Reassure my self about speakers choice.

VenuS
VenuS Posts: 7
edited April 2010 in Speakers
Hi there everyone! Actually this is my first post, but i'm visiting these forums alot wich helped me to choose the speakers for my car and now for the home. What i had in mind, is to go for CSi3 center, and get RTi4's for the fronts and surrounds. And i was about to place an order but discovered that my local retailer (overseas) don't have these models anymore. What i was being suggested is to go for CSi A4 center and for fronts and surrounds get the RTi A1. I compared these to the models wich i had in mind and found that they seems identical. So, are the A4 and A1 will be the perfect match and won't be a bad choice afterall?
Post edited by VenuS on
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  • Amherst
    Amherst Posts: 695
    edited April 2010
    As far as timbre matching you are good. The A4 is an oversized center foe the A1's.
    You will have suggestion to purchase a smaller center, but there are pluses, IMO, to your pick. You will have future-proofed a little if you decide to upgrade the A1's. I also have been fond of an "oversize" center speaker in my own rig. I feel the voicing in movies has better reproduction that smaller centers don't seem to accomplish. YMMV.

    Welcome to Club Polk!
    Parasound C1, T3, HCA-3500, HCA-2205A, P/DD1550, Pioneer DV-79avi, Oppo BDP-83, WD Media Server W/HDD,
    Dynaudio Contour 3.3, Dynaudio Contour T2.1, Polk OWM3, Polk DSW micropro 1000 (x2),
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  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,136
    edited April 2010
    Welcome to Club Polk VenuS. Stick around, join the fun, this is the best audio club on the internet.
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  • VenuS
    VenuS Posts: 7
    edited April 2010
    Amherst wrote: »
    You will have suggestion to purchase a smaller center

    Or larger fronts? Like RTi A3 for example?
    I think even if the CSi A4 will out loud the RTi A4 i could use some adjustments on my reciever, right?
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  • Amherst
    Amherst Posts: 695
    edited April 2010
    Correct, you most likely will have to notch the center level down a few db to equalize across the front.

    Now some bigger mains...... it's too easy to spend money that's not mine.

    Watch out for that hole!:eek:
    Parasound C1, T3, HCA-3500, HCA-2205A, P/DD1550, Pioneer DV-79avi, Oppo BDP-83, WD Media Server W/HDD,
    Dynaudio Contour 3.3, Dynaudio Contour T2.1, Polk OWM3, Polk DSW micropro 1000 (x2),
    Pioneer Kuro 50" Plasma, Phillips Pronto Control w/Niles HT-MSU.
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  • wutadumsn23
    wutadumsn23 Posts: 3,702
    edited April 2010
    IMHO, get the biggest/baddest center you can afford/fit. It will be one less speaker you have to upgrade later on down the road if (when) you decide to upgrade, lol. I look at it this way, it is easier to turn down a center channel to blend in, then it is to turn it up to keep up. Welcome to Club Polk.

    -Jeff
    HT Rig
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    Mains- Polk Audio Monitor 70
    Center- Polk Audio CS2
    Surrounds- Polk Audio TSi 500's :D
    Sub- Polk Audio PSW125
    Retired- Polk Audio Monitor 40's
    T.V.- 60" Sony SXRD KDS-60A2000 LCoS
    Blu-Ray- 80 GB PS3


    2 CH rig (in progress)
    Polk Audio Monitor 10A's :cool:

    It's not that I'm insensitive, I just don't care.. :D
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  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited April 2010
    Amherst wrote: »
    As far as timbre matching you are good. The A4 is an oversized center foe the A1's.
    You will have suggestion to purchase a smaller center, but there are pluses, IMO, to your pick. You will have future-proofed a little if you decide to upgrade the A1's. I also have been fond of an "oversize" center speaker in my own rig. I feel the voicing in movies has better reproduction that smaller centers don't seem to accomplish. YMMV.

    Welcome to Club Polk!

    What center channel would you suggest then? The CSiA4 is the smallest RTi series center channel.

    It will work very well with the RTiA1's.



    That being said, you may want to consider stepping up to the RTiA3's over the RTiA1's. They aren't a whole lot more money...but they'll make a big difference.

