Oh hell yeah! New RTi and LCi!!!

RuSsMaN · June 2003

Originally posted by hoosier21
Sorry Russ, looks like the 10 & 12 need to be plugged in:mad:

I don't think those are amps, rather big honkin' power-port 'plates'.

Cheers,
Russ

Tour2ma · June 2003

Yup, passive all the way. No power cords that I saw.

Dr. Spec · June 2003

Holy crow! That's REALLY an impressive looking speaker (RTi12).

Regarding the discussion about the woofs: Surface area is square inches, not cubic inches. Displaced volume (what we call air moving capability) is the effective surface area of the driver x the maximum linear travel of the driver in one direction.

The larger the driver, the less it has to travel to move a given amount of air. Smaller drivers must move much farther at the same frequency to move the same amount of air. That's why they are typically less efficient and require a higher power input to achieve the same SPL.

The smaller the driver, the higher its theoretical frequency response. The only valid reason to use a smaller woofer is for a higher crossover.

There is no merit to the much abused term "fast" or "slow" bass from an actual driver speed standpoint. It is very easy for any properly built woofer (large or small) to follow the waveform of a typical low bass signal.

But an 18" woofer can't play as high in the frequency band as a 6.5" woofer and requires a lower crossover to the next driver.

Doc

polkatese · June 2003

Tour,
thanks for sharing the pics! did you guys audition the Rti12 against Lsi15 (next to it in the pic with Micah)?

VR3 · June 2003

I feel the need to suddenly sell all my speakers........and buy all new ones. Only effin kasheats those look ella cool. But dangit, I want a bookshelf like the RT55i. Why can't Polk make a speaker like the RT55i? Polk make a speaker like the RT55i. Atleast make one RT55i type speaker. I promise I'll pay you! JK, anyways. The RTi6, it has suddenly been moved on my list to buy and the CSi5? I think thats it, its on my list to buy too. LoL, not really - I'd rather rake the CSi40, it will be on the cheap when these babies come out. Polk good job on these speakers, I love the silver on black and the new grills. The new grills are a major step up over the RTixxx. Dont like like a styrofoam plate now. But why did you get rid of the blue woofers? Those were cool man. But dangit, the silver is awesome. I really need to upgrade. Well, I said my 2-3-4-5 cents, I am out.

faster100 · June 2003

what is that bulge in the back on the rti10 and 12, on the bottom of the back, it shows something sticking out

RuSsMaN · June 2003

Originally posted by RuSsMaN
I don't think those are amps, rather big honkin' power-port 'plates'.

Cheers,
Russ

dlew308 · June 2003

Russ you're invisible

shack · June 2003

Originally posted by begbie
Nice looking speakers. Though I'm not crazy of the silver face plate but Polk knows marketing and silver is in on almost anything that's audio/video !!

I think Gidra posted something along this line in another thread. I'm not a fan of the silver/high tech look. I'm too "Old School" I guess. I know that the sound is the most important factor but when I upgrade I still want the looks (especially if I'm spending big $ ).

To me this is a beautiful speaker...not high tech...but very classic (also much more expensive).

I commend Polk for keeping on the cutting edge of speaker technology for the masses and the high-end alike. However for now I will stick with my RT55is, RT15is and RT25is.

jkratzer · June 2003

Am I the only one worried that there will be to much silver plastic on these speakers? Plastic feels cheap.

begbie · June 2003

If the silver is a bright shiny finish, then imo the look may be a turn off. Luckily, Polk have black grills to hide them. In the end there may be too much silver if you've already got silver electronic components.

fireshoes · June 2003

The press releases are up now. The multiple drivers on the big towers are 7" drivers, for those who want to argue about surface area.

BTW the release says three 7's equals one 12. Also we got shortchanged two LCi pics as there 2 in-walls and 2 in-ceilings. September for the LCi's and October for the RTi's.

