RBH Sound R55TiR Tower Speaker

I purchased a pair of these speakers after researching and finding several professional reviews that were positive. I also was aware that RBH was known for selling speakers of high quality. In addition, the price was very attractive. The first thing I noticed when they arrived was how well packaged the speakers were. They were double boxed and had foam end caps and collars. Within that packaging the finish was protected by a large cloth bag. After unboxing I attached the feet using the rubber mounts instead of the provided spikes, since the speakers would be on a hard wood floor, and not a carpet. Once the speakers are stood up and positioned you realize how very tall they are! Much taller than the Polk Audio Rti7 speakers they are replacing. I purchased the wood finish and it really looks great. My wife was put off by the size of the speakers, but she was very pleased with the appearance! The exterior appears to be a wrap with several coats of clear lacquer. Make no mistake these are very impressive looking speakers. If you look very closely you can see flaws in the finish, orange peel, some bubbles, but at this price range I can't complain. I'm using the R55TiR's as right and left front speakers in a surround sound set up. My receiver is a Yamaha RX-A1050 rated at 110 watts per channel. Overall I would rate the sound as very good with music and excellent with movies. What I enjoy is that they seem to disappear in the room , in other words they have wide dispersion and a wide sound stage. The mid range appears to be strong but the base is somewhat weaker. For that reason I have them set to "small" with an 80 hz cross over. I use them with a subwoofer and I would suggest that a good sub is necessary to get the best out of these speakers. Overall, I am very happy with this purchase and I can only repeat what others have said, they are a terrific value!

I doubt you could be the sound of these speakers for less than $900. I thought at first the sound definition was a bit muddled, but changing from $700 Yamaha receiver to $2300 Integra receiver made all the difference in the world. I'm going to keep them and enjoy them for quite awhile.

A very good speaker for the price. As others have noted, the bass is not outstanding. It does deliver a nice overall sound. Nice looking as well.

Fantastic speakers for the price.

