RM85 vs OWM3

eiger003

Hello all

I am new to the 5.1 game and have finally focused in on the Polk RM85 bundle (with PSW11) or the OWM3 bundle (with PSW111). They both land right in the price range of what i want to spend.

I ran by Circuit City today and took a quick listen to both, although the OWM3's were only hooked for stereo, not surround. The setup at CC is really not great.

My overall impression was that both sets of speakers sound great. I think the size of the RM's may be a little better for my room, however the OWM3's look like they really blend into the environment even though they are a little big.

I will be using the system with a 42 Panasonic Plasma TV.
The use will be a mix of movies and music.
The room is 11 x 12 feet and 9 foot ceilings with windows along one wall and large opening to side room. It is far from a perfect environment, but is the best location for the time being.

What are people overall opinions on these 2 systems and their overall sound qualities.

Thanks much

bevo

I just bought the rm95 bundle. It came with 4 rm8s, and the psw111. My room is 14x26 with 8 foot ceilings. So far I would say that these speakers are working great for me. I use them mainly for video games, with the occasional movie. For my games these little speakers really get the job done. The explosions really make me actually jump in my seat sometimes. The only movie I have watched so far is the incredible hulk. It also sounded very good, the speakers pick up much more subtle sounds then my old ones.

The sub is also leaps and bounds ahead of my old setup. The psw111 is very smooth and discrete. When it really needs to make noise it can, but to me it seems like it's almost one with the speakers. It's a perfect match for the rm8 speakers.

As far as music goes. I really miss the midrange of a larger woofer. I listen to rock music, and the rm8s just can't give that hard hitting crunch of the guitars that a larger speaker would. I am however going to upgrade my 2 front speakers eventually, so that I will have a 7.1 system. So really these rm8 speakers are perfect for me.

I would say that the small rm8s would work great for you. I really haven't heard any top of the line setups to compare them to, but to me they sound great for the size and price. I am a very, very tough critic of my purchases, and these speakers got my approval.
The spring wire clips that you use to hook up the speakers with are junk though. Easily the weakest speakers jacks I have ever used. I doubled over my wire to get a little tighter grip on the wire and it worked. Other then that though I couldnt find any fault with them. They even actually looked and felt better then I imagined the would.