    I generally also recommend getting a larger center channel, but when being used with smaller bookshelves...you can get away with using a smaller center. That said, a larger center channel would still be better, by all means.
    The nirvana inducer-
    APC H10 Power Conditioner
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    Audioquest Speaker Cables and IC's
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  • VenuS
    VenuS Posts: 7
    edited April 2010
    Thank you guys for being so helpful! I'm realy glad that i joined this comunity! As i said before, i'm thinking to get A1 for the fronts and rears. What you say about FXi A4? As i'm do little bit bounded with my budget, maybe its better invest in those for rears instead of investing in the A3's?
    If its somehow helpful, my distances to the speakers from where i sit are: Center-2.4m, Fronts-2.7m, Rears-1.5m.
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  • Amherst
    Amherst Posts: 695
    edited April 2010
    You may want to consider what your intended listening preference is going to be. Are you mostly movies or music? What percentages? If music, is it two or more channels?

    This will allow others to help zero you in and budget for speakers according your use.
    Parasound C1, T3, HCA-3500, HCA-2205A, P/DD1550, Pioneer DV-79avi, Oppo BDP-83, WD Media Server W/HDD,
    Dynaudio Contour 3.3, Dynaudio Contour T2.1, Polk OWM3, Polk DSW micropro 1000 (x2),
    Pioneer Kuro 50" Plasma, Phillips Pronto Control w/Niles HT-MSU.
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  • packetjones
    packetjones Posts: 1,059
    edited April 2010
    I just wanted to throw out there the idea of getting larger fronts instead of surrounds at first. I would step up to some A5's if possible. I am pretty sure they are about the same price of the 4 A1's. You could then add the surrounds later as budget allows.

    I had the A3's and the CSiA4 at first. I thought that it sounded really good over all. I am positive that the A4 center would hang with the A1's easily. It was able to compliment my A3's very well. As others have said. If you are able to fit/afford the A6 I would go with it to avoid needing to upgrade again in the future.
    Front - RTiA5's
    Rear - RTiA3's
    Center - CSiA4
    Sub - PSW110
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  • VenuS
    VenuS Posts: 7
    edited April 2010
    Guys, i have to admit, that i read here many times, that people suggest to listen to the speakers before buy and i think i did the smartest thing today. I went and listened, and OMG !!! I had listen to some music and movie trailers and the very first thing that come to my mind is that i need smaller speakers, smaller than A1 and A4 LOL! They simply blow me away, in that moment i knew with all my guts that i don't need RTiA3 what i had in mind in the first place is simply enough for me. I think i'll never reach half a volume of my reciever with these speakers and choosing the bigger ones will be waste of money. So i was pleased with what i herd and placed order. Probably tomorrow will pick them up already. As for surrounds, it probably will wait a little bit, maybe after installing those i might really consider smaller surrounds after all.
    My daily portion of music i get during the day in a car, where's by the way i got Polk components too, so at home i mostly watching movies and tv shows. And i hope i can watch movies now without remote in my hand.
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  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited April 2010
    VenuS wrote: »
    Guys, i have to admit, that i read here many times, that people suggest to listen to the speakers before buy and i think i did the smartest thing today. I went and listened, and OMG !!! I had listen to some music and movie trailers and the very first thing that come to my mind is that i need smaller speakers, smaller than A1 and A4 LOL! They simply blow me away, in that moment i knew with all my guts that i don't need RTiA3 what i had in mind in the first place is simply enough for me. I think i'll never reach half a volume of my reciever with these speakers and choosing the bigger ones will be waste of money. So i was pleased with what i herd and placed order. Probably tomorrow will pick them up already. As for surrounds, it probably will wait a little bit, maybe after installing those i might really consider smaller surrounds after all.
    My daily portion of music i get during the day in a car, where's by the way i got Polk components too, so at home i mostly watching movies and tv shows. And i hope i can watch movies now without remote in my hand.

    I started down a very similar path myself with RTi4s and a CSi3, but also with a sub.

    And as my first HT setup, I was VERY pleased with the sound - great value there in the RTi4s (I got mine at a steal).

