I completely changed my mind about the Polk RTA 15TL. They're not very good.
15TL
Posts: 89
After spending a couple weeks with these setup as my mains I've completely changed my mind. They are an average speaker at best.
They sound nice for about 5 minutes and then the listener fatigue sets in and my ears hurt. They have nice punchy bass but at the same time it is overwhelming no matter where I place them. At times they have a very harsh sound quality and the mids are just okay. Basically they are the equivalent to a modern budget speaker.
I also dislike the fact that the cabinets are low quality material with fake wood veneer. They're hideous looking gigantic speakers that use really cheap off the shelf drivers. These will now go in my gym, they will be a good speaker for cranking up the music and not worrying about great quality playback.
Against the recommendation of a few of you here ( Absolutely no reasons why given) I bought some used Polk Monitor 70 series 2 towers.They are essentially a modern version of these RTAs, same dimensions outside of being slimmer. They are very highly reviewed and retail at only $600 + tax. They absolutely blow these vintage 15TL out of the water In every single conceivable way. They are so much better and supersede what I'd expect out of $600 towers.
No more vintage speakers for me, it was a failed experiment.
They sound nice for about 5 minutes and then the listener fatigue sets in and my ears hurt. They have nice punchy bass but at the same time it is overwhelming no matter where I place them. At times they have a very harsh sound quality and the mids are just okay. Basically they are the equivalent to a modern budget speaker.
I also dislike the fact that the cabinets are low quality material with fake wood veneer. They're hideous looking gigantic speakers that use really cheap off the shelf drivers. These will now go in my gym, they will be a good speaker for cranking up the music and not worrying about great quality playback.
Against the recommendation of a few of you here ( Absolutely no reasons why given) I bought some used Polk Monitor 70 series 2 towers.They are essentially a modern version of these RTAs, same dimensions outside of being slimmer. They are very highly reviewed and retail at only $600 + tax. They absolutely blow these vintage 15TL out of the water In every single conceivable way. They are so much better and supersede what I'd expect out of $600 towers.
No more vintage speakers for me, it was a failed experiment.
Comments
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...The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
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Glad you are happy.Speakers: Polk Lsim, ATC SCM19 v2, NHT SuperzeroSpeaker Cables: DH Labs, Transparent, Wireworld, Canare, Monster: Beer budget, Bose ears
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For $600 bucks you could have updated them to exquisite sound.
First start by searching the Decato mods.Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
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Might want to ask a moderator to change your forum name from 15TL to Monitor70 or something.
I'm not surprised the Monitor 70s sound better with a receiver powering them than the 15TLs do. Polk's engineers did a job on them for the money. FWIW that RTA line of speakers isn't something most forum members would go out of their way to buy and upgrade compared to SDA speakers but they and other later RT series speakers were what helped keep Polk in business in the early 1990s as the home entertainment market rapidly changed. Many other companies folded up their business. -
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The SDA's look really cool, I'd like to hear them.
You need to learn how to walk before you can run.
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
I completely changed my mind about the Polk RTA 15TL, also.
A month ago I wanted to sell my original owner pair. And then I swapped out the one blown warranty replacement and one OE SL3000 tweeters with RD0198-1s and then I hooked them up to a Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum tube amp.
And now they’re very good.
And that’s before DHS Speaker Service or some other yet-to-be-determined crossover rebuilding guru does his thing.
More like a two month or more process, not two weeks.
May I have your forum handle then?Brian
One-owner Polk Audio RTA 15TL speakers refreshed w/ Sonicap, Vishay/Mills and Cardas components by "pitdogg2," "xschop" billet tweeter plates and BH5 | Stereo REL Acoustics T/5x subwoofers w/ Bassline Blue cables | Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III integrated tube amp | Technics SL-1210G turntable w/ Ortofon 2M Black LVB 250 MM cart | Sony CDP-508ESD CD player (as a transport) | LampizatOr Baltic 4 tube DAC | Nordost & DH Labs cables/interconnects | APC H15 Power Conditioner | GIK Acoustics room treatments | Degritter RCM -
I don't have any RTA15TLs, but I'm going to change my mind about them from whatever I would originally think, just because it seems the thing to do where RTA15TLs are concerned.I disabled signatures.
