RTiA3 or RTiA5's

RodneyWoodford

Is there much difference in these two speakers other than one's a bookshelf and one's floorstanding? I mean sound wise for the big difference in price.

gudnoyez

I own both, you should get them both, if only one pair is on the budget get the A5's they put out more bass than the A3's. I am listening to some Chili Peppers right now in two channel mode no subwoofer pretty loud and the A5's are putting out more bass cause of the cabinet size, if you get the A3,s you will be wishing you had gotten the A5's if space is an issue then go with the bookshelfs if not the A5's are the best bet, I already want to upgrade my AVR and get the A7's or the A9's I want some A9's real bad some iam saving my pennies might take a while so I will enjoy my A5's and A3's for now.

RodneyWoodford

I'm using RTi4's front now and RM8's and RM7's surround and back. Going to move the RTi4's to surround and was looking at RTiA3 or RTiA5 as front. I know the RTi4 is the same as RTiA1 so....Using CSi3 as center and I have a psw125 as sub. Just wondering if I go RTiA5 will I be thinking RTiA7 a year down the road or will I be okay with the 5's

Erik Tracy

RodneyWoodford wrote: »

I'm using RTi4's front now and RM8's and RM7's surround and back. Going to move the RTi4's to surround and was looking at RTiA3 or RTiA5 as front. I know the RTi4 is the same as RTiA1 so....Using CSi3 as center and I have a psw125 as sub.

I started with RTi4s and CSi3 up front and moved up to RTiA3s - worked very well for a small/medium HT room, but the RTiA3s do need a sub to really round out and fill in the bottom end.

RodneyWoodford wrote: »

Just wondering if I go RTiA5 will I be thinking RTiA7 a year down the road or will I be okay with the 5's

Of course you'll always be thinking 'upgrade' down the road - once bitten, there is no 'end' to this hobby.

Personally, I think you'd get more bang for your buck and more time inbetween your next upgrade if you went RTiA5s along with a sub upgrade.

Just stirring the pot....

SRTer

RodneyWoodford wrote: »

I'm using RTi4's front now and RM8's and RM7's surround and back. Going to move the RTi4's to surround and was looking at RTiA3 or RTiA5 as front. I know the RTi4 is the same as RTiA1 so....Using CSi3 as center and I have a psw125 as sub. Just wondering if I go RTiA5 will I be thinking RTiA7 a year down the road or will I be okay with the 5's

I had RTi8's which are like RTi A5's. They will be great with a sub. You will not NEED anything else.

However, I did end up with RTi A9's and A7's in the living room.

I think it would be advisable to set a spending limit because this hobby can get out of hand. Secondly, you don't have to buy it all at once.

rebuy

I'm sure the RTAi5's are a fine speaker. Is your sub better for the lows than what the 5's will give you? If you buy the 3's you'll have the top end of the 5's with a sub. Comparable?

matchan

rti4s on sale at jr.com

RodneyWoodford

That's in the US only. If it weren't I'd pick up a pair of RTi10's at $249 each!! Great deal.

grb3963

I have a5's up front
cs10 center
monitor50ii towers rear
psw10 sub

This combo sounds awesome

comfortablycurt

I used to own the RTi6's and RTi8's, which are basically the older versions of the A3's and A5's. Personally, I found the RTi6's with a sub to sound much better than the RTi8's by themselves(or the RTi8's with the same sub for that matter). I found the 6's to have a somewhat tamer sounding high end. The RTi series is known for being somewhat on the brighter side of things, and the 6's just always sounded a little smoother in the upper registers, and didn't have the brightness/harshness issues that I always found the RTi8's to have. If you're not planning on using a sub though, the A5's would be the way to go, since the A3's really don't pack a ton of bass output. Depending on your listening tastes though, if you're not a big bass head, you may find the A3's bass output to be quite suitable.

I've long since sold my RTi's and I've never regretted selling the RTi8's, but part of me wishes that I'd hung on to the RTi6's. Someday I may end up picking up a pair of RTiA3's to throw into my speaker rotation(maybe I'll get lucky and win the pair that are up for grabs in the current Polk contest!!!).

I've always been curious about how the RTi8/A5's would have sounded if they'd been configured in a D'appolito array instead of having the tweeter on top, much in the same way that the RTiA9's mid/high section is in a MTM array.

matchan

SRTer wrote: »

I had RTi8's which are like RTi A5's.

However, I did end up with RTi A9's and A7's in the living room.

What was your soundstage like when you moved from the RTI8-A5-A7-A9 ? Did you notice a small incremental difference or a massive change?

SRTer

matchan wrote: »

What was your soundstage like when you moved from the RTI8-A5-A7-A9 ? Did you notice a small incremental difference or a massive change?

There is a massive change. In the front stage, the RTi A9's have showed me defects in music tracks that where rip to Apple Lossless that my RTi8's never showed.

Secondly, if you play the A9's or A7's with a 50Hz crossover or lower, you are rewarded with a full sound that worth every penny. As I often tell people, I run the powered sub for visitors benefit or BluRays only. My couch is shaking right now while watching DirecTV.

I didn't find the RTi8's or the current RTi A9/A7 to be harsh in any way. They all seem to be bright but the THX setting can help with that or adjust the EQ.

jbooker82

SRTer wrote: »

Secondly, if you play the A9's or A7's with a 50Hz crossover or lower, you are rewarded with a full sound that worth every penny.

I have my RTI A7's set to full range because I don't listen at extreem volumes running only my onkyo tx-nr808. I eventually want to get an external amp later on down the road.

I also have the double bass on that way the sub still plays with sound sources that are not 5.1.

SRTer

jbooker82 wrote: »

I have my RTI A7's set to full range because I don't listen at extreem volumes running only my onkyo tx-nr808. I eventually want to get an external amp later on down the road.

I also have the double bass on that way the sub still plays with sound sources that are not 5.1.

Yes, I to run my towers full range and center crossover at 80Hz. The "Plus" setting on the Pioneers that gives you the powered sub all all time seems to be too much for me.

This coming from a guy who has had two 15 inch subs in the trunkof his car when I was a kid. It seems to be more than necessary.

SRTer

matchan wrote: »

What was your soundstage like when you moved from the RTI8-A5-A7-A9 ? Did you notice a small incremental difference or a massive change?

Also, the soundstage is wider and has more depth. I still have RTi8 tower setup on my 1st floor because one of my friends who stays here now fell in love with my old setup.

We have often went from room to room, seeing which setup does what well. There is no doubt that the RTi A7 and A9 speakers are better after tuning and more clean power.

We have a Pioneer Elite VSX-23 rated a 100 watts which drives the RTi8's perfect after trying a H/K which rated 50 watts and really couldn't bring home the goods.

It was the four RTi8 towers that made me blindly buy the new larger RTi A7's and A9's. These speakers are very dynamic and the Pio Elite SC-35 has not let me down yet.

aggro1218

Please see below.

aggro1218

RodneyWoodford wrote: »

I'm using RTi4's front now and RM8's and RM7's surround and back. Going to move the RTi4's to surround and was looking at RTiA3 or RTiA5 as front. I know the RTi4 is the same as RTiA1 so....Using CSi3 as center and I have a psw125 as sub. Just wondering if I go RTiA5 will I be thinking RTiA7 a year down the road or will I be okay with the 5's

RodneyWoodford, How do the RTi4's sound with the RM7's. I have a pair of RTi4's but haven't purchased surrounds yet. RTi4's are too big to have as my rear surrounds because they will be on stands next to my couch. Newegg has a pair of RM7's for $30 so I thought I'd try them out.