T15's for Small Office/Desktop Setup? Any experience with these speakers?

msg

Hey guys, nice little sale going on with the T series speakers, pair of T15's for $80.
Anyone tried these? I've been loosely looking for a set of small footprint speakers to use in a small office/desktop setup, and probably with a small sub.

I liked the T50's I was experimenting with, and think the T15's may fit the system need. With front porting, placement shouldn't be a problem? Just wondering whether anyone has any experience with them.

Saw a post a while back with the vintage Polk Mini Monitors - those seem like the deal, but scarcely available, so considering the T15 route for small footprint and smooth sound.

heiney9

The Mini-Monitors are terrible sounding speakers. People chase them for the scarcity and novelty (if your a Polk Audio enthusiast or historian).

I have found in general that price vs. price Polk delivers the best sound and quality over other manufactures.

Look for a used pair of Epos ELS-3

http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/104epos/index.html#q3UmIJIkDItlsX83.97

or my absolute favorite small bookie

Polk RT25i

http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/417/index.html#vsjSKF5tqqZDSzMb.97

Both are usually more $$$ than the $80 for the T15's but these will walk all over them in terms of sound quality and build quality.

Just my .02c

H9

P.s. Haven't heard the T series at all, but did hear the old R series and they were ok for the price.

rooftop59

I agree with H9 on the rt25is, great little bookies and can be had for around $100 shipped on the bay (often less if you're patient). front ported with a rear power port, so placement is pretty flexible. I have used them just as you described and loved them. I also have NOT heard the T15s, but unless they are leaps and bounds over both the old r series and monitor 30s then the rt25is will absolutely destroy them IMHO...

Other than the LsiM series there is really NOTHING that polk makes that interests me anymore to be perfectly honest...

msg

Thanks a lot guys, appreciate the feedback and alt recommendations so far.
I'm kinda laughing a little, though - neither of you have heard the T15's but are convinced that the RT25i's will kill them. I'm simply taking this enthusiasm as testament to just how good the RT25i's are

I will agree, the T series speakers do seem a little toy-like and do have their output limits, but my experience so far was pleasantly surprising, SQ wise. My use will be limited to modest to moderate listening levels, so this should be a speaker that sounds good at relatively low volume.

The RT25i's aren't bright bright sounding like RTi's are they? Those don't work at all for me for music.
So the 25's are really that good for music?

msg

ah, good info, thanks Skip.
I didn't realize the T15's had been around for a while. I thought this T series was all new.

heiney9

Scott, did you read the review? No, not a hint of brightness/harshness at all. The RTxxi uses the old tri-laminate poly tweeter that they abandoned in the RTi and later series.

Best tweeter they had going for that series. The later RTixx suffered from the elimination of that "smooth" tweeter, IMO.

I have no doubt the RT25i and the RT15i would smoke the T series. But, it depends on where, how you use it. Low level background on average electronics, maybe a closer contest.

H9

msg

Not yet, haven't had time to get through all the information provided, but do plan to later this eve/morrow. Definitely seems like a good fit, and the dimensions should work, too.

Indeed, will not be in a critical listening environment, at least that's the plan for now, but we all know how these things go...

heiney9

IIRC, that tweeter is no longer available from Polk. So if you buy a pair, make sure you are confident they aren't blown.

H9

heiney9

Could be Dskip, I'm a little foggy on that.

rooftop59

Either way, the tweeters come up on the bay often enough, and for not too much often.

Yes, the T15 has been around for at least 2-3 years, seems to have no relation to the T-50s except cosmetic.

msg

heiney9 wrote: »

or my absolute favorite small bookie - Polk RT25i
http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/417/index.html#vsjSKF5tqqZDSzMb.97

Okay, that was a pretty good review for these little guys, thanks for sharing that.
Definitely seems worth checking into, especially at the prices you guys mention.

Didn't realize the T15's were of the same production set as the T50's. Thanks, guys, for the heads up there.

msg

Found a set of RT25i's. Should be picking them up early afternoon. Thanks for the heads up on these. I'll post back when I get 'em.

Jimbo18

msg wrote: »

Found a set of RT25i's. Should be picking them up early afternoon. Thanks for the heads up on these. I'll post back when I get 'em.

Saw your message, Scott. I will hit you back when I get more time.

Good choice on the bookies. I have my RT25i's as rear surrounds, but I had another set that I passed on to one of my daughters who uses them as fronts with an older Yamaha AVR and they sound great. Play above their weight, as they say. Enjoy.

msg

Just picked 'em up. Decent condition, could use a little tlc on the cabs.
Hooked them up real quick. First impression - wow, pretty nice. Fairly smooth and capable across the range. Couple of test tracks testing out pretty good. I'll get them cleaned up later this eve or tomorrow and get that little office system together and see how it goes.

Thanks again guys for weighing in with info and recommendations. I think this is going to be a pretty good fit.

voltz

Well where is the review?

msg

Haha, haven't had enough time with them yet so I'll just offer up first impressions for now. I hope this will be to your satisfaction, Mista D.

So. I think the performance of these little guys is, indeed, matched for the enthusiasm behind the recommendations. I haven't had enough critical listening time with them yet, but the quick tests with periodic pop-ins to the test room have left me feeling fairly impressed. At just 7"W x 11"H x 10"D, they're little speakers, but they sound much bigger than this, and they're pretty smooth. Nice combination.

I've also noticed that the main driver doesn't seem to be moving a whole lot, as in, for the size of the sound they make I would have expected more activity, but it's hardly moving, so I guess there are some good cabinet tricks going on there.

It also occurred to me that had I come across these speakers, or perhaps others in the series, when I first got started in audio a couple of years ago, I'm not sure how much deeper I'd have gone, because I'm not sure I would have felt the need. They seem quite satisfying so far, and with a small sub in a larger room, I may have been happy enough with just the 2.1. I still have to test them with a modest stereo receiver to see how they do, since a simple, modest 2ch system with a piCorePlayer/HiFiBerry DAC+ is how I intend to use them, but they sure do seem surprisingly capable and pleasing for their little size.

The other thing I'm noticing is that they sound nice at the moderate listening levels at which I'll be using them, which was the whole point.

Been doing stupid grown-up chores most of the day today, so haven't had a chance to tidy them up yet. They're a little chibbed up with a few scuffs and scrapes, and the grills need some cleanup. Thinking they might make for a good little refinishing project down the road, but they're not complete unpresentable. I think it's more just that I'm not desperate to get gear anymore and so I have lower tolerance for blemished gear than I used to.

That ees all for now.

heiney9

Female vocals are superb on the the RT25i, so pure and realistic.

mikeyb128

What is the difference between the rt25i and rt25?

rooftop59

mikeyb128 wrote: »

What is the difference between the rt25i and rt25?

The tweeter, which for me makes a big difference. Soft dome instead of the tri-lam dome.