RT12 purchase

willep74

I just got these on a trade for labor. I fixed someone's PC that insisted on giving me something for my time even though it really was no big deal. He said hey I have these RT12's sitting around that my wife wants out of the house, do you want them?

I took them and so far I like them. this is my first set of Polk's since the mid 90's when I had a set of 2 way bookshelf speakers. My question is when were they manufactured and since they carry the reference moniker, does it mean better matched drivers or was it a marketing game?

thanks for any answers!!

rooftop59

I loved my rt7s, but one big difference between those and the rt5 or 12 is the tweeter. I was never a big fan of the black soft dome tweeter, but really like the tri-lam domes. Enjoy em, just don't assume you can easily find replacement parts!

And Welcome to CP!

willep74

thanks for the replies. I have been listening since I posted trying to adjust to my listening space and man I realize how much I missed Polk. These things have quickly unseated my Advent Heritage as my mains.

for those who are curious, they are being driven by an Adcom GFA-6000 and an Adcom GTP-550 pre. I can't wait to get my Grandson off the bench to drive these.

thanks for all of the replies, they have been helpful.

boston1450

Welcome to Club Polk Willep74-- thats a great trade. I dont know what years they were produced. I dug around a little but not the greatest at it. From what i read they were after the SDA era. Im gonna guess early to mid 90's but dont quote me. On some models if you pull a driver off it will be stamped on the backside on the tag (if its the original driver) Lots of good reviews out there. Maybe someone else will chime in. Enjoy your new to you speakers & welcome again. Randy

boston1450

Interesting info in the forum that may be of help to your question http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?126398-The-first-RT-series...-RT12-RT16-etc...-Vintage&highlight=Rt12

Syndil

Hi. I still have my RT12s, which I purchased new in the mid-90s. They do like Adcom amps, but most will agree that any Adcom pre other than the GFP-750 is not very good. I used to drive mine through a GFA-545II with a GTP-600 pre, but when I tried simply connecting the variable outputs of my CD player directly to the GFA-545II, the difference was mind-blowing. The 600 was stifling them. I have since tried other Adcom pres and an Adcom GTP-880 pre/pro, but they are all what I would consider not very good. I kept none of them.

But I still love my RT12s. Yes, the RT stands for Reference Theater, but they are quite musical. They are supposedly descended from the SRT design, but I think you are correct in assuming that the RT moniker was mostly marketing. That's the speculation I made in the thread quoted above.

There's still a page on the Polk website available for them, with info you might find interesting:

http://www.polkaudio.com/products/rt12

willep74

boston1450 thanks!
Syndil, thanks for the info. I am going to give my SAE pre-amp a go and see. the 550 is doing double duty as my HT processor and listening station.

thanks for all of the replies!!