FS: Polk Audio RTA8T - Vintage Floor Standing Loudspeaker

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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited November 2005
    Wow, 12 pairs?! It'd be wonderful to be in a financial position and have enough rooms/equipment to have 12 pairs of speakers! You said you're relatively new to Polk, but how long have you seriously been into audio?
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    Simple question. If you had a cool million bucks, what would you do with it?
    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
    In Use
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    Pro-Ject Phono Box MKII, Parasound P/HP-850, ASL Wave 20 monoblocks
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited November 2005
    I'm glad you are enjoying them Mike :) I bet that DCM warmed them right up...good call. Thanks for the Lightstar demo, it was very nice.

    Heiney - The RD is a given for me as well....easy upgrade for most without something hardcore like Mikes' DCM.

    I installed the replacement RD0194 for the Polkfest demo's and I'm a believer in ditching that SL2000 every speaker; however, the performance of the RTA8T with the stock SL2000 was not as painful as it usually is in other models.

    We also gave them some generous toe-in and at least 4-5 degrees of vertical adjustment. These adjustments, which obviously will vary, changed the soundstage dramatically. This is an intimate speaker, not a room filling beast....get in tight and lock down the sweet spot.

    Audiobliss - The key is to have 1 - XX quality speakers, not just a bunch of grunt. Mike's collection is 100% solid.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,198
    edited November 2005
    dorokusai wrote:
    Heiney - The RD is a given for me as well....easy upgrade for most without something hardcore like Mikes' DCM.

    We also gave them some generous toe-in and at least 4-5 degrees of vertical adjustment. These adjustments, which obviously will vary, changed the soundstage dramatically. This is an intimate speaker, not a room filling beast....get in tight and lock down the sweet spot.

    The RD's will be ordered Monday, hopefully they will be here by Thanksgiving. I don't toe in, but the sweet spot is very narrow (for ultimate soundstage and depth) as my couch has become recessed in the "sweet spot". No need for elevation on the 11's as they are a bit taller. I have them a foot off the wall behind them, tweeter to tweeter they are 6 ft apart, 5 1/2 feet from each side wall and I sit about 7 feet away dead center. Close my eyes and take the journey :D . I could only have this configuration after my divorce, purely set-up for audio listening. Oh yeah nothing in between the speakers (at tweeter level anyways) I use a lowboy cabinet and the components sit on top in 2 stacks side by side. I found having an entertainment center in between ruined the imaging. In fact I notice many people have ther speaks on either side of a rack or ent. center :confused: . I like free open space between the speaks.

    FWIW

    H9

    EDIT: This set-up would be very good for SDA's........
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited November 2005
    dorokusai wrote:
    Audiobliss - The key is to have 1 - XX quality speakers, not just a bunch of grunt. Mike's collection is 100% solid.

    :eek: That means you're saying his RF3 are good! An endorsement for Klipsch!! :D

    But, certainly no doubt that BMDP's collection is full of great stuff I'll probably never even see, much less hear.
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    Simple question. If you had a cool million bucks, what would you do with it?
    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
    In Use
    PS3, Yamaha CDR-HD1300, Plex, Amazon Fire TV Gen 2
    Pioneer Elite VSX-52, Parasound HCA-1000A
    Klipsch RF-82ii, RC-62ii, RS-42ii, RW-10d
    Epson 8700UB
    In Storage
    [Home Audio]
    Rotel RCD-02, Yamaha KX-W900U, Sony ST-S500ES, Denon DP-7F
    Pro-Ject Phono Box MKII, Parasound P/HP-850, ASL Wave 20 monoblocks
    Klipsch RF-35, RB-51ii
    [Car Audio]
    Pioneer Premier DEH-P860MP, Memphis 16-MCA3004, Boston Acoustic RC520
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  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited November 2005
    BlueMDPicker wrote:
    Tell me more (toe-in and tilt angles), Henry.

    I'm not sure of the verticle degrees as Mark as stated but never more than a half inch with a cathedral ceiling. The image will go (flat/smear) very fast above that in my experience.

    Depending on my room, I have experimented with up to an 8' seperation but I felt too much bass was lost at that extreme. Again as Mark stated the RTA8's are very personal and if your within ~8ft, set your triangle from there and let the uptilt begin.

