Omar and I were enjoying breakfast at Skinner's Pub. Monica makes a great Bloody Mary. The storms hadn't arrived yet&#151in fact, the sun was still shining&#151but the Mets game had already been canceled. The forecast was bleak. We could have easily spent the entire day chatting with Monica, but decided to take a ride down to Princeton.

I always enjoy reviewing affordable loudspeakers from Polk Audio, who trumpet high value for the dollar with their philosophy of "Incredible Sound/Affordable Price." They also update their broad and deep product lines more frequently than do most manufacturers. I've always been intrigued by how much Polk has been able to deliver at the bottom of the price range. In fact, the first Polk speaker I reviewed, the RT25i (<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/417">September 2001, Vol.24 No.9</A>), is the only affordable speaker I've reviewed for <I>Stereophile</I> that I ended up buying (for my computer-based musical-composition system). So, when approached by Polk to review a speaker from their affordable RT<I>i</I> A series, I was interested in the least expensive of that line's five models: the RT<I>i</I> A1 ($349.95/pair).

I always enjoy reviewing affordable loudspeakers from Polk Audio, who trumpet high value for the dollar with their philosophy of "Incredible Sound/Affordable Price." They also update their broad and deep product lines more frequently than do most manufacturers. I've always been intrigued by how much Polk has been able to deliver at the bottom of the price range. In fact, the first Polk speaker I reviewed, the RT25i (<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/417">September 2001, Vol.24 No.9</A>), is the only affordable speaker I've reviewed for <I>Stereophile</I> that I ended up buying (for my computer-based musical-composition system). So, when approached by Polk to review a speaker from their affordable RT<I>i</I> A series, I was interested in the least expensive of that line's five models: the RT<I>i</I> A1 ($349.95/pair).

I always enjoy reviewing affordable loudspeakers from Polk Audio, who trumpet high value for the dollar with their philosophy of "Incredible Sound/Affordable Price." They also update their broad and deep product lines more frequently than do most manufacturers. I've always been intrigued by how much Polk has been able to deliver at the bottom of the price range. In fact, the first Polk speaker I reviewed, the RT25i (<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/417">September 2001, Vol.24 No.9</A>), is the only affordable speaker I've reviewed for <I>Stereophile</I> that I ended up buying (for my computer-based musical-composition system). So, when approached by Polk to review a speaker from their affordable RT<I>i</I> A series, I was interested in the least expensive of that line's five models: the RT<I>i</I> A1 ($349.95/pair).