polk rti 150
88forthecup
Posts: 10
I bought a pair of polk rti 150's from Crutchfield for $700. I thought I was getting a good buy. These speakers have a poor high end. I listen to music with a lot of high (cymbals), and they do not sound like they did on my old Technics crappy SB SL901 dinosaurs. Does anyone know why?
Post edited by 88forthecup on
Comments
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What are you driving them with? The 150's need gobs of power
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In my opinion, Polk's do tend to lack on the high end of things. I just got a pair of RTi38's a couple of weeks ago and the highs don't even sound as nice as they do from a pair of Pioneers I bought over the summer.Home:
Denon AVR-1803
Polk CSi30
Polk RTi70
Polk RTi28
Polk PSW-303
Car:
Kenwood KDC-BT945U
RF Punch P400-4
Polk MM6501
Polk MM651
RF Punch P300-1
Boston Acoustics G312-4 -
Is there a outoard tweeter you can add to a speaker to get better highs?
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What are you driving them with and how long have you played them.
From my recent personal experience and IMHO these like the successor RTi12's do need to be broken in regardless of the fact that some feel that the need for break-in time for speakers is a myth.
Additionally as has already been mentioned, more power couldn't hurt as their tolerance is at 500+ wpc so 50-100 wpc is really barely enough to make them yawn. -
I am powering them with a Sony STR-545 Receiver, 100 watts per channel. I know I need more power but$$$$, Can anyone suggest a receiver for under $400.00? Panasonic SA-HE200k 135w) What does bi-amp mean?
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bi amping is using seperate amps to power the different drivers in the receiver....like one amp to power the subs in the rti150 and 1 amp to power the mid and tweet.
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You can have 5,000 watts. Them highs will get no more detailed. I am afraid it comes in trait with the Silks design. Very dead in the symbol and snare section. I run a RT5 (polymer tweet) on top of my RTi70, and its detail, precision is WORLDS above the silk, and so is the tri lam. All my opinion of course. The new Polymer/Silk in the RTixx line is worlds more detailed as well.
Again all is my opinion, all lines are great.- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
If you look closely at the back of your speakers you will see two sets of binding posts, an upper pair and a lower pair. You will also see a metal strip running between the upper red and lower red and another between the upper black and lower black.
You can bi-amp or bi-wire speakers that have this configuration by removing the metal strip and then for
Bi-wiring run two sets of wire from one amplier channel, one to the top pair of red and black and one to the bottom pair.
Bi-amping run one set of wire from one channel out of the amplifier to the top pair and one from another channel out of the amplifier to the bottom pair. With a receiver or a pre-amp / processer and a separate amplifier this would in most cases require you to split a single channel coming from the pre-amp output of the receiver or pre-amp and run each split into different inputs on the amplifier.
For a more detailed discussion of this look in the manual that came with your speakers and if for some reason you didn't get a manual then look here ...
http://www.polkaudio.com/downloads/manuals/home/RTi28_38_70_150MN.pdf
See the discussion therein about bi-wiring and bi-amping and the illustrations in figures 6 & 7.
Although some swear by bi-wiring and it may in fact provide some additional benefits, bi-amping will clearly provide even more because you are in essence delivering twice as much power to the speakers half of which goes directly to the tweeters and mid-range and hald of which that goes to the subwoofer.
However, before you do any of this I would make sure that you have played your speakers for at least 20-30 hours on low to mid volume so that they have a prayer of being broken in and see how they sound to you then and then MAKE SURE that you understand the instructions in the manual as if for some reason they get incorrectly wired you could fry a speaker or your receiver/amplifier or both.
If you still don't like the highs in the 150's after you're sure they're broken in then you should still have a 30 day return in effect from Crutchfield. With 100 wpc you MIGHT be better off with the RTi10's or 8's and a subwoofer. -
Originally posted by 88forthecup
I bought a pair of polk rti 150's from Crutchfield for $700. I thought I was getting a good buy. These speakers have a poor high end. I listen to music with a lot of high (cymbals), and they do not sound like they did on my old Technics crappy SB SL901 dinosaurs. Does anyone know why?
