Why do people think RTi12/9's are bad for 2 channel music???

naturallight

I have no understanding why people say the RTi12 or RTi9 is a nasty speaker for music and is too bright and brittle for 2 channel music. I put the RTi12 up against My original SDA1C's.....they don't sound the same of course..but there not bright or brittle as compared to the SDA's in fact since the SDA's still have the SL2000....the 12's come across as LESS bright.

These are not bad speakers by any stretch, they have no problem at all putting out bass and there sound stage is nothing to say it's junk. It's very wide and sounds fine.

It's NOT SDA stuff butt..there is no speaker that can do that...and may be an acquired taste.



The only problem i can see..is if you power them with junk, and feed them with a not so good media.

I use a Onkyo M 504 power amp, a Jolida tube cd player and a Adcom pre....I don't find that these speakers are bad at all.

They may be a tad mid rangegy if there is such a word....but for sure are not overly bright or brittle.....at least if you use the right Equipment on them.

AsSiMiLaTeD

They're not BAD for music, but their sound is more tuned for HT in my opinion. They have a more forward bright sound to them that's just better suited to movies, but works ok for music.

F1nut

They have a more forward bright sound to them that's just better suited to movies

And Bingo was his name.

pdxfj

I didn't enjoy how my RTi-A7's sounded with music, until I did the XO upgrades. So much nicer now. Will miss having them in the living room when my dedicated theater is done.

naturallight

Well see F1..I just don't agree. I have the SDA 1C's sitting there and the RTi 12's...I don't feel the 12's are bright,

in fact i think the SDA's are more bright, with the SL2000 in them.

The fact of the 12's being more forward..maybe..the SDA's tend to be more laid back. The 12's throw more mid range at you, the SDA's don't. The SDA's tend to be more of a 2 way speaker..as the 12's are a 3 way speaker.

The SDA's may come across as some what light and airy as compared to the 12's to some degree. BUT..this is NOT a good comparison. (your dealing with the SDA effect) The problem is you can't compare these 2 speakers.



As far as price and what you get...I find it hard to say the RTi12/9's are a bad speaker for music.."assuming" you have the right equipment to push it. If you don't..then the speakers can sound like junk.

F1nut

The problem is you can't compare these 2 speakers.

You just did.....Hello!

leroyjr1

I don't mind a forward or brighter speaker but the Rti's balance was way off. They sounded great for HT but didn't compare to the smoother laid back mids of the SDA's.

erniejade

I am going to throw another thing into the mix here. Room acoustics. I lost my basement room that was 32 x 28. In the basement the carver amazing and the polk sda 1.2 or 2.3 sounded fantastic. I moved everything to the living room where the room acoustics are completely dead and just flat out suck. I have been though several positions, and different speakers trying to get the same sound back as I had in the basement. The RTI 12 sounded better in my living room for music vs a lot of other speakers only replaced by Legacy Focus! I still have the rti12 in my small HT room and I still enjoy music on them as well as movies. The 12's I think for the $ sounds fantastic and do have a great throw of a sound stage as well as tonal quality but, room acoustics do play a big part of it. If you have a room that is too live sounding or reflection or echo then the sda would rock and then they the RTI would sound too bight but, if your room acoustics are more laid back, its the other way.

I got my 12's from Dave on the board. He witnesses it! He offered to bring them over to my house before I buy them and see how they did in the living room against the Tyler's and jm labs i had at the time. Because they had bit more fwd mid, it was a good fit for the room. Newrival and I at one point both had the Legacy focus and in his living room or listening space, it sounded like a completely different speaker. Not a subtle difference where we had to sit and listen to find it. We looked at each other in shock that it was the same speaker kind of thing. BTW Newrival agrees with me though, my basement with the carver amazings was a great sound.

Sorry for the long post but, I just wanted to point out, room acoustics play a huge part in the sound of the speaker.

erniejade

"in fact i think the SDA's are more bright, with the SL2000 in them." Forgot to say I agree on this statement but, your comparing a 30 year old speaker. If you put the RDO replacement in, even if you dont do a crossover upgrade, after its broken in, it will tame it down and still be crisp on top but, its all personal preference.

mantis

I owned a pair of SDA 2B's. I preferred the sound of my Rt1000p's with B&K Avr307 , Denon Avr3801 with a B&K St140 power amp and a Pioneer Elite Vsx27tx. The SDA's where really nice but to laid back sounding.

The Newer RTia series speakers I feel for the money are very nice double duty speakers. You must power them correctly and they will sound great. Pioneer Elite SC model receivers do a excellent job bringing out all the beauty of the RTia series.

sagasa

I like to say something about my Rti12. Im driving my 12 with emotiva Umc1 processor and powered by xpa2 and3 with two Hsu subwoofer vtf2mk3.They sound great for home theater and it sound just okey for two channel listening.BUT when i
added a DAC xda1 and XSP1 differential preamp processor into the mix evrything change. this speaker turn in to somethig great for 2 channel listening.

cstmar01

After owning SDA SRS modded vs the RTiA9's the A9s are brighter on the high end compared to the SRS's. I've used the A9's with several different amps and they all had a similar signature in the sound which was more forward and brighter on the top end that for me was not my cup of tea when listening to music. For HT they were great but 2 channel no.

