Thinking of RTA 11T

aud10n3wb13

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and it's my first post too. I was at a speaker store last Saturday . The store had a Polk Audio RTA 11T on sale for $299(out the door price). So I asked the guy if I can listen to it. He placed a cd and I was blown away by the sound quality. However, I found out though that it was more than 15 years old. I looked at the drivers, cabinets and they still look fine. However, I learned this morning during my research that the 2 lower drivers are not really drivers. They are passive radiators. It's also my first time today to hear about passive radiators. So, I'm thinking that I maybe paying for it too much for it.

So folks, I need your guidance if I should buy these floor standers especially I'm on tight budget. The sound was really amazing.

Will this be really good for my home theater? Can I crank it up without hurting my ears? Will it still be lively, smooth, sweet and not harsh?

Can you also please tell me some negatives about this type of speakers so that I can prepare myself when using it for home theater and music?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

ben62670

Passive radiators are great. They are much better than ports. In near perfect condition they are worth the price. Especially if you are into music.
Welcome to Club Polk
Ben

aud10n3wb13

Thank you so much Ben. That helps a lot.

I also posted this at our vintage subforum. I had a feeling last night that I posted it in the wrong subforum.

lakesailor

aud10n3wb13 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and it's my first post too. I was at a speaker store last Saturday . The store had a Polk Audio RTA 11T on sale for $299(out the door price). So I asked the guy if I can listen to it. He placed a cd and I was blown away by the sound quality. However, I found out though that it was more than 15 years old. I looked at the drivers, cabinets and they still look fine. However, I learned this morning during my research that the 2 lower drivers are not really drivers. They are passive radiators. It's also my first time today to hear about passive radiators. So, I'm thinking that I maybe paying for it too much for it.

So folks, I need your guidance if I should buy these floor standers especially I'm on tight budget. The sound was really amazing.

Will this be really good for my home theater? Can I crank it up without hurting my ears? Will it still be lively, smooth, sweet and not harsh?

Can you also please tell me some negatives about this type of speakers so that I can prepare myself when using it for home theater and music?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

The RTA 11T's are amazing speakers. They actually used basically the same drivers as the flagship SDA series did in that time frame. The passive radiators as Ben62670 has alluded to are superior to ports in that they really tighten up the bass considerably. Overall the 11T tracks down to 18hz, which is very impressive for any speaker in this size range.

They are also surprisingly efficient speakers at 94db which will make them reasonably easy to drive for a decent AVR (receiver) I say decent because they do have a 6ohm impedance rating.

You mention that you are looking for a speaker that is “lively, smooth, sweet, and does not sound harsh” and that is precisely what you are getting with the 11T. For $ 300 you will not find better speakers anywhere. That said if you can get them for less than $300 you are getting a steal. You will not regret buying these; guaranteed.

Do yourself a favor and buy them !