Polk Audio RTiA5 Compact High Performance Floorstanding Speaker, 30Hz-27kHz, Single, Black

2018-06-05T20:00:00

The RTi A5 has a warm, rich sound. The cabinet is as beautiful as the finest of furniture. I use the sound system mostly for music, though I watch tv and movies with the system as well. Here's my setup: 4 RTi A5 speakers. 2 for front, which are bi-amped. Either I'm imagining things, or bi-amping really made all the difference in the world. The other 2 speakers are for surround, placed next to the couch. They are slightly toed-in to face the entertainment center. The fullness of this setup is amazing. Sometimes, I'm speachless when the music fills the room. Audiophiles may wince at the quad set-up, though the surround speakers add depth that I like very much. My receiver is a Pioneer VSXLX102, 7.2. As per the instructions of the receiver, I used the front channel as the bi-amp first channel, and the rear surround channel as the second channel. I do not have a sub-woofer yet, though I plan to add the PSW111. I've chosen this sub because of its size. And since I have a 7.2 receiver, I may add 2 subs. The RTi A5 has great bass, though I want to separate the mid frequencies from the bass and pass the bass frequencies off to the sub. You wouldn't ask a guitar to play guitar and also to stand in for the bass, right?

ScotDav

Originally posted at

2017-12-21T19:00:00

I got these for my bedroom- I have a multi-room setup. I had to get a replacement for 1 as the tweeter wasn't working, but Crutchfield took care of it right away. I wanted the i7's but they were too big/deep for the room. I'm very happy with the i5's, they are really nice looking (love the cherry) and have good build quality. The highs were a little etchy at first but are calming down as they get broken in. I think the bass response is quite good, but yes, as others have said you might want a sub for movies. For my application, the bass is more than adequate. They are a terrific value, especially considering the nice veneer cabinets. I recommend them highly especially for the price..

HiFiBri

Originally posted at

2017-12-21T19:00:00

I got these for my bedroom- I have a multi-room setup. I had to get a replacement for 1 as the tweeter wasn't working, but Crutchfield took care of it right away. I wanted the i7's but they were too big/deep for the room. I'm very happy with the i5's, they are really nice looking (love the cherry) and have good build quality. The highs were a little etchy at first but are calming down as they get broken in. I think the bass response is quite good, but yes, as others have said you might want a sub for movies. For my application, the bass is more than adequate. They are a terrific value, especially considering the nice veneer cabinets. I recommend them highly especially for the price..

Brian55

Originally posted at

2017-03-15T20:00:00

In a word "Presence"! I have a 15 year old Polk Audio RMS6600 system that is 4 bookshelf speakers, 1 center speaker, and 1 subwoofer. After poking around on why Polk Audio wanted me to run the front speakers through the subwoofer before going to the front speakers (it's because of the settable crossover in the subwoofer), I read several suggestions that I would be happier with tower speakers as front speakers. Upon recommendations from Polk Audio and Crutchfield, I settled on the Polk Audio RTi A5's. Boy I didn't know what I was missing. While the home theater movies now sound better, I really noticed the difference when I started playing my favorite CD's, the music popped out at me. OMG talk about presence. I've been driving my wife crazy. Now I sneak in a "sound check" whenever she is out of the house. The only thing I'm a little disappointed in is the lack of any discernible difference to this seenager (cross between a senior and teenager) ears of bi-amping the speakers. After reading more about it, I would really need an AV Receiver with pre-amp outs and then separate amps for the tweeters and mid-range/woofers and active crossovers somewhere in that mix, an expense I'm not ready for at this point. Otherwise the speakers are great.

