RM7200

by kaku42, December 11, 2007

Strengths:

Clean sound, good bass.

Weaknesses:

Front speakers could do with dual drivers. Non longer available

Review:

Amazing clarity for the size. Sound is clean as a whistle. I really like the subwoofer. It complements the system well. I used the normal LFE output of my onkyo and didnt follow Polk's recommendation of using line level wires and still it sounds great. Have gone through a second round of research for HT system for my living room, I can claim that there isnt a system out there with this size, looks, and sound combination. I just can't understand why this has been discontinued. I would have been a real best seller. The new RM95 looks like a plastic toy compared to these

by Kristen, April 5, 2002

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

The only thing I would add is a 12" subwoofer!

Review:

I work with audio equipment on a daily basis and have heard about every satellite system out there. The RM7200 series surpasses all of them. Not only are they stylish, they kick out the best sound from Dolby Digital 5.1 to radio. The highs & lows are defined and crisp & the sub does a fantastic job shaking the floor! Great addition to my HK receiver & the only satellite system I offer to my customers first!

by Scott Cook, September 16, 2002

Strengths:

Look, sound and the way it kicks Bose's ass.

Weaknesses:

None

Review:

This systems has it all. I was going to go with Bose however after reading about this system, I went to Frys and purchased it. It is a great system for my house. One thing, large is not always better. When you hook these speakers up, make sure you hook them up according to the instructions and set your two surround speakers (behind you) to small rather then large. The small allows the high sound to be more clear. A dennon 1600 dvd player makes these speakers rock and my house shake.

by Tom, October 27, 2002

Strengths:

They do exceptionally well in the lower mid-range that other satellite systems seem to struggle in. They are GREAT for home theater AND music.

Weaknesses:

The brackets are not universal. You need to use the ones on the back of the speakers (probably the best way) or purchase a set made for these speakers.

Review:

My first pair of Polk speakers were for my 1992 Volkswagen Rabbit back in 1996. The stock speakers blew and Polk was recommended by the stereo shop. I was surprised then at those little speakers. From that point forward, whenever I compared a similar Polk to another brand, Polk always sounded better to me. So when I decided to plunge in to the Home Theater experience, Polk became my first choice (though I did compare them to the others, just to be sure....) I put my home theater together the begining of 2002 with a Harmon Kardon AVR320 and Polk RM6000 speakers (and 47"HDTV...but this isn't a review on video). Circuit City is where I bought them. They have a 1 year trade in policy where you get everything back if you trade them in and step up to better grade speakers. Though the RM6000 sounded great in the smaller room of my old house, I felt the need for something else in my new one. I WAS thinking of going to the RM6600 as they had an open box deal. However, when I compared the RM6600 in the listening room to the RM7200, the difference was astonishing. The vocals were seemingly three-dimensional, as though the singer was right there in the room. EVERYTHING sounded so much better. But, it was in the show room. What would happen when I got home? Since I was upgrading from the RM6000, I already had wall brackets with screw on posts. Sad to say they had to come down as the RM7200 required other brackets if you want to use them. However, the speakers have brackets already built in, so all you need to do is secure a screw in to the wall and hang the speaker. It appears as though that's how they are designed and the manual mentions that the mid ranges will sound better being closer to the wall. Once everything was hooked up, I noticed there were sounds that weren't noticed before (yes, I watched some of my old DVDs again to see if I could hear a difference). There was a noticeable difference in the mid to high ranges and the sub shook the house like never before. Of course, the sub is ported and has 100 watts compared to the 5o watts in the previous 8" I had with the RM6000. What about music, though? I listen to an eclectic mix of tunes including pop, rock, classical, some country, rap, etc. With the RM6000, they sounded pretty good when in a surround mode; but they seemed to be missing something when in two speaker mode. The RM7200 sounds good in ANY mode. In fact, the two speaker mode is pretty close to quality of the Angstrom towers my parents have, perhaps even surpasses them. In closing, what you purchase may depend on your budget. I started with the RM6000 series which performed very nicely. But I knew they were entry level Polk and the freq. response could be better by stepping up. The RM7200 speakers have surpassed what I thought was possible in a satellite speaker system. You may find that you do too. Enjoy!

by Eric Garthley, February 10, 2003

Strengths:

Good sounding, but not better than Bose.

Weaknesses:

Too expensive for what you get.

Review:

I think that these speakers sound very good, but I think that, for the money, Bose is better. I think that Bose is better because the most expensive speaker package is cheaper, have direct/reflecting speakers, and sounds clearer.

by Alex, October 27, 2003

Strengths:

The best base and soooo soooo clear!!!!!