Technically, the usable frequency extension on the RTi150s is about the same as any other speaker @26kHz. I don't think there's anything to be gained by adding another tweeter above the ones on the speakers now. Also, like Sid said, biamping the speakers will do nothing for the character of the upper frequency sounds coming from the tweeters. Adding power by biamping does a lot for the speakers to clear up what can be a muddy midrange and bloated bass when run from an average receiver. Room placement with the speakers could be a factor if they are too close to boundary walls. Try moving them around some to see if your perception changes. If the speakers are closer than 2 or 3 feet away from walls in my house, they do sound somewhat dull. Apart from the LSi line, my opinion of the previous RTi series is that it is the most neutral sounding speaker Polk has made in the last ten years. You may prefer the newer RT series though, so I'd suggest sending the RTi150s back to Crutchfield because although they were a decent deal at $700, it seems you're unlikely to be happy with the character of the sound for the long term. I'd suggest the RTi8s for about the same price, and add a powered subwoofer later. -
biamping may help though. those subs are sucking up alot of power.
heres an idea, disconnect the jumpers between the two binding posts and move the speaker wire to the top set of posts. this will only run only the mid woofer and tweeter. if you notice a difference then get more power for those speakers. if you dont and it seems equally undetailed, then i guess u should get some new speakers. good luck -
Good lord, no.Originally posted by 88forthecup
Is there a outoard tweeter you can add to a speaker to get better highs?
A few posts above the metal jumpers were mentioned, my first question was going to be are they there? Next was are you sure the tweeters are working?More later,
Tour...
Vox Copuli
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"Death doesn't come with a Uhaul." - Dennis Gardner
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Return the 150's to Crutchfield in exchange for the new RTi10's. I did an A/B between the old 100's and the new 10's. The 10's are much brighter. I don't recommend the 8's
I personally like the softer sound of the old RTi series better, but the new wood cabinets are really nice. Just my preference.
Good luck!RTi70 Fronts
CSi40 Center
RTi38 Rear
PSW650 Sub
Str-de1075 Receiver
Hope is on the way!
ABB -
Part of the problem is your receiver, IMO.
I don't know that I've actually heard the tweeter that's in those speakers, the "silk/polymer" dome (except in CC which shouldn't count), but I can't imagine that it would be 'that' much different from the tri-lam. It sounds pretty detailed, to me. Perhaps you just prefer a "hotter" top end. Have you tried the tone controls, or an EQ?
It's possible that if you have become accustomed to the sound of another speaker with a different top-end character, the Polks may just not be for you. It's one of the hazards of not listening before you buy. Before you give up on them though, I'd suggest that you listen to them for a while, then go back to your older speakers and see what your reaction is. At least Crutchfield is good about taking returns.
Jason -
Sony's 100 watts is probably overated a little. The 150's as mentioned above need alot of power. You definetly need a better power supply.Epson 8100
Directv HR24
WDTV
ONKYO 608
POLK RTI70 Mains
POLK CSI40 Center
POLK RTI28 Surround
HSU STF-2 -
if you return them for the new rti10's you will lose alot of bass. two 7" drivers isnt as much as 3 6.5". people have even said that the rti12's dont have as much bass as the rti150. but i guess thats opinion, do you have a friend with an amp or a nicer receiver that you can borrow some equipment from? or take your speakers to his system? maybe take your speakers to a local stereo place. my expirence with those local places is that they are people just like us who are interested in audio and wouldnt turn down a good chance to demo speakers, especially if it means they may be able to sell an amp or 2
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Assuming size has anything to do with it ...
The RTi150's have 3 @ 6.5"
The RTi12's have 3 @ 7"
The 12's have a lower frequency response but roll off is a little higher i.e. -3 db at 30 Hz .vs. 26 Hz. When powered by anything with some oomph they have their share of punch in the low end.
The 12's real plus over the 150's would be in the mid range where they have 2 @ 5.5" as opposed to the 1 @ 6.5" in the 150. -
i have never a/bed them and infact ive never listened to the 12's, just parroting other peoples opinions
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I have been listening to my new RTI 150's
and I replaced the wire with monster wire and monster wire connectors. The sound is much better and the highs are nicer. I still need to buy a new receiver. Is the Sony str-da 1000ES a good choice or should I get something different? Any suggestions would be appreciated. -
Well, last time I had the nerve to suggest that a Sony receiver wasn't really enough for a set of 150s, someone here who I had always (and still do for that matter) liked and respected almost seemingly took it as a personal attack against them.
