Good Two Channel Speakers?

naturallight

Well thanks Dawgfish..you are the first one to agree with me, that the RTi12's are not bad for stereo work, and are not bright...LOL BUT..you do need power to make these speakers work. For the price on the ebay site, i think they are a steal....BUT if you don't have the right power...there not going to sound good..period.



If your close to Douglasville,GA....maybe you would want to come over listen to my 12's and my SDA's....



But back to the op's question...LOL The Nad 2400 is a nice amp..should power the RTi7's.....if you wanted to go with the RTi12's.....I don't think so. They are big .massive speakers..want lots of power. If you want to play the 1812 overture

and want that kick you in the gut cannon fire..then the 12's are what you want...LOL

Dawgfish

Thanks Naturallight. I live in the Dahlonega/Dawsonville/Gainesville area so I'm not that far from you. I'll actually be coming through your way on my way home for the Christmas Holidays. Would love to hear both! Likewise if your ever up my way, I would love to have you come over and listen to my LSiM-703s with REL sub. I have some SDA SRS 2s (and SDA CRSs) also, but they are in my work apartment in the New Orleans area.

audionuts373

Well, I broke down and drove the hour that it takes to get to the closest Fry's to listen to The Polk RTi A7's! I don't know if it was the acoustics of their audio room or what, but I did not care for their bass output. However, I did listen to a pair of Sony SS-F7000's that sounded pretty good. I know that lots of audiophiles look down on Sony but I was pleasantly surprised how good they sounded for the money.
I think I might bring home a pair and see how they sound with my amp and room. Fry's has a 30 day return policy with no restocking charge so all I'll lose if I don't like them is a little time and gas! :idea:

thsmith

You received some very good advice a couple of pages ago. I am listening to a pair of LS90s with a Pioneer SX 950 and a crapsung BRP as a CDP and I have plenty of joyful noise.

I ahve not read every response in this thread but your issue might be placement.

tonyb

As long as you like 'em, who cares, but Sony isn't going to get much love from the gang around here. They have some higher offerings but won't be in your price range. Good luck.

xftman

If you like rtiA7 for your 2 ch music and you have a $1000 to spend why not consider the A9? Newegg has the A9 for $499 each many times and $399 twice the last 2-3 months. I would pick lsi15 or 25 for 2 ch music instead of rti series.

naturallight

Audionuts. When you say you did not like the bass of the RTi, what does that mean? Just not enough bass? What did they use to power the RTi? Placement could also be a problem in the store.

But my guess would be they used a low power AVR or something to demo the 7's. Which they just will not work right.



If you like the Sony's, then i'd just take a pair home and see how they sound in your house. If you like them, thats all that matters.

naturallight

Dawg, how do you like the 703's ? I'm not a real fan of bookshelf stuff with a sub, but would be interesting to hear. I'm more into large size speakers...LOL Plus I'm an SDA fan, so was wondering how you like them compared to your SDA's?

Dawgfish

I really like them. Really, really like them. Of course you don't get a soundstage quite like you do with the SDAs, but the soundstage is quite good. Imaging is excellent and probably superior to the SDAs. They are very accurate and detailed. What you put into them is what you get out. Highs, mids, lows are all excellent. I'm not normally a big fan of subs with two channel either, but the REL sub I have is very musical, detailed, and tight. No boomy, inarticulate bass here. Most people don't feel the need for a sub with the 703s at all and the bass they put out is unbelievable for bookshelfs. I was just used to that very low tight bass that SDAs put out, so I added a sub just to fill in the very lows. You could easily get buy without a sub with these and be very happy. The lows on the 703/REL sub combo are just as good as my SDAs. I'm quite happy with the combo. I think you need to hear it for yourself and see.

naturallight

Wow, really? Man your not makeing my life any easier...LOL I tend to judge every speaker against the SDA's. How loud do you play this? I tend to play stuff at concert levels...But i also sit 15 feet back in my basement. Now this may be alot louder then most people, but just the way i like it. If you stop by, you can adjust the volume to what you like, for your listening. Would you sell the SDA's to get the 703's and a sub?

Dawgfish

I tend to play at more moderate levels most of the time, especially at my work apartment with the SDAs since I have an ederly couple who lives below me and I'm trying to stay on their good side. When I'm home I do tend to crank the 703s from time to time. The reason I'm running the 703s at home is due to space constraints, so I tend to listen to them at a distance of about 5-6 feet. I can't tell you how they sound in a larger room, at longer listening distances and greater volumes, but my gut tells me they would do quite well.

I'm not sure if I would sell the SDAs to get the 703s and a sub or not. They are both awesome in their own ways. Once you get used to the SDA soundstage, it's very seductive as you know and hard to totally replace. The 703s are more detailed overall I would say. I'm glad I have both of them and honestly don't ever plan on selling either if that tells you anything. They are both incredible and have their own merits, which one is better is really up to the listener, and having listened to both extensively, I couldn't pick a winner.

naturallight

Dawg..thats good to hear...LOL I do tend to judge every speaker i hear against the SDA's...and pretty much they always lose. That does have it's down side. Really no speakers sound like SDA's, so i may tend to overlook what may be better quality's of the speakers being listened to.

