FS: Polk Audio RTA8T - Vintage Floor Standing Loudspeaker

dorokusai

Polk Audio RTA-8T - 9/10 - Oak - *SOLD* BlueMDPicker - LOCAL PICKUP ONLY

I am selling one(1) of the pair of RTA8's that I currently own because it's getting to be ridiculous in my storage area again. They are in EXCELLENT condition with ZERO defects. The only better pair of RTA8's you may find would probably be my NIB pair I found a couple years ago.

The corners are solid, edges are smooth and damage free....grills are snag free and perfect. These speakers were part of the Small Demo showcase at MD Polkfest 2005. Please feel free to email or contact anyone from that event as to the condition or performance.

The speakers contain all original drivers and all contacts have been treated with CAIG Pro-Gold.

These are known working and really sound great. Honestly, I used to pick on a couple members about these speakers, until I actually owned them. They're a dynamic, MTM array, with a very rare, for Polk speakers that is, ported design.

I am requesting LOCAL pickup, BUT I am willing to deliver within a certain distance, free of charge. I live in the DC area, so work that out as you see fit....and contact me directly anytime at dorokusai@comcast.net.

Thanks for your time.

dohcmark8

I can vouch for the speakers. I own RTA8Ts myself.

GREAT SPEAKERS!!!

Nice price too...

Mazeroth

Probably my favorite speaker in the tube room at Polkfest.

BlueMDPicker

Mark,

Are these magnetically shielded like the RT8?

cfrizz

BlueMDPicker, Yes they are.

steveinaz

Gorgeous!!!

beardog03

These sound awesome..

I sat for quite a while at PolkFest and listened to the speaks...on tubes..!!

If only I was local, and had the bread..

Somebody needs to grab these...not everyday you will get this opportunity to own something this nice , in this kind of shape....

dorokusai

Thanks for the comments and help folks. I have added you all to my Christmas card list....well, I WOULD if I had one.

I used to pick on CFrizz about her "wanna-be" RTA's....but after owning them, and subsequently another pair....I am eating crow. I still think they have nothing to do with time alignment per se, but they are a suprisingly dynamic speaker.

dorokusai

Last call before Audiogon...and then into storage. I will keep these before I will ship them.

BlueMDPicker

Sorry I lost track on these, Mark. Too many irons in the fire.

Mark them sold.

dorokusai

No problem, they are yours honcho. Thanks for picking them up Let's arrange delivery...if you don't have KC BBQ, you're haulin' **** over here You are due for a visit anyways eh?

BlueMDPicker

No BBQ in the house at the moment. Let me know when it would be convenient to drop by. I can do it as early as this afternoon, but need to get back to EC before 5 pm - we're going to the Ram's Head to catch Sonny Landreth.

cfrizz

Mark,

Congrats on the purchase BMDP!!! They love being hooked up to a separate amp! They really showed me what they can do once I did that!

Cathy

dorokusai wrote:

Thanks for the comments and help folks. I have added you all to my Christmas card list....well, I WOULD if I had one.

I used to pick on CFrizz about her "wanna-be" RTA's....but after owning them, and subsequently another pair....I am eating crow. I still think they have nothing to do with time alignment per se, but they are a suprisingly dynamic speaker.

BlueMDPicker

Thanks Cathy! And, thanks once again to Mark for the delivery.

I must confess I bought these for the front end of my kid's HT rig. I was checking some bias circuit issues in my Dynaco amp this morning and thought "what the heck" and hooked the RT-8TAs up to do some testing. WOW! Very respectable speakers with excellent SQ over the entire FR (bass was the biggest surprise - solid punch!)

Crap! Now I have to swap some more gear around and get these in the 2CH lineup with the ST70. The kid's will have to suffer along with SDA 2Bs and Monitor 11s in their HT rig.

ND13

BlueMDPicker wrote:

The kid's will have to suffer along with SDA 2Bs and Monitor 11s in their HT rig.

Poor deprived children. How will they survive

cfrizz

WAAAAAA!

Congrats again BMDP!

Do let us know your impression of them in the 2 channel rig!

heiney9

Just to jump in the fray here, I have always felt the RTA-8 and 11's have been given a bad rap especially here. They are always relegated to the bottom of most peoples Polk speaker preference list. I know SDA's rule and I agree. This short lived RTA series is extremely respectable. Top to bottom integration is excellent and they image like nothing else except the SDA's. The bass in my 11's is very deep many times below hearing level. I can feel the floor shake and feel it in my **** while sitting on the couch with the right material. I've had these since new in 86-87 and next week I'm getting the new tweets and next weekend will be rebuilding the x-overs and probably will keep these for a long time to come.....atleast until I make the jump to some SDA's or LSi's.

