RT12 or RT400

bobsauto49

Have a chance to buy a pair of fully functional rt12,or rt400 from a friend in need! Both sets are in great shape! Wondering what speaker would serve best for surrounds With my RT2000i's,and a cs2 center! I have the M3II's now for surrounds but thought one of these 2 would fill the 14x20 room a little better! Any suggestions would be greatly apprieciated! Pushing all speakers with an Onkyo TX-SR608 which i know needs an upgrade!(wife says need to wait til Christmas for an upgrade since i purchased the RT2000i's a month ago!) Thanx in advance!

bobsauto49

anybody care? No not really! Took the Rt400's! One Question left! Will i notice a difference with the Rt2000i's clarity at louder dcb.(74-84 dcb.) better with 140 w/pc,over 100 w/pc (i have a Onkyo Tx-sr608,100 w/pc),OR, will i notice a BIGGER difference just buying a reciever with pre-outs and seperate amps! I REALLY just want to know if a bigger reciever (pioneer elite SC-07,Onkyo Tx-Nr808) Will make a noticable difference! Please help! The onkyo sounds good,except in the mid,when its really loud! I hear cloudiness at 78 dcb! Thanx for any info! P.S I love my POLKS!!!!!!!

pdxfj

I would think with proper placement the M3's would work just fine as surrounds. Perhaps a set of F/X series as surrounds? My living room is roughly the same size as yours and I am running F/X300i's as surrounds. Maybe use your M3's for height or rear surrounds?

I have a pair of the RT400's I bought new back in 1997 or 1998. They served me for many years but are more of a musical speaker. I retired them not too long ago with the matching center channel and Yamaha receiver to PC speaker duty.

Running with an external amp will help (which is my next upgrade). Save a little cash and get the 708 or similar receiver with pre-amp outs. There is not much difference between the Onkyo 708 and 808 other than power. Since you want to run an external amp it's not a big deal. Also remember the power rating is usually into two channels only. When running the 608 in 5 channel mode you're getting about 40w/pc and about 30w/pc in 7 channel mode.

Quite surprised to see someone else pop up with a set of RT400's. Not a bad sounding speaker, although no where near as good as my M70's.

bobsauto49

PD, i apprieciate your response! My buddy owned the RT400's since new,and i always thought they sounded really warm, and full! I love these speakers,(and my RT2000i's)! I'm glad i snatched em up! I thought the onkyo pushed 100w/ch,thats why i purchased! I just find muddiness at 70-76 dcb.(which is loud and the way i like to listen to music) I'm wondering 3 things! 1: If the speaker's(RT2000i's in particular) are to the capacity,or 2: should i invest $600 for a new 140w/ch reciever and make a noticable difference! Or 3: Do I just need to buck up and spend $1500 on new reciever/preouts,and a external amp! I know the 3rd option is probly best, but its about $1000 or more different! If option 2 would get rid of my muddiness at higher db, i'd be one happy camper! Thanx for trying to help out/input!

shack

I would take pair of RT400s in good condition over a pair of Monitor 70s...period. I've heard both and I own the RT400s. It is one of those speakers that far exceeds the sum of its parts. There is nothing about the speaker that makes one think it should sound exceptional...but IMO...it does. I have no problem going from my SDA 1Cs to the RT400s in my 2 channel rig (in fact they are hooked up now while the 1Cs take a break).

bobsauto49

I couldnt agree more about exceeding the sum of its parts on this Rt400! This Speaker got me interested in Home audio! I always envied my buddies home theater,and finally broke down,bought the rt600i! I never thought they sounded as good as his Rt400's,so i upgraded to the Rt2000i's,which i love,but am very happy to have the Rt400 in my collection!(which will never leave) He sold me the Rt400's for $50! I now have a hard time sleeping at night:-)

pdxfj

I do agree the RT400's are an excellent sounding speaker for what they are. Quite surprising even. Once I bought a Plasma TV and BD player the 400's and CS245 started to show their age. No matter how much tweaking I did, things just never sounded right even after replacing the Yamaha receiver (same age as speakers) with a SR608.

I came across a really good deal on the 70's and CS2 and with the way I have things setup now it's great for HT and does quite good for music. Maybe after I reclaim my Monitor 5b's from my parents house and upgrade their crossovers I'll see how the sound compared to the 400's and M70's in 2 channel audio.

Bob, you don't need to spend a ton of money on a receiver. If you're going to use an external amp the power rating of the receiver is somewhat of a moot point. If you get a 3 channel external amp to run your L-C-R then you relieve the receiver of that burden and it has more power for your surrounds.

Thankfully a couple of friends are interested in my 608. I'll be happy to make them a good deal on it so I can help finance the purchase of a 708 then save up for an amp.

This hobby is just as bad as owning motorcycles. Maybe it's time to find some cheaper hobbies.. Watching grass grow doesn't cost anything.. :biggrin:

bobsauto49

Thanx for the input PD! Accessories For Less has a Marantz SR5004/preouts for $349! I'm thinkin thats about as cheap as i can find a good reciever/preouts! Wife wont mind that,but buyin a good amp wont make her smile:-( It will make her want to move out! So maybee this amp is a good thing!