Jerome

Originally posted at

2015-01-31T19:00:00

I purchased these speakers in December of 2014. I originally had Polk monitor 60's series 2. The difference between the two was immediately apparent. The rtis a5 have a wider sound stage and a much fuller sound then the m60. The wife even noticed a difference. I also have the Rti are paired with the csi a4 and an SVS sb 1000 sub woofer crossed over at 80hz. These are powered by a Yamaha rx a 2010 which pushes 135 watts per channel on paper anyway. All I can say is these speakers have impressed me right out of the box, but have opened up and sound even better now. I have been lucky enough to have a large collection of FLAC files and some SACD that sound so good coming from these speakers. I was also lucky to have grabbed theses on the friends and family deal. Try them you might just love them

Nymike619

Originally posted at

2014-01-03T19:00:00

This is an update to my last review, (zimmy), and after having these in my living room for a while, and adding a Polk audio psw111 sub, and an ONKYO HT-RC 560, receiver I am just loving these speakers now, the sub is very helpful and the new HT-RC560 receiver really woke up my system, and I've gotten used to the darker finish now, and I don't even look back to the Bose 10.2s anymore, but they were an 1980s model. thanks Polk audio for the great products.

zimbad

Originally posted at

2013-06-20T20:00:00

I ordered a pair of these speakers from Crutchfield after to talking to someone at Polk audio, whom I explained I wanted something with a nice look, and they do look nice, and sound pretty good, but the cherry color is no-where near the lighter color that all of the online photos show them to be, they are a dark color, not a lighter cherry, like in the pictures, so I am a bit disappointed with that, and don't want to hassel with sending back. I had Bose 10.2 speakers before these, and they were bullet-proof with better bass, just wanted a change of look. maybe the TSX series has lighter cherry wood. other than that I think they are a nice quality speaker.

zimmy

Originally posted at

2012-01-26T19:00:00

I recently purchased these to replace a pair of 26 year old vintage Polk 5 Jr bookshelf speakers. The RTi A5 has a tweeter design that's different enough from my old speakers that its taking a while to get used to it. The frequencies are all there, it just sounds different, and I find myself missing the dispersion and sound qualities from my old speakers. But as the days go by I'm adjusting to the new sound and I'm happy with it. The bass is more than adequate for my tastes. But then again, my basis of comparison are vintage bookshelf speakers, and I already own a Polk subwoofer, so there's that. Even without the subwoofer, the bass is an improvement over what I had before. I wasn't expecting it to knock the pictures off the walls and wouldn't want it to anyway.

Brendan

Originally posted at

2011-06-06T20:00:00

These speakers blew me away. For the price I couldnt believe how these speakers combine sound quality with the ability to get so loud.

Alex

Originally posted at

2011-03-24T20:00:00

I have always been a fan of Polk Audio! One of my first home theater speaker sets included 4 Polk Rti6's (2 for fronts, 2 for rears) and a Csi3 center channel. I loved that setup, however, I was wanting to upgrade to tower speakers for the fronts, in hopes for a bigger, more theatrical sound. I was working at Best Buy at the time in the Magnolia Home Theater department, so I had a good idea what to look for in a speaker. We carried Polk speakers in the store, but not in the Magnolia department. All we carried was the Tsi lineup (still great speakers, though). I was lucky enough to visit a Fry's store one day and they had the Rti A5's set up for demo, and after hearing them in store, it confirmed to me that I wanted to stick with Polk! I went ahead and ordered 2 Rti A5 towers, 1 Csi A4 center channel, and 2 Rti A1 bookshelves for my rears. I already had an 8" B&W subwoofer. As soon as I received the shipment at home, I couldn't wait to get these speakers set up (It was like Christmas morning)! From the first time I played these speakers, I was fully impressed at the overall sound quality. They still had the brightness of the Rti6 bookshelves that I used to have, but Rti A5's brought so much more warmth and sound depth! They have a very bright sound to them, however, not overwhelmingly bright. They make for the perfect speakers for movies, especially at their price point. Trust me, we sold far more expensive speakers at Magnolia that wouldn't beat these Polk Rti A5's! They blend very well with my B&W sub as well! Every now and then I will play a CD on them, and just go to stereo mode on my Onkyo receiver, and theses speakers perform! They have great stereo separation, great imaging, and great overall dynamic sound. They have decent low frequency performance, however, I would definitely recommend a subwoofer to go with these to give you a more full bottom end to your audio. I've had these speakers for almost a year, and now that they are broken in and well-seasoned, they sound even better than when I first bought them! I love what Polk did with the overall design and build to the new Rti lineup. The new curved shape gives them more of a modern and classy feel to them, and the wood veners can blend in easily with just about any decor! I went with the black color to matchup with my TV and TV stand, and pretty much all my components are black. I know with these speakers, I won't have to worry about replacing them for 10-20 years down the road! Overall great purchase decision! I would highly recommend these speakers to anyone, especially those who are looking for a budget-friendly speaker without compromising on sound quality!