RTi press release:
http://www.polkaudio.com/home/partners/press/release.php?id=30

CSi and FXi release:
http://www.polkaudio.com/home/partners/press/release.php?id=29

LCi release:
http://www.polkaudio.com/home/partners/press/release.php?id=31

jkratzer · June 2003

According to the release, the MSRP of the new RTi's will be cheaper than the MSRP of the current RTi's. :eek:

Janusch · June 2003

I think Mathew wouldn't price his speakers more then a couple of grand. I think he prides himself (As he well should) to bring great speakers at an effordable price. I think $5,000 goes against that idea. :eek:

Tour2ma · June 2003

polka,
The 12's were on external crossover boards Engineering was using for tests. You can see them in my pic in the background. Since they were still experimental at that time, Micah did not want to run them, and F1 and I respected that (damn it). So we did not get a good listen to the 12's. They were playing at really low volume as we swapped speaker runs over to the LSi's flanking them.

As for anyone concerned about the silver front plates being too reflective, I recall them having more of a mat finish.

One thing that seems to have gone unnoticed so far is that while the woofer(s) gained ½ and more throw, the mid-range shrank a bit. Release doesnt address them yet, but they look to be down to 5, or maybe even 4.5. What we have here is approaching a three-way design. Ill be interested in seeing what they ended up doing with the crossover design. Should have paid more attention to that during the visit, as I dont recall whether I was seeing a two or a three-way. I was more concerned at the time with not stepping on them

I guess I make a pretty lousy industrial spy

Janusch · June 2003

Originally posted by Vr3MxStyler2k3
I feel the need to suddenly sell all my speakers........and buy all new ones. Only effin kasheats those look ella cool. But dangit, I want a bookshelf like the RT55i. Why can't Polk make a speaker like the RT55i? Polk make a speaker like the RT55i. Atleast make one RT55i type speaker. I promise I'll pay you! JK, anyways. .

You know the LSI9s are like the RT55I

polkatese · June 2003

polka,
The 12's were on external crossover boards Engineering was using for tests. You can see them in my pic in the background. Since they were still experimental at that time, Micah did not want to run them, and F1 and I respected that (damn it). So we did not get a good listen to the 12's. They were playing at really low volume as we swapped speaker runs over to the LSi's flanking them.

oh, well....let's see if these puppies will show up in the near future
at my local CC's, worth an audition for its entertainment value!

ncw · June 2003

The press release says:

"The RTi models are magnetically shielded to allow safe placement next to televisions or video monitors. All models feature gold plated 5-way binding posts with dual inputs for bi-amplification or bi-wiring."

Wow, I love that. There is something for everyone. I'd love to hear how they sound compared to the older RTi series. I got to listen to them before CC clears out the older RTi series completely, just so that I can compare the old vs the new line.

ncw · June 2003

Correction:

DELETE: "I got to listen to them before CC clears out the older RTi series completely, just so that I can compare the old vs the new line."

ADD:
"I will listen to them before CC clears out the older RTi series completely, just so that I can compare the old vs the new line."

jkratzer · June 2003

Originally posted by ncw
The press release says:

"The RTi models are magnetically shielded to allow safe placement next to televisions or video monitors. All models feature gold plated 5-way binding posts with dual inputs for bi-amplification or bi-wiring."

Wow, I love that. There is something for everyone.

All current RTi tower models have the gold plated dual 5-way binding posts for bi-wiring or bi-amping. I know my RTi70's have them. It is only the bookshelf models that lack it. It is cool they are adding the duals on the bookshelfs as well.

jkratzer · June 2003

Correct me if I'm wrong but, when the new RTi series makes its debut this fall, the current RTi series will have only had a 1 1/2 year run. Seems like a short run for this series.

Tour2ma · June 2003

jk,
Would not suprise me if they are already developing the next RTi series with the next LSi's already on the proverbial engineering shelf. Product life cycles aren't what they used to be.

Fast paced world out there and getting faster all the time...

ncw · June 2003

Originally posted by Tour2ma

Fast paced world out there and getting faster all the time...

Yep, Matthew Polk did talk about the loudspeaker business as a "technology-driven fashion business". They are in tune with how people live their life style in this fast moving era. Today, with computer-aided design on PC desktops, design cycles can be very short. Even tests can be done quickly and analysis done in short cycles, using the power of computers to collect data via sensors. I know they do that because my brother used to work for NRC in their acoustic lab.

rs159 · June 2003

Originally posted by Dr. Spec
Holy crow! That's REALLY an impressive looking speaker (RTi12).

