Difference: Rseries vs RTseries vs Monitor series

warhorst

ok, i am new to the speaker line up and wanted to know what is the difference between the R series...RT series and the Monitor series.

if RT series is better than R series....so how does the R50 compare to the RT600i.

thanks

VR3

RT is mid line, Monitor line is bottom/mid line

The R line is at the bottom of both (IMO) - but the Monitor series replaced the R series...

The RT600i would be much better than the R50, IMO

warhorst

how about the older series....such as RT600 or RT800

why the "i" in the newer range...so what does it means

billbillw

Originally posted by warhorst
how about the older series....such as RT600 or RT800

why the "i" in the newer range...so what does it means

The 'i' was for 'improved'. You can tell the 'i' from the non-'i' by the color of the woofers. The 'i's had blue woofers the originals had black woofers. There were some changes to the crossovers as well and in general, the 'i's were better sounding.

When the RT#i series were discontinued, they were replaced by RTi# and these were different because they replaced the tri-laminate with a silk dome tweeter. Most people didn't think the replacements sounded as good as the RT#i series.

Current lineup consists of LSi (best), RTi (middle) and Monitor (low). The R series are the lowest and supposedly being phased out.

VR3

Series of RT speakers...

- RT Original, black woofers, some towers and bookshelfs used a polymer tweeter, and some used a tri-lam, used a variety of woofers from 5.25" to 7.5"

- RTxxx - this had the RT35, RT800, etc - black woofs, tri-lams, vinyl cabinets, not as thick of a baffle, etc...

- RTxxxi - this had the RT35i, RT55i, RT800i, etc - blue woofs, tri-lams (reworked), reworked crossovers, veneer cabinets - etc

- RTixxx, this was the short lived RT line, with only a year of shelf life. Consisted of the RTi70, RTi150, etc - had completely different woofers, although similar in color - had a thicker surround, different composition all around, the tweeter was a silk. Had veneer cabinets and weird looking grills...

- RTixx (current), reworked the exterrior to oak veneer, silver fronts, different woofs, different tweeters, Vifas - silk/polymer...etc

warhorst

thanks for all the info....at least i know how the speakers are lineup....

for now...i am just looking at the basic models and hopefully get used RTxx or RTxxi series speakers.

Cant afford the upper ranges.

However with recent deals from Frys Electronic...the R30, R50 and R15 are very affordable.

So is it really worth the bucks for them?

Thanks

aubrey jeffcote

I'll offer my limited experience up to you.I started out with the R series speakers from Fry's and tried my best to like them.Blew one of the tweeters on an R50 and took it back to swap out.While I was there I spent a lot of time listening to the other Polks in their sound room but took the new R50's home.A week later I took them back and bought all Monitors.They may be the new low end series but they really do sound good.Much better than the R series IMO.Now I'm running M40's front,M30's surround and rear in 7.1.So whether or not they are worth buying is up to you and your ears only.As stated before,IMO.And you know they say about opinions.....

fireshoes

The Monitor series and RT series will have better highs than the R series. The R50's will have more bass than the RT600's though, so it is really a matter of personal preference. Keep in mind if you like bass, you can (and should) add a sub, but there's not much you can do to improve you highs except sell your stuff and start over.