Is older, better than new,,,

thesurfer

Okay, im in my local hi fi shop last night,, looking at some tsi200,s for my 2 channel setup, told guy im using rt5,s now, he says the tsi bookshelf line cant touch the rt line,, even from years ago,,,????

wayne3burk

Polk RT-5 Monitor

Ok. I know what you are saying; how in the hell could anyone buy anything from that clown in the white lab coat? And for God's sake, Polk speakers are HORRIBLE! Well, I might have agreed with you. But while online, I happened upon some reviews of a small monitor called the RT5. I had my doubts, but while glancing through a Stereophile (whatever happened to that magazine? sad...), I noticed a Wes Philips review lauding the little Polks as a fine match for low watt tubes.

Then while auditioning a used Jolida 302B for a girlfriend's system, I noticed the speakers sans grill - they had a strange port configuration - the guy said, "oh...believe it or not, these are some little Polks I picked up after hearing a pair on an old Dynaco." Amazingly enough, the damn things sounded quite good. Very open, full bodied and natural with a very smooth top end that held detail but was not tipped up. Well, we left with the Jolida and I hit eBay for a pair for $150. I have to say, these are GREAT little monitors and sound very nice with my EICO HF-81. Pulled out about 3.5 feet from the rear wall and they really float an amazing soundstage, pulling ye olde disappearing act with aplomb. No longer made but a great deal on the used market. If only Matthew Polk would ditch that sorry coat....

from... http://home.earthlink.net/~ivol/audio/other.htm

I've never heard the RT5s -- but this guy is definitely "sold"

-- wayne --

tonyb

I would say they are pretty close,sound wise, with the TSI having a tad more brightness on the top end. For 2 channel, if you want to move up to better sound in a bookie, Look at RTIA's or LSI 7's or 9's. To me anyway, thats were the jewels are in Polk's bookies, aside from the newer LSIM series of coarse. Depends on budget too. Don't be afraid to scout out the used market either.

polkfan38

Back to the question. Are the old ones better? Maybe. Maybe not. One thing that has changed is the trend towards the home theater market. This has changed the sound of the lower end speakers a bit. And the addition of subwoofers. This started in the mid 90s I believe. Gone are the days of the huge towers with the 15 inch woofers in big numbers at big box stores. You can still find this stuff but at a premium in price. I would say the choices are much larger now than they ever were.

polkfan38

I thought the white coat was awesome marketing! A real scientist! Rather than those trailer/Norm Abrams types at Wilson!

DON73

thesurfer wrote: »

Okay, im in my local hi fi shop last night,, looking at some tsi200,s for my 2 channel setup, told guy im using rt5,s now, he says the tsi bookshelf line cant touch the rt line,, even from years ago,,,????

I have never heard the tsi line of Polk speakers but in my opinion the RT5 is one excellent speaker. It's very easy to listen to for long periods without becoming irritating. For me the RT5 is better than the larger RTs and I've had both in my home.

thesurfer

DON73 wrote: »

I have never heard the tsi line of Polk speakers but in my opinion the RT5 is one excellent speaker. It's very easy to listen to for long periods without becoming irritating. For me the RT5 is better than the larger RTs and I've had both in my home.

WoW,, youve got the gear,,, Nice,

Big Dawg

DON73 wrote: »

I have never heard the tsi line of Polk speakers but in my opinion the RT5 is one excellent speaker. It's very easy to listen to for long periods without becoming irritating. For me the RT5 is better than the larger RTs and I've had both in my home.

Don - how would you compare the RT5 to some of the older monitors, like the 5jr (is it the jr+?) and the 7?

cfrizz

I don't know about better, but the sound might be different than what you are used to hearing from your RT5s. Whether you will like the different sound, only you will know.