RTi-A9 to RTi-A7

scootersite

Hi,
I've been looking at and reading about speakers for a few weeks to the point where my head hurts!
I'm very interested in the A9's but I have not been able to audition them. My local dealer had the A7's which I heard today and at first I was impressed but after a while they seemed bright almost to the point of harshness.
Has anyone done a side by side between the 7 & 9? These are beautiful speakers, the build quality is amazing for a speaker at this price point and I really want to like the 9's but I'm wondering if they are as bright as the 7's? I also listened to the LSiM705 and they were very nice, certainly not
nearly as bright as the A's but not as exciting either. The A is for sure a more exciting speaker than the LS and I've always liked that, it just seemed a little too bright.
Thanks for any thoughts

gudnoyez

Welcome to Club Polk. What associated gear do you have to power these, and are you looking to use these in a HT set up? The RTIA series shines in the HT application. I have heard the LSIM's and would love to have a pair. More information needed on what you plan on doing and what you are looking for.

scootersite

Thanks.
They'll be used in a 9.2 setup for HT and 2 channel stereo. I think most speakers work well for the HT part but music is much harder to get right. I have a pair of subs so I'm really only concerned with how they'll sound with music. Whatever speakers I get will be driven by a Denon 4520 and I will probably add a XPA3 for my mains. Seems to be the consensus that these speakers need more power.

rpf65

I demoed the A5's, 7's, and 9's at the local Fry's, before purchasing the A5's. I don't remember what AVR was being used, but anyway, I liked the A5's the best. I probably like the A7's the least of the 3, but that is just me. Granted, the 7's and 9's were under powered, but between the 2 the 9's sounded a little better. Not saying any of them sounded bad, just between the 2 I personally liked the 9's a little better.

I wouldn't take too much stock in my opinion if I were you. I'm far from an audio/videophile, so my ears are questionable at best. Then again, I purchased thing with a specific purpose in mind, and simply got a really good buy on the A 5's at the time.

F1nut

The RTi A series are aimed at HT, as noted. They are all a bit on the bright side, which for HT works well, less so for 2 channel. However, with the right gear, adjustments to the AVR settings, good cables, etc. the brightness can be toned down. That said, the amp you are considering is definitely on the bright side, so not a good pairing.

I use the A7's in my HT rig and like I said, with the right gear, AVR adjustments and good cables they are not bright, but I don't use that rig for 2 channel music.

Irrenhaus

+1 to F1nut
I will depend on the gear, cables and adjustments to the AVR.

I have a pair of RTi12's earlier version of the RTi9's I use an Adcom (it is warmer sound) to drive them and they sound great for HT and good for music. I also try them with a Parasound for a while and it was also very good for HT and good for music but that one was a bit low on power.

Cheers

Geoff4rfc

The A9's have a great midrange and while they might not be the best speaker on the block for 2ch listening, IMO do a tremendous job in 2ch mode.

I drove them with an XPA-3 and changed to an XPA-2 and the difference was quite noticeable, the extra power brings out more bass and the speakers were less bright.

jumpindick

Yes, agree to all the comments here. It will depend a lot on the other equipment. I used to have marantz receiver and it was pretty warm and was good to listen to music. When I switched to pio elite, it is strong but more suited for movies. At least that is what I felt.