Should I Make the Upgrade

paperthin567

Hello all,

This is my first posting in this forum, so I hope that I am doing everything the right way. I skimmed thru the many other pages of threads, but didn't see anything along the lines of my question, so here it goes:

I am the proud owner of a pair of RT1000i's from the late 90's and would like to get the most out of my system. I have them, along with a CS250 hooked up to a Pioneer Elite SC05 receiver and am wondering if I should upgrade to the A9's? Would I notice a difference in the sound quality of my movies? I have 4000 for the sub (a bit overkill I know) and would like to maximize the sound quality of my movies. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

NOTE--I am fairly new the "newer" line of Polk speakers, but I do know that the RT3000's were considered the "ultimate" back in the late 90's. Does anyone know if the A9's are comparable to those?

Many thanks.

-Luke

tonyb

The A9's would be a substantial upgrade from the 1000's. You would however also need to upgrade that center channel. The 3000p's and the newer A9's are 2 different animals so it would be hard to compare but I feel the A9's would be a tad quicker and more dynamic in their presentation.

paperthin567

Many thanks. The A9's cost substantially less than the RT 3000's did. Is quality being lost? Why is that?

tonyb

Like I said, 2 different animals. The 3000p's had a different design, built in amplifier, or as we call a powered tower. The A9's are not power towers and have no built in amplifier. Parts for those 3000p's are scarce too since polk no longer carries them. You may even read here a few threads on people with the 3000's needing to replace the built in amp but can't find a replacement or parts to do so. Unless your good with a soldering iron and electronics, they may be somewhat challenging to keep them up and running for years to come.

paperthin567

tonyb wrote: »

Like I said, 2 different animals. The 3000p's had a different design, built in amplifier, or as we call a powered tower. The A9's are not power towers and have no built in amplifier. Parts for those 3000p's are scarce too since polk no longer carries them. You may even read here a few threads on people with the 3000's needing to replace the built in amp but can't find a replacement or parts to do so. Unless your good with a soldering iron and electronics, they may be somewhat challenging to keep them up and running for years to come.

I understand. Thank you for clarifying. But I'm still unclear as to if I am going down in quality. Does the built-in amplifier for the subs really make that much difference if you have 2 sub woofers hooked up like I do (1 in the rear of the room, Polk 12" 4000 series and one in the front of the room, JBL 10")?"

AsSiMiLaTeD

it depends on what you're wanting out of them. For HT either of those would be fine. For music I personally think the A9 has a little more resolution. If you already have a sub then I would take a look at the new LSiM bookshelf speakers, they have more resolution and are a fantastic speaker.

tonyb

paperthin567 wrote: »

I understand. Thank you for clarifying. But I'm still unclear as to if I am going down in quality. Does the built-in amplifier for the subs really make that much difference if you have 2 sub woofers hooked up like I do (1 in the rear of the room, Polk 12" 4000 series and one in the front of the room, JBL 10")?"

No, you are not going down in quality simply put. Price does not always reflect sound quality.

paperthin567

Thanks everyone for the help.