Monitors Or TSI?

Jdpower

I'm looking To buy some book shelf speakers to go with my PSW10 Sub. I want to know If the TSI 100 is better then the Monitor 30's and if the TSI 200's are better then the Monitor 40's. To me the TSI 100 and 200 are Not worth it by looking at them.
i just want to make sure, Note i don't care about how they look i know the TSI's look better but i don't care. Also is the CS20 center worth it over the CS2 model?

On newegg i can get the monitor 30's,40's and the CS2 center for 407$!


But i can get the newer TSI's for 551$ on amazon

Stilly74

Rti line was replaced buy the RtiA line and people say they sound is better
The Tsi line has replaced the Monitor line I would think there must be some improvement in sound.but I have never heard the Rti/RtiA line side by side nor Tsi/monitor to actually hear the difference. Had the complete Tsi line up for surround and for the money they sound pretty good. Since have moved to all Rti system,

Florida_Gator

IMO, for HT fronts, sides, rears, the Monitors are just as good as the TSIs. For the center, I went with the (just a little more on sale from NewEgg) CS20 over the CS2, as I've read from several people that it's a tad clearer. I think you really have to want the different look of the TSIs to justify the price difference.

pyrocyborg

Well... to be honest, I had both RTi6/RTiA3, I didn't hear a difference. Maybe those curved cabinets make it looks like the sound should be more "polished", but it was still a bright sounding speaker with the same characteristics than it's predecessor. Bass was as strong, sound was a clear, specs are the same. Probably that there were a difference, but I wouldn't call it night and day (it was more like a lateral move in kind of speaker performance... or was it really a move if there is something like a 1 to 2% difference in sound?). Overall, it was the same sound, and I guess it's the same between Monitor and TSi series; this is mostly a cosmetic upgrade.

DaveHCYJ

I would go with the monitor line. If you were thinking about spending more then check out the older RTi series -- they will give you both a sound and cosmetic upgrade.

Jdpower

After reading the comments here i can't justify spending more money on the TSI line. Thanks for the help!

Geoff4rfc

Jdpower wrote: »

After reading the comments here i can't justify spending more money on the TSI line. Thanks for the help!

I've owned the Monitor Series II, 70, 40, 30 and CS2. After having them in my set up for almost a year, I demoed the TSi500 and CS20 in an audio/video store and even though the TSi sounded great, it didn't sound better than my set up. I did take into consideration my set up was amped and calibrated to my room, the ones in the store were right in line with a bunch of other speakers.

Could they have sounded better under similar conditions? Probably not. Did they look better than mine, yeah, they sure did. But when the lights are out, I really don't care what they look like.

Jdpower

Geoff4rfc wrote: »

I've owned the Monitor Series II, 70, 40, 30 and CS2. After having them in my set up for almost a year, I demoed the TSi500 and CS20 in an audio/video store and even though the TSi sounded great, it didn't sound better than my set up. I did take into consideration my set up was amped and calibrated to my room, the ones in the store were right in line with a bunch of other speakers.

Could they have sounded better under similar conditions? Probably not. Did they look better than mine, yeah, they sure did. But when the lights are out, I really don't care what they look like.

+1 Thanks you saved me 150$! Can't wait until i upgrade my speakers right now i'm running some KLH book shelf speakers in the front with some crappy audiovox book shelf speakers in the back! I've looked at all different brands for some time and polk is not only the best for the money but i think their the best overall as well! If they have 1 disadvantageits that their harder to Run on plain old receivers i might try to get some amps and try to improve the sound more! My receiver is a 90 watt per channel receiver i'm hoping it can handle my new setup!

pyrocyborg

You'll have no trouble running the Monitor bookshelf with your receiver. If you went with towers, it could have been harder to achieve a good sound with a receiver.. but not bookshelf. I was driving RTiA3 (bigger RTi bookshelf speakers) without any trouble with an entry level receiver and with a 20 years old 20w pioneer 2ch receiver.

Polk might not be the easiest speakers to drive (because their sensitivity ratings are in the medium range), but they offer a good bang for your buck. Enjoy!

Just don't go "overkill" by pairing them with a 1000$ amp if you ever want more power... :P

Jdpower

pyrocyborg wrote: »

You'll have no trouble running the Monitor bookshelf with your receiver. If you went with towers, it could have been harder to achieve a good sound with a receiver.. but not bookshelf. I was driving RTiA3 (bigger RTi bookshelf speakers) without any trouble with an entry level receiver and with a 20 years old 20w pioneer 2ch receiver.

Polk might not be the easiest speakers to drive (because their sensitivity ratings are in the medium range), but they offer a good bang for your buck. Enjoy!

Just don't go "overkill" by pairing them with a 1000$ amp if you ever want more power... :P

Yeah probably in the next 6 months or so i'm going to upgrade my Pioneer 517-K to a Pioneer 1021-k or a 1121-k or maybe even a elite, But that's why i go with book shelf speakers+ a Sub it seems easier to drive.

pyrocyborg

Well, IMO, a set of bookshelf paired with a good sub, properly positioned (i.e. on stands) can deliver the same sound than a pair of towers. The only "drawback" of each is :

- Towers need a beefier amp, sometimes at least twice or three time the power of their bookshelf counterpart. It gives an uniform presentation of the sound "as intended".
- Bookshelf/Monitor absolutely need to be on stands to sound at their best and their are picky with placement. Depending on the sub itself and crossover frequencies of both the sub and speakers, your sub and bookshelf might not blend that well at the crossover point.

Other than that, you can see that it's easier to drive a bookshelf system paired with a sub... so it cost less in term of amps (and once you have quality stands, you don't have to buy a new pair each time you change your speakers). Not to say that towers aren't great, they are... but I prefer a bookshelf system for personal reasons and some people might not agree with me. That's the beauty of this hobby: everything is a matter of tastes, and what your ears (and budget) prefer the best.