwoofer.
I'll admit that I don't listen to a lot of "vocally oriented" music -- the likes of vocal jazz, standards, show tunes and opera don't get much play on my stereo. If I listen to vocals, it tends to be rock and hard rock music, where they're screamed and processed anyway. That said, I think the midranges on the RT600Is really shine, but they don't shine through. No tubbiness and no rough edges. Those same qualities make acoustic jazz sound so natural and unforced.
Conclusions
I have not auditioned the Polks in comparison to similar speakers in their class, although I have casually listened to similar speakers over the years. By that fairly loose comparison, I say they rate quite well and, especially, sound very natural and airy.
My other speaker setup is two NHT SuperZeros with a Paradigm 80Watt amplified subwoofer. In comparison to that system the Polks are a little more relaxed and laid back. The NHTs are perhaps a little more accurate in the highs, like the sound of a brush against a cymbal, but at the expense of being nearly shrill with the wrong source.
The Sharp SD-NX10 has a very accurate amp, with very linear response up to a very high frequency range -- well above 20 Khz. Thus paired with a speaker that tends towards being forward and trebly, things can get a bit overwhelming.
It's here that the Polks really shine, because they take just a little of the edge off the Sharp's amplifier without also making things at all hazy or illdefined. They respond brilliantly to fast transients, which are also a feature of the Sharp's amp.
The Polk RT600Is are not for someone looking for speakers that will jump out and scream. They are not Cerwin-Vegas or Klipsch. But they are extremely musical, and really involving in a way that I like better than brash speakers that keep reminding you how accurate they are and don't let you just get lost in the music.
If you're looking for a really great pair of speakers for a nice stereo listening system, the Polk RT600Is may well be for you. Paired with better than mid-fi components, I think they'll sing. Something as simple as a good Japanese stereo receiver or integrated amp (Harman/Kardon, Onkyo, Marantz or Denon) will get you started on your way to hours of fine listening with these speakers.
Although I didn't try them out in my home theater, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't fare well there, too. Although, in home theater you might want a little more in-your-face sound, like my NHTs -- but that's a matter of personal preference. I think the RT600Is have plenty of bass for a starter home theater, too, if you don't want to spring for a subwoofer.
As for value -- I paid $65 each, and it was a righteous steal. No doubt, I got a major value. At their original retail price of $375 each, I say maybe. I'd have to do much more comparative listening to justify that price.
But even at 2x or 3x what I paid ($130 - $180 each) I think they'd be a great value and definitely worth considering.
I nearly bought a pair of Polk towers about eight years ago, and only didn't because of a stupid salesman who made a deal and then backed out. Eight years later, I see that the Polks are still really great, and I finally got my pair.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 65 / ea.
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Epinions.com ID:
mediageek
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Member: Paul Riismandel
Location: Chicago, IL
Reviews written: 25
Trusted by: 4 members
About Me:
I'm a true mediageek--into all sorts of electronics and gadgets for making media.
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