-Stanley-

I had planned on getting some A9's but now you guys are turning me off to them since I listen to more music than HT. I had thought about some KEF Q90's but something about a speaker that only weighs 36 lbs. turns me off too. Back to the drawing board.

nhhiep

Stanley, Lsim would be your ticket. in term of brightness, it's somewhere between lsi and Rti. I think the reason why the Q90s only weight 36lbs is because it doesn't have many active woofers like the A9s, PRs are a lot lighter. but who cares if it sounds good, at least that is what I heard. I am going to sell everything and upgrade to Lsim someday

F1nut

I agree, from Polk's current models the LSiM series would be the best choice for music.

-Stanley-

The LSiM are out of my budget so I'll have to save up my pennies or look at other options. Bummer.

tonyb

Maybe give us an idea of the budget an associated gear and we can toss out a few suggestions.

-Stanley-

Right now I'm seeing I can get the LSi15's for $500 each new from amazon. Since I'm a Prime member I have free two day shipping. I have dual Klipsch RW-12D subs but will get a HSU VTF-15H in the future and sell the Klipsch subs. I'm reading the LSi15 are pretty decent for music. Your thoughts? Thanks.

tonyb

Yes, they are when properly powered and fed a good source. Whats the plan of attack in those areas ?

-Stanley-

I'll eventually end up with an Emotiva amp. Probably a 3 channel and let my receiver drive the rear channels. My receiver is a Marantz SR7005. Of course I'll need to get a matching CC for the LSi15's. I have to do it one step at a time but it shouldn't take to long to do it.

tonyb

Well, when it comes to powering 4 ohm speakers, their is no "eventually". Your going to need an amp from the gitgo with LSI's or risk doing them harm. Just sayin' is all. Save the coin and buy both at once is my suggestion and don't forget to add decent cables, speaker/rca's. What are you going to use for a source for playing music ?

-Stanley-

Yeah, I forgot they are 4 ohm. I'll order the LSi15's and get an amp about 10 days later. I can suffer with my monitor 70's til I get the amp. All my cables are good quality. I have KEF 104/2's I use for music but want to retire them and have more space up front. Little too crowded with four speakers. The Monitor 70's and CS2 will go to my son. I use an ipod with spotify for convenience sometimes but use a cd player also.

tonyb

Cool man, I know it may be a bit much right now, but definately start looking at seperate dacs for that Ipod or future computer music files you'll want to wifi around. They make a significant difference with digital music over your average avr. Good luck on putting it all together. Those Kefs are nice btw.

-Stanley-

Yes, the Kefs are some great speakers for music. They just don't do anything wrong. My son is using them now and is happier than a pig in mud. Matching a center for HT with them has been futile. I'm more into music but still want the timbre match for HT. If the LSi15's are close I'll be happy. I'll be pulling the trigger on the 15's early tomorrow morning and will hopefully have them no later than Saturday morning. I'll order an amp in one to two weeks. I'll suffer with the CS2 II center til I can get the matching center. Thanks for the input you've given me.

Toolfan66

The RT55i's are better then the 12's and 9's IMO!!!!

-Stanley-

Don't get me looking at more speakers. I've had enough speaker searching. :cheesygrin:

-Stanley-

One right side LSi15 speaker is in transit from Phoenix and is due to be delivered to my door tomorrow. One speaker. Now there's no way FedEx could have screwed up and left the left side speaker behind. Not FedEx. There's just no way.

slider2828

Loving my RTi9's but with the VR3 Mods, I think it reduces the fowardness that people might complain about. I think it brings out a wider range of the speaker....

-Stanley-

Got them this morning and am loving them. Thanks for steering me towards them.

allstock

I would bet my 12's would sound great for music. The problem is my 1.2tl's are upstairs in the two-channel, sorry, no comparison!
Love them in the HT though.

cnh

All I have to say is Congrats. LSi-15s, a good choice!

As for comparing Rtis with SDAs, NO!

I owned a pair of SDA 2B's. I preferred the sound of my Rt1000p's with B&K Avr307 , Denon Avr3801 with a B&K St140 power amp and a Pioneer Elite Vsx27tx. The SDA's where really nice but to laid back sounding. [mantis] Too laid back? I knew you liked your highs "edgy" Dan but this comparison is pushing the envelope. Most would say the SDAs are more "musical"?

But within the Rti towers as a group. I've always said the top model (12s or A9s) was the most musical of that cohort. But, seems like I'm late to the party here! lol

cnh