Daniel L.

Originally posted at

2010-12-26T19:00:00

What can I say....Polk's sound and quality are hard to surpass in this price range. My system: A modest Harman/Kardon AVR 354 Polk RTi A5 fronts Polk RTi 70 rear Polk CS245i center And to fill the low end...A Velodyne DLS-5000R sub. 15" 1000 watts of pure thunder. Couldn't be happier, better than goin' to the movies.

Scott B.

Originally posted at

2010-07-24T20:00:00

SOOOO awesome! These speakers are extremely hard to beat for the price. I work at an electronics retailer and get to experience "good" audio all the time. The main problem people seem to have is that you never really know how speakers will truly sound in your home environment. I researched for a month straight before deciding to go with the RTi A5 and they were perfect. I placed them in my small basement room and played a lot of test audio from different sources. Music had more life than I had had with my previous bookshelf speakers, but the A5's are obviously not intended for music, so I can't say that these are the most musical speakers ever. Testing these speakers with movies was a whole new ball game! Watching movies in stereo was a delight with VERY spacious sound reflecting off the walls. I was floored at how wide the soundscape was in my room. My wife thought my surrounds were on. I seriously rewatched 10 movies just because I wanted to hear how these sounded with these speakers. I loved them so much that I gave away my trust Klipsch center channel and bought the CSi A6 (also a FANTASTIC speaker!). I love these speakers and encourage anyone looking for a very good home theater experience to consider the RTI A5's. Also of note: the cherry finish is gorgeous!

Albert

Originally posted at

2010-05-03T20:00:00

I just moved into a new house with wood floors and I had a pair of black Polk RT1000's that I had enjoyed for years. Originally I wanted them for the beautiful wood cabinet to match the house. I was originally looking at the A9's but after further research and consult with the very helpful salesman at Polk I decided they were too power hungry and overkill for me. I am running them off a Onkyo 100watt reciever and have a subwoofer. Well to get to the point when I first hooked them up and listened to some music my jaw dropped. I can't explain how much better these sound over my older speakers. I can hear every detail down to the softest whispers to the booming bass notes. I am very impressed and would highly recommend them to anyone in the market for a beautiful looking and sounding set of main speakers. I loved them so much I ordered the matching center speaker to replace my old Polk cs400i. Can't wait for that to arrive.

Mike

Originally posted at

2010-01-07T19:00:00

A little expensive for the sound, but suitable for home theater. Deep enough bass but not enough to annoy neighbors in a condo.

MUSIC M.

