rt55i rt800i

nico

Can anybody out there give me their opinion on which is a better set of speakers, rt55i or rt800i? They both have the same drivers but the rt800i's has 50 more watts power handling. I auditioned both of them and I don't really hear a big difference between them. I have the 55's right now and I really like them. I bought them at circuit city and I can trade them for the rt800's. My question is will the extra 50watts that the 800 has, sound better? I am also interested in the rt3000 mains only not the subs. It says it can handle 500watts. It also has the same drivers as the other 2 in question. Circuit City sells them separate from the subs. I don't want to buy the subs cause I already have a sub. Will I be better off getting the rt3000 since it has more power than the other two? Any help will be appreciated. Nico

TrappedUnder Ice

I have the 800's and the 500's... both great speakers. The 800's have a tad more bass extension since they are tower speakers... but with a sub..the is a mute point. Question I have...what are you unhappy about with your system... you are searching for something you think your missing.

I'd do the 55's or 800's with a good sub and leave it at that. But that is my opinion...

this comming from one with powered towers and a sub..wich I do prefer...:cool:

juice21

the 800's do offer a little more bass. if you have a really good sub, this may not be needed. my personal preference is to have floorstanding speakers in the front, the 800's are my choice. i am upgrading to them by christmas. as for the power handling, unless you plan on running an amp to the 3,000i's, or you have a VERY powerful receiver, i think the 500W? power handling is a little un-needed. also, the same with the 800 vs. the 55's, if you are not planning to run the extra power to them, there is really no need. 50 watts in power really isn't any difference anyway. rule of thumb. to double the sound approx. 3db, you have to double the wattage. so lets say you aren't happy with your 55's, and you are pushing them at 150W per channel with an external amp. i think the only really noticible diffence would be if you upgraded to the 3000's, and bridged each amp to 300W, or got a hell of and amp to push 300 per channel! but you are talking about alot of money for that. the 800 would provide a bit more bass, but if you already demoed them and they sound the same to you, i wouldn't spend the cash. maybe spend it on some monoblocks or something, if you don't have them already. are you unhappy with the 55's? what are you powering them with?

Aaron

Nico, I have both the RT55's and the RT800's, so I feel I'm in a good position to answer your question. The wattage difference between the two speakers really has about nothing to do with the sound quality. I drove my RT55's with a 425W amp this summer with no problems. The real issue between the speakers is the difference in cabinet size. The larger size of the RT800i's will allow them to go deeper than the RT55i's. Honestly, I don't think it would be worth your time and money to upgrade to the RT800i's. Your money would be better spent on a good subwoofer like the PSW650. Neither the RT800i or the RT55i are the last word in bass. Both of these speakers require a sub unless you like missing out on the bottom 25Hz. of your music. As for the RT3000 satellite speakers, I'd stay away from those unless you're going to purchase the matching subs. These speakers are high passed at 80Hz. so they require a sub to function as a full-range speaker. Also, the reason for their high power handling compared to the RT55i's is because they are a sealed enclosure. Hope this helps.

Aaron

jcaut

I have the RT55i's and the RT800i's as well. I think you'd be hard-pressed to hear any difference in a side by side comparison. I wanted floor-standing speakers for the living room, but if I had bought the 55's first, I just might have two pairs of them instead of the 800's. The performance difference alone doesn't justify the price difference. And I agree with Aaron; I wouldn't worry much about the power handling difference. Feed them clean power and you shouldn't have a problem.

Jason

nico

:cool: Thank you all for your inputs on my dillema. Now I really have a better understanding on this matter. I am really happy with my 55's they really can handle a lot of power. As far as bass is concern, my observation is that the 55's puts out more bass than the 800's side by side comparison without any sub. Again that's just me. Thanks again guys I think I'm going to have a lot of years of satifaction with these speakers! They are great with music and movies. I have the Eagles Hell freezes Over (DTS) and I think I've watched that thing 100 times and each time it sounds better and better. I only buy movies with DTS soundtracks in them. It sounds a lot better than DOLBY DIGITAL 5.1 in my opinion. Talk to you guys later.