For those thinking about an RBH/EMP Tek purchase, and who come here looking for advice, I thought I’d detail some of my experiences. I auditioned the R55Ti tower speakers several months ago to see how they would compare to the RBH/EMP Tek R5Bi bookshelf speakers I had purchased well over a year ago. The following is a long-winded review (the only kind I seem capable of writing) for people unfamiliar with these speakers. Read at your own risk and stop when bored. I’ve been very happy with my 3.1 setup for movies. I always intended to expand this setup to 5.1, so I figured it was about time I did something about it. My 3.1 setup consisted of three identical RBH/EMP Tek R5Bi bookshelf speakers (designated E5Bi’s when I bought them from EMP Tek), which I reviewed here on Amazon and in the review section on AudioVideo Science (AVS). They are a surprisingly nice speaker that one can buy on a shoestring budget, and are highly thought of by professional reviewers and users alike. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to go with the same speaker for the surrounds, choose a smaller speaker for the surrounds, or choose the RBH/EMP Tek R55Ti floor standing speakers for the fronts and move the R5Bi’s to surround duty. I chose the latter with mixed results. I also auditioned the JBL Studio 530 bookshelf speakers at the same time I was auditioning the R55Ti. Short lived as that audition was (tweeter problem), my review is also here on Amazon and I rated the JBL 530’s slightly higher than the R5Bi’s (as they should be considering they are close to 3 times the price). The usual disclaimers apply. What I seek and like about a speaker, other people may not. Also, room size, shape and acoustics will play an important role concerning sound quality. What I am hearing in my home is not necessarily what another person will hear in their home. Never underestimate the role room acoustics will play in sound reproduction. We read many speaker reviews that seem to contradict one another, which can be easily explained by the room, as well as personal preference. I audition all speakers for music first and foremost, even if they are going to be used mainly for movies, such as in this case. I’m far more critical about speakers when it comes to music reproduction than I am for movies. I can tell far more about a speaker’s capabilities by critically listening to music than listening/watching movies. I audition in 2.0 stereo mode for the first week or two, before integrating a subwoofer. This gives me time to try multiple placement and toe-in scenarios and to check out sonic characteristics, soundstage attributes, and overall sonic appeal of speakers. It tells me how good or how poorly a speaker performs on its own through various frequency ranges with a wide variety of music. Once satisfied, I incorporate my subwoofer and listen to music for a few more days. The remainder of time is spent watching/listening to movies. The R55Ti has two finishes: gloss black (which I don’t care for — it looks too much like shiny plastic and not enough like piano black) and red burl (which looks elegant). Yes, both are a vinyl finish, but one that was done right. Aesthetics, like sound quality, is highly subjective (many prefer the black over the red burl). They are a tall tower speaker at 8-1/2” W x 12-1/4” D x 47-1/2” H. With the outriggers in place, they end up being 48-3/4” H and they come with two 2-1/2” diameter ports on the back. They also weigh a little over 50 pounds a piece and are awkward to move. They come boxed (double boxed) extremely well. Doing the tap test on the top and upper sides created a nice, dead sound. This is because they have incorporated a second, separate enclosure for their three-speaker configuration at the top. The bottom half does have a hollow sound, which I fully expected since I experienced this with the R5Bi’s. These speakers come with two 5-1/4” midrange drivers at the top and three 6-1/2” bass drivers at the bottom. And like the R5Bi’s, they sport a 1” fabric dome tweeter, which is sandwiched between the two midrange drivers on the R55Ti’s. One would think a large tower speaker with two 5-1/4” drivers, three 6-1/2” drivers and a dome tweeter would easily outperform a small bookshelf speaker with a single 5-1/4” driver and dome tweeter. Well, let’s do some comparisons and find out just how much better these towers are over my much smaller and far less speaker-rich bookshelf speakers. And with a 3 to 1 price difference (both are excellent bang-for-the-buck speakers), the towers should easily reign supreme. That was certainly what I wanted and needed to find out. Bass response: The R55Ti’s have a stated frequency specification of 40 Hz to 20 kHz +/- 3 dB, while the R5Bi bookshelf speakers have a stated frequency spec of 60 Hz to 20 kHz +/- 3 dB (they went down to 57 Hz in my room before dropping off). A 40 Hz bass response is a fairly decent spec for tower speakers at this low price point, but nothing to really write home about. But specs don’t always tell the entire story. The problem lies in that the lower end of their bass response isn’t as controlled as I like. It gets slightly muddy or a bit sloppy the deeper it goes on certain pieces of music (say, under 50 Hz). While the R5Bi’s cannot dig nearly as deep, they are very well controlled. I wouldn’t recommend the R55Ti towers or the R5Bi bookshelf speakers without using a good subwoofer. Then again, I wouldn’t recommend any bookshelf speaker and not many tower speakers without integrating a capable subwoofer. And once a subwoofer was fully integrated (in this case a PSA S3000i), and having it crossed over at 60 Hz, the deep bass improved dramatically (as it did on my R5Bi’s when crossed over at 80 Hz). The sound coming out of this 2.1 setup was nice and impressive. Advantage: Draw (R55Ti’s went deeper, while the R5Bi’s were better controlled). Upper bass / lower midrange response: Here is where the towers showed their muscle and their three 6-1/2” drivers. This is an important frequency range for both music and movies. A lot is going on to take advantage of this upper bass / lower midrange slam. It is clean and powerful and quite impressive. There seems to be a boost at this frequency response in my room (although it could be the speaker), which I found as a nicely positive aspect for movies but not necessarily that nice of a positive aspect for music. As always, YMMV, and I could easily see one preferring this sound signature for music. Advantage: R55Ti. Midrange response: Both have a smooth and very