Monitor 10 vs RT800i

halo71
halo71 Posts: 4,606
edited October 2012 in Speakers
Can anyone tell me how these compare to each other? I have 10's and have never heard the RT's.


Thanks!
--Gary--
Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out.
Post edited by halo71 on
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Comments

  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,201
    edited September 2012
    The Old Monitor 10's where are and still are in todays standards a fantastic sounding speaker. That could just be my opinion but I really like them. They have a warm punchy sound thats very attractive to many different styles of music. I really like Jazz on them.
    The RT800i's are a step up model from the original RT800's. They improved the crossover and tweeter , changed the black driver to a blue driver and they actually sounded a bit better. They are a excellent and better performing speaker over the old monitor 10's on a few levels. Theater use they excel and are easy to drive so getting pressure in your room is pretty easy. They tend to be on the bright side so high pitches like glass breaking comes across well. They don't however have the warm mid range the monitors do but it's worth giving up a bit of that to get the theater experience.
    Overall I think moving from Monitors to Rt series is a good move. If your planning on a full 5.1 system , this is a very good move especially what they cost used. I say go for it and give them a test drive , if you don't care for them you can always resell them. But I see you keeping them.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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  • HTguru1982
    HTguru1982 Posts: 1,066
    edited September 2012
    I had to get rid of my vintage Monitor system in my sig because we moved to a smaller place. To replace them, I went with the RT800i's, CS400i and FX300i's(same ones now in the Flea Market). The RT's aren't bad speakers, quite the opposite but IMO, they aren't up to the same level as my Polk Monitor speakers. Granted, I had the RTA12's not the Monitor 10's but I imagine they sound quite similar. A better comparison would be probably be the Monitor 7's which I used as fronts for a while. Compared to the RT's, they were more focused with a better midrange and still packed plenty of punch for movies, which is what the system was mainly used for. The only issue I had with the Monitors was the tweeter, the SL2000. Boy was it bright, even brighter than the Tri Lam. So I'm hoping to sell my RT speakers to be able to piece together a vintage Polk system again. Already got my hands on a set of Monitor 5's and I'm hoping to be able to get a set of 10's that a member on here has for sale locally.
    Display: Sony 42" LCD
    Sources: Harman Kardon DVD-27,
    Panasonic DMP-BDT110 blu ray player
    AVR: Sony STR-DA2400ES
    Amps: Sonance Sonamp 260(fronts),
    Kenwood KM-894(surrounds)
    Fronts: NHT 2.5
    Center: NHT VS-1.2A
    Surrounds: NHT Super One
    Subwoofer: SVS PB10-ISD
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  • halo71
    halo71 Posts: 4,606
    edited September 2012
    Thanks guys.
    --Gary--
    Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out.
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  • Loud & Clear
    Loud & Clear Posts: 1,538
    edited October 2012
    Monitor 10s sound far better to my ears, particularly once you've replaced the SL2000 with the replacement silk dome.

    Two Channel Setup:

    Speakers: Wharfedale Opus 2-3
    Integrated Amp: Krell S-300i
    DAC: Arcam irDac
    Source: iMac
    Remote Control: iPad Mini

    3.2 Home Theater Setup:

    Fronts: Klipsch RP-160M
    Center: Klipsch RP-160M
    Subwoofer: SVS PB12NSD (X 2)
    AVR: Yamaha Aventage RX-A2030
    Blu Ray: Sony BDP-S790
    TV Source: DirecTV Genie
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 33,008
    edited October 2012
    My fav of the older monitor series is the 7's. Considering you can find a pair under 100 clams today, they are no brainers for that budget system.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • halo71
    halo71 Posts: 4,606
    edited October 2012
    Guess I got GAS. Looking at other Polk models. Since I can not find a pair of SDA's fairly local to me I am straying off "course". lol
    --Gary--
    Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out.
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