New RTi: Circuit City Watch

DanielCSCS

Can we get some varification on the status here? I'm itchin to trade up!

scornful

Saw a new center channel earlier today. How does $250 sound for an RTi150?

eclypse

Hell i tired getting to Demo Rti150's since the CC by me had them and they were in great shape.. The manager only would go as low as 425 a piece.. Like huh? I told him i've heard from plenty of people online here that they picked them up for 200 or less a piece.. I even said to him that i talked to 2 other CC employees and they said that the going price for them were 200 a piece as well and he looked dumb founded..

I guess i'll have to call around. I cant help it, i've tried the 100s then the 70's but i cant shake the 150s! All those speakers and the mass size of it is irresistable. i've got polk sickness!

Now i'm sitting here with the Rti12's in the shopping cart and i'm wondering if these are better then the 150's..

acdds

The 8's and a bookshelf model just hit CC in Western PA. I checked them out today. I can't say I'm a fan of the looks though. They look kind of cheesy IMHO. I don't think they have the understated "classic"l ook of the old RTi line.

brettw22

Originally posted by acdds
I don't think they have the understated "classic"l ook of the old RTi line.

Down deep inside, who really wants "classic" looking speakers. I'm ALL about a speaker looking different than the typical, as long as it sounds good to boot.

It'd be a stretch to expect it, but I think that it'd be nice if Polk offered the new line with, and without the silver face so that those that don't have a silver tie-in with their system don't have them looking so out of place.

eclypse

They wont look outa place in my room next to my Samsung 61" DLP thats black and silver..

Yeah i know what ya mean though.. i was pretty concerned with the silver in it as well.. But today i was relieved when i opened the Csi5 i got in the mail as well as the Fxi5 and they look fine.. I'm not too crazy about the silver but i dont hate it either... But now my wife cant say "Its just a black box".. hehe.

oh yes they do sound great!.. Alot cleaner forsure... and thats just with the Csi5 and the Fxi5 as the fronts hehe.. The 2's will be in soon.. Then i can say more..

KeithV

They aren't that great. I put up a set of 4s, 6s, and 8s the other day in the sound room. The 8s are supposed to replace the 70s I think, but they don't do a very good job. Maybe I just need to break them in, but personaly I think they sound way to bright to be polks, and not nearly as filling as the 70s.

Also, they weigh about 1/4 what the previous RTi series weighs, and feel very cheap.

Man, it sucks.. My favorite speakers are all gone.. Entra Threes and RTi70s.

eclypse

Originally posted by KeithV
They aren't that great. I put up a set of 4s, 6s, and 8s the other day in the sound room. The 8s are supposed to replace the 70s I think, but they don't do a very good job. Maybe I just need to break them in, but personaly I think they sound way to bright to be polks, and not nearly as filling as the 70s.

Also, they weigh about 1/4 what the previous RTi series weighs, and feel very cheap.

Man, it sucks.. My favorite speakers are all gone.. Entra Threes and RTi70s.

I checked the specs.. The new are either heavier or the same weight.. I recall many people saying that the 70's were too bright.. hmm.. Well anyways.. ya might wana hook them to a different receiver and adjust it alittle.. Though i never walked into a CC sound room and said "Wow those sound good" either..

KeithV

Originally posted by eclypse
I checked the specs.. The new are either heavier or the same weight.. I recall many people saying that the 70's were too bright.. hmm.. Well anyways.. ya might wana hook them to a different receiver and adjust it alittle.. Though i never walked into a CC sound room and said "Wow those sound good" either..

We don't really have a choice as to what the stuff gets hooked up to. It's either an HK AVR525 for HT, or an ONK 8511 for stereo. the wiring is decent class 2 stuff.. Not saying it's the best conditions, but comparing them to the 70s, when the only thing that has changed is the speakers, the 8s are just not my cup of tea.

Like I said though, they need to be broken in.

fireshoes

WE got the everything but the FX's, 12's, adn CSi5 at American TV. I would agree that they are quite bright out of the box, but I really expect them to mellow out with some break-in. It's pretty typical for the Polks. They sound pretty decent so far though. We haven't busted out any with the black finish yet, but I love the look of the cherry finish. Extremly good build quality for the price.

Emlyn

I went in a local Circuit City store this evening and they had one (not one pair) RTi10, one RTi6, and one CSi5 in their speaker room. Listening to them would have been pointless because there was only one of each set up for some reason.

The speakers were the black oak finish. The veneer does indeed look like oak. However, the grain is so prevalent in this finish as to look fake. There were no cherry finish speakers there so I don't know if that finish will look better than the black. The grilles are flimsy, have cheap silver plastic accent pieces, and look sort of cheesy to me. The bottom front plates are cheap silver plastic and the feet are cheap silver plastic. To me it doesn't make sense for Polk to brag about having real wood veneer only to spoil the appearance of speakers with cheap silver plastic. The speaker drivers are all different shades of silver. The CSi5 and RTi10 speaker cabinets are substantially deeper than comparable speakers from the previous RTi line.

The cabinets do feel very solid however, and the port cover in the back of the RTi10s looked pretty good. All things considered though I find the previous RTi line to be much classier in appearance.

The store had the CSi5 priced at $479 and the RTi10 at $569. Check Crutchfield and you'll find much lower prices. Circuit City is continuing to make me believe their stores are hardly worth bothering with any more.

Glad I took advantage of the blow-out sales on the last RTi line, because mine aren't going back for a trade in.