Tsi 500 or RTi A5?

canderson
canderson Posts: 2
edited March 2011 in Speakers
I'm a total newbie and I'm sure this topic has been discussed alot previously. For a couple of years I have had a basic HT set up with 4 Tsi 100's (for fronts and surrounds), a CS10 in center and a PSW10 sub on a Onkyo SR506. I'm renovating my basement and will have a dedicated 17' x 13' theater room. Hooray!!! I will be adding floorstanding speakers and upgrading my AVR, going to a 7 channel system, incorporating the other speakers.

I've read a little about timbre matching on this board, so my question is should I go with the RTi A500's and look to upgrade my center channel speaker, or just stick with the Tsi line and do the 500's? Is there that big of a difference in these two lines? Pricing of course is comparable but the build on the RTia's seems nicer. Would the RTia's be a good place to start upgrading my setup all around?

BTW if it makes any difference, I am more interested in music (including classical and jazz) than movies, but with my kids I'm sure HT will be the more common use!

Any advice is hugely appreciated!
Post edited by canderson on
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Comments

  • Ericw2431
    Ericw2431 Posts: 228
    edited March 2011
    I think you should got rtia line especially for ht!
    Room Theater:
    Fronts:RTIA3
    center; CSIA6
    AVR: Onkyo 709
    panasonic 55"plasma
    Ps3 slim 250gb
    surrounds.Fxia6
    Sub...svs pc13 ULTRA
    Amp:Emotiva xpa3
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  • B Run
    B Run Posts: 1,888
    edited March 2011
    Agree the Rti a5 are a definite upgrade!
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  • ShadowTowel
    ShadowTowel Posts: 89
    edited March 2011
    +1 for rti a5!
    Polk Audio RTi A3 (mains)
    Polk Audio CSi A4 (center)
    Polk Audio RC60i (rears)
    BIC Acoustech PL-200 (sub)
    Denon AVR-590 (receiver)
    Samsung LN46B550 (LCD)
    Sharp BD HP22U (Blu-ray player)
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  • Theheadsn
    Theheadsn Posts: 413
    edited March 2011
    ok if you go with the rti's then you should have a decent stand alone amp to power them. just running them off a receiver you won't hear what those babies have to offer. I decided to go with the Tao line because of price and because I won't be able to build a full on ht room for awhile. either way you'll be happy, I love my 500's and am happy I bought them. don't ever look back ha
    Home Theater Setup
    • Receiver - Onkyo TX-RZ1100
    • Mains - Polk RTi A9's
    • External Amps - Outlaw 2200 Monoblocks for L/R/C
    • Center - Polk CSiA6
    • Side Surrounds - Polk FXiA6's
    • Atmos - 4 Polk 80F/X RT's
    • Sub - SVS PC-4000
    • T.V. - LG OLED65C7P

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  • B Run
    B Run Posts: 1,888
    edited March 2011
    The Rti a5's aren't as power hungry and can be run off an avr, you won't hear them to your full potential though. But honestly you won't hear the Tsi500's to their full potential off an avr either.
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  • canderson
    canderson Posts: 2
    edited March 2011
    Thanks everyone....seems like RTi A's are a good choice to build from. Sounds like I should begin to think about a stand alone amp. The hole I'm digging for this man cave is getting deeper!
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  • Gulfstrings
    Gulfstrings Posts: 313
    edited March 2011
    canderson wrote: »
    Thanks everyone....seems like RTi A's are a good choice to build from. Sounds like I should begin to think about a stand alone amp. The hole I'm digging for this man cave is getting deeper!

    Not so sure you can't hang up that shovel.

    Consider staying with what you (mostly) have, selecting the 500s and upgrading your sub?

    I'm thinking the end result will be a darned nice sounding and well matched system - music or movies!

    You can start digging the "next upgrade" hole later ...
    Marantz AV7005
    Marantz MM7055
    Onkyo DX-755 CdP
    Oppo BDP-93
    Technics SL-1301/Shure M97xE
    Polk RTi A7s
    Polk CSi A6
    Polk FXi A6s
    Velodyne VDR10-BV
    Panamax M5100-PM
    Antec VERIS A/V Cooler x 2
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  • Topper
    Topper Posts: 403
    edited March 2011
    Like I always say - TSis are great bang for the buck but if you have the opportunity to get the RTis, you will not regret them !! they are quite a step up in every department
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