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Obviously the sda driver in your rta15tl are not working properly... Best you start a thread on that...
OH... Wait.... Nvm!
😳👀😜🚀- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
Also, if you really like the Monitor 70 Series II, you should get the matching PSW10 sub, or really go all out and get the PSW505 to take to a "whole 'nother level". Maybe duals if you can swing it.I disabled signatures.
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The PSW 10 is one of the best subs ever made You should definitely get oneafterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
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What did you hook the 15s to may I ask ? Mine are hooked to a vintage Yamaha CR1000 & turntable & cd player & I can listen to it all day with no fatigue whatsoever. Years ago I tried them on a spare Adcom gfa555 i had in closet & didn't like them one bit on the RTAs. Sometimes you have to get the right fit... Now the Adcom sounded great on SDA1c & 2b & CRS+tl... I've learned a lot here & back then at that time I was going around in circles & never got the right fit..
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You have already proven yourself to be unwilling to learn from others, so why waste any time, yours and more importantly... mine.
Good luck to you sir.The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
30+ years. Time for xover refresh w/198's. Yes the Denon is good. I'd try something different IMO & close your eyes. Good luck on you venture..
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Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
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After spending a couple weeks with these setup as my mains I've completely changed my mind. They are an average speaker at best.
They sound nice for about 5 minutes and then the listener fatigue sets in and my ears hurt. They have nice punchy bass but at the same time it is overwhelming no matter where I place them. At times they have a very harsh sound quality and the mids are just okay. Basically they are the equivalent to a modern budget speaker.
I also dislike the fact that the cabinets are low quality material with fake wood veneer. They're hideous looking gigantic speakers that use really cheap off the shelf drivers. These will now go in my gym, they will be a good speaker for cranking up the music and not worrying about great quality playback.
Against the recommendation of a few of you here ( Absolutely no reasons why given) I bought some used Polk Monitor 70 series 2 towers.They are essentially a modern version of these RTAs, same dimensions outside of being slimmer. They are very highly reviewed and retail at only $600 + tax. They absolutely blow these vintage 15TL out of the water In every single conceivable way. They are so much better and supersede what I'd expect out of $600 towers.
No more vintage speakers for me, it was a failed experiment.
Troll post -
They see me trollin'
They hatin'
Patrolling they tryin' to catch me typin' dirty
Tryin' to catch me typin' dirty
Tryin' to catch me typin' dirty
Tryin' to catch me typin' dirty
Tryin' to catch me typin' dirty
My music so loud
My ears are bleedin'Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
I can't believe you think that avr has enough power to make them sound good, that's the reason the bass doesn't sound right. I have my marantz powering my sda2a's while my krell amp gets recapped and the bass is overwhelming because it slow and bloated.
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I can't believe you think that avr has enough power to make them sound good, that's the reason the bass doesn't sound right.
My thoughts exactly. The power of the Denon while looks good on paper, mixed with old crossover components, won't deliver the goods
It's not the watts, but the amps...amps as in current
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When I hooked charley96’s tube amp up to mine, it cured about 95% of the issues I had with the way my 15s sounded versus when heard thru my same-age Denon DRA-1025RA. For 30 years, I thought I didn’t like the speakers. Turns out it was the signal they were getting from the Denon, the bass being just one of the noticeable improvements.Brian
One-owner Polk Audio RTA 15TL speakers refreshed w/ Sonicap, Vishay/Mills and Cardas components by "pitdogg2," "xschop" billet tweeter plates and BH5 | Stereo REL Acoustics T/5x subwoofers w/ Bassline Blue cables | Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III integrated tube amp | Technics SL-1210G turntable w/ Ortofon 2M Black LVB 250 MM cart | Sony CDP-508ESD CD player (as a transport) | LampizatOr Baltic 4 tube DAC | Nordost & DH Labs cables/interconnects | APC H15 Power Conditioner | GIK Acoustics room treatments | Degritter RCM
