Customer Reviews

Polk Audio RTI A1 Bookshelf Speakers (Pair, Cherry)

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I researched bookshelf speakers for two months. I wanted a speaker that would fill the room with clean, rich sound for all types of music, especially jazz, classical, bluegrass, and rock. Everything sounds great on these speakers. I had Boston Acoustic floor speakers. I still love the the BAs, but I have not lost anything with the Polk and I have gained space. The speakers sit on top of a bookcase, about 6' off the ground, in a 14' x 14' room. I could not be happier.

I also own the previous generation RTi6 bookshelf speakers by Polk and was able to do a direct comparison. The 6s have larger drivers so their slight mid-bass advantage is to be expected, but in all other ways the RTi A1 is an improvement. The sound projects further outside of the cabinets, or rather the cabinets disappear and throw a great, wide sound-field outward. Instruments sound like they should, male voices aren't nasal or chesty, and the highs are soothing rather than sibilant and tinny (as the previous RTis could get under pressure). I have never heard a speaker this nice at a price this low.

This may sound a bit like a Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 review, but read on, be patient, and you'll see where I'm going with this...

When researching which new speakers to buy, I read a number of reviews. I eventually waffled between the Wharfedale Diamond 10.1s and the Polk RTi A1s - both overwhelmingly favorably reviewed. In the end, I decided to take a chance on the Wharfedales. I spent hours trying to find them for sale online in the US, finally did find them, and made the purchase. There are no dealers that carry them in Oklahoma, and due to a lack of Stateside online retailer options, I paid full price, which made me a little nervous. To make matters worse, the day after I purchased the Wharfedales, Amazon slashed the price on the Polks by $75. Not wanting to pass on a great deal and knowing I could return whichever speakers I liked the least, I went ahead and got them too. The speakers arrived within a day of each other, and the first thing I did was test them in head to head competition to see if I had chosen wisely. Kind of fun, and quite revealing...

The Diamond 10.1s totally exceeded my high expectations and validated the flowery reviews I had read. These speakers not only look fantastic, more importantly, they also sound phenomenal. Even with a premium Onkyo receiver, I couldn't turn the volume up high enough to distort the tight, controlled, and vibrant sound emitted from these speakers before they blew out my ear drums. Simply amazing.

The Polks are also superb and performed nearly on par with the Wharfedales. When compared back to back, the Polks were ever so slightly brighter and harsher, if that makes sense. The Wharfedales seemed warmer and more refined; just as hard hitting, but more capable when handling the softer stuff. While the Polks are a hammer in the hands of a master carpenter, the Wharfedales are a chisel in the hands of a master sculptor.

Head to head for pure performance, the Wharfedale Diamond 10.1s beat the Polk RTi A1s. However, the Polks are extremely impressive for the price. Keep in mind the Polks (on sale) were nearly half of the price I paid for the Wharfedales, and the difference in performance, while noticeable, is subtle.

I love both sets of speakers - the Wharfedales for their superior performance and the Polks for their great performance to price ratio. I was going to return the "loser," but there are no losers in this comparison. I'm so impressed with the Polks, I'm going to keep them. I'll happily find a use for them in a spare room and consider them a steal at just over $200. Truth be told, if not comparing them back to back in head to head competition, I'd probably have a hard time noticing the difference in performance just walking into a room where they are the featured speaker. The Polks hit hard, loud, and clear, and are everything you could want in a speaker. Not the best bookshelf, but likely among the best for the price.

I highly recommend the Polks! Although I prefer the Wharfedale Diamond 10.1s for pure performance, the Polk RTi A1s are pound for pound, dollar for dollar, a fantastic buy.

