RTi150

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Comments

  • tschep20
    tschep20 Posts: 39
    edited August 2003
    hey emlyn, how is that rotel amp doing in powering the 150s. the other day i went to a audio store and the guy there told me about rotel and that they make good quality pre-amps and amps.

    since i'm still using my weak onkyo receiver i was thinking about upgradeing. the guy there suggested to get a rotel pre-amp RSP-1066, and to hook that up to the rotel amp RMB-1075 (5x120). i was just curious how it sounded with your setup and if you were happy with your purchase. does the amp push the 150s at all?

    anyone else familiar with rotel and the models i mention, please respond also
  • bigsexy1
    bigsexy1 Posts: 557
    edited August 2003
    tschep20, Rotel does make great stuff. Expensive, but you do get what you pay for. They also make great cd players as well. The Rotel amp in question would obviously be a big upgrade over your Onkyo receiver, but as Dr. Spec and I were discussing earlier, you would really need even more juice than that for the 150s to truly show all that they are capable of. Why not get a really, really strong 2 channel amp (or even 2 of them to bi-amp with, just make sure the gain is the same on both of them). for the 150s, and use your Onk to power the center and surrounds for movies?
  • tschep20
    tschep20 Posts: 39
    edited August 2003
    well, part of the problem is that i don't have any preouts on my onkyo rec. that's why i was considering this upgrade. like i said i would get the pre-amp and amp (5x120). then later when my wallet recovers, i saw that rotel offers a powerful 2 channel amp like you mentioned. it's the RB 1090 (2x380 i would add that to the system then i could also add two more speakers for 7.1 if i wanted since i would have the two different amps. one 5 ch and the other 2ch.

    So to sum it up, at first i would have the 5x120 with the rotel pre-amp and amp

    Then add the 2ch 380w/ch for the 150s later on. how does this sound?
  • bigsexy1
    bigsexy1 Posts: 557
    edited August 2003
    I didn't know the Onk didn't have pre-outs, but it sounds to me like you have an excellent, top notch, second to none plan. Do you think you would probably trade up the 150s and whatever else you are now using for center and surrounds for the new Rti series when they come out (Rti12, etc.) if you got them within the last year at Circuit City? If not, then if I were you, I'd go ahead and pick up something now in the current series that matches the 150s while they have good closeout prices on them for your future 7.1 configuration. That 2 channel Rotel amp should be enough for the 150/12s. Maybe even later on down the line after that, pick up yet another rotel 2 channel power amp of say 150 - 200 watts or so to power the mids/highs and use that 380 watt Rotel amp only on the woofers in a bi-amp set-up. that would definitely blow even my present Adcom combo away big time!
  • tschep20
    tschep20 Posts: 39
    edited August 2003
    i actually got all my speakers within the last 2-3 weeks at circuit city. so i will probably upgrade to the newer models within the year

    regarding the onkyo receiver, i have the the one that came with the htib package which is the equivalent of the ONK-TXSR500. this is one of onkyos lower end receivers in the $300 price range at the time. their more expensive and better receivers do have preouts. i was actually considering getting one of their better ones so i could bi-amp but, i think i would be better off going with the rotels

    *edit typo*
  • bigsexy1
    bigsexy1 Posts: 557
    edited August 2003
    Good move! I'm looking forward to the 12s now, but in the meantime, I'm more than happy with the 150s. You would definitly be better off with the Rotel set-up you mentioned than with another Onkyo, but at the price difference, it damned well better be better! You could always move the Onk you have now to the bedroom or something. I'm sure it'd be more than adequate for that. BTW, check the edit I made to my previous post.
  • tschep20
    tschep20 Posts: 39
    edited August 2003
    yeah i would move my onkyo back to the speakers it came with which are still pretty nice for the money i paid for it. like i mentioned i just replaced all my speakers that came with the onkyo package. i have the 150s in front, csi40 for the center, and the fxi50s for surround. so next year if i want i can just replace all of these and put the purchase price towards the new line of polk of speakers at circuit city
  • brettw22
    brettw22 Posts: 7,621
    edited August 2003
    Does Circuit City offer any of those No Interest, Equal Payments for a year type things? That would be about the only way that I'd consider buying the 12's most likely. Nothin like free money basically.......
    comment comment comment comment. bitchy.
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    edited August 2003
    Originally posted by stevew14
    Emylyn, I hope BS1 doesn't mind a bit of a hijack, but I noticed you have a Tosh 9200 as do I. How do you like it. Do you use it for audio at all? How does it compare with the other players you have. It is the only player I have so I use it for 2 channel, movies and some DVD audio as well. Just curious what your thoughts were an it. Thanks

    I use the Toshiba only for DVD-A and HDCD discs now. The audio performance is very good, which doesn't surprise me because of the money Toshiba put into developing the 9200. The units originally sold for $2000, although they were around $700 during their closeout period. I don't use the Toshiba for video any more because I prefer the sharper quality from the Panasonic CP-72. The Toshiba's video section is fine for use on smaller screens, but on a big TV, it's soft image is quite noticeable to me. The sound quality for movies from the Panasonic doesn't seem to have the same punch as the Toshiba though.
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    edited August 2003
    Originally posted by Dr. Spec
    Ditto on the hijack issue. How does the 3803 function as a pre/pro mated to the Rotel?