Originally posted at

2009-10-22T20:00:00

Setup: Amplifier: Onkyo TX-SR 707 100 WPC, bi-amping capability Fronts: Polk RTi A5 left & right, Bi-amped, High Pass Filter = 80 Hz Subwoofer: Polk DSW Pro 500, LFE Low Pass filter = 80 Hz Crossover: 80 Hz Cable: Jamo 1.5 mm2 These speakers can decently handle low frequencies as low as 80 Hz or lower up to 40 Hz. Setting the crossover to 120 (as what could be deduced from RTi A series specifications of the other two higher models), would result in the overall sound being drowned in base by a decent sub such as DSW Pro 500. The high frequencies are disappointing. The mid frequencies are somewhat disappointing. I have tried several listening modes including the highly acclaimed THX to extract a good reproduction of high and mid frequencies but they seem not there. I have a pair of Bose 301 which I initially intended to sell and to be replaced by polk RTI A5's. I know that Bose 301 have excellent high frequency reproduction so I tried putting them as my right and left surrounds and, Oh my God!, the combination is amazing when the listening mode is set to All Channel Stereo. It's like the RTi A5's were reproducing the mid to lower ranges and the Bose 301 the higher frequencies. Positioning yourself at the center of the mixture point is like sitting at the heart of music. Listening is like euphoria, you just don't know what it is exactly; It's, like, taking your breath away. Watching movie is rather disappointing because the fronts cannot accurately reproduce enough highs and the upper mids are somewhat muffled and the 301's cannot accurately handle lower frequencies. This results to specific sounds driven in a particular channel being inaccurately rendered when this setup is used for home theater. Bryan Adams' voice in the song "please forgive me", sounded thin, but sounded remarkable and full with the aid of 301's. This is not to say 301's are necessarily better. Leaving Bryan adams' voice to the 301 sounded shrill and raspy. Kenny Rogers' voice on the RTi A5 sounded full, with an unnoticeable improvement upon 301's backup. Classical music "Greensleves" was acceptable on RTi A5, but was a mile better, sounded fuller, crispier and more enveloping with the aid of 301. Santana feat Chad Kroeger's "Into the night" was a little disappointing in the RTi A5 alone but sounded remarkable with RTi A5 and 301 together. Gunther's "You touch my tralala (Ding dong song)" is excellently reproduced by the RTi A5's, particularly the part where air is being pumped out. Drumbeats in Michael Jackson's "Liberian girl" were excellent on RTi A5, but leaving the instruments insipid and flat. Bi-amping RTi A5 is not necessarily better for receivers with 150 WPC, 8 ohms, or lower as the sound is almost inaudible and undefined at lower volumes. Sound acquire substance only within a short range, before primary signs of distortion sets in. undefined: lower than 40 full with good substance: 55-75 distortion becomes noticeable: 85 based on using onkyo tx-sr707 Overall, RTi A5 is a good speaker (I am still overwhelmed by its price considering its performance) when used for listening to music as long as it is backed up by speakers that can handle higher frequencies better, and mixing them to produce a stereo (All Channel Sterero). However, it is poor when used for movies. Home theater speakers should have the ability to reproduce sound accurately at any given frequency in its range at any given channel, which neither Polk RTi A5 nor Bose 301 delivered independently.

James A.

Originally posted at

2009-10-18T20:00:00

Let me preface by saying you could include myself the group of audiophile snobs, having experience with brands like Thiel, Definitive Tech, Kef Reference, etc. I recently started looking to replace my old speakers and decided to research some new Polks. My criteria was to find a speaker with a textile soft dome tweeter and to avoid some of the newer "metalized" mid woofers and tweeters cropping up in so many brands these days. I found the Polk's design materials more consistent with my philosophy. So my research led me to the RTiA5 due to the following attributes. - use of tall slender cabinet avoiding use of stands - attractive real wood and nicely finished - use of two 6 1/2 midwoofers for midrange coherence - bi-wire availability - functional curved cabinet avoiding resonances. After listening, I am astounded how good these speakers sound. These speakers are neutral if not slightly warm, and invoke no listening fatigue. Their midrange is the most coherent I've ever heard. The word imaging is thrown around by so many people. However, if you want to experience what a true speaker image sounds like, try these speakers. Many speakers can throw a wide soundstage, but collapse in the center image. These did not, and provided for exceptional two channel listening. Don't worry, any speaker that can pull off two channel sound can do multichannel. (I just ordered a center and bookshelves from this series to complete my set!) If you have a subwoofer, then stay with the A5's, because the multiple drivers in the A7's or A9's will reduce coherence. Without a sub: go for em'! No more bleeding ears for me, Matthew Polk to the rescue! I am done throwing money away on "high end speakers." My advice is to start here and stop here, and spend your extra cash on other things you enjoy. You won't be disappointed! Remember: metal is for pots and pans, not for speaker drivers. If metal didn't resonate endlessly, they wouldn't make cymbals out of it! By the way, every cent spent on these speakers comes back in the very best sound available, a true value.