i have had these in just over a week and with the hours i have played them i would say that i am entering the break in stage. right out of the box they sounded a little bright, now they sound a little more laid back and smoother. most reviewers on here pair their speakers with a receiver and a sub. i would suggest that you use neither. in stereo i would suggest you use more superior hardware to get more from these gems,such as a good amp,a preamp and a good cd player,or turntable. now for my review.i listened to the polks well into the late hours of the night each night. as my preamp and amp got warmer the polks fell deeper into the sound stage as the sound stage got wider. i turned the lights off and i was conviced they were full range speakers.from the sometimes thunderous bottom end to realistic midband and the smooth highs.as the hours went on i plunged deeper into my cd collection,and the sound stopped comming from the speakers and were placed in locations in the air between and the outer edges the speakers. when i kept on looking at each speaker it did not appear that sound was comming from them. this has happened to me before on a larger scale with my legacy signatures (130lbs each beasts , a little over five feet tall and almost 4grand more).will downing's pleasures of the night (cd) is my usual reference cd for male voices and his voice came so close to me in that center stage i know i could have slapped him if i had reached out my hand. maxwell's cd embroya is my bottom end test cd and wow the gut they had was tremendous. i continued to listen to more cds from jazz to some classic r&b and classical and they got better and better. i love'm. and by the way did i say they were a very good looking pair of speakers.

I forgot how much I love listening to great speakers. These are definitely great speakers. One constant I kept seeing in reviews on AMZN and from professional reviewers is how fun it is to listen to familiar music on the A1s. I took that for a very good sign and, having had them for 2 weeks, I must agree.

They sound very warm. If I had any knock on these it is that they sound a little bright of natural. I am not sure if this is a knock, however, as I am sure that this adds to the wonderful detail these speakers produce. In nearly every familiar song I listen to, I notice new elements that I hadn't noticed before. Voices and string instruments, in particular, sound like they are in the room. Very realistic sounding.

The other thing that these speakers do well is project a wide sound field that spreads well beyond and behind the speakers. These speakers just disappear into a wall of sound. They are also physically quite small! When my friends came over to listen them, they had to look twice to see where the speakers were in my bookshelf. I got them in black because that is the color of my entertainment system. Because they are black, and because they are so small, they are easy to hide among a row of books (nice unanticipated benefit of black - although the pictures of the cherry speakers look beautiful).

Finally, while they sound great at low volumes, these speakers really seem like they want to be played loud! Put on an up tempo song and start turning them up and they really shine. My amp was straining long before these speakers seemed to mind. Now I need to get a new amp with big clean power.

It was time to upgrade my old Advents, and I remembered a friend of mine praising his Polk speakers, so I went and listened to some and came away very convinced that Polks would be my next speaker. After much debate as to which model, I decided on the RTI A1's, mainly because for their size, they can deliver crisp bass, pleasant highs, and great imaging.
Having owned them for over a month, I am constantly amazed at their flexibility. They sound good at low volumes, make great front surround speakers for my TV,and fill up the room with pleasant sound.
Do not hesitate to purchase these speakers.

I've owned these speakers for about a month now. I am very happy with the sound and the finish. The bass is a little thin, but no more so than any other bookshelf speaker this size. I think these are a good value.

I bought these to replace my HTIB Yamaha's that were about 9 years old. I immediately heard the difference when i set these up. They fill up the room very nicely with crisp, warm sound. The finish on them is simply perfect. The connections in the back are great. Already comes with a mounting bracket in the back. Quality product from a quality company. I am currently using these with my Denon 3310ci AV receiver. They are accompanied by the Polk Audio CSi A4 center channel. Eventually i will finish up the surround with some Polk RM8's.

These speakers produce an amazing soundstage, clean, crystaline stage ... for the price Polk are throwing in a lot of amazing technology, practically a steal!
Bass is fast, accurate and incredibly defined when there (ie. on bass-heavy songs) but otherwise is quite subtly dosed, a design-choice I totally respect (I'm not interested in a boomy speaker), but I might consider adding a subwoofer for an full-time low-frequency experience. The main value of these speakers is really clean and crystaline presentation and in this field they really deliver.
The speakers do need break-in, they keep on getting more harmonious and fuller over time.
Good cables are also of paramount importance, I first hooked them up through a fairly cheap cable and switched to a decent cable by Supra, the difference is substantial, sound is more agile, better and cleaner separation, more headroom in the highs, so it's definitely important to consider that additional investment.

These speakers sound great and look really good, too. I can tell they are made of quality materials, as they feel very solid. The speakers are very clear and I love watching movies even more now. They provide adequate bass, and are very clear in the higher frequencies. Even my wife said that these sound much better than the JBL satellite speakers I was using. Polk Audio made a great, affordable product.