    Doc

    I went through three receivers (Yamaha, Sony ES, and Denon) before sticking with the Denon 3803. The Yamaha made the RTi series speakers sound tinny to my ears. The Sony made the speakers sound painfully harsh to me at high volumes. Denon makes the speakers sound smooth and refined. Beefing up the output with a Rotel amplifier adds more impact and control to the sound, but the character of the sound is basically the same to me as just using the receiver. Of the three, I preferred the Sony over the others for connections and controls, but couldn't live with the sound being put out of the speakers.
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    edited August 2003
    Originally posted by bigsexy1
    Hijack away, I don't mind. Let's face it, this thread couldn't possibly deteriorate much past the point that it already has from earlier on.

    Congtrats Emlyn. If you don't mind my asking, what did you get them for? I noticed that they are now $949 per pair on CC's website. I'm going to get the price match plus 10% as they were $999 (plus tax) when I bought mine. The whole reason I waited till Friday to get mine was so there would be one more Sunday within my 30 day period for new prices for that week to come out, "just in case".

    The store I went to had the RTi150s posted as on sale for $999 per pair, but the Web site had them for $949 so I bought them through the store from the Web site. I've bought all my Polks (six pairs plus two centers) through Circuit City because of their return and upgrade policies. The RTi150s are not in stock in the stores in my area any more since I got the last two. They can still be ordered with free delivery though. At 81 lbs a speaker, delivery may be a good idea for some. :)
  • bigsexy1
    bigsexy1 Posts: 557
    edited August 2003
    Emlyn quote:
    Originally posted by Dr. Spec
    Ditto on the hijack issue. How does the 3803 function as a pre/pro mated to the Rotel?

    Doc



    "I went through three receivers (Yamaha, Sony ES, and Denon) before sticking with the Denon 3803. The Yamaha made the RTi series speakers sound tinny to my ears. The Sony made the speakers sound painfully harsh to me at high volumes. Denon makes the speakers sound smooth and refined. Beefing up the output with a Rotel amplifier adds more impact and control to the sound, but the character of the sound is basically the same to me as just using the receiver. Of the three, I preferred the Sony over the others for connections and controls, but couldn't live with the sound being put out of the speakers."




    tschep20,
    I agree with Emlyn about the 3803. In fact, you might want to seriously look at getting one of them to use as a pre/pro for movies instead if the Rotel dedicated pre/pro (while still getting Rotel or comparable power amps of course). For 2 channel stereo, you could always pick up a very good used analog 2 ch. preamp dirt cheap and integrate that into the system as well, and I'll bet that that set up would be even better than the one with the Rotel pre/pro.



    Well, I just picked up a CSi40 for $285 and 4 RTi38s for surround duty for $114 per speaker. Now all of my tweeters will be matched for the next year or less till I trade up to the new series eventually. The 28s were $95 each. Is the bigger woofer in the 38 worth $19 more each? I thought so since they were the same size as those in the 40 and 150s.



    BTW Brett, yes, it is all interest free for 1 year if you use your CC charge card. I know some of you here hate Polk being in CC instead of "high end" shops, but you must admit, CC does have some good points as well that can't be matched by the others.
  • rainman
    rainman Posts: 24
    edited August 2003
    good idea in getting the 150's. i just bought them about a month ago, i was pondering on them and the 100's but i'm glad i went with the big boys. great sound quality, loud, crisp, and smooth all through the ranges. excellent on 2 channel when listening to music, clean sound as well as deep bass when you need it. also when watching dvd they are amazing fronts with of course the csi40 between them. i'm using a hk525 as the main source of power, which seems to be plenty, but i heard they can take alot more. anyways you will not be dissapointed, this coming from a guy who is very picky and took 4 months to decide on a speakers.
    enjoy RAINMAN.


    FRONTS RTI150'S BIWIRED
    CENTER CSI40 BIWIRED
    REARS FXI30'S
    SUBS PSW404
    HARMON AVR525
    HARMON HK3370
    DVD HARMON DVD5
    TOSHIBA 50H82 50"
    AR CABLES
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,481
    edited August 2018
    Bye bye justice549 reported