BACK In the Polk Life Again (RT-16)

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SDAkid
SDAkid Posts: 36
in Vintage Speakers
Had problems with a business me and my father own, and to help I had to sell it all including my SDA-SRS-2's it was very painful but necesary.

Last night browsing Offer Up I came up on a 5 month old listing for a Pair of RT-16's priced at $50, messaged the seller and indeed they where still available. I offered 40.00 due to the fact that they where untested.

Took them home and tried it in my cheap RCA Theather in a Box, and indeed they do work. Then I turned my attention to the RT-16 bases as the veneer was peeling like old skin.

Removed the old veneer from the bases and a quick flat black and good as new again.

NOW QUESTIONS?
- the RT-16 has dual binding posts is there an audible difference in using them bi-amped or strapped
- What would be the appropriate wattage for these speakers
- And lastly are these a good series or is just Junk and I should ship them to one of you guys

Thanks again and it feels good to be back
I am now COMMON-GROUND
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Comments

  • dolbyd
    dolbyd Posts: 430
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    I have a pair and won’t let them go. Great speaker.
    Pull the jumper straps and put some biwire jumpers on them. They are 8ohm so a good receiver will power them. I have had a 300 watt amp on them and they are great.
    The peeling base Vinyl is normal for their age. Good thing you took care of it.

    Specs


    Driver Complement
    Mid/Woofer 2 - 7-1/2" Diameter (19.05cm)
    Dynamic Balance® drivers
    Tweeter 1 - 1" Diameter (2.54cm)
    Dynamic Balance® Tri-laminate dome tweeter


    Electrical
    Overall Frequency Response 25Hz - 26kHz
    Lower -3dB Limit 37Hz
    Upper -3dB Limit 25kHz
    Nominal Impedance 8 ohms
    Recommended Amplifier Power 30 - 250 w/channel
    Efficiency 90 dB


    Dimensions
    Cabinet Size 40" H x 8-1/2" W x 15-1/2" D
    (101.60cm H x 21.59cm W x 39.37cm D)
    Footprint Size 9-3/8" W x 15-1/2" D
    (23.81cm W x 39.37cm D)

    zo43hwqwk9fy.jpeg
    Main room- RTiA9 x4, CSiA6, in ceiling Atmos RT-70 x4, SVS PC 4000 x2, Marantz 8805A, OPPO 203, Emotiva DR3 G3, Emotiva XPA-2 G3, Emotiva XPA-5 G3, Emotiva X300, Sony 75" 940E, Panasonic Plasma VT50, PS Audio Power Port X2, PS Audio AC-5 x8, AQ Rocket 33 Biwire speaker cables, AQ King Cobra XLR IC, Furman PFi20 W/Cullen cable, SoildSteel S4-4 rack, Gik room treatments

    Office- Legend L600, in ceiling Polk RC80i, Marantz 7704, OPPO 203, Pioneer Elite PDF-59 CD, PSA Stellar 300, Sony 55" 800B, Gik room treatment

    Master BR- Signature ES60, Signature S35 Center, Signature S15 Dolby Height, LSI700 in ceiling, SVS-SB4000, Marantz 5012, Emotiva XPA5 G2, OPPO 203, Pioneer DVL-919 Laser Disc, Sony 55" OLED

    Patio- SDI Atrium8 x3, Emotiva A-100 amps x3
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  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 7,976
    edited May 2018
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    While I have never heard the rt16, I owned its half-life, the rt7 (why not 8? I dunno...). I really liked those bookies! Great bass, first iteration of the tri-lam dome tweeter that I still like more than the current RtiA tweeter. Definitely can take some power to get those woofers to perform the best, but shouldn't be power hungry.

    I imagine that like any good older (vintage?) speaker, they would benefit from a crossover refresh. Or just enjoy them as is. Price is right, that's for sure!
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es; Squeezebox Touch with Bolder Power Supply
    Game Room 5.1.4:     Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
    Bedroom 2.1    Cambridge Azur 551r; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
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  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
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    rooftop59 wrote: »

    I imagine that like any good older (vintage?) speaker, they would benefit from a crossover refresh. Or just enjoy them as is. Price is right, that's for sure!

    I generally don’t consider a speaker until it’s been around for 25 years, so my Infinities are about 2 years away, and my Missions have been vintage for a LONG time.

    Welcome to the club SDAkid! The RT series are great speakers, renowned for home theater, and I think pretty good for music as they don’t have that awful treble harshness the later RTi and RTiA series speakers did.
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  • dolbyd
    dolbyd Posts: 430
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    rooftop59 wrote: »
    While I have never heard the rt16, I owned its half-life, the rt7 (why not 8? I dunno...). I really liked those bookies! Great bass, first iteration of the tri-lam dome tweeter that I still like more than the current RtiA tweeter. Definitely can take some power to get those woofers to perform the best, but shouldn't be power hungry.

    I imagine that like any good older (vintage?) speaker, they would benefit from a crossover refresh. Or just enjoy them as is. Price is right, that's for sure!

