RT35i

by Carlton Simpson, April 2, 2006

Strengths:

Holographic imaging with good electronics.Unbelievable bass capability for such a small speaker.

Weaknesses:

None that i can find after all these years.

Review:

I bought these new back in 1998 or 99.Even though i was selling PSB and Focal/JM lab at the time.I went looking for Polk.I have owned nothing BUT Polk since 1987 for a GOOD reason.I could have purchased a pair of competing JM Labs at cost,but i wanted the Polks.For a lot less money(retail)i was getting 90 plus percent of the Soundstaging and imaging capabilities of the already excellent JM Labs.PLUS a LOT more bass.I WHOLE LOT more bass.Only a TRUE basshead and/or someone using these speakers in a large room could POSSIBLY want for more.They are bookshelf speakers,so one CANNOT expect them to produce subwoofer bass.ESPECIALLY in a large room.The catch here is that in my bedroom stereo,where they have been used since i bought them.They are producing NEAR subwoofer levels of bass.I have actually used some(Pierre Verany)test cd's to check and was SHOCKED to hear CLEAN and fairly strong 31.5 HZ notes coming out of these little bookshelf speakers!!!!!! Granted my bedroom IS pretty small.Which is PRECISELY the type of room they SHOULD be used in,number one.Number two,i am using Carver amplification which is capable of producing CURRENT.In order to get good bass out of ANY loudspeakers,you NEED an amplifier that can put out AMPERES.NOT just VOLTAGE.(Carver is KNOWN for doing BOTH)At the time i did that test i was using a Carver the receiver 900.Now i am using a Carver CM-1090 integrated.With a Carver SD/A-490t cd player and Carver TX-12 tuner.Micro Seiki DD-35 turntable.Sure V15 type V MR cartridge.Nakamichi BX-100 cassette deck.I also put up some inexpensive sound deadening material on the side walls to reduce early reflections.I was AMAZED at how the image not only cleared up,but GREW up.Without using the Sonic Hologram generator i can still get wall to wall out of the box imaging.You should hear Pink Floyd's Dark side of the moon on MoFi LP with the Sonic Hologram engaged.I LOVE these speakers!

by Burke, April 9, 2006

Strengths:

The rear port. Hard to describe. Makes it perfectly OK to wall mount!

Weaknesses:

None.

Review:

I think these speakers haven't been made for a few years but I wanted to write now (4/06) for the benefit of people like me who might find them on ebay, or wherever. I think they may be very similar to RTi38's. They seem rare. My little review below has turned into a book, so I’m sorry if I’m a little wordy. I repeat myself and gush a bit, but I hope you'll read on. Anyway. I use these only for music. I bought these because: I had a pair of R20's in one room and wanted to replace my little temporary Dual bookshelves (+/-$40) + PSW202 in the other room with something that would likely work well with the same EQ from itunes, which is my only source for music via an iMic interface. I use an Onkyo TX-8011 amp for both rooms. Not expensive but pretty robust, I think. R20's with a PSW202 are a pretty solid combination that is really "friendly" to music. Those were my only speakers in my old apartment but now there are two rooms to cover and while I had a cheap temporary solution (R20’s in one room, Dual cheapies plus PSW202 in the other) it was time to have good sound everywhere. With these speakers, just like with the R20’s, I find none of this "studio monitor fidelity" dead yet overbright nonsense that you hear about. You know, that sound that when you hear it is somehow empty in its perfection. I think a little editorializing with music is just fine, kind of like what *some* Bose cabinets do so well. I really didn’t know what I was buying until I heard them. I was really happy with my R20 setup and wanted to match that in another room. When I started playing music through these RT35i's I was absolutely stunned. It sounds silly but I actually had many of those “never heard this in the music before” moments in the first hour of listening. I amlost cried, I was so happy. The sound was so beautiful. Somehow the imaging is really open in a small room. I don’t really perceive the source. These speakers can sort of growl with mid-lows in a way that is so warm and sure of itself. Highs are brighter than R20’s without having any of that JBL in-your-face-ness. These speakers sound just beautiful.I work in live theater so I sometimes get to hear music I like played through a million-dollar sound system complete with subs the size of Volkswagens and near-field things concealed all over the place in a setup that smart people have worked on a lot. So I have a little bit of an ear, I think, and that listening experience is what I wanted. I don’t really have the vocabulary to express how clean, crisp, but still warm these speakers are. And they still sound great if you happen to be standing right next to them. I said this before but the way they image sound is just unbelievably open and clean. I should say that they are not agressively crisp on their own with flat EQ; I felt +3 db at 2k, 4k and 8k and +6 at 16k was needed. But when you give them the right signal these speakers can be nicely bright. Then again if I weren’t making it my life’s work, I could have turned up the “treble” on my amp a little and probably have been quite happy. But I do think it’s worth mentioning that these speakers will only be crisp when you tell them to, and I think it's worth an afternoon adjusting the sub for best quality. But then they’ll be crisp as frost on a pond and as deep and warm as anything you can think of that is deep and warm. I am using them with the PSW202 which I think adds a little warmth and foundation although I’m not sure I really need the sub; the EQ is pretty much flat in the lows and the volume on the PSW202 is at about 9 o’clock. In case you were wondering, I put a PSW 250 (also from ebay) in the other room to go with the R20’s and they all sound just great too. I have found EQ’s that work for both sets of speakers which are very close to one another. So the music can sound good in both rooms at the same time. I read in another review where someone characterized these (the RT35i) speakers as “laid back.” I think I understand. They just aren’t very aggressive, which to me is fantastic because I want my music to sound good and am not trying to impress the ladies or the neighbors with my overblown system. I found it really worthwhile to spend a little (actually a lot of) time with the EQ to really make these speakers sound good in the room, but I should say (again) that the EQ curve I eventually wound up with is nearly flat. Via an iMic USB audio interface (which I recommend wholeheartedly), and with the PSW202 set for a crossover frequency of about 110hz I have a really warm but not overstated sound in my living room (about 12’x16’ with speakers along the long wall.) Another thing I should mention is that I just don’t hear any hot spots or dead spots in different parts of the room. The field of these speakers seems to be extremely wide which really helps in a small room. I have had these speakers for about a month, so the honeymoon is long over as I write this. I love them as much now as I did the moment I first heard them, and sometimes I still laugh out loud at the beauty of what I’m hearing. FWIW: I listen to Groove Armada, Goldfrapp, Morcheeba, Kelly Ali, Zero 7 and Massive Attack while setting EQ but also check Lou Reed, Rolling Stones and Rufus Wainwright when determining the final EQ. So I say that if you have a chance to buy a pair of these they are just gloriously, musically beautiful and you’ll be so happy you did.

