RT800i

by daniel t. wacker, March 10, 2002

Strengths:

Great high range sound. Overall these speakers can do it all.

Weaknesses:

If I had to pick, I'm streching here, the base output is only slightly above average. But, any serious audiophile would have a sub anyways.

Review:

AlthoughI got mine on sale for $299.00 each these are the best speakers, for the price, I have found. When shopping for them I compared a similar Bose model and I found the RT800i had the better sound quality

by Brad Johnson, March 17, 2002

Strengths:

Since the pair of 800i's is hooked up to my Yamaha HTR5250, they have to play everything from DVD's, VHS, and CD's with a wide range of music and sound effects. These 800i's sound overall beautiful and they do not skip a beat!

Weaknesses:

The bass is a little on the weak side, but then again I do have a sub that delivers what the Polks are lacking.

Review:

I feel real lucky to have been able to purchase these 800i's (Cherry) for $200.00 each. I thank the Good Guys in Eugene,OR for closing out the Polk Brand for various reasons (they stated). I have longed for a pair of Polk and now that my dream came true I am over joyed with thier perfomance.

by John Linn Jr., March 18, 2002

Strengths:

Brilliant clarity and response, as much bass as you can expect/want out of a non-powered speaker. Bi-wire/amp-able. High potential depending on equipment. VERY attractive in any home.

Weaknesses:

Smaller than it's brethren (I like big, intimidating speakers) but that's hardly a weakness,

Review:

This floorstanding speaker is simply too good of a value to pass up. The two drivers deliver very accurate, sharp sound with quick response. Their range is full and wide in scope...you definatley will replay all of your cds after listening. If you are serious about both music and HT, these are an amazing buy...for music they simple stun, and are among the best of the Polk line. And it is that success in music that lends their talents so well as mains in an HT set up. One of the most amazing feature is how much potential they have. I believe that the better the wire/amp you paired these with, they better they will get. Once bi-wired, they sound as live as you can get for under a couple grand.

by Steve Groff, March 18, 2002

Strengths:

mid-range quality, smoothness and clarity. Powerful! Down firing ports.

Weaknesses:

none

Review:

I think the best things about these speakers are there mid-range sound and overall smoothness and clarity. Many manufacturers leave out mid-range sound and emphasize on either a lot of highs or lows. These speakers are just right. They have nice low punching bass for you rap lovers and nice mid-range for you jazz and classic-rock people. I myself listen to everything, inclucding DVD's, and the RT800's hang in with the best floor standing speakers. Overall one of the best floor standing speakers on the market. Too bad they are being discontinued. Good thing Polk still validates there warranties. Setup: Denon 2802 Reciever Denon DVD - 800 4 Polk RT 800's center speaker: Polk CS175i Polk PSW650 Dual 10 inch Subwoofer You Nailed it POLK AUDIO, nice job!

by Rick Perry, March 21, 2002

Strengths:

Looks great and the reproduction of mid-range is the best I have heard.

Weaknesses:

Bass, but then again, add on your sub!

Review:

Fine quality regarding construction and better quality regarding the sound! I moved up to these speakers from Polk\'s LS-50\'s and you can really tell the difference. Fantastic mid-range and these speakers reproduce classical music as you have never heard.I got them on sale for under $250 each and am pleased with them so far.( 1 1/2 years)

by Ian Colquhoun, April 3, 2002

Strengths:

The RT800i produces a very clean sound.No exaggerated frequency bands between high and low frequencies.

Weaknesses:

Maybe a little more space in the binding post area to get one's fingers in comfortably.

Review:

Yesterday I purchased a pair of RT800i's from my friend Gary at G&G Electronics in Canada. Being a Hi-Fi nut for nearly 30 years,I have to say that these are the best darn speakers I have listened to. Very clean sound. Classical and Instrumental music sounds great.The cherry finish of the speakers is quite stunning. In short a joy to own.

by demond winfield, May 5, 2002

Strengths:

Value- I paid only $210 each for all three(open box at Circuit City). Amazingly accurate reproduction of the full spectrum of sound, you can clearly hear the highs and mids while feeling all of the lows.