    They made an Rt8 tower. It was a single 6.5 driver model.
    I also had the Rt10 towers that had the single 7.5 driver like you RT 7s. Great bookshelf for sure.
    Agree with you on the Tweeter vs RTiAs. Some didn’t care for it.
    Main room- RTiA9 x4, CSiA6, in ceiling Atmos RT-70 x4, SVS PC 4000 x2, Marantz 8805A, OPPO 203, Emotiva DR3 G3, Emotiva XPA-2 G3, Emotiva XPA-5 G3, Emotiva X300, Sony 75" 940E, Panasonic Plasma VT50, PS Audio Power Port X2, PS Audio AC-5 x8, AQ Rocket 33 Biwire speaker cables, AQ King Cobra XLR IC, Furman PFi20 W/Cullen cable, SoildSteel S4-4 rack, Gik room treatments

    Office- Legend L600, in ceiling Polk RC80i, Marantz 7704, OPPO 203, Pioneer Elite PDF-59 CD, PSA Stellar 300, Sony 55" 800B, Gik room treatment

    Master BR- Signature ES60, Signature S35 Center, Signature S15 Dolby Height, LSI700 in ceiling, SVS-SB4000, Marantz 5012, Emotiva XPA5 G2, OPPO 203, Pioneer DVL-919 Laser Disc, Sony 55" OLED

    Patio- SDI Atrium8 x3, Emotiva A-100 amps x3
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  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 7,976
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    dolbyd wrote: »
    rooftop59 wrote: »
    While I have never heard the rt16, I owned its half-life, the rt7 (why not 8? I dunno...). I really liked those bookies! Great bass, first iteration of the tri-lam dome tweeter that I still like more than the current RtiA tweeter. Definitely can take some power to get those woofers to perform the best, but shouldn't be power hungry.

    I imagine that like any good older (vintage?) speaker, they would benefit from a crossover refresh. Or just enjoy them as is. Price is right, that's for sure!

    They made an Rt8 tower. It was a single 6.5 driver model.
    I also had the Rt10 towers that had the single 7.5 driver like you RT 7s. Great bookshelf for sure.
    Agree with you on the Tweeter vs RTiAs. Some didn’t care for it.

    I know, I'm saying the rt7 had one 7.5 inch driver, and the 16 has two 7.5 inch drivers. That makes NO SENSE?!? lol...
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es; Squeezebox Touch with Bolder Power Supply
    Game Room 5.1.4:     Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
    Bedroom 2.1    Cambridge Azur 551r; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
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  • SDAkid
    SDAkid Posts: 36
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    I am now COMMON-GROUND
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  • SDAkid
    SDAkid Posts: 36
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    I have yet to get anything to power them, hopefully tomorrow brings me something
    I am now COMMON-GROUND
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  • bigwoofer
    bigwoofer Posts: 2
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    Made an offer of $70 for a pair of these. I feel like I struck a bargain because I enjoy these for hours each day! Currently bi-amped to a Denon avr2807, and can tell a difference in the bass power when bi-amped. After running non-bi-amped for about 6 months, experimented with my first bi-amping. To tell you I was excited discovering the Denon supports bi-amping is an understatement. I am impressed as there is a clear difference. Bass is tighter, almost explosive. Highs sound the same, speakers sound "bigger" bi-amped. While I am using this setup for music, I can see how home theater will sound great too because it's a warm sound with 0 harshness in the highs.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,798
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    You only have a single shared power supply, which makes bi-amping impossible. In addition, because of that single shared power supply the more channels you use the less watts per channel you get. Then you need to consider the tweeter will only draw 5 to 10 watts maximum with the rest wasted, which means the bottom end is getting less watts per channel than before you decided to ghetto bi-amp.

    You cannot rob Peter to pay Paul.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • Hermitism
    Hermitism Posts: 4,205
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    Jesse, think of all the time this is going to save you in the future...

    5pz46ic3z0c6.jpg
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,798
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    You're the best, thank you!
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • GlennDog
    GlennDog Posts: 3,085
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    way to run the new guy outta town . . . ;)

    Just the obligitory initiation, Bigwoofer. Welcome to CP!
    AC Regenerator PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 10
    Source Lumin U1 Mini into Lampi Baltic 4
    Pre Cary SLP-05
    Power Rogue M180 Dark monos
    Mains Salk HT2-TL
    Rythmik F12
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  • dromunds
    dromunds Posts: 9,982
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    That's a heck of a deal for those speaks
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  • bigwoofer
    bigwoofer Posts: 2
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    F1Nut thank you for the heads up... but but but I only did this after reading the passive bi-amping article on a audio website that rhymes with clutch wield. I am absolutely scrounging for a few watts of power for the woofers vs. relatively efficient tweeters.

    If I have a watt-meter measuring watts pulled and it's pulling 6-8 watts more from the outlet with passive bi-amping, would that be a $0 win?

    Thanks Glenndog for the welcome! I'm not scared off, I'm always learning and also aware I'm generally a dumbass, so I'm far better off being open minded and finding when I'm wrong and learning :D
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