    Then the upgrade bug bit me and I upgraded my front RTi4s to the RTiA3s - not so much for HT, but for music. There is a sonic difference between the two - the RTiA3s simply sounded a bit better for music. I kept the CSi3 and it hung ok with the RTiA3s. I don't have a big HT room and even got my kids to plug their ears and complain that Dad's Sabbath music was TOO loud! :D

    Look around at deals for the RTiA1s or the RTiA3s - some can be had for a great price - especially from Polk's ebay site - you have checked there right?? :D

    When I got my RTiA3s from Polk ebay direct, it was for a price LOWER than RTiA1s new from some of the internet sites!

    H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.
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  • VenuS
    VenuS Posts: 7
    edited April 2010
    Hey guys! I finally got the speakers! They just awesome! Just for comparrison i connected only one front with my old speakers and difference was in face, or in ears :-) I'm really happy with my choice.
    But maybe you can help me cuz i getting frustraited. I probably doing something wrong because i still need remote in my hand when watching the movies, i always need to adjust the volume between the scenes. Some action scenes comes too loud and i need to lower, then they start to speak and i need to raise it back again. Even after lowering the mains and rasing center (wich should be otherwise) in my reciever, its still not helping much. I'm afraid lowering mains further, because not in action scenes i'll probably loose their effect. Is there anything esle i can try?
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  • Bernal
    Bernal Posts: 991
    edited April 2010
    Welcome to Club Polk!

    ________________________________
    01) DENON AVR-4308CI: Advanced 7.1 CH/5.1+2 CH/ 3.1+2+2 CH A/V Home Theater /MultiMedia Multi-Source/Zone Receiver with Networking and WiFi/170 watts x 7 channels
    02) SUNFIRE Grand Signature - Bob Carver's
    03) OPPO BDP-83SE Blu-ray Disc Player w/SACD & DVD-Audio
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    07) POLKAUDIO LSiC (Center speaker)
    08) POLKAUDIO LSi15 LEFT (Front speaker)
    09) POLKAUDIO LSi15 RIGHT (Front speaker)
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    11) POLKAUDIO LSiC Vertically (Surround speaker)
    12) POLKAUDIO LSif/x LEFT (Surround back speakers)
    13) POLKAUDIO LSif/x RIGHT (Surround back speakers)
    14) VELODYNE OPTIMUN SERIES 12"(High Output Digital EQ SubWoofer 2400W/1200WRMS)
    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showcase/view.php?userid=98096 (Not updated)
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  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited April 2010
    VenuS wrote: »
    Hey guys! I finally got the speakers! They just awesome! Just for comparrison i connected only one front with my old speakers and difference was in face, or in ears :-) I'm really happy with my choice.
    But maybe you can help me cuz i getting frustraited. I probably doing something wrong because i still need remote in my hand when watching the movies, i always need to adjust the volume between the scenes. Some action scenes comes too loud and i need to lower, then they start to speak and i need to raise it back again. Even after lowering the mains and rasing center (wich should be otherwise) in my reciever, its still not helping much. I'm afraid lowering mains further, because not in action scenes i'll probably loose their effect. Is there anything esle i can try?


    What AVR do you have?

    After getting your RTiA1s and CSiA4 hooked up, did you re-run your AVR's auto calibration?

    H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.
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  • VenuS
    VenuS Posts: 7
    edited April 2010
    Its little bit old, JVC-5042S.
    Yes, i did the calibration of room size and speaker size. What it does with volume settings, its leave the mains at 0, center going -2, surrounds go -4 and sub go -4 also.
    But i had to adjust it like mains -3, center +3 and surrounds to 0. Doesn't make sense, even with that, i had riding the remote whole movie.
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  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited April 2010
    VenuS wrote: »
    Its little bit old, JVC-5042S.
    Yes, i did the calibration of room size and speaker size. What it does with volume settings, its leave the mains at 0, center going -2, surrounds go -4 and sub go -4 also.
    But i had to adjust it like mains -3, center +3 and surrounds to 0. Doesn't make sense, even with that, i had riding the remote whole movie.

    Does your AVR have some sort of dynamic range control? Some AVRs have settings to even out movie volume dynamics between loud and soft scenes - some AVRs may call this a 'night' setting.

    You could use this to even out the volume for loud action scenes and soft scenes with low dialog.

    H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.
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  • VenuS
    VenuS Posts: 7
    edited April 2010
    Yes, i have the "Midnight Mode" 1 and 2. I will try it tomorrow ofcourse. But as i had read its worthless with DTS tracks, no?
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