enjoyable midrange. However, the R55Ti’s are what I consider to be on the warm side, while the bookshelf speakers aren’t. This coloration is noticeable, but not so much as to detract from their overall sound. If your room is bright, this warmth may be quite welcoming. If you have a lot of thick carpeting, it may sound too colored. Many people will prefer this warmth over a speaker that’s flat or a bit clinical. I prefer an uncolored, flat response, even if it appears a bit dry on rare occasions. Advantage: R5Bi. Upper midrange / lower treble response: Again, both perform nicely. However, I found myself preferring the pristine clarity and more openness of the bookshelf speakers for both movies and music, especially for music. Advantage: R5Bi. Treble response: Since both the towers and bookshelf speakers use identical tweeters and both are crossed over at 3,000 Hz, this response should be identical. It isn’t. The R5Bi bookshelf speakers have a more open and clearer top end. This is because the R55Ti towers have an MTM configuration (midrange-tweeter-midrange). This MTM configurations controls the upper frequencies more, making them a bit more direct (not as open) in the vertical plane. They are design to mitigate floor and ceiling reflections, but this also makes the high end seem a bit rolled off. Advantage: R5Bi. Soundstage: Both have a fairly wide soundstage that extends past the speakers. The height of the R55Ti’s soundstage isn’t as prominent as it is on the bookshelf speakers because of the MTM configuration, thus allowing the bookshelf speakers to have a more open and larger soundstage. Both have decent soundstage depth (the R5Bi’s were better than I expected), but I give the edge to the R55Ti towers. Advantage: Draw (R5Bi with a larger and more open soundstage, while the R55Ti’s play deeper — neither will ever match a dipole). Sensitivity/Impedance: The R55Ti’s are more sensitive than their R5Bi little brothers, which one would expect with more drivers and larger drivers. They have an 88 dB sensitivity rating versus 85 dB. This does make a difference, as 3 dB is readily audible. The R55Ti’s are rated as a 6 Ohm nominal speaker, while my R5Bi bookshelf speakers are rated at 8 Ohms nominal. This shouldn’t pose any problems on your AVR. And the towers do get louder than the bookshelf speakers using the same volume setting from the AVR (which I also measured with my SPL meter at a 3 dB difference). This can be important if one is using an amplifier that isn’t rated for high wattage, or for those looking for really loud levels for movies or music, as well as those sitting farther away from their speakers. I’ve found no problem getting these speakers to play very loud. But neither of these speakers are reference level speakers and won’t reach that 105 dB reference SPL peaks. Not many speakers can reach these levels without noticeable distortion. Those that do usually have larger, compression drivers or horns, or can handle very powerful amplifiers … and they don’t come cheap. But I don’t listen at reference levels. I listen to movies and music around 12 dB to 15 dB under reference (or -12 or -15 on your AVR). My Denon X2000 at 95 watts/channel has no problem driving these towers (or my R5Bi’s) to my preferred sound levels and a bit beyond. Advantage: R55Ti (easily noticeable). Speakers used for music: I enjoyed the R5Bi bookshelf speakers because of all the subtle and refined characteristics they have over the R55Ti towers (top end, a pristine upper midrange and being less colored or more neutral). But the towers do have an important advantage in the upper bass / lower midrange. This is especially noticeable on drums. Advantage: R5Bi. Speakers used for movies: One doesn’t need a flat, pristine response for movies. Subtleties are far less important for movies, if one can hear subtleties at all, while impressive and exaggerated sound effects rule the day. Add to that, a more sensitive speaker, and the gap begins to widen for movies, while the warmth of the speaker may pose some slightly negative aspects to movie clarity. Advantage: R55Ti. Conclusion: As you can see above, the tall R55Ti’s hardly overwhelmed the small R5Bi’s. There is no night and day difference. Each speaker has its pluses and minuses. Matter-of-fact, I found more positives for the R5Bi’s (you may not). If this was mainly for music, I would have sent the R55Ti towers back and kept my setup as it was. Not that I don’t think the R55Ti’s are good for music. They are very good once the subwoofer is integrated, but not quite as articulate and uncolored as the R5Bi’s. But these speakers will be used mostly for movies and TV viewing where I believe the R55Ti’s perform best. This audition answered a bunch of questions I had. But the bottom line resolved into one simple and overriding question. Are the R55Ti’s an improvement for movies over the R5Bi’s? I have determined that there is an improvement thanks to their 6-1/2” drivers. Is it a big improvement? No, and I was a bit surprised that there wasn’t a greater positive difference between the tower and bookshelf speaker. However, I found enough to like where I felt they are a worthwhile purchase for my needs. The troubling aspect to this move is that I feel my R5Bi’s are totally wasted as surround (effects) speakers. They are far too good to be used for that purpose. I may look for some smaller and less expensive speakers in the future and move the R5Bi’s to another room. There really isn’t anything lacking in the R55Ti’s once a subwoofer and center channel are added. The subwoofer takes care of the occasional soft bottom end and the center channel helps improve the high end (I happen to use an R5Bi for my center channel). These speakers should compete well with many tower speakers in and around their price range and perhaps up to a grand. That I think the red burl finish on the R55Ti’s is quite elegant is a nice plus. They have a generally excellent midrange and a powerful upper bass and lower midrange response. And there is nothing glaringly negative about these speakers when everything is integrated properly. Between 1 and 10, I’d rate the R55Ti tower speakers without a subwoofer a marginal 7 (or a 3-1/2 star rating). They rate higher with a subwoofer (perhaps an 8 out of 10 or a 4-star rating). While these aren’t perfect (name me a speaker that is), they perform very well as TV and movie speakers, perhaps surprisingly well considering their price point. And depending upon your room acoustics and preferences, could be quite pleasant for music.

