Best Speakers Without a Sub

HTNUT

Hello All,

I'm finally looking at updating my old Polk RT-12 fronts and CS400i Center. I have about $450.00 in store credits with Amazon so I'm looking at buying from them. I was looking at either of these systems but wanted to see which will work best without a sub.

RTi A7 and the CSi A6 or the TSi 500 with the CS20. I'll replace the rears at a later date. These will be driven by my Denon 3808ci AVR. They will be used 95% of the time for Home Theater. I won't be buying a sub right now. Maybe at some point but not where I'm living right now.

I'm leaning towards the RTi A7 and CSi A6 but would like some opinions for HT use without sub.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you

Jim

TouchOfEvil

If your going to go with the larger rti series i'd say go with the 9's or the 5's. The 7's lose a mid driver and of course it suffers in the mid range because of this. The 5's do a great job even without a sub but if you can swing for the 9's that would be a great choice.

renowilliams

+1 on what Touch is saying about thr RTIA5's. I would get them and with the money you save get a sub. They are great H/T speakers.



Tim

zx_toth

TouchOfEvil wrote: »

If your going to go with the larger rti series i'd say go with the 9's or the 5's. The 7's lose a mid driver and of course it suffers in the mid range because of this. The 5's do a great job even without a sub but if you can swing for the 9's that would be a great choice.

renowilliams wrote: »

+1 on what Touch is saying about thr RTIA5's. I would get them and with the money you save get a sub. They are great H/T speakers.



Tim

LOL ... neither of your recommendations are from the two options he proposed. I personally would go with the Rtia7 choice as I have recently been acquainted with the Rtia line and am pleasantly surprised .... you wont go wrong there and they look awfully sexy too with the nice curved rear end.

enjoy!

Z

HTNUT

Thanks for the suggestions.

I think the RTi A9 will be too large in my area. I'll have to measure. I think it might be too much speaker for my room.

No matter what I save with cheaper speakers (RTi A5) a sub cannot me used right now. Like I said earlier maybe down the road but not now. It is not a case of money.

Like I said I'll have to check a few things out. RTi A7 would be a perfect size so we'll see.

Thanks again.

Jim

Wendelman

The A7s and A9s are both going to give you a wonderfully full sound field range, but will beg for a constant flow of high wattage current. You would be able to get low end freq from both (down to 20 & 18Hz, respectively), better than many avg powered subs, but they will not fill their full range without globs of power (up to 300 & 500 watts rec amp power). To have these truly replace the low freq of a dedicated sub would call for a relatively beefy and expensive amp. A friend of mine recently went with the A9s after we were able to test drive both with his ATI AT3002 amp (300wRMSx2). Both sounded outstanding, but like you, he was going without a sub and wanted the added low end (personally, I had trouble noticing a justifiable amount of added bass [-2Hz] for the added cost, but it was not my call!).

Unfortunately, you prob will not be getting sub-like performance from any passive 8ohm towers w/o pre/amp components. And if you went and spent the money on those, the resulting bass would be equally as disturbing (neighbors?) So I would recommend, based on cost efficiency, noise constraints and assuming your current AVR as sole power source, either the A5s ($283 on amazon, same price as tsi400s right now!) or tsi500s ($375) with the csiA4/A6 ($225/$375), as they are both much better than the CS20. This will give you a nice, balanced and fairly full sound for now, and a great base for when you are able to add a sub.

After all, powered subs came along to be the best, cost-effective solution for HT setups, while full range, power hungry towers w ext amps are best left to serious stereo music audiophiles with plenty of free cash and space for their setup. So If 95% of your usage is HT, save yourself the money and space. And if you still feel like you need a fuller sound, go with a lower power, cheaper sub (PSW10, $89) and keep it at a low setting for the time being.

Good Luck!

TouchOfEvil

I would still suggest going with the A5's if the 9's are too large. Most people find the 7's to lack in the mid range department and it's a very important role for music and HT alike.
Also if your going to push them without an external amp the 7's will not perform to their full potential.
The 5's will be able to function properly even at lower power and give a nice full range sound. Later down the road when you can get a sub it will certainly be a nice addition but the 5's hold their own very well. I should know since i have them for one of my rigs.

gp4jesus

+1 touch.

the 'A7s don't do well w/out a 'warm' soundind amp and good twist of the 'V' knob.

I love mine but...

tony

JimAckley

Well between the two you posted, if you're just using an AVR I'd go for the TSi, plus in cherry they're f**king sexy. The RTi line is too bright for my taste, but either system is pretty good. You've gotta try to get out to stores and sit down and listen. Your ears need to be the judge.

Now, if money were no object... :biggrin:

F1nut

I don't find the A7's to be bright or lacking with the SC-37.....strictly HT mind you.