Weaknesses:

Review:

Simply, the best speaker that I have ever listened to. Let me describe my setup to help better explain what I am talking about. Receiver- Sony STRDE 875 DVD - Sony DVP NS500V CD - Sony CDP CX300 VCR - Sony SLV N81 I know that Sony doesn't necessarily have the best equipment, but for the price that I am willing to pay it suits me fine. Back to the speakers. When playing a cd on this system(doesn't matter what type of music it is), the sound is wounderful. Turning the volume only to 5(goes all the way up to 40), you can hear every aspect of the music. The highs and the mids are clearly defined and do an excellent job of pulling you into the music. The lows give you a good shake and are much better than I expected given some of the reviews that I have read about this speaker(all over the web, not just on this site). Watching a dvd with these speakers just blows me away. I use another rt800i as the center speaker and the three combined together is amazing. From crashes and bombs to a person simply walking from one side of the screen to the other; these speakers catch every aspect and range of audio and replays it all with pinpoint detail. These speakers give you the ability to enjoy the full spectrum of movies and music at a much lower volume than you would be able to with a lot of the other speakers on the market today.

by Matthew Bunn, May 7, 2002

Strengths:

With a good reciever with high amperage there will be no distortion at all.

Weaknesses:

I like the old 800 design better than the 800i. But thats about all I can complain about.

Review:

I have had Polk speakers for two years now and have enjoyed every minute of the sound. It is a wonderfull experience every time. I was a home theatre salesman at Future Shop in Canada and we sold many brands including Bose and JBL. But with for the dollar they are the best, BAR NONE! Here is my setup: Fronts - 800i Center - 400i Rears - 15i Reciever - Harman Kardon 300 CD Player - Harman Kardon 8380 DVD Player - JVC 343

by Francesco, June 3, 2002

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Review:

Fantastic, my system is: Front: RT800i Center: CS400i Surround: RT600i Subwoofer: PSW650 Dvd Player: Sony DVP-735d Sin/Amp: Sony STR-DB1070 TVC: Sony KV-32FX65

by Hoopmanne, June 14, 2002

Strengths:

Everything.

Weaknesses:

Nothing.

Review:

All I can say is give them a listen. They are simply unmatched!

by Jim Halmi, July 13, 2002

Strengths:

Everything it makes me want to be a woman like Barbara streisand so i can sing like she can.

Weaknesses:

Nothing at all i love the life like sounds of her womanly voice as they are portrayed through my speakers, i want to have a surgery to become a woman like her.

Review:

I love these speakers it makes all of my Barbara Streisand movies sound so lifelike and wonderful, wow i just love barbara streisand.

by ric casella, January 1, 2003

Strengths:

superb dvd quality,great for surround.

Weaknesses:

are u kidding? none that i can hear.

Review:

ive listened to a number of speakers before i setteled on the polk 800i.i matched these up with the klipsch rf3s,and the rf5s.they were great speakers but also too bright.and really not suited for movies,since most of my listening will come with dvd.s.the polk gives a warm sound to movies and exceptional music tones.heres the system ive managed to set up,rt800ifronts,csi40 center,f/x1000 surrounds,and an added center for 6.1 the cs30i. love em!

by Paul Schuster, January 10, 2003

Strengths:

For the price you can't beat these

Weaknesses:

none

Review:

Really great sound for all modes. Have listen to DVD, DTS ,DVD-A, CD still even have a turntable. Mostly watch movies and these speakers are well built, look nice , have wonderful bass and highend. My system : Yamaha 2095 Technics DVD A10 RT800i main cs400i center rt25i front effect SRT-rear

by Jeremy, January 14, 2003

Strengths:

Clear, tight, and concise mids & highs!!

Weaknesses:

none that I can think of!

Review:

I looked everywhere for an affordable pair of tower speakers with great sound for jazz, blues & rock. Let me tell you Bose, Infinity & JBL have nothing on these speakers. I am very impressed with the sound quality and design that these speakers have for the price. I looked at other brands that are far more expensive than this, but just did not have the clarity that these speakers have. I combined them with a Polk sub, center, and rear bookshelf speakers, with my high end Onkyo receiver. I love them and would recommend them to anyone.

by Rick Perry, February 4, 2003

Strengths:

Quality and value for the money. Need I say more?

Weaknesses:

Add your sub!

Review:

Up date for you Polk fans out there. I have these 800i's for 2 1/2 years and I am still amazed at the sound. I am almost ready for the newest Polk speakers, not quite. Incredible highs and mid range performance at a very reasonable price. Bose speakers are garbage and over priced compared to Polk.

by Geoff Bingham, March 8, 2003

Strengths:

The best sounding speaker i have heard

Weaknesses:

there are no weaknesses

Review:

I live in Australia and have had my polks Rt800 for Three years now and i am still excited at the way they perform. I would and have recomended them to many people. You can try and lissen to the rest but you will go back to the polks.

by Raffaele - Italy, October 27, 2005

Strengths:

Dinamica e trasparenza !