It's a catch 22 thing.

My music room is 17x30...so i tend to sit way back in the room. 5-6 feet would be like near field monitors to me. But if you stop by, you can tell me what you think, and as i said..you can control the volume...LOL

michael1947

I agree with everyone, especially the part where this thread is depressing. Stick with what you have and then make a plan while saving your coins. You cannot do it right with a grand. Budget for an amp 200wpc@8ohms, then a nice source, some nice cables, a nice little musical sub (Micro-Pro or REL) and then some nice speakers.

If you feel it is a must to start right now then high efficiency vintage speakers will work with your little NAD. I have some 70's era JBL 4411's, Polk Studio Monitor 10's and some 7's just sitting around and any of those would be very pleased to meet with your NAD. I would gladly let you borrow them for an interview but the shipping from Michigan to Seattle would break both of us. Perhaps someone out your way will let you audition some of their vintage stuff.

"Patients is bitter but the fruit is sweet." Aristotle

audionuts373

I want to thank everyone for the advice that they have posted here! I'm going to sell the Polk PSW10 and buy a PSW111 from Polk's Ebay site and see if that will sound better. I am also going to buy a NAD dedicated amp with more wattage as soon as a good deal comes along. As I said, my NAD integrated amp has pre-outs and I will be able to use it as a preamp. I learned much from your advice and once again I thank you! :cheesygrin:

GospelTruth

I respectfully disagree. I think you can do quite well for a grand. It all depends on one's perceptions on what is a good system. I bought a set of SDA 2bs on Craigslist in excellent condition for $250. I also bought a mint Yamaha receiver (RX-V1) for $200 on Craigslist. Some folks may shun the receiver route, but it's a beefy receiver and works well with my SDAs. Later, if I want to get a separate amp someday I can. I hooked up a cd player via an optical input and I have a NICE two channel setup for $450. Personally, I think this combo blows away other systems I have heard that have cost thousands more and I haven't even really done the upgrades to the SDAs (a whole topic on it's own on the vintage threads). Is it nirvana for some people? Probably not. Any maybe it isn't for some of the folks in this thread either. All I am saying is that if you want to go used, you can find some pretty good equipment out there that will beat new stuff for a fraction of the cost and it will sound pretty darn good.

That's where I am on the audio journey - $450 for what I consider an awesome two channel system. Friends come by and are blown away by it's sound. Now, I'm sure someday I'll get an external amp and say "wow" that is so much better! But I'm not there at this point and to me what I have now is a great. This hobby is all about upgrades, and what I once considered awesome to me is now mediocre. When I was in high school I had a rack Kenwood system I thought was awesome! I don't think that anymore. Later in college, I upgraded my speakers to Polk 5jrs - way better and a new level of audio nirvana for me. And on and on it went. Upgrades here and there. My point is that with everyone's opinions they have a different perspective based on where they are at in their audio journey. What I find is that most people recommend what they currently consider to be either what they have or what they've heard and consider their "nirvana". From my current perspective I think that for $1000 Audionuts can do better than what he has today. I believe michael1947 has it right in that you should budget for each piece of the puzzle - I just disagree with how much it costs to get there. Buy one piece at a time and get the best you can afford - wherever that place is. And michael1947, I'm sure you are ahead of me in the journey and could recommend some good things for me when the time comes and I have some money to upgrade.

For example, in Seattle right now there is a pair of Polk Monitor 7s for $100 (a little high and not perfect) and some RTI10s for $400 (which look like they are in good shape). With the RTIs, the guy will even let you demo them first. That way you get to listen even before you get them. Not that you would need to get either, but it would be an option that I would pursue based on your budget and what some of the others have suggested. If you're not in the Seattle area - ignore these suggestions.

Just my two cents.

goofyGAguy

GospelTruth wrote: »

I think you can do quite well for a grand. It all depends on one's perceptions on what is a good system.

+1000. The entire system in my sig was put together for $285, including the sub which was purchased new!

deronb1

goofyGAguy wrote: »

+1000. The entire system in my sig was put together for $285, including the sub which was purchased new!

Modded SDA 2Bs - 500.00
Adcom GFA-555 - 250.00
Adcom GFP-565 - 100.00
Sony SACD Player - 50.00
Indeed Tube Buffer - 100.00
Cables / Wire - 50.00

1,050.00

RamZet

hmmm. for 1,000 I would think any bookshelf speaker with a sub would deliver the sound you want.
The polk monitor 70s have great base by themselves but they are big.

I would look into some bookshelf speakers with a 10-12" sub.

This is worth a trip to your local bestbuy.
B&W 685 bookshelf (1" aluminum dome tweeter with a Nautilus tube-loaded) and the ASW68STB sub. (dont let the 8" size fool you).
The 685s are the "poor-mans" version of the CM5s.

Jhayman

I see your running a Nad amp, have you looked at PSB speakers?
Nad owns PSB and they have some great choices, like the Imagine B's..
My own speakers Image T6 full range 3 way..excellent bass.
Hope this helps you in your quest, oh and both under $1000 well in and around that $