Do the Polk RTi70's hold up to todays standards??

JamesL

Hello Polk community,

Newbie here. I have just started getting into home audio equipment. I'm trying to piece together a decent lower budget home entertainment system. I have an opportunity to pick up a pair of used RTi70 speakers for $200 from a local guy. I know there a bit old now and curious too how they hold up vs. some of the newer polk speakers. Like I was looking at the polk Tsi100's(Witch I know are smaller bookshelf speakers but new are around the same price). Do you think I'll be disappointed. I have read the reviews of the Rti70 from when they were first available almost 8 years ago. And the pro's seem to way outweigh the cons.

I'm going to be using these speakers to music and as part of a surround sound system. But mainly for music. I have just recently picked up a Denon AVR-1612 625 watt receiver, and a Polk psw110 sub, the sub I'm in love with. I'm also planning on picking up the Polk CS400 center channel also in the future

Do you think these RTi70 speakers are a good deal, and I should be able to get some good use out of them.

Thanks Guys,

James

aarons915

Well I'm sure they sound fine compared to newer speakers but 200 sounds a little steep considering you can get brand new Rti8's from Fry's for 300 a pair or Monitor 60's from Newegg for 200 a pair. If you really like the old look of that line then go for it, it's definitely a good speaker. I just replaced the Rti100 but mine were 8 years old and still in perfect shape.

AsSiMiLaTeD

$200 is too high for those speakers. I sold mine for $180, and that was something like 5 or 6 years ago.

They're an OK speakers, but are the least favorite of that RT line for many people, probably myself included but I'm going strictly on memory here. I would look for an older or newer pair if you're going with the RT line.

VR3

I absolutely hated the I70 - it was my last brand new set of Polks I ever purchased and ultimately turned me off of Polk's speakers for a LONG time. After that I switched brands.

I recommend looking elsewhere, particularly at the price - if you could get them for a hundy or a buck twenty five, maybe...

Fongolio

My experience with the RTi70's was the exact opposite of the last poster's. They were my first Polks and I still have them in my HT system as rear's. I loved them from the start. I now have RTiA7's for fronts in the HT and Polk SDA1C's for two channel.

What the others have said is true. $200 is high for those speakers used. The pair with the CS400 center for $200 is more like it. Oh and by the way, welcome to Club Polk!!

Kelvin

JamesL

Thanks for the replies guys,

I went and ahead and purchased the speakers. Not for the asking price, so I think I did alright. They appeared well takin care of. I hooked them up as front L/R. I need to pick up new 16g wire lay it all out equally and buy some proper banana clips. Overall to my untrained ears, I feel like I got my monies worth, I'm happy with them. The have pretty good mids and the treble is nice, Paired with the subwoofer it fills the room nicely. I think I still need to fine tune the equialzer. But I'm still learning all the features of the reciever. Hopefully I can use them and grow into them a little bit as I learn more about the whole Home Audio thing.

Fongolio

Good to hear you're happy with your purchase. In the end that's all that counts.

kuntasensei

I'm running RTi70 mains in a matched 9.1 system. If you're like me, you'll find a bit of harshness at the very high end... but it can be tamed with careful equalization (or a quick run-through of Audyssey MultEQ). Happy listening, sir!

nguyendot

I was fairly displeased with them. I'm glad I sold them and kept the RT55's. Not bad for the price paid, but there are better for the money.

chadam44

Nice speakers, but like others have said, try to get them cheaper than $200.