klipsch versus polk

[ts316]

im just curious to hear your opinions on the klipsch rf3's reference series compared to the polk rti series.(floorstanding,center,and surrounds)i almost went ahead and purchased the polks online for my home theater recently.i now want klipsch.although i keep reading mixed reviews on the klipsch.what do you guys think?anyone experienced the difference in sound?make me feel better with my choice.thanks

[marksdad]

good man, i too almost purchased the polks, at the time my budget allowed me to purchase top of the line rti, but i was having trouble locating them for an audition? finally i located them at circut city, so i listened to music i knew pretty well, and they did sound good, but i was new and i felt that they did not sound $3500 good, so my next stop was sound track, using the same music, and about the same acoustical set up room i auditioned the reference series, there was little comparison, higher highs, lower lows, clearer mids, all in all the klipsches put out more music, they also had the synergy line side by side with the reference seriese, and they did sound more like the polks. having had polk ht in the past i knew they were harder to drive, they for thier size sounded great, but no reality, no being right there feeling, i now close my eyes and can feel the presence of the performer, or performance, klipsch is incredably revealing, you can hear as the performer breathes, or as the guitarist begins and ends his stroke on his guitar, the realism is remarkable, just make sure you match you center channels right, i originally bought an rc3 11 to go with my rf 5's, mistake, so i steped up to the rc 7 and it made a world of difference, plus use an spl meter, that too makes all the difference in the world, as a matter of fact if you kind of mention that you will be balancing with an meter to your sales person they will stop all of the sales hype, and treat you as if you know what you are talking about.<::>

[PrgSkidmark]

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On 10/20/2002 5:12:08 AM marksdad wrote:

there was little comparison, higher highs, lower lows, clearer mids, all in all the klipsches put out more music

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I too auditioned the Klipsh RF3 & RF5 VS Polk VS Definitive Technology. As marksdad said, that's exactly what I experienced.

You can hear them all at Ovation A/V in the midwest.

[Deang]

I think some of the Polks sound very good for the money. Polk, like Klipsch -- is very value driven.

I think the Polks are more suited to those who prefer a very laid back presentation.

[TheEAR]

Well Klipsch are more in your face,they dont sugar coar too much,they dont reduce the upper range to make agressive music less agressive.They hit like a ton of bricks.

Polks are more reserved,more polite and will sound less harsh or harch material.

Polks are ideal with solid state and Klispch work best with tubes(most here use solid sate...inludinng me and we all love the Klipsch).

The bad reviews come from snooty audiophiles who use soft sounding tube gear with softer sounding speakers and they get massive heart attackes when they hear the truth.They describe the sound as agressive and edgy.

[danbry39]

Hi,

In my bedroom, I have Klipsch Reference RB-5's and, in my teenage daughter's room, I have RT-35i's. The RT-35i's used to be in my bedroom until I got the Klipsch. As for the sound, the Klipsch thump the Polks with regard to home theater. With regard to music, I still prefer the Klipsch, but not by a wide margin. The Klipsch are more forward, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's more a matter of taste. As for the Klipsch bashing, most of those people haven't really listened to the Klipsch extensively, imho, and use the same cliches over and over. My different systems use NHT, AR, Klipsch, and Polk speakers. I prefer the Klipsch over all of the others, even though I really like all of them. A lot of people are used to the same sound they've heard over the years and have come to define "good" sound that way. That's fine. Listening is a very personal experience. One thing I will say is that Klipsch is highly reliant on the source being fed into it. I personally wouldn't enjoy my Klipsch with an overly bright receiver or preamp/amp combo. It sounds great with my Rotel/Parasound though. In fact, it sounds fantastic. And, never, never forget the efficiency of these speakers, especially if you like your music loud.

[Deang]

"A lot of people are used to the same sound they've heard over the years and have come to define "good" sound that way."

So true, so true.

Nice post "Newbie"!

[ts316]

thanks for the replies....its almost a guessing game for me on speaker purchasing,due to the fact that i live in hawaii.the nearest polk dealer is on another island and there is no klipsch dealer on any islands in hawaii.i would have to go to the mainland for a comparison.my purchases will have to be online and very soon.

later.....tim

[Diggs]

Klipsch are far superior IMO. I despise my Polk center eveytime I watch a movie and the sound moves across the front. When it hits the Polk it's like someone threw a blanket over my head. I'd replace it, but I plan on starting over in a couple years when I get done with school (for the second time ) and can afford it.

[Stephen328]

The other day I was at my chiroprators and the subject of audio came up. And it went down like this (cnosult ebonics dictonary for translation: Yo, I was chillin at my chi-ro-prator and he wuz doin some chizacin on my bizack. And I done beez sazins, YO wurd G-dog thems some nize JBls you gots theres in jo office. ANd he was like Yo yeah Iz be gotz meselfs someof dem polks at home, and I beez wantinz some of dem better polks. Yo and I wuz like G, you gotz to getz some of dem Klipsz. And he was like yo I ant be likenz no klipsch, dey sounds like they from a whole. And I be doins some ristranin on myself to aint not say nuttn. Thats how it wen down G.

[Jim Cornell]

Polk audio are more or less in the mud, when listening to them at a flat signal!

If you hear a set with a lot of treble, they obviuosly had the treble 3/4 if not all the way +!

Same with the bass at a flat setting.

Regards Jim

[ts316]

you guys are right on!anybody out there have any more comments?

[prodj101]

I am kind of a polk hater, lol.

[zandern]

I did the same comparison you did. I was looking between Klipsch, Polk, and Infintiy. I had listened to all 3 of them at a dealer side by side test and the Klipsch won me. Most of the reviews you hear bashing klipsch is because some people are anti horn, or I like to think horn jealous. See in reality they know they screwed up and wish they had klipsch. Anyways I heard many times that the klipsch highs where too high. That after watching a 2 hr movie or listening to a cd that their ears hurt. Well yes, their ears maybe did hurt, but thats because of how efficient the klipsch are. If you do your side by side test you will notice that you have to turn down the volume when listening to klipsch because of their efficiency, so they go louder with less volume or power. So people put in their DVD or CD and listen to it at a volume that they are used to. Well actually they are listening to it at a louder volume so their ears aren't used to it, hence your ears hurt. Just like if you listened to polk at a higher level for a long time. Anyways a klipsch moderator once told me, imagine if your receiver had a distortion level on it. If you turned this distortion level down you would swear that the volume would be getting louder. That how the horns work. Very efficient, very clear, very nice to own.

[ts316]

thanks...you guys helped me make my klipsch speaker choice easier....now where is my credit card??