I've had these towers and the matching bookshelf and center channel speakers for more than a year now. They're simply great and a great value. I had these towers connected to my turntable for records only. You really appreciate it when your speakers fill the house with sound but it's not overwhelmingly loud. You can still have a conversation. No screeching highs, no missing sounds that you know are part of the song. You hear every instrument and it does a great job reproducing every sound very well. I think where they shine is in the sound stage. They just fill the room with good sound. It's a full sound. Words fail me at times, I know I'm repeating and could convey my views better but that's the best way I can share my thoughts. A full sound with complete sound state. The towers were attached to the record player for more than a year but due to room configurations, they're now the L and R front channels on my surround. We've all heard noises from the tv that you think is real in your house (same iPhone ring tone as yours, doorbell, etc). But when you notice it happens MUCH more often now with these speakers, it just shows you how good of a job they do reproducing all sounds. Of course, our dog is fooled more often too (and she's a cattle dog - super smart). It's eerie when you turn around because a sound makes you think someone else is in the house. That may seem a bit dramatic but it's happened and I got chills. I think the bass reproduction is very good for music, not great, but still very good. For movies you'll definitely want a sub for the room rocking explosions. I have a relatively cheap Polk sub for my surround sound and it's okay for that but definitely shows me how muddy bass can be. Point is use the right tool for the job. These on their own are great for music. These with a explosive sub are great for movies. I'm very pleased with my purchase and recommend them to anyone. Compared to what you see on the floor at big box retailers these are WAAAAAY better than that and for the same ballpark price.

In a nutshell, these towers are spectacular and definitely worth the investment. I have had mine for over a year now and I love them just as much as the first time I fired them up - I still have moments when I sit and listen and discover new details and layers of my music. Tonally very balanced with an amazingly flat frequency response, the sound is honest, real, and captivating in a profound way. No flashy sound effects such as overly pronounced bass or accentuated highs as in other speakers - just raw music that will give you goosebumps. Beware though, these speakers will reveal bad recordings! Bass is tight and controlled, not abysmally deep but very present (add one or two quality woofers and you are set), mids are wonderfully detailed, with great plasticity and an immensely wide sound stage, whereas highs are pointed but never sibilant or unnerving. These towers can play loud without any distortion! I am running them on a Marantz NR1604 in a 5.1 set-up and can't get enough. Highly recommended - give them a try! PS: These towers have been an Audioholics "best buy" for awhile, check out their tests and recommendations.