RT55 Impressions
Well Ive spent some time with these speakers for a while now... and I think its ok for me to give a few impressions.
The RT series is better than I remember it, yet still as good as I remember it. The Tri-lam is just as good as I remember, nice amount of detail, a little sibilant at times which is irritating. But it overall had a nice assortment of detail between the vocals and drums which I found admirable. It did the snare and hi-hats fairly well with the crashes and rides coming in ok and good at times.
The midrange falls a notch below my DTs, not quite as controlled seemed like, and the instruments were basiclaly smeared and forgotten between the middle and sides - yet the outter imaging was pretty good, but sometimes lost. The best part was the center imaging, a trait that seems to follow Polk through time - just a very strong center image. Yet the speakers themselves never seemed to escape being a speaker, the singer was very pronounced, yet missed the texture of the actual singer.
The midbasses on the RT55 are not near as good as the series after it. I had the RT35i moons ago running full range at levels beyond a level known to man and never once heard those things bottom. During movies the RT55 would bottom ocasionally - was slightly dissapointed. This is where the DTs really surpassed them, seeing as the DT midbass is known as bottomless due to its spider design...
The bass to midbass was slightly bloated and muddied up the vocals in some songs, but only on ocasion.
Overall for an entry to mid speaker, the RT55 wouldnt dissapoint. Fairly detailed, fairly controlled imaging - kind of dismissed the fine textured of what makes music music - yet still could make your foot tap.
The bass left much to be desired, the midbasses just werent very controlled - I know its not the amp, my DTs mids tightened up considerably with the Odyssey than with the B&K - so... Im pointing to the midbasses. I figured the crossover or something would prevent the midbasses from bottoming....
They are a cool speaker and I dont plan to get rid of them, alot of fun to listen to - to crank to insane levels and jam out -- a good memory lane speaker for me.
Thanks Lou for hooking me up, Paul and Al for signing them - a great piece to the collection!
The RT series is better than I remember it, yet still as good as I remember it. The Tri-lam is just as good as I remember, nice amount of detail, a little sibilant at times which is irritating. But it overall had a nice assortment of detail between the vocals and drums which I found admirable. It did the snare and hi-hats fairly well with the crashes and rides coming in ok and good at times.
The midrange falls a notch below my DTs, not quite as controlled seemed like, and the instruments were basiclaly smeared and forgotten between the middle and sides - yet the outter imaging was pretty good, but sometimes lost. The best part was the center imaging, a trait that seems to follow Polk through time - just a very strong center image. Yet the speakers themselves never seemed to escape being a speaker, the singer was very pronounced, yet missed the texture of the actual singer.
The midbasses on the RT55 are not near as good as the series after it. I had the RT35i moons ago running full range at levels beyond a level known to man and never once heard those things bottom. During movies the RT55 would bottom ocasionally - was slightly dissapointed. This is where the DTs really surpassed them, seeing as the DT midbass is known as bottomless due to its spider design...
The bass to midbass was slightly bloated and muddied up the vocals in some songs, but only on ocasion.
Overall for an entry to mid speaker, the RT55 wouldnt dissapoint. Fairly detailed, fairly controlled imaging - kind of dismissed the fine textured of what makes music music - yet still could make your foot tap.
The bass left much to be desired, the midbasses just werent very controlled - I know its not the amp, my DTs mids tightened up considerably with the Odyssey than with the B&K - so... Im pointing to the midbasses. I figured the crossover or something would prevent the midbasses from bottoming....
They are a cool speaker and I dont plan to get rid of them, alot of fun to listen to - to crank to insane levels and jam out -- a good memory lane speaker for me.
Thanks Lou for hooking me up, Paul and Al for signing them - a great piece to the collection!
- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
Post edited by VR3 on
Comments
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glad your havin fun with them bud.
your impressions pretty much match my recollection of the speaker, especially the midbasses bottoming out if your not careful. not easy to do, but not too hard to do either.
I've used them in 2 channel applications many times in different rigs and enjoyed them, but it was as theater mains and surrounds is where they really shined. good performance with music, with great performance for vocals/dialogue (I did use them as dual centers for a while) and sound effects. These were friggin fantastic in surround duty, as what shortcomins they have meant nothing. They seem to image surround effects even better than my LSi9's if you could believe that.Living Room 2 Channel -
Schiit SYS Passive Pre. Jolida CD player. Songbird streamer. California Audio Labs Sigma II DAC, DIY 300as1/a1 Ice modules Class D amp. LSi15 with MM842 woofer upgrade, Nordost Blue Heaven and Unity interconnects.
Upstairs 2 Channel Rig -
Prometheus Ref. TVC passive pre, SAE A-205 Amp, Wiim pro streamer and Topping E50 DAC, California Audio Labs DX1 CD player, Von Schweikert VR3.5 speakers.
Studio Rig - Scarlett 18i20(Gen3) DAW, Mac Mini, Aiyma A07 Max (BridgedX2), Totem Mites -
ohskigod wrote:I've used them in 2 channel applications many times in different rigs and enjoyed them, but it was as theater mains and surrounds is where they really shined. good performance with music, with great performance for vocals/dialogue (I did use them as dual centers for a while) and sound effects. ..... They seem to image surround effects even better than my LSi9's if you could believe that.
My RT55is along with a CS400i are the front-end of my HT Rig. I see no need to change anytime in the near future as they are excellent. They do just fine for music (with a Dayton Titanic sub) but I have other speakers that I prefer for a 2 channel application."Just because youre offended doesnt mean youre right." - Ricky Gervais
"For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." - Stuart Chase
"Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." - Bernard Berenson -
Yeah, for HT - crossed over at like 60-70hz would be great. It would really remove the whole bottoming out issue...
They definitely bring something else to the table my DTs dont - so its fun to listen to them as I wait for my Tylers to arrive... which hopefully will be a faster wait - lol...
Good stuff, nice to have some Polk stuff back in the room!- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
Never heard the RT55i bottom, but then I never ran it full range with movie audio.
Two Channel Setup:
Speakers: Wharfedale Opus 2-3
Integrated Amp: Krell S-300i
DAC: Arcam irDac
Source: iMac
Remote Control: iPad Mini
3.2 Home Theater Setup:
Fronts: Klipsch RP-160M
Center: Klipsch RP-160M
Subwoofer: SVS PB12NSD (X 2)
AVR: Yamaha Aventage RX-A2030
Blu Ray: Sony BDP-S790
TV Source: DirecTV Genie