Whew...glad I got that off my chest. Enjoy BMDP, it's nice to be suprised once in awhile .

H9

BlueMDPicker

heiney9 wrote:

Enjoy BMDP, it's nice to be suprised once in awhile .

H9

I'm a relative newcomer to Polk speakers of any kind. I started (quite by accident) with a pair of SDA 2Bs two years ago. They were an eBay purchase, intended to do short-term duty while I dismantled my ailing Magneplanar MG Is. I then acquired a pair of Monitor 11s, SRS, and 2As.

Properly matched and driven, the SDAs are hard to beat. But, the RTA-8Ts (after about 4 hours of critical listening) edge-out all my SDAs (and especially the 2As which have a similar driver/tweeter complement) in two categories, when driven by relatively low-powered tube amplification: natural sounding bass response,and openness/depth of soundstage.

Sure, they won't throw a 180 degree soundstage. But, what they do throw seems very natural and dynamic to me. We attend live music performances, on average, about once a week. Those live sessions are my personal reference point for judging any of my audio gear combinations. So, yes, it was quite nice to be surprised!

I have a suspicion that these speakers would do a bit better, on carpeted floors, with a better decoupling device than the box frame bases -- something like the outrigger legs and floor spikes on my Klipsch RF3s. Eventually, I'll also try dropping some silk dome tweeters in as well. Great fun!

Mike

heiney9

BlueMDPicker wrote:

natural sounding bass response,and openness/depth of soundstage.Mike

Hit the nail on the head. Openess and depth is what keeps these in my rig. I can only imagine the improvement with the Silk replacement tweets. I've been putting off replacing the tweets for a long time, but it's time since I've decided to keep them awhile.

H9

audiobliss

My word, how many pairs of speakers do you have BMDP? :eek:

fredv

I also own the RTA-11TL and RTA-15TL. I feel many tend to compare them to the SDA, based on the SDA characteristics. Of course, RTA is beaten hands down because the RTA is rich in depth and no way it can compare to the SDA's wide soundstage which is most people are impressed in the first audition. Granted, I am not using the RTA in my 2-ch rig, but they are serving well in my HT. I set the x-over at 40Hz to my front and surround (I can go lower if the HK allows me to ...., the -3dB freq resp of RTA-15TL is even lower than my SDA SRS 2.3!!) leave everything lower to the sub. Even so, I feel I am still under utilize the RTA's.

cfrizz

Vindication feels soooo good!!!

Thanks guys!!!!

HBombToo

The RTA8T's are GREAT little speakers. Yes they are very dynamic with a respectible punch but after some toe in and up tilt(in my experience) the image is astounding.

Great buy

HBomb

ND13

Okay, then what's the opinion on the RTA 8TLs??

heiney9

ND13 wrote:

Okay, then what's the opinion on the RTA 8TLs??

Better yet with the non-sl2000 tweet. Damn, when I sold audio I sold a lot of RTA-8's, they were at a very good price point.

H9

BlueMDPicker

audiobliss wrote:

My word, how many pairs of speakers do you have BMDP? :eek:

12... doesn't everyone??!

ND13

BlueMDPicker wrote:

12... doesn't everyone??!

Yep :cool:

heiney9

BlueMDPicker wrote:

12... doesn't everyone??!

I'd be in a coma....trying to decide which one to listen to with which type of music on which day of the week during what time of day to determine my favorite.

H9

ND13

heiney9 wrote:

I'd be in a coma....trying to decide which one to listen to with which type of music on which day of the week during what time of day to determine my favorite.

H9

Yep

BlueMDPicker

cfrizz wrote:

Vindication feels soooo good!!!

Thanks guys!!!!

Give 'em hell, Cathy!

When it comes to Polk speakers, I don't think anyone here can claim broader experience than Mark (doro). So, the fact he's held onto a pair of these (while he continues to explore many other great speakers) speaks volumes to me.

I was immediately impressed with them, driven at 35 wpc (nominal) with the ST-70. They are now installed in my "tube shrine" driven by the DCM 75+75, which took them up even another notch in depth. My wife absolutely LOVES this combo and has been listening (literally) all day. That makes me smile!

Mike

BlueMDPicker

HBombToo wrote:

but after some toe in and up tilt(in my experience) the image is astounding.

Tell me more (toe-in and tilt angles), Henry.