New Polks versus Old Polks

trubluluc

Guys-

Been seeing alot of older SDA's on ebay and have to say, they are very impressive looking with all those drivers and tweeters.
Are they outdated?
How do they compare in sound to the new stuff?

-Luc

Aaron

Oh boy, here we go! This could get very interesting. I guess it depends what you're going for. Me, I wouldn't waste my time. Get yourself a pair of LSi's and be happy, very happy.

Aaron

RuSsMaN

Or the RT55, showing just how far Polk has come from those yukky vintage models, eh Aaron?

nascarmann

Or the RT55, showing just how far Polk has come from those yukky vintage models, eh Aaron?

Yah....in just 10 years.....

RuSsMaN

click click click click.....

(the sound of Aaron vigorously searching for his original thread on the RT55, to say I took his quote out of context)

RuSsMaN

Cmon, I see you there, give it to me, you know you want to

RuSsMaN

Don't make me side-step, and attack the attack.

TroyD

Don't forget the biamp setup fellas.......

As for the original question, it depends. The older Polks have a different sound then the new ones do. I wouldn't go so far as to say that the new ones are 'better' or 'worse', just different.

BDT

Aaron

Or the RT55, showing just how far Polk has come from those yukky vintage models, eh Aaron?

Since you can't seem to leave that comment in context, let me help you.

I'm probably going to offend the RTA-11T owners here, but you asked for it. I don't feel that these speakers do anything particularly well. My RT55's are superior in every respect except for deep bass extension. The 11T's are not detailed in the mids or the highs. The speakers sound hallow, like something is missing from the midrange (kind of Klipsch-like). The mid bass is fairly weak, but the low bass can be strong at certain frequencies. The bass seems to have nodes that are caused by the different tuning of the passive radiators. This creates for very uneven bass response. The RT55's have smoother and tighter bass. This speaker makes it clear how far Polk has come in the past 10 years. By the way, the 11T's were being driven by a 425W Carver amp.

I didn't see any mention of SDA's in there, did you? In my opinion the RT55's kick butt all over the RTA-11T's. Of course, that doesn't help Luc with his SDA question now does it?

Aaron

TroyD

Don't worry, Aaron gets mad then gets glad.


BDT

RuSsMaN

Not unless he has a Sony and Yammie amp to bi-amp with.

Where was this demo, in the old plaster-walled building you lived in at college, or the 7ft basement with a crooked neck?

I leave you with one final quote 'This speaker makes it clear how far Polk has come in the past 10 years'

Cheers,
Russ

nascarmann

I wouldn't go so far as to say that the new ones are 'better' or 'worse', just different.

I think BDT is on to something here.....

TroyD

body blow......body blow......

BDT

HBombToo

Aaron, I just bought a pair of 55 and am not real impressed yet. I hope its a breakin thing... My RTA8T a damn good speaker.

TroyD

I'm with you H-Bomb........I've been listening to the RTA12's all friggin day and just am digging them.

Different strokes for left handed people I always say.

BDT

Aaron

Aaron, I just bought a pair of 55 and am not real impressed yet. I hope its a breakin thing... My RTA8T a damn good speaker.

You also have RT800's, right? What aren't you impressed with? How do you think your RTA-8T's compare to your 800's and 55's?

Aaron

mantis

Wow,
all that over someones opnion.GE
You see Aaron they just don't have anything better to add to the poor guys post,just kick you in your ball bag, throw acouple of my quotes and there you have it.

I got something to add to this post other then the usual joking around.
OK,
speaker's really don't get outdated.New ones come out all the time, but the sound quality is I feel a personal one.I like the way some of the older Polk speakers sound over most of the new ones.Like the older Ls90's they where killer.The monitor 10b's verynice for the money.Then there is the Sda 2b's..I owned them and really didn't care for them.Then I felt that my Rt1000p's had there way with them.
The New Lsi lines I fell out of all the Polk's I have heard, they are more detailed and refined then anything they made in the past.....but thats just my ears.The rta8tl,rta11tl, and the mighty rta15tl's where all outstanding sounding speakers.I personally liked them alot.The 15's where kinda manly looking if you ever got a chance to see a pair..lots of drivers.
At one fine moment that went sour,I had a chance to buy the rta15tl's off a customer of mine,but he wouldn't allow it to happen,he didn't find his new speaker to replace them with yeat and wanted to keep them untill.......so He still owns the Polks as far as I know.
But there all good in there own way, you have to like the sound coming from them.
My Uncle has my Sda 2 b's and likes them, but his monitor 10b's are his babies.....I don't know why but he loves them more then any other speaker he has owned including the Sda's I gave him,and my rt100p's B&Ws and a long list of different speakers.
But He just sits there and enjoys the sound.....It brings back memories of Yesterday.......
Dan

jlitz

I have a pair of Monitor 10's. I haven't had the pleasure of hearing any of the srs's but of what I have heard I think my 10's are the greatest speakers ever made. I am going to seek out the latest models such as the LSi's and the RT3000's so I can compare. I've heard some of the smaller Rt's at Circuit City and they just don't stand up to my 10's. They sound like they are missing something. Now maybe it is the fact that I am listening to them in Circuit City.

