Polk Audio


I picked up a pair of Polk Audio RTi -A1 compact speakers recently and was surprised at how big they were on scale and bass. The guy I bought them from had been using them as surrounds in his AV system and when I said they were going to be used in a stereo set up, he seemed puzzled that I would want to use them that way.

Anyway, I'm hugely impressed by how the Polks handle rock music especially - they're hooked up to a Krell KST-100 power amp. They've got a lot of weight in delivery, apart from the bass and scale. I've gotten similar results from small speakers in my room, but they've been much more expensive ....

However, what puzzles me is the negative vibe people seem to have about Polk. "Oh, they used to be good once upon a time but are crap now," is what someone in the distribution industry remarked.

This is the first time I'm listening to Polk speakers. I don't see any justification for his remark.

Anyone else here has a good experience with Polk's current range? Seems great value to me ...
bassraptor
"Those damn BMW speakers are way over priced, just like their cars. The speakers I have at home sound every bit as good.". You have to admit, its a possibility."

Thanks for seeing my points ZD and I can see yours too. Nevertheless, I still advocate Magnolia bringing these brands to market. As a consumer, the more choices and venues the better. So, I'll take my chances that Joe Six Pack may be confuse B&W with the Ultimate Driving Machine and walk out of the Magnolia room to go buy a soundbar in the Best Buy main store.

BTW...I bought my Vienna Acoustics speakers at Magnolia. They were the only ones in my area that carried VA. I had auditioned these after lengthy auditions of a Dynaudio set at a specialty HIFI store. Being a soft dome tweeter guy, it was down to these brands and VA won out even with the mainstream electronics that Magnolia had them hooked up to. And I will admit, the Dynaudio salesperson had a lot more knowledge and much better electronics. In the end though, armed with some favorite music and my two ears, the VA's from Magnolia are the ones that went home with me. For my tastes, I know I made the right decision. If Magnolia did not carry them, I never would have had an opportunity to audition VA's unless I boarded a jet to some other city. Happy listening ZD!
@ paraneer, @ ZD542, Hi, I do not feel bad that our Best buy stores here do not have the magnolia stores or design centers in them, Here in mobile, al,, we have one entry level high-end store eany way!, I laugh at the entry level store consistently,They are very pompas!, believe they have the best of every thing!, very funny to me, because I bought everything I have over the telephone, out of state!, the name of the store is called, Look and Listen,, My whole system is well beyound what they carry or can get!, so no, I do not feel bad about the best buy stores. Happy listening!
@ Paraneer @ ZD542,,, Hi, Now do not get me wrong here, I would like to venture into one of these magnolia and design centers, I might buy something!, I do like grazeing about audio stores with the wife,LOL!, thats better than cosmetic stores! Happy listening fellas!
MCONDON - Infinity bookshelf speakers beat the LSi9's...really ROFL. I'd love to hear that to believe it...
Anybody familiar with BB exclusive Polk T 15 mini monitor?...Can be had for 50-80 bucks fairly regularly...