Weaknesses:

They may just get to loud and yet they dont get a scrached sound to them!!

Review:

The best thing i have heard and i love them they are so good and i am telling you need to get them they rock!!!!!!!!!!!! P.S. they kick Bose Ass!!!!!!!

by Steve Burn, October 30, 2003

Strengths:

Great base, mid, and highs, amazing soundfield, and they look great ! Who could ask for more ?

Weaknesses:

None. Simply perform better than anything else out there !

Review:

This is my second Polk Audio review. Last year I reviewed (favourably) the RM6700 system with the PSW303 sub, powered by my then mid-range Sony Amp. Well, I moved to a bigger place, upgraded to one of Sony's best high current Amps, the DA4 ES, and decided I had to re-visit the speaker situation. I noticed that (even with the better Amp) the smaller speaker package lost a lot of it's "oomph" in my bigger place. Fortunately my local retailer let me return (for almost full value) my 6700 system from last year and pay the difference to upgrade to the RM7200 system, with the incredible PSW550 Sub. All I can say is WOW !!! Thundering multi-tonal base, a much larger soundfield with a lot more base also coming from the sats. The piano black finish looks great too. The whole package elevates you to the next level of home theatre. Nothing you'll hear in a showroom from a competitor even comes close to the "Natural" and "Stunning" sound the Polks produce. My usual test DVD's (Gladiator, Goldmember, T2, Star Wars Part II, and Castaway) all sounded absolutely incredible ! And, just as important, my CD collection sounds better than it ever has. Two channel stuff is where a lot of home theatre systems really fall down, but not Polk. Whatever you like, Rock, Pop, Classical, it all sounds great ! I've been into home theatre, hi-fi, stereos, etc for over 25 years, and have listened to (and owned) a VAST number of systems in Canada, the US, and England. All I can say is this system BLOWS AWAY anything else I've heard. Keep up the incredible work Polk Audio !!!

by MAX VAZQUEZ, February 14, 2004

Strengths:

CLEARCLEARCLEARLOUDLOUDLOUD

Weaknesses:

ZERO

Review:

I BOUGHT THE BOSE AM15 BROUGHT THEM HOME HOOKED THEM UP AND THEY WERE THE WORST SPEAKER I EVER HEARD. BROUGHT THEM BACK AND TOOK POLK 7200, WHAT A DIFFERENCE NIGHT AND DAY THEY SOUND SO GOOD. POLK IS THE BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK.

by Kim B, June 3, 2004

Strengths:

stereo center imaging, above average sound quality

Weaknesses:

flabby bass, high frequencies can wear on ears at loud levels.

Review:

Used with a Onkyo receiver, the RM7200 sound pretty good. Nice center imaging when in the sweet spot, good spectral coverage - extends into higher frquencies which is nice with jazz/blues. The midrange and bass is quite flabby (muddy), and the subwoofer can be adjusted to outrageous levels of bass (= bad...I used in lower half). Overall pretty good.

by Keith Grey, June 29, 2004

Strengths:

Great for every kind of listening. I found this system to be better than Bose.

Weaknesses:

None.

Review:

I had a Bose system for several years. It sounded OK untill I tried the Polk RM7200 system. The best way I can describe the difference is that Polk allows you to hear more detail and provides a great sense of presence, not only for movies on DVD's but also for music on CD's. The speakers provide amazingly good sound no matter what you are listening to. Because the speakers produce a better sound than Bose they are not so forgiving in terms of correct location, so it pays to spend some time setting everything up correctly, especially the excellent base speaker. The only problem I have found is that I now feel the need to go out and buy a big high definition TV to match my new high definition sound.

by Dharmesh Dayah, July 19, 2004

Strengths:

Sat's sound clean and bass is impressive for an 8" woofer.

Weaknesses:

The Sat's could be a bit brighter in sound. Hard to configure Sub settings as some things you listen to may be a bit too boomy. Would have been great if the sub was a 10".

Review:

I just got 7200's and like the sounds I get from them. I played Terminator 2 & Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of The Moon" and loved the rich tones and deep bass. There really is no need to go to the theatre anymore now that I have these. I consider these to be the best in it's price class...even better than Bose and cheaper too!

by Scott Lindsey, August 6, 2004

Strengths:

Overall impressive sound, good clarity. Excellent two channel stereo sound (Harry Connick sounds like he's standing right there). My other speakers were a bit more analytic on the high end but

Weaknesses:

Subwoofers sound a tiny bit "boomy" (as if the amp needs a bit more damping)on a few sources but overall the sub is quite good. Assembler for the sub gets a D.

