RTI A7 or RTI A5

jfalek

Hi,

I have a Yamaha RX-A820 (100W per channel) with a Power Sound Audio XS15 sub and some very old speakers. I listen to it 70% music 30% HT. After much research, I am looking at the RTI A5 and A7.

Would this be enough to drive the A7? Does the A7 really make that much of a difference.

For HT, I also have a center channel that would probably need to be updated (maybe in another year) based upon the new front speakers.

My family room is shown below. Any recommendations would be great!

Thank you,
James

drummer86

That receiver has pre-out connections for an external amp which will give you the power the A7s will crave. Any speaker will benefit from better power, but bigger towers almost require it. Best thing you can do it get both pairs and give them a listen. Return the ones you love less. What works for one forum member in their room with their amp and listening preferences probably won't work for you in yours.

pretzelfisch

A7 might have better mid-range because it will split it between two different sized drivers. I ran my monitor 65T off of the 820 and it had plenty of power. I think that receiver is pretty close in to channel to what it's advertised as. I now use the 820 to drive a pair of lsim 730 which are a less efficient speaker and it does a fine job. It also has pre outs so you can move to a separate amp if you would like.

rpf65

Welcome to Club Polk.

First of all, I'm a fan of the RTI A5's, so I'm a little biased. That being said, since your emphasis is more towards music than HT, I would suggest the A7's. I think the A7's are a little better for music than the A5's, and it would better suite your needs. In my personal opinion, the A5's have better mid-range imaging abilities, but the A7's have a slightly better overall freq response. The A5's really start struggling around 50 Hz.

Guessing that you'll be running a 5.x configuration, looking at the diagram, so your AVR should be alright with either choice. I would caution that you may want to see how much room you have for the center channel speaker. I would definitely go with the CSI A6, if you choose the A7's. Much better match than the CSI A4. The A4 works well with the RTI A5, so you could go either way with them.

You sub is a good choice, so on the HT side you're pretty much covered. From what I've read, that sub can dig pretty deep.

Good luck with whatever it is you decide on.

jfalek

Thank you for the responses!

While I hope to run 5.1 setup in a few years, I'll be running 3.1 for now (partially due to cost and partially due confusion about where to put the rear speakers w/o the family tripping over them).

The RX-A820 is new and I had not planned to get an amp. So, for now, if the RX-A820 won't drive the A7's "as-is", then I should go for the A5's. For music, we listen to everything from "classic rock" to Chicago blues, folk and classical music. The music has to be loud enough to dance to, but not at ear splitting level. For HT, we usually are sitting on the couch and the chair closest to the stereo (see picture) - thus, it doesn't have to be all that loud.

So, do you think that the RX-A820 drive the A7's (and do you think the extra expense is worth it for us) or should I get the A5's?

jbooker82

jfalek wrote: »

So, do you think that the RX-A820 drive the A7's (and do you think the extra expense is worth it for us) or should I get the A5's?

I would go with the A7's. It will be cheaper do to it now than later on when you start thinking "What If".

pretzelfisch

I have a bias, I always way speakers that have different driver sizes. So I would vote for the A7.

Lietuvis91

Less is more in your case, IMO. You don't have a very big room to fill, plus you already have a sub, therefore I think the cleaner sound will be had with the a5s. The receiver will do a better job powering the a5s, plus the a5s will be easier to belnd in with the sub, since they don't have the bigger driver like the a7s that might tempt you to run the speaker to the lower frequencies where it will not be as effective as the sub due to no external amplification on the speakers. My vote here would be the a5s.

drummer86

Have you considered just going with the A3's? You have a great sub and not a lot of room to fill. That'd be a great way to save some money (which you could put towards a nice 2 channel amp) and I doubt you'd be losing much in a room that size. Your room is a tad smaller than mine and I run bookies with no problems at all.

Polk&Beans

Most people say the A5s actually sound cleaner.

jfalek

Excuse this noob question, but does the sub matter when playing music? I estimate that we are using the stereo 70% for music - Airplay, Pandora, CDs. I've not noticed and also assumed that most music relies on the two front speakers and not on the sub. If that is true, do the A5s really have the depth (lower sounds)?

gudnoyez

I run my A5's in 2 channel mode with a sub with great results, with that room size the A5's would be a good choice.

kevhed72

A5s with one good sub - then add a second sub at a later time. I don't know much about your current sub though...

Then start looking for a used Parasound 3 or 5 channel amp. Boy its fun spending other peoples money

drummer86

I still think a pair of A3's and a pair of subs will be a better choice than A5's and a single sub. If it were my money that's where I'd go. Or skip the Rti's and go with an $800-1000 pair of bookshelves where you have TONS of options that will no doubt sound better than the A5's.

When you set up the crossover settings on your receiver it will direct all frequencies below the crossover point to the sub, regardless of source. So to answer your question, yes the sub matters quite a bit when playing music. A good sub makes an enormous difference in music listening.

The Mutant

drummer86 wrote: »

I still think a pair of A3's and a pair of subs will be a better choice than A5's and a single sub. If it were my money that's where I'd go. Or skip the Rti's and go with an $800-1000 pair of bookshelves where you have TONS of options that will no doubt sound better than the A5's.

When you set up the crossover settings on your receiver it will direct all frequencies below the crossover point to the sub, regardless of source. So to answer your question, yes the sub matters quite a bit when playing music. A good sub makes an enormous difference in music listening.

I also think the A3 is the best choice paired with good subs

Upstatemax

I would look at the Polk eBay site and check out the LSiM 703's. What is your budget for the new speakers?

However don't forget to budget for quality stands.

Something else to consider if you start with the LSiM 703's:

You CAN get away without the center speaker for awhile to help ease the burden on your budget. I've been "ghosting" a center with my LSi 9's for some time now and I really don't miss my center speaker at all. I missed it a lot more when my RTi A7's were hooked up, but once I moved my LSi's into the HT I could care less about buying a center since the LSi's image so well.

David R

I have the A7's. I had tried the RTI 8's in the same space and liked them more than the A7's for some music. My wife did not like how they looked so they had to go. The A7's had a bigger range. You just got to listen and get what you like. I had listened to some LSI's in Fry's and other than the highs's thought they were less than junk.

Erik Tracy

A3's with a good amp and a good sub....ear grinning goodness that can fill a good sized room. :cheesygrin:

Used to have that setup myself - so, speaking from first hand experience.

devani

I have RTi6, CSi5 and FXi3 on the wall of my living room....I don't have a sub yet....but it's plenty from my 40lbs HK receiver....my living room is 13x19 next to same size kitchen without a door....unlike your space which is living room and kitchen in one long space...

RTi6 is pre-A3 that's RTi8 or A5 without stands....I also have AR9 for my room for 2-channel listening and I know what good low end is like....I've been looking for a sub for my HT but for music, I think it's fine