    I think that the tweeter upgrade benefits every RTA, Monitor and SDA I have and if I see yeller I'ma callen Polk immediatly ;)

    This speaker is also very easy to handle and forgiving which just begs for alignment tweeks on and off the triangular axis.

    Have at it! You have a really cool little floor stander that will be tough to part with IF and when the time arises. I have had mine since 89/90 and they have seen the country.

    HBomb
    ***WAREMTAE***
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited November 2005
    audiobliss wrote:
    You said you're relatively new to Polk, but how long have you seriously been into audio?

    I built my first "hi-fi" in 1964, at age 15, a pair of Heathkit W-5Ms (purchased with earnings from flipping burgers all summer long.) There was this new fangled technology emerging called "stereo". My uncle Ray was so impressed with what I'd done that he bought me an AA-11 preamp kit for Christmas that year. And, my Dad (a carpenter by trade) built me a pair of cabinets with Altec single drivers as a surprise present. I don't remember being that excited at Christmas any time since!

    My brother still has the W-5Ms and they're "daily drivers" in his rig. He traded me a '63 Strat (DUMBASS!) for them about 25 years ago, which I still have. :D

    So, to answer your question, a little over 40 years. But, I'm really not too awfully "serious" about it.... it's all just big fun for me!
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  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited November 2005
    BlueMDPicker wrote:
    it's all just big fun for me!

    Thank God I'm not alone... ;)

    1/4twin
    ***WAREMTAE***
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  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    edited November 2005
    LOL. And it's always a good thing when the WAF goes up! Isn't it Mike! :D
    BlueMDPicker wrote:
    Give 'em hell, Cathy! :p

    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
    Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited November 2005
    cfrizz wrote:
    LOL. And it's always a good thing when the WAF goes up! Isn't it Mike! :D

    Well, with at least two pairs of fairly large floorstanders in every room in the house (except bathrooms and kitchen), these were pretty easy to accept. She is very interested in music and audio and constantly amazes me with her assessment of various gear setups. The only speakers she really would like to see disappear are the Magneplanars. It's about time to rotate them into storage anyway, so I'll really be in good graces. ;)
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited November 2005
    Alrighty then -- how long did we really think it was going to be before this happened? ;)
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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited November 2005
    Not as long as it actually took. :p
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    Simple question. If you had a cool million bucks, what would you do with it?
    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
    In Use
    PS3, Yamaha CDR-HD1300, Plex, Amazon Fire TV Gen 2
    Pioneer Elite VSX-52, Parasound HCA-1000A
    Klipsch RF-82ii, RC-62ii, RS-42ii, RW-10d
    Epson 8700UB
    In Storage
    [Home Audio]
    Rotel RCD-02, Yamaha KX-W900U, Sony ST-S500ES, Denon DP-7F
    Pro-Ject Phono Box MKII, Parasound P/HP-850, ASL Wave 20 monoblocks
    Klipsch RF-35, RB-51ii
    [Car Audio]
    Pioneer Premier DEH-P860MP, Memphis 16-MCA3004, Boston Acoustic RC520
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  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited November 2005
    BlueMDPicker wrote:
    Alrighty then -- how long did we really think it was going to be before this happened? ;)

    so what is your opinion? come on now... be nice and share with your bruthas.

    HBomb
    ***WAREMTAE***
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  • BlueMDPicker
    BlueMDPicker Posts: 7,569
    edited November 2005
    Henry,

    These tweeters are very nearly brand new. Let me break them in a bit more. But, my very first impression was some of the airiness/openness went out of the soundstage (along with some very minor sibilance removed.)

    I was listening to a new Randall Bramblett cut, where he strings a lot of words beginning and ending with "s" together in a phrase, and with the SL2000s it really seemed accentuated. So, I got out my trusty Polk sibilance checker -- Alana Davis covering Traffic/Steve Winwood's "Can't Find My Way Home" (it's on the soundtrack album from "The Mod Squad.) She's got a great voice, but on that particular cut she can make SL2000s in SDAs sound like stretch wrap over a ceramic bowl of VERY pissed-off bees.
    BINGO! Time for the silk domes. :)

    More later.

    Mike
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