by Joey Kelley, February 22, 2002

Strengths:

Great frequency response for a bookshelf, looks good too!

Weaknesses:

None so far!

Review:

I picked up these about a month ago from my local audio shop. At just $280 a pair, I couldn't have asked for a better deal. These are, in my opinion, one of the best Polk speakers out there. They have amazing clarity, depth, and the ever so hard to find midrange that a good bookshelf should have. I chose a pair of these for my 2-channel setup, and I couldn't be happier... thanks Polk!

by Ming Nah, March 9, 2002

Strengths:

Sound is crisp and tight. Perfect for a small study room.

Weaknesses:

Bass is good but I prefer more.

Review:

Bought this pair a month ago. I put them in my 12 X 12 study room. They fit in just right and the sound imaging is just terrific. To bring the bass even lower, I bought a PSW250 to do the job. Now I am really happy. Yo-Yo Ma play...

by Xbrawn2007, April 11, 2002

Strengths:

Great sound, good mids and highs and they SOUND AWESOME! They also have good bass...but i still want a subwoofer...

Weaknesses:

none so far...i've only had these things for like 1 hour and 20 minutes or so...

Review:

These speakers ARE AWESOME! Im a LOUD MUSIC FREAK! LOL! My ears cant take it...its 4x louder than my old system...I mean these things are just AWESOME! Perfect on everything, plays videos and MUSIC AWESOME!

by wiley, April 17, 2002

Strengths:

the best mids and bass i have heard in any bookshelf speaker at 3 times the price

Weaknesses:

please!

Review:

i've now had these sweet speakers several months! i gotta say that mathew polk has done some his best work ever on this line. the definition and musicality makes it easy to listen to the music and not the speakers. these invite you to listen more and more never fatigue you like the boom and sizzle brands!! i have to rate these as a classic along with the many others polk has produced! like speakers?...get something else. like music?... get polk!! enjoy..

by Glenn Bellow, May 18, 2002

Strengths:

Clarity. Mid's and Highs. Solid(Heavy)Construction

Weaknesses:

Thin Low end. Sub needed for full dynamic responce.