Speaking of CC. They just built a new one in my town and closed the older one. The new one doesn't have an enclosed room for sampling speakers. You have to contend with all the store noise as well. What morons.

I would like to know from someone with experience with them how the SRS's compared to the Monitors. I have always thought that the Monitors were kind of the SRS's little brothers but maybe not. What about Monitor vs. LSi?

Thanks,
Jason

HBombToo

Aaron, I am impressed with the Bass on the 55's and have tried to listen for the difference you and RonP stated between the 800's and I think I know what your saying. I can't express what I hear the way you guys do but from a rookie I sense the 800's are a boom boom base and the 55's really tighten up from there. I'll keep boom boom up front with the sub and leave the 55's as surrounds during breakin.

As for the overall sound clarity of the 55, right now, I think I prefer the RT8. This may be just a breakin which I referred to and I have removed the RT8 from the system to give it a good breakin but the RT8 seem very clear and detailed and sensitive to even the sightest impulse. I have always had a really nice image from the RT8 and maybe I'm just being stubborn.

Just my rookie response in trying to explain what I hear.

trubluluc

So far I've heard no strong reason to pursue the past, so, think I'll just keep what I have.
Less work to move around as well.

-Luc

mantis

You havent heard a strong reason...funny I can't hear anything.......I guess I don't have my listen on.

nascarmann

OK......I have not heard the LSi's so can't compare them to SDA's. One would think the LSi's are more accurate. But, the LSi's will not do things the SDA's will, just from sheer size they can't. I can tell you for me.....my SDA's will be staying in my house for a long time. IMO, the RTi's don't even come close to the SDA's and even Aaron's RT55's advanced speaker is no match in any way :rolleyes: One thing I will tell you, SDA's love all the power you can give them. They sound very good with lower levels of power, but to make them shine you need to pump them with lots of power.

F1nut

Yeah....what he said.

mantis

The Kingwannadothings has spoken!!

I was wondering though,
what things??Sheer size?Good things don't come in small packages?

Common man I know it took alot to post that post of yours but can you be alittle or should I say SHEER SIZE more acurate?

F1nut

Sure they come in small packages...CRS+ and keep on growing. The first thing that comes to mind is the wide open soundstage, perfect placement of instruments/vocals, smooth highs and powerful bass.

mantis

The Lsi 15's got it covered with a refined sound and deadly acurate.

mantis

And with the right amp. lots of control.

TroyD

just my .02 on the whole subject...

It would seem that there is a school of thought here that a speaker has to be the last word in definition and detail to qualify as a good speaker. I don't quite buy that or else we would all be listening to horn loaded speakers. I understand that once folks listen to the metal dome tweets etc. that WOW that is what a speaker HAS to sound like but, again, that's only one piece of the puzzle.

BDT

Aaron

It would seem that there is a school of thought here that a speaker has to be the last word in definition and detail to qualify as a good speaker. I understand that once folks listen to the metal dome tweets etc. that WOW that is what a speaker HAS to sound like but, again, that's only one piece of the puzzle.

I'm of the definition and detail school of thought. The speaker has to do a few other things for me like image and throw a decent soundstage. I would also lump accuracy and transparency with detail and definition. After those things are attained I'll look for bass performance. Further down the list is presence. For me, to attain good definition/detail, imaging, and a large soundstage you'll have to spend $2000-3000. To add good bass performance to that list you'll jump the price up to $3500-5000 (or more). Lastly, to achieve presence and effortless power you'll probably have to spend $10,000+. Don't forget that amplification requirements jump accordingly as well.

I'm sure most of you are falling off your rocker about now and thinking that I'm crazy. Well, that may be. However, this is the level of performance that I'm looking for. This certainly doesn't apply to everyone, or most people for that matter. If a speaker can't meet my first set of requirements (particularly detail/definition), I don't care what else it does. So the speaker can play effortlessly loud with gobs of bass and have a sheer prescence unrivaled by most speakers, so what! If I'm not happy with the fundamental sound, those other performance parameters are meaningless to me.

I don't quite buy that or else we would all be listening to horn loaded speakers.
BDT

Huh?

Aaron

TroyD

Let me clarify, as I'm not judging who is right or wrong as I don't believe it is a right or wrong question. Nor do I think that whatever floats ones boat is crazy.

What I meant by the horn reference, if you want detail, I think that is one of the selling points of the horn.

BDT

F1nut

I'm not saying the Lsi isn't a good speaker (Mantis) but, I'd bet that in 10 years you can't get 2/3's of the original cost like you can with the SDA's! That my fine friend speaks volumes as to how well the SDA performs. I don't think your uncle is having "memories of Yesterday", he just knows a good speaker when he hears it. As for detail....I can hear the singers spit hit the mike when listening to my SDA's, how much more detail do you need!?!