Audioholics don't care for Polk????

C J T

Why is Polk looked down upon at Audioholics.com and their forums? Seems the consensus is Polk is garbage and B &W, Klipsch, Paradigm, PSB, etc are better.

Did I get ripped off on my recent purchase of the RTi12's? $1400 Canadian.

brettw22

Do YOU like the sound of your Rti12's?

That's the only question you need to answer.....

C J T

I do like the sound but at this point I have not really heard them as I am powering them with a Panasonic SA HE 2000 and looking to upgrade. I didn't really shop around and there is that little voice saying I possibly could have got better for my money. Anyways, i would go crazy worrying about it. I will just enjoy them.

I was just curious as to why guys on Audiohlics forums generally don't like Polk and have even said to avoid them...one guy said they were worse than Bose, and that's bad. i just see on this forum the opposite, as so many are passionate about their Polks. guess it's all personal preference.

brettw22

You're going to get polarized opinions on speakers (or anything audio for that matter) anywhere you go. Seemingly though, the general consensus is that Bose is shite. The problem with people that slam Polks just to slam them is they generally haven't listened to them.

Is there better out there? Sure

Is there better for the money? Typically not (there are a TON of ways to approach this question though....how comfortable are you with used merch for instance)

The people that are on this board and own these speakers are devoted to the because overall, this is a company that puts out a GREAT product at a GREAT price and has some of the most available executives in terms of product knowledge and customer support.

I have a pair of the 12's as well, and while I'm not giving them the amount of juice they ultimately need right now, I know that decision is mine, and to not fault the speaker for my decision to wait on adequate power.

bknauss

Those people most likely are looking at the most recent Polk lineups and not the RT3000s or SRT or SDAs. Most people are only going to be able to see the Monitor series since it is the most widely distributed thanks to CC. You basically have to go to a Tweeter if you want to see RTis or LSis.

Also, forums seem to take shape into "fan boys" of certain companies. I can understand some of hte companies being latched on to... but Klipsch has been putting out some watered down crap lately. Whatever happened to crazy speakers like the Heresy and the Klipschorns?

cdubya

People looking down on Polk is worse here in NZ. I've lost count of how many derogatory comments i've heard over the years. " they're having a competition to see how many drivers they can fit on a speaker", "typical American in your face speakers" ect. The one i hate the most is when theyre called Pokes, that really pisses me off.
Sure there may be a lot of better speaks out there, but at the price-point they are definitely hard to beat. They take a beating like no other and never have i seen a warranty as good. You know they have a lot faith in a brand when they offer a replacement warranty like they do.
I like what i like and couldnt really care what anybody else thinks of them. I bought them to impress me no one else

ROCK ON POLK:cool:

2+2

I was speaker shopping recently and seriously considered RTi12s....great speakers. In the same price range, I listened to Paradigms and B&W...as well as Bostons and Energy..believe me, you got the better speaker in the price range as far as those makes are concerned....

Toxis

Everyone's ears are different. What you hear is NOT what the next guy hears. That's why there's so many different speakers and sounds coming from speakers. Anyone who says a certain brand is THE best is a close minded moron. What sounds best to me will sound horrible to someone out there. Again, no one hears the same thing and not everyone looks for the same type of sound. Now I can tell you what I think about your speakers or other speakers but will it make a difference to you? Will you sleep better at night if everyone loves your speakers over others? Your money, your ears, your tastes, your speakers. Done.

C J T

Thanks guys. I will sleep better now. Kidding. I do love their sound even with an underpowered receiver. And they look so sweet. My girlfriend said they look "sexy". How can a speaker look sexy I don't know. But all she cares is they look nicer than my old ones.

Once again, the responses are well appreciated and sorry to sound stupid.

The upgrade bug has hit me. Uh oh.

bknauss

Ya know, I did a search on audioholics and only found one thread that spoke "badly" of Polk (if the threads were more than 4 pages long, I didn't bother looking since it would take too long). Some people said they didn't like the midbass and some said they didn't like the tweeter. They suggested other products. No one said "oh man, Polk is CRAP! don't touch their stuff!".