Review:

How do the Bose salesmen sleep at night? I was looking for a pair of speakers for my mother for mother's day. After auditioning severel setups, I picked up a pair of M3II's for her. I had been a loyal Bose fan for years but these little bad boys blew away ANYTHING in the price range. So it got me thinking.I replaced my Bose 6.2's for a pair of 35's. WOW!!!Half the price and twice the clarity. Coupled with a quality sub, these speakers are an exellent value. I use them as my mains in my smallish 16X14 room. I paired them with a pair of M3II's for the rear and a Yamaha center. With the bose I thought I had a good theater system, but pure 2 channel music was poor. I thoght the fault lied with my $400 Yamaha reciever(HTR5550), but after hooking up the Polk's the system really woke up. The theater was much better, but the real difference came from music. I was hearing things I never heard from the bose. Much crisper. The Bose highs sound dead compared to the Polk's.If your in the market for a pair of Bose 301's with 201's in the back, give this system atry. You will be amazed.

by jay-r, May 30, 2002

Strengths:

very clear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Weaknesses:

more bass!!!

Review:

i'm a B&W fanatic but i could not afford the price, i never know that there is a speaker that could compete with B&W at very, very reasonable price. Thank God there's POLK!!!! Polk is for people who loves music and understand music. NOT SPEAKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by Sebastian, September 6, 2002

Strengths:

Wow! I don't know where to begin. These Front's are just amazing. The sound is crystal clear, the size and the price are both very very small..

Weaknesses:

The only weakness that these speakers hold, is they dont produce enough bass. You will need to buy a sub in order to get the full effect!

Review:

For the amount of money you could spend on expensive speakers... Half of them on the market right now will not sound even half as good as these Front's do. If you want a good home theather system, stick with these. I also recommend that you use *Monster* speaker wire. Don't buy anything but Monster! You can never go wrong with it..

by ERF, September 17, 2002

Strengths:

Mids are clear, highs are near precise

Weaknesses:

If you dont like a laid back speaker, this is not for you, if you want bass from the speaker without a sub, this is not for you, but for me this is an awesome speaker.

Review:

Before I got into Home Theatre, I wanted a shelf system, JVC i thought was the best, wasnt good enough, Then i was introduced into Home Theatre...At first, I did a bunch of research, 3 to 4 months of it, and first I wanted either Mission, JBL, or Polk Audio, or Klipsch... Mission, just didnt like that sound, JBL had a funny sounding sound to, and klipsch had this ear piercing sound to it from the horns, then there was polk, a laid back but still close to being exact sound. They were precise and sorda airy, clear and really good highs. These speakers were awesome. The RT35i's are awesome speakers, the sound is out of the box and does not sound enclosed, the mids are clear, and the highs are just right. The Speaker is well made, weighs are 15-20 pounds. The tweeter has no hiss at all, its very good, and the ported design makes the bass actually feelable. Only at 50 hz being the low, you need a subwoofer, other than that its awesome! Equipment Running With: Yamaha - HTR 5460 receiver Yamaha - cdc 585 cd player

by george, May 26, 2004

Strengths:

They are very compact, efficient and yet can take on a big load from my Carver 500x--250 watts/ channel with ease... a very versatile speaker system.

Weaknesses:

None. For the price, it is a steal!

Review:

I have a set of Polk spwakers for my 7.1 system, the RT35i are my back effect speakers. Their imaging and accuracy are as good as my front speakers-- RT20p. I have also added a pair of PSW202 to extend the base to a solid 40hz. The are just "fantastic".

by Rick Luna, December 26, 2005

Strengths:

Solid construction, fit and finish, awesome sound for the price.

Weaknesses:

none.

Review:

Its 2005, I've had these speakers for over 3 years and they sound as good as the day I bought them, They have been very reliable. I use them for my Home Theatre now and for listening to music in 2 channel stereo, through my Denon DVD-1920 player. These speaker have held there own. I have a small place and they fill up the living room just perfect.

etown.com, July, 2000

—Wayne Garcia

"…the RT35is were marvels of tonal, spatial and dynamic clarity. Not once did I lose track of the musical thread during the musicians' often highly complex interplay. This recording also allowed the RT35is' remarkably coherent midband to shine -- it's fast, incisive, terrifically textured, and throws an open soundstage with highly accurate imaging."

"Polk's new RT35i is a most impressive bookshelf loudspeaker. The few sonic shortcomings it exhibits are minor when compared to its many strengths. Polk has been on a roll the last few years, and the RT35i keeps Polk's train right on track."

Consumer Guide

"The Polk RT35i two-way, bookshelf-sized speaker is an incredible sounding speaker at a price that brings high-end sound within reach...for the incredible sound it produces, the RT35i is worth every cent."
"Best Buy"

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