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I feel no need for a larger home theater setup. In addition to the 15" of depth you should allow for at least 3" of additional space because the bass port is on the back of the speaker and this will be one of the ways of modulating bass output. Watching movies is a pleasure since dynamic sounds like gunshots, explosions, helicopters come through with impact. The grilles are plastic and of only average quality.
Maximum output is well into the pain range before any audible defects are noted.Speaker construction is solid and the black satin finish with a simulated wood grain is easy on the eyes. I find that the silver plastic edges of the grille impart a low cost look. I have them connected to a vintage Denon receiver which puts out about 100W x2. A sturdy bracket and rubber feet are provided for wall mounting. I listen to a very wide variety of source material (opera, country, pop, electronica, hip hop, classical, jazz and more) and I find these speakers up to all of it. They are installed on built in bookshelves in opposite corners of the room.
Sound from a Sony Playstation 3 and a Sony LCD TV is fed to the receiver. In my application, vocals are well centered without a center channel speaker. The midbass driver and front bass port have satin silver surrounds and the tweeter and housing are silver. A noteworthy limitation of these speakers is that at 15" deep (rear hardwire to front grille), they may be too large for an average bookshelf. I have my RTiA3 speakers set up in a den that is about 12' x 12'. The sound from this setup is warm and spacious without excessive brightness and can be listened to without fatigue for hours.
You won't have to be coy about leaving the grilles off - the speakers look quality.
The RTi A series is noticeably better than the old RTI's. These speakers are now being used as part of my center channel.
Lastly, even the cherry wood finish and the new Polk logo looks better. Everything sounds much better.
I switched the pair of older polk 40 regular bookshelf speakers to be the rear surround back. If I didn't already have RTi12s, I'd probably buy the A series equivalent or maybe even consider the LSi.but I bought the RTi12s for only $350 each (it was an amazing closeout price).
These are awesome speakers. I have 2 RTi12 towers and also the regular bookshelf speakers from Polk.
The sound is even much cleaner than the RTi12's.
They look and sound great. Measure very carefully and/or make an effort to see them in person before buying, but buy with confidence, you'll love them. Really pleased with these speakers. Beware, they are much bigger than you might think.
These sound amazing, fills the whole room with crisp sound. Plenty of bass and power in a small package, slick design, and Polk Audio quality.
Heartily recommended. I'm very pleased with the sound quality for the money, as these speakers sound better than anything else in this price range. I should note that both music and entertainment sound great; these are not one-dimensional units at all.The fit and finish are excellent, with a stylish curved cabinet design finished in black oak and a pewter-accented grille. I also bought a Polk Audio PSW505 subwoofer to round the system out, which I previously reviewed. When pushed they can get a bit shrill, but that's only when I really peg it (I'm running these through a Yamaha RX-V1800). Overall this is a great speaker at a great price.
Fantastic serving as rears, but these little guys are more than adequate as fronts if you don't have space for the bigger models - the A5s, A7s and A9s are all over 40" tall, while these stand just 14.5" - just make sure you get a sub. I've had these RTi A3s for 2-3 weeks now, so I've had a chance to break them in a bit - and I'm very impressed with the sound and performance. Needless to say these are pure Polk, and as such the mid- and high-range response is excellent. The product is sturdy and well-built although not too heavy (16 lb. I tested these out as the main speakers on my receiver when I first got them and I was surprised at how full the sound was for such a small unit. Over the past few months I've been replacing my speakers, going from a piecemeal 5.1 setup with a Boston Acoustic center, Bose surrounds, and old Altec 3-way fronts to an all new setup using the RTi-A series from Polk: Polk Audio RTI A7s for my fronts, a Polk Audio CSI A6 Center Channel, and these RTi-A3s for rears.
These are rated at 50Hz -3dB limit, so there is very little bass lost except at the ultra low-end, all things considered. each).
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