Regarding the discussion about the woofs: Surface area is square inches, not cubic inches. Displaced volume (what we call air moving capability) is the effective surface area of the driver x the maximum linear travel of the driver in one direction.

The larger the driver, the less it has to travel to move a given amount of air. Smaller drivers must move much farther at the same frequency to move the same amount of air. That's why they are typically less efficient and require a higher power input to achieve the same SPL.

The smaller the driver, the higher its theoretical frequency response. The only valid reason to use a smaller woofer is for a higher crossover.

There is no merit to the much abused term "fast" or "slow" bass from an actual driver speed standpoint. It is very easy for any properly built woofer (large or small) to follow the waveform of a typical low bass signal.

But an 18" woofer can't play as high in the frequency band as a 6.5" woofer and requires a lower crossover to the next driver.

Doc

sgtgto · June 2003

Hi:

To clarify my statement earlier. With HT a sub woofer is needed but for music I don't care how many 6.5" woofers you have you are not going to get the deep and powerful output of a 12 or 15" woofer in the 200Hz and up range. I used to have a pair of Cerwin Vega AT15s and you could not beat them for low end in classical music. I now have two Rt2000s and two RT 800s, with a B&K amp putting out 340W a channel in parallel for front sound stage, and I liked the CVs better for classical.

I personally think for me the idea speaker, today, would be a type of sda with three tweeters, four mids, and a 15" passive woofer. With todays' technology in material I don't think they could be beat, and I would buy a pair.

Garyl

goingganzo · June 2003

it all depends on what you like. ht or 2 channel. i am big ht guy i listne to audio in the car. i love my big bass in my ht with my dual 15's also all a upgrade will get you is a look it looks like the core of the speaker is not changed. if you upgrade go from rt to ls line that is just my thoughts.

Tour2ma · June 2003

Originally posted by sgtgto
I don't care how many 6.5" woofers you have you are not going to get the deep and powerful output of a 12 or 15" woofer in the 200Hz and (down) range.

Kind of why Bose used the Eq box with the 901's. Nine 4.5" (?) drivers couln't quite muster the base.... but I still liked them in their day.

rs159 · June 2003

Bigger drivers have lower FS's. Smaller drivers have higher FS's. Smaller drivers roll off more quickly (in the bass). No two ways about it.

Lets say you have an 8" sub. It's F3 is 40 and its F10 is 30. Now lets add the exact same sub, which gives us a 3dB boost all over. So guess what, your F3 is still 40, it's just louder. How do you like dem apples?

Of course, you could have 4 8" drivers, which will boost it 12dB, and then cut the higher frequencies and slightly and boost the low frequencies slightly (and I mean slightly, esp. if your in anything but a sealed box). That would lower your system's F3 a bit, but the added cost of 4 8's as opposed to just 1 or 2 15's or 12's is kind of rediculous.

Now, if we're talkin' line arrays like the SDA's, sometimes it's a good compromise. Speakers are all about compromises. Polk wanted a big speaker that would be wife friendly, so they had to do something very narrow and tall, as opposed to something that would take up more floor space. IMHO, they should have an RTi15, w/ a RTi6 top, and a much more potent LSi15 bottom. They could even make it all passive, for all I care.

Stephen Bayley · June 2003

There's been a lot said about the bass end, how about the top end. Whats happened to the link with the Vifa ring radiator tweeter used in the LSi range.

The Vifa driver is not expensive ($60 at PartsExpress) so why can't it be included in the new speaker range. Are the newer Polk tweeters superior the the Vifa. Must wait for the reviews to find that out.

jbowl · June 2003

Originally posted by Stephen Bayley
There's been a lot said about the bass end, how about the top end. Whats happened to the link with the Vifa ring radiator tweeter used in the LSi range.

The Vifa driver is not expensive ($60 at PartsExpress) so why can't it be included in the new speaker range. Are the newer Polk tweeters superior the the Vifa. Must wait for the reviews to find that out.

maybe marketing... to distinguish from lsi

Oh hell yeah! New RTi and LCi!!!

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