Gary

Originally posted at

2009-08-17T20:00:00

I've owned Polk Audio speakes since the era of the SDA series. I purchased this pair for home theater and audio use. These were purchased on a whim and I did absolutely no research or surfing on the net. I listened to them in a sound room at American Furniture and Electronics. They stood their ground for what I needed them for. I took them home, hooked them up and OMG. Like I stated before, I've owned Polk speakers for years and they've never been known for their craftmanship. These speakers are absolutely stunning in looks, craftsmanship and immaging. A friend helped me hook up my AV system. He has a $15,000 AV home theater system and he was mad because his speakers didn't have the imaging that these speakers have. (His are made by a company in Arkansas. For the money, these speakers are a STEAL. Polk Audio engineered these speakers for the true audio fan. I would work for Polk Audio if I could sell these speakers for a living. I can't mark six stars so I'll just leave it at that.

MV

Originally posted at

2009-05-25T20:00:00

Great sound classy look.

Stacy H.

Originally posted at

2009-01-27T19:00:00

I had searched the internet for literally weeks before deciding on these speakers...and I can honestly say that all my hard work researching paid off. These speakers sound phenomenal. The imaging on them is flawless. It literally sounds as if all sound is coming from the center speaker in 2.1 stereo. Movies sound better than ever and music...oh man music. I'm hearing instruments and details I've never heard before. They matched up perfectly with my Onkyo 606 receiver and deliver just the right amount of power. Later if I choose I can go with a higher rated amp since these speakers are rated very high in wattage. I had also considered the a7 and a9 but thought my receiver wouldn't put out enough power for them to sound there best. The finish on these speakers is top notch. Made from a real wood they do pack some weight. All in all I can't imagine anyone on a reasonable budget to not pick these speakers and never look back and enjoying them for many years to come!

shawn

Originally posted at

2008-12-20T19:00:00

Excelentes bocinas, tienen un sonido sin distorsion muy claro y en un amplio rango de frecuencias, su diseño es muy atractivo. Son el complemento perfecto de mi amplificador Marantz, Ya tengo un año con ellas y cada vez me sorprenden mas.

Ruben V.

Originally posted at

2008-12-19T19:00:00

First of all I was trying to decide on which tower speaker in the Rti series to buy the 5, 7 or 9's. Money was not an objective when deciding on these. First of all the A9 require to much power and are rather large for the space I have. A little too overpowering. So basically it came down to the 7's and 5's. These speakers are very identical. Same midrange drivers, cabinet materials, etc... The only difference between the two is the extra midrange driver in the 5's. The 7's of course have 2 bass drivers. 95% of the people out there use a subwoofer. For me it was an easy decision go with the 5's. These speakers have very tight punchy bass. Excellent clear midrange. You have to have midrange in your speakers in order to have a good speaker. The 7's lack the midrange and you can always add a sub. If you don't like subs buy the 7's. If you want an overall quality speaker buy the 5's. There also a little cheaper, but don't let price fool you because most people think you have to spend more to get something better.

armycod13

Originally posted at

2008-11-16T19:00:00

I bought these speakers about 1.5 months ago from Future Shop. This was the second time I bought speakers from Polk. My first experience with Polk speakers was RM10 speaker set which I bought for my home theatre. My choice was based on very good reviews I read. I was very impressed with the quality and performance! PolkAudio won me completely! This is absolutely outstanding company--not only in terms of the products it offers, but laso how it presents itself to and cares about its customers! I learnt a lot about audio from Polk website (Support/Education and FAQs). Therefore, it was not a question for me which brand to choose when I was looking for the speakers to upgrade my home cinema--certainly PolkAudio! My choice was RTiA5 speakers that allowed me not only to upgrade my home cinema, but also enjoy high fidelity stereo music on my CDs. And I must say that RTiA5 speakers were way beter that I could even imagine. I absolutely love them! I realized how much I was missing before I bought these speakers:my old CDs sounded like new ones--I could hear a great deal of tones and I never heard before on my old speakers! Driven by my Yamaha 6160 receiver, RTiA5 speakers produce the sound so faithful, rich and warm that you just cannot tear myself away from my home theatre/stereo system. These speakers offer astonishing built and performance--I highly recommend them anyone who is looking for the speakers with best quality/price ratio on the market! PolkAudio won my absolute loyalty--in the future I will consider only Polk speakers to change/upgrade my system. Thank you so much, Polk. Sincerely, Ed