Review:

I purchased the 7200 speakers at Fry's after looking a the cheaper ones, listening, humming and hawing and always wishing that I could justify the 7200's for more than a year. Finally, the planets aligned and my wife wanted me to get my big old linebacker speakers out of her living room the same Friday that Fry's was selling these for less than 1/2 price! Well the bliss ended right after unpacking them when I realized that the subwoofer was defective. When I plugged it in, the sub speaker bulged out to it's maximum level and when unplugged and plugged, would oscillate in and out at about 3 Hz. (apparently a speaker protection circuit?). Anywho, I was so pissed off that I decided to remove the back panel myself and see if there was something stupid that had happened during assembly. Sure enough, when the assembler was installing the back panel, they banged a plug mounted on the panel electronics on the speaker cabinet and knocked the plug half-way out. I shoved it back in all the way and that solved all my problems. Shoddy assembly by somebody. Then next thing that annoyed me was that the manual suggested that you send speaker level inputs to the sub, then feed all of the satellites from the sub. Helloooo. That sort of defeats the purpose of having a modern amp. I viewed both recommendations in the manual as stupid with a modern receiver. So I ignored the directions and sent the subwoofer out on my receiver to the unfiltered, line level in and fed the 5 small speakers the speaker level inputs from the receiver. (I suppose this resulted from selling the speakers to many non-technical people and having them send 120Watts of bass to the little satellites.) After the annoyances specified above, I was delighted by the sound. My Yamaha reciever (90Hz asymmetric Xover)provides an excellent companion. (don't get the low end HTR series). The final pain was mounting them on the ceiling. These things are easy to mount on walls (that's what they're made for) but they could have added one more freeking hole (preferably in a standard location) to provide a more stable ceiling mount. I found a way that actually looks decent, but a pillow thrown at them will result in them hitting the ground (yes I have kids). I consider myself picky as heck and if I had any qualms about the sound, they'd be back. Well, they're staying.

by alvin hicks, August 29, 2004

Strengths:

Clean and precise sound with good base.

Weaknesses:

The speaker wall brackets are not friendly for angle mount.

Review:

Bought these speakers so I can get rid of my large 5.1 speaker system. I am impressed that these speaker sound so good. The sound is clear and precise in all speakers with movies or music. Good sound presense and if you have a good receiver the sound is more stunning. If you are looking to replace the big monsters you have these are the babys.

by Nate, November 12, 2004

Strengths:

The best all around sound I have heard. These are replacing my Bose that I have owned for 10yrs.

Weaknesses:

Finding the best range for were the 8" sub will perform best.

Review:

I have have owned many sets of speakers from Infinity(large floor models) to several set of Bose. They have all sounded great, at that time. But, this is the first time I have set back and closed my and felt I am in the music not just hearing the music. Movies, rent or borrow Ronin, you will feel like you are riding shotgun in the car chase not watching from the chair. Also; if you have this, set your crossover on your reciever to 150hz to smooth out the boom if your are having this problem.

by David Marsh, March 7, 2005

Strengths:

The blank piano lacquer finish looks great next to my black LCD monitor (same finish) and the sound is fantastic.

Weaknesses:

No weaknesses. The only problem is that they are discontinued. There is no comparable replacement (type and size).

Review:

I was looking for a set of flat wall mount speakers to place next to an LCD monitor I had mounted, and I came across the RM7200 set on clearance (now discontinued). I had purchased Polk speakers in the past and have been pleased, so I purchased the RM7200 set without hearing them. I hooked them up to an Onkyo receiver (60wpc) and popped in a Shrek DVD. The sound quality far surpassed my expectations. They sounded like much larger speakers. Especially the center channel. Voices were crystal clear. No muffled sound and no clipping. The unique rear port is a definite plus. What a find!

by Phil Barnhart, January 2, 2013

Strengths:

Works like new after 11 years

Weaknesses:

They do not make them any more.

Review:

After 11 years the system works as good as out of the box. I played around with the hook up and found that it sounds the best the Polk way. I am using a 6.1 with a back center and a Onkyo also 11 years, using Optical Toslink from a Directv DVR maybe about the 3rd one and on the 3rd BIG screen TV and the style of the RM 7200 system is not out of date. Just want to say that Polk puts out real good hi quality systems.