Willow

Originally posted by C J T
Thanks guys. I will sleep better now. Kidding. I do love their sound even with an underpowered receiver. And they look so sweet. My girlfriend said they look "sexy". How can a speaker look sexy I don't know. But all she cares is they look nicer than my old ones.

Once again, the responses are well appreciated and sorry to sound stupid.

The upgrade bug has hit me. Uh oh.

you don't sound stupid. hmmm seems like you have competition in the house you vs speakers.... :eek:

Mike Reeter

I have had a pair of 12's for about 6 weeks,and they are just now starting to open up...They are also underpowered with my Denon...

I stopped by a Rotel dealer this week to look at a 2 channel amp to properly drive the 12's...His comments were;the Polk RTi12's is one of the best buys out there,they don't sell Polk btw...

Whether he was "massaging" me or not,I don't know...doesn't matter,at least he didn't bash them and try to sell me a pair of 2500. speakers to replace them with...

C J T

Thanks Mike.

BTW, I wasn't the one massaging my tweeters. I read a guy did that on Audiohlics.

Maybe YOU are the guy?????:)

gregure

So much has been said already, but I'd love to chime in on this one. As far as people shitting on Polk, I think it's just an elitist thing. Polk strives to make good, if not great, speakers at prices people can afford, so that excellent sound quality can be had for an affordable price.

I've spoken w/ many dealers about other brands, and the general consensus is that you aren't getting really great sound from the likes of Paradigm or PSB, or even Tannoy, until you get into their higher end stuff, all of which is insanely expensive. One dealer even went so far as to say he felt Paradigm was not as good as cracked up to be, and you get less performance for the price, as the reference series is very pricy (2500/pr for the 100's, 850 for the center channel!). I've heard Paradigm, and I like them, but I love my Polks too.

Another issue w/ Polk is that too many people were buying them at Circuit City, where they only sell middle of the road receivers (HK 630 being an exception). Just because Polks are reasonably priced doesn't mean they don't deserve high quality juice. Run Polk speakers on a B&K amp, or an Outlaw system, and then compare them to the "better" brands. Now how do you rate the difference?

I just recently grabbed some RTi 6's on clearance and sold them to one friend, and flat out gave the second pair to another friend. My first friend was upgrading from Bose, and even w/o a sub the 6's blow the bose out of the water in every frequency range. The other friend was upgrading from some **** HT in a box system by RCA, and even w/ tiny speaker wire (that crap they include in the box) the 6's sounded so much better, and his jaw just dropped. He's getting some 14 awg wire to boost performance, btw. Granted, the comparison is ridiculous between a $400 speaker and a crappy bose or box system, but these people know their music, and are very happy w/ the results from Polk.

All in all, Polk are great speakers, especially for the money, and if you need further validation, the RTi 4 just got a very positive review in Stereophile, and take a few minutes to run a google search on LSi reviews, and I challenge you to find even one disparaging review. Even the LSi line is pretty reasonably priced, and the reviews of those have been stellar, by many reputable outfits. So, take that audioholics, you don't seem to know your audio very well, do you?

bknauss

Magazine reviews mean next to nothing for me, and should for everyone else. They're generally done by people who don't have the proper engineering background, sound like a marketer for the company, and are 99% of the time as glowing of a review as possible. And ever notice that the ads for the company being reviewed are right around the review? Hmmmm, sounds like the almighty dollar talking.


Once agian, I did a search on Audioholics and they weren't bad mouthing Polk. A couple of people prefered other speakers in the price area and commented on the acoustics. This was one thread talking about the Rti6s or 4s, and the problems voiced there I have seen in at least a handful of other places.

Mike Reeter

CJT,No...not me man,I let my other half do all the massaging around here...

I'm more of a Alcohol/Audioholic myself...

C J T

LOL...cheers Mike!

I listened to a pair of Klipsch speakers today. I like my RTi 12's thank you.