Ed

Originally posted at

2008-10-29T20:00:00

When I was looking at polks, and reading the reviews, I took them like a grain of salt because they were all so positive. After receiving these RTIa5's and listening to them I am absolutely stunned of the quality and accuracy of the sound they reproduce. I use these for music and TV and they are seriously High fi. My receiver is a 8 year old Pioneer 5.1 with 100rms. I was going to get a new receiver, however after reading reviews of it and listening to it with the polks it sounds better than I could imagine. I almost got the RtiA7, however i was concerned about just having 1 mid range driver. Most reviews I read on the a7s said they were slightly out of balance too much highs. I also personally hate when mids get hidden (you can't hear voices that well). I was also concerned about my Receiver not being able to power the A7s (I was probably Wrong though) I thought i would get the A5s, then get a sub. After listening to the Bass these things pump out I don't even think I'll get a sub. The A5s do very well with low frequency even at low volume or just watching TV. High volume hiphop sounds great too. Don't get me wrong, a sub would make them more punchy especially at low volume, but as far as low frequency goes, just by listening to background music on a TV show you hear Lows very strong and clearly (but not over bearing). The cabinet design is what really makes these amazing at low frequency. I had no idea 2 x mid range drivers could move the air needed to make lows, without distorting the mids. They can and they do with these Polks! The mids and highs are Awesome. Everything is very well balanced and perfectly reproduced. Getting these speakers will reveal a hidden world of sounds. You will hear sounds more cleanly and individually that you didn't hear before. Very Very Highly Recommend music + home Theater. They sound even better after about a week of break in. I would love to hear the RTI10, RTI12 and RTIA9 just to compare. However they do cost more.

Tony

Originally posted at

2008-05-14T20:00:00

very impresive speakers.with my NAD C 372 they sound nice.no more. the bass is a shame. no bass at all. big disappointment for me

riki l.

Originally posted at

2008-05-13T20:00:00

Polk’s RTi A5 is the latest Polk demo speaker making the rounds for Polk Audio’s Online Forum community. The A5’s are the smallest floorstanding speaker in the RTi 2008 Series speaker lineup. Small is a relative word in this day of diminutive bookshelves. The A5’s are a true floorstanding speaker topping out at 40 ¼” tall and 8 7/16” deep. The A5’s came wrapped in beautiful cherry wood laminate. This is a truly beautiful speaker. I installed the speakers in my carpeted media room so I left on the floorspikes that provided for some improved stability. I highly recommend using the floorspikes on carpet installations since these are tall narrow speakers. The shape isn’t the orthogonal rectangle I’m used to from Polk. The sides bow out somewhat similar to an airplane wing. The shape works for me. The A5’s arrived fresh out of the box so the first order of business was speaker break in. Once suitably broken in, I settled down to get acquainted with Polk’s latest speaker offering. If you like the Polk sound like I do, the A5’s faithfully reproduce the sound I have grown accustomed to over the years, clear distinct highs, faithful midrange, and decent bass from the most diminutive speaker of the new RTi speaker line. These speakers aren’t bottom dwellers by any means. But they dig deep enough to provide respectable 2 channel listening pleasure. If you are still subless in this day and age, I recommend looking to the A7 or A9 to better fill out the bottom octaves. Otherwise, matched with a capable subwoofer, the A5’s lack of strong bass won’t be missed. Moving on to movies, the A5’s belted out reference level volumes with no discernible distress. King Kong’s battle with multiple T-Rex’s cames through with all the lifelike realism I’ve come to expect from Polk Audio. Thanks for the demo, Polk Audio.

Walter H.

Originally posted at

2008-05-10T20:00:00

I sampled the RTI A7's and RTI A5's and end up going with the A5's. The mids/vocals are some much better than the 7's with the two mid woofers. There are alot of spekers to choose from out there and I wanted a speaker that sounded great, reasonable in price, and a speaker that I would have for years.

leroy s.

