Made a mistake selling my RT800i's

Jimbo18

I got a great deal on some RT1000p's and had a friend who wanted to set up his very first surround system. As part of the great deal, I also had a pair of RT600's and a CS400i center.

So I sold him the RT800i's I had been using as fronts in my HT, as well as the 600's for surround duty and the CS400.

I really should have played with the RT1000's a lot more before selling off the 800's. I assumed I was making a move up the ladder, but that turns out not to be the case. Yeah, the bass is obviously stronger in the 1000's, because of the powered subs in each tower, but the mids are weaker and the overall presentation is lacking versus the 800's.

So that's my second mistake selling off speakers. The first was selling my Monitor 7C's.

Nightfall

I sold a pair of SDA 2B's to move to SDA 1.2's. Biggest mistake I've made in my audio journey since joining this forum. I still think about those mint 2B's and driving and sleeping in my car for two days to go get them. It is what it is though, and I do enjoy my new Dynaudio's.

rooftop59

Sorry @Jimbo18.

Did you ask around here first? I haven't owned the 800s, but have owned the rt55s and the rt1000is and I would the rt55s in a heartbeat, exactly as you said.

The good news is that these pop up fairly regularly. I'll keep a lookout for some 55s if you're interested. Easier to ship than the 800s lol...

Jimbo18

Thanks, rooftop, I will be patient and keep watching CL. They often show up in this area. I was just mostly posting to let anyone else that is contemplating the change know that it's definitely not an upgrade.

And, btw, I did own some RT55's before the RT800's and prefer the 800's for bass.

Emlyn

Yes, unfortunately that was a mistake. The RT800s were pretty highly regarded for home theater systems with a subwoofer.

[Deleted User]

How good a "friend" is he

tonyb

Sorry to hear that Jimbo, I would have told ya that wasn't an upgrade. Look at it differently, get yourself some Sig series Polk speakers. I much better RT type of sound.

gudnoyez

That's why it's good to have a room for all the speakers one Hoardes, you don't have to feel sorry about letting them go they are always there to return to thier rightful spot where they can replace the ones that you thought would best them.

Emlyn

It was a set of RT1000Ps that brought me to the forum wondering why the bass sounded so boomy. At the time Circuit City still had a policy of giving full credit on upgrade speaker purchases within a year. Traded up to the RTi150s. Winning!

Jimbo18

Yeah, if I had the room, I would still have several more sets of Polks. But, I was trying to help a friend out. He wanted an AVR that had two sub outs, he said his OCD wouldn't let him use just one. I could have given him the RT1000's but figured that would be overkill on the subs. The 800's with two subs sound awesome, btw.

I think @tonyb has the right idea. Going to have to save up some pennies for those. In the meantime, if some 800's show up nearby, I will go after those.

lightman1

Just buy a boatload and leave them at somebody elses house. I do. You live just across the 150 bridge from me. When I run out of room at Mikes house, I'll just leave them at yours. Deal?
And hey! Next time I'm back in town, come on over. Good times to be had.

Nightfall

I didn't even know there was a Denver, NC. Jims good (patient) people.

lightman1

I can throw a rock and hit his house.

Jimbo18

lightman1 wrote: »

I can throw a rock and hit his house.

That was you?!!! Dang, I beat the carp out of the neighbor for nothing.

And yeah, IF you ever stay at home long enough, we should get together.

scubalab

Hey Jimbo - I too had a 7 channel HT setup with the Polk RT series. I had the RT800i's up front and absolutely loved them. Only reason I sold them was to go smaller in my room with limited floor space. I do miss them too!

Not sure where you're located, but there's a guy selling a pair of RTi70's in mint condition in Harrisburg, PA. These were the successor to the RT800i's. Personally (and I think I'm in the minority here) I like the looks of the RTiXXX series over the earlier RTXXXi series. I actually had a mix in my HT. My fronts were RT800i, center was CSi40, surrounds were FXi50, and rears were RT35i. I thought the finish on the RTiXXX series was much nicer. It was a little shinier, and had almost a very slight redish hue to the black finish. I liked it a lot.

Best of luck,
-Al

Jimbo18

scubalab wrote: »

Hey Jimbo - I too had a 7 channel HT setup with the Polk RT series. I had the RT800i's up front and absolutely loved them. Only reason I sold them was to go smaller in my room with limited floor space. I do miss them too!

Not sure where you're located, but there's a guy selling a pair of RTi70's in mint condition in Harrisburg, PA. These were the successor to the RT800i's. Personally (and I think I'm in the minority here) I like the looks of the RTiXXX series over the earlier RTXXXi series. I actually had a mix in my HT. My fronts were RT800i, center was CSi40, surrounds were FXi50, and rears were RT35i. I thought the finish on the RTiXXX series was much nicer. It was a little shinier, and had almost a very slight redish hue to the black finish. I liked it a lot.

Best of luck,
-Al

I live near Charlotte, NC. Somewhat ironically, I lived most of my life about an hour north of Harrisburg, Pa.

I had the 800's paired with a CS400 and loved it. Don't know what the heck I was thinking getting rid of them. The system I set up for my friend, sounds better than my own. D'oh!

I will keep the RTi's in mind. Haven't ever owned any of those and they don't seem to be as common as the RT series.

scubalab

I believe the RTiXXX series were the end of the run, but don't hold me to that!

Yeah, your front soundstage was darn near identical to what mine was several years back. It was incredible!

msg

ahh, Jim, really sorry to hear this. Sellers Remorse is a B.
Good that you say you see these come up from time to time. Our local CL is awful; maybe see something decent and reasonable once every three years.

Probably don't need to say this, but gonna anyway - quit sellin' your old stuff before you're sure! I get that space is tight, but find a way, and if the wife complains, well... well, nevermind. You'll lose that battle and I don't want to be held responsible.

Hope you find another set soon and the numbers are right if that's what you want to do!

Jimbo18

msg wrote: »

ahh, Jim, really sorry to hear this. Sellers Remorse is a B.
Good that you say you see these come up from time to time. Our local CL is awful; maybe see something decent and reasonable once every three years.

Probably don't need to say this, but gonna anyway - quit sellin' your old stuff before you're sure! I get that space is tight, but find a way, and if the wife complains, well... well, nevermind. You'll lose that battle and I don't want to be held responsible.

Hope you find another set soon and the numbers are right if that's what you want to do!

Scott, In this case, I had the room to keep the 800's for a while, I was just trying to be a nice guy. Obviously, I won't let that happen again

I see RT600's more often than 800's but they both show up every couple months.

Have even thought about trying some other brands. I picked up a pair of Energy speakers CB 10, and was surprised how good they sounded for a small bookie. I haven't been too keen on the Klipsch horns I have heard in the past, and thought that these might be similar, but the tweeter sounded pretty nice. They play way above their weight class, imho.

WLDock

Yes, the dual woofers RT models we're better received.

msg

Jimbo18 wrote: »

Scott, In this case, I had the room to keep the 800's for a while, I was just trying to be a nice guy. Obviously, I won't let that happen again

No, being nice does not pay. Being a thug, does, though. Especially the week after big game days. Or so I hear.