Weaknesses:

nessuna

Review:

Ottimi diffusori, trasparenti, con timbrica equlibrata, ottimi medi, bassi profondi e puliti, buon rapporto prezzo-qualità ! Consigliati !

by Jeffrey Patten, May 9, 2006

Strengths:

Accuracy, lack of coloration, and smoothness.

Weaknesses:

Boring "big box" appearance (helped somewhat by the Power Port).

Review:

I have owned these speakers for many years, and I use them primarily for watching movies in a home theater context - I also have a Polk Audio CS400i center channel speaker and a pair of used Polk bipolar/dipolar speakers I bought on ebay, and I am not certain of the model number. However, they all use the same trilaminate dome tweeter and they use similar (identical, in the case of the RT800i's and the CS400i) polymer cone drivers. I recently bought a Pioneer universal disk player, and I have been using it to listen to SACD and DVD-Audio music disks. These disks remind me of how good these speakers really are - they tend to "disappear" when I watch movies, which is ideal, but which also tends to make me take them for granted. When I play music in general, and now SACD's and DVD-Audio disks in particular, their ability to bring out the "sparkle" from the high end without being harsh, and to give you a full, accurate midrange rendition of the vocals and midrange-type instruments, really shines. I have to admit that I love "gimmicks", especially when it comes to speakers. When I think about upgrading my speakers, I am drawn to things like Magnepans, Gallo Reference 3.1's, Definitive Technology's bipolar speakers, and even (for a REAL upgrade, at least in terms of money) Martin Logan. A long time ago, I owned some ESS box-type speakers with Heil air motion transformers for tweeters, and I loved them. However, the Polk system in general, and the RT800i's in particular, keep on holding me back because they do everything well. I have the classic American consumer's assumption built into my thinking that more expensive is always better, but when I go to listening rooms and listen to other speakers, it strikes me that the Polks usually sound as good as, or better than, both "gimmick" and "box" speakers costing twice as much, or more than, the RT800i's did years ago.

by keiith Dzedzora, September 27, 2006

Strengths:

Crisp High and Mids.The Bass Is Tight.A very excellent compliment to my RTi-10's

Weaknesses:

A Powered Sub Would have been a Nice Feature To Add.

Review:

I first bought The RTi-10's and was IMMEDIATELY BLOWN AWAY.I purchased The RT800i from a friend and man I really didn't think my sysytem could sound any better.They totally Compliment the other Speakers.I'm a Drummer,so I can really hear the hi/mids that these babies deliver..I'm Running a Bryston Power Amp/SAE Pre Amp.The RT800i's alone "SHAKE MY HOUSE".Keep up The Good work."I LOVE MY POLKS".Now go buy your own.Wicked...Keith

by BigM, December 30, 2010

Strengths:

Huge soundstage nice bass , hardly have to use sub any more .

Weaknesses:

None i can think of.

Review:

Incredible Speakers , I have wanted a pair for over a year and got the oppurinty to purchase some at a great price point. I love polk. I have a pair of RT8's now used for rear surround, a CS350LS center and a pair of RT25I for mids. May retire the RT25I to bedroom duty. May i say the CS350 center is a heavy duty player u need a great set of fronts to over power it lol. My amp is a Pioneer VSX-1018 130W. and a sony N460 BR player. With a sony KDL-46V LCD tv. Sub duty is a JBL 10" 150Watt -I know i need to get a Polk lol but the deal was too good to pass up only 89bucks. Bluray movies are superb for soundtracks. I love Gladiator and Perl Harbor the attack scenes are amazingly realistic sounding. Over all im incredibly happy with my set up. All of it came from Ebay at a fraction of retail. Polk speakers give a lot for a small sum compared to most high end speakers. And all of mines are vintage polks they still rock !Never say bigger is not better !

StereoTimes.com, May 2000

—Dorsey Lewis

"This system really trips the reality switch in your brain and draws you into the movie. The Polk RT800 home theater speaker system has become my new personal reference."

[ Open Review ]

Consumer Guide

"Polk's commitment to well-made, fairly priced speakers is evident with just one listen."
"Best Buy"

[ Open Review ]