Originally posted at

2008-05-10T20:00:00

I am a current RTi-10 owner and had these speakers in my system for over a month and got to know them very well. Compared to my RTI-10s I found them to have a better imaging and the tweeters are slightly laid back. This was very apparent the first time I hooked them up. I listened to a familiar song with my current setup, swapped the speakers and listened to the same song again. It was only a few minutes between the two and the parts where I found the tweeter bright on my RTi-10s was not on the RTi-A5. I was surprised as Polk has said there was no difference in the crossover for the two lines. I have not spent much time with the RTi-8 so I can’t say how this compares to the older speaker. However I found them to be less fatiguing than the last series. What I did miss from my RTi-10s is the bass. I use my system for every day TV watching and I like the fact the RTi-10 set as large digs deep enough to capture the bass without need for a sub. I also like to listen to music with speakers only because I have a hard time blending the sub in for music. Bottom line a sub is needed for these speakers all the time so make it a good one. If the RTi-A5 is any indication I think the new RTi line is a great evolution of the series. This makes me really want to get my ears on the RTi-A7 for a direct comparison to my RTi-10s.

Mark D.

Originally posted at

2008-03-15T20:00:00

As I searched out the best speakers for my home, I set price aside and had no baggage of previous brand loyalty. Having made my decision, I later invited numerous friends over to listen to their favorite CDs on my new Polk RTi A5 fronts and RTi A1 in the rear, along with a PSW125 subwoofer. Hearing their own music, I saw their ears turn green with envy. They keep bringing over their music and movies, and I know my homework and decision was right on the mark. With my Dennon 3808, I have an amzing soundscape. Thank you Polk, you now have my loyalty.

Andy S.

Originally posted at

2007-11-07T19:00:00

I told the guy in "Sound Advice" I needed an amp and some outdoor speakers. I had already made my mind up regarding speakers! He played me a track proving the amps performance through the A5 speakers. So I bought the speakers immediately. I was a little worried that it was just the sound booth that made them sound so good. WOW when I got these babies home, they worked even better in my high ceilinged house, clarity definition bass and top end squeaks like never before at such a price. Take a bow designer these are simply magic

John B.

Originally posted at

2007-09-14T20:00:00

I have to say right away that I don't own these speakers.Nor, would I accept them for free.However, would glady buy these had polk not added the gray/silver around the drivers & ports which I think makes the speaker look "fake", cheap & not a "man's speaker". I say fire the "dainty" design team as they consistently turn me off & prevent me from owning polk speakers. If, others feel the same way, please voice your opinions so a change can take place at polk audio...all the way down to inflated prices for their speakers.I'm hoping this review (based on the looks only---)will wake the design team up at polk audio. Perhaps, mathew polk himself will take note as well ( doubtful)afterall, here we have a disgruntled , potential buyer. I did like the Lsi7s & 9s which looked fairly cool with grills off.But, the price is totally unrealistic as I have heard the speakers & determined I could go to another brand achieving sound just as good at a more realistic price. I guess I'm a bit "old school" so want not only good sounding speaker but also, a speaker that also looks cool.. something I'd proudly want to own for many yrs. as I did with polk speakers from 88-91'. Polk should look to brands like monitor audio, KEF & their IQ line in regards to how a cabinet should look. I also detest the space ship looking silver braces/spikes things on the bottom of the speakers. Should we prepare for lift off or, what??!! These speakers are a joke in terms of looks. But, will compliment the handsome wood..even with grills off, just lose the flashy silver/gray accents.They should've modeled this completely after the cheaper, now defunct R50 model which lacked "real wood" but had no tacky gray/silver around ports/drivers. Also, would it be askin too much to bring back the beastly 5 foot tall-ish 1.2 speakers from the late 80's? I now sense the snoody polk design team rolling their eyes at me as they feel only a handful of ancient polk lovers liked these speakers that destroy /clash with ones livingrooms etc.keep in mind.. nearly everyone by now has the home theater setup now so, true music lovers have seperate rooms for (music only) listening..away from the hands of wives & kids.These speakers tipping in at 186 lbs. were true monsters of the midway & loved by many.However, no point in a retro model appearing as I have no doubt the design team would add their nasty little accents & updates..runing a true man's speaker! I've given up on the polk line in terms of looks & pricing.Happy now? A once die hard polk fan from the early days in tossing in the towel & switching brands....

Nick

Originally posted at