Help me wth polk audio rti a3 opinions

jgscott

AK Subscriber
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Have a chance to Buy a set of Polk audio rti a3. Going to put them in my 3rd Bedroom office. Would be hooked up to a HK Receiver Twin Power about 80wpc.

Goggled some reviews that say good, and other say they Suck. Without any further details. Who owns them and has heard them with listening time?

Please give me some feedback as I wont be able to listen to them before I get them if I do. Thanks. Love to hear different opinions on them. THANKS!
 
I've got a pair and they sound amazing. They are not shrinking violets but they put out a good, solid, rich sound with impressive clarity and my listening environment is well-damped (carpeted). Once I had occasion to replace some good floor-standing tower speakers with them for awhile and I couldn't really tell much difference.

This is invariably a personal matter when you're talking about speaker sound. There are a lot of variables including your equipment, your space and your listening material. I'm not sure these would shine the same way if I favored heavy metal instead of acoustic jazz.
 
Thanks. How are they at Low Volume? Not real low, but low?

Who else knows about them please?
 
Bump for any more comments and/or experiences with these Polk's. I am thinking about pulling the trigger on them and ordering them today. Thanks
 
They are really aimed at HT use, hence the Reference Theater improved moniker. As such they are a bit crisp up top.

Take a look at the newer Signature S20's, I think you'd like them better.
 
Im a big fan of Polk since upgrading from Sony SSH-A1 (fried tweeter) to originally the Signature S15's (also fried a tweeter) and now ending up with the bigger Polk S20's mentioned above. Best speakers I've ever had!!!!
 
Have a chance to Buy a set of Polk audio rti a3. Going to put them in my 3rd Bedroom office. Would be hooked up to a HK Receiver Twin Power about 80wpc.

Goggled some reviews that say good, and other say they Suck. Without any further details. Who owns them and has heard them with listening time?

Please give me some feedback as I wont be able to listen to them before I get them if I do. Thanks. Love to hear different opinions on them. THANKS!
I owed a pair for awhile and was very happy with them.

Pros:
Easy to drive
Good soundstage presentation
Good overall balance with a tilt towards some high end 'sparkle' - this works well for low to mid volumes as you don't need to drive them with power to 'wake them up'.
The rear power port design allows you to place them close to walls

Cons:
The high end sparkle can get to be too much with crummy brickwalled or bright/brittle recordings
Soundstage will start to collapse and overall sound will be congested when driven really loud

This speaker has been out for a number of years now, and there have been great sales as well as used bargains.

I wouldn't pay more than $250 for a pair and be patient for an even better deal.
 
Funny, I was looking for a set a few months ago - as I age, I find I'm preferring the brighter top end of the Polk RT-i series.

Nice all-arounders, and capable of excellent bass for a bookshelf. Yes, also a bit on the bright side, but that may end up being an excellent compliment to the warmer vintage HK sound. Can always twiddle the treble knob if you find them a bit bright.
 
I have a set of RTiA3 I use as rear speakers ... The front's are RTiA7s

I use these in a 2-channel only audio system.

I think they sound very nice compared to the other speakers I have had in the past ... nothing at all wrong with them
 
$100 sounds like an excellent deal. I've heard the floorstanders in this version and they're pretty good. These are aimed at HT as others have said. The LSi are their top range and are better for music.
 
Again ... As far as I am concerned, the RTiA7 floorstanders and the RTiA3 bookshelf speakers sound great for music. They also can handle a good amount of power without distorting.

RTiA7: 20 - 300 Watts / Ch RMS

RTiA3: 20 -150 Watts / Ch RMS
 
Again ... As far as I am concerned, the RTiA7 floorstanders and the RTiA3 bookshelf speakers sound great for music. They also can handle a good amount of power without distorting.

RTiA7: 20 - 300 Watts / Ch RMS

RTiA3: 20 -150 Watts / Ch RMS

You must like ear piercing highs.

Distortion comes from the power source.
 
The right amp or tone controls cant bring them in line? You feel they are that Bad?

They were puposely designed to be crisp up top. For HT use they aren't bad. Tone controls aren't the answer. Maybe a tube amp would help.

The Signature S20 is a much better speaker for music.
 
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