But I will say it again, no, that won't be enough for them when set to large (as they should be) at high volumes, especially on movies with all channels driven at the same time and the LFE included in the main L/R mix. Matter of fact, there is no existing receiver I know of that it is strong enough for them by itself capable of giving them all the power they really need, PERIOD.
You need a seperate power amp (or amps in a bi-amp configuration) of at least 200 watts per channel minimum, and even that isn't really enough to make them shine to all of their true capabilities. You need at least 300 watts to do that, and even more than 300 would be even better. Those speakers (12s too) are BEASTS, but they need the juice to show their power. -
Originally posted by bigsexy1
Well, last time I had the nerve to suggest that a Sony receiver wasn't really enough for a set of 150s, someone here who I had always (and still do for that matter) liked and respected almost seemingly took it as a personal attack against them.
But I will say it again, no, that won't be enough for them when set to large (as they should be) at high volumes, especially on movies with all channels driven at the same time and the LFE included in the main L/R mix. Matter of fact, there is no existing receiver I know of that it is strong enough for them by itself capable of giving them all the power they really need, PERIOD.
You need a seperate power amp (or amps in a bi-amp configuration) of at least 200 watts per channel minimum, and even that isn't really enough to make them shine to all of their true capabilities. You need at least 300 watts to do that, and even more than 300 would be even better. Those speakers (12s too) are BEASTS, but they need the juice to show their power.
Well, I'm in your same exact situation and have done a bunch of receiver auditioning over the past ouple of weeks. I would definitely stay away from the Panasonic, at any level. I've not heard anything of theirs that I like.
I like the Marantz alot, but that's not for you if you're wanting alot of details in the highs, the Marantz is a more laid back sound, IMHO. harman kardon stuff sounds great, but they've had some QC issues over the last few years. I personally don't trust their new stuff due to the number of people who have had problems. The general concensus is that they sound awesome, when they work.
I currently have an Onkyo TX-DS595 and I have the RTi150s, but I'm upgrading receivers and am adding an amp, I can say that the Oink just isn't enough power. Onkyo makes great stuff, but you may a hard time finding anything under $400 with lots of power, but their quality is excellent.
Denon is another great brand, very comparable to Onkyo I just described above, but you'll likely run into the same issue with $ per watts.
If your current Sony has pre outs, you may try bi-amping with that and a separate amp. Everyone on here seems to like Adcom, a 545 or 555 should work for you. You could use your receiver to run the highs and the Adcom to run the lows.
I'm in the same situation as you. The route I took was to purchase an older receiver (H/K AVR80MKII), the Klipsch Decoder for Dolby Digital and DTS, and am adding the Adcom 545 to help power the 150s. I will be bi-amping the 150s with the HK running the mids and highs and the Adcom running the lows. -
If you guys like the receivers you have in terms of its tuner and the pre-amp/processor capaibilities and they have pre-amp outputs then why not at least consider just getting a quality amp to drive the 150's. You can always upgrade the receiver or replace it with a quality pre-amp later.
Wise choices in amps can last for a long time or at least a lot longer than pre-amps or receivers and some of the pre-amps and to a lesser degree receivers these days are field upgradable as new formats become available. Additionally there are lots of choices for good used amps on Audiogon and/or eBay. -
That's like a 4 year old $200 receiver. There is no way it could even dream of getting a decent sound out of the RTi150's. You need an enormous upgrade in power.
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I bought a pair of polk rti 150's from Crutchfield for $700. I thought I was getting a good buy.
You are.
Dan -
I still need to buy a new receiver. Is the Sony str-da 1000ES a good choice
No Sony Receiver is a good choice.
Dan -
No RECEIVER in and of itself is a good choice ...
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Hi, guys. My first post to this forum.
I just bought the rt150i pair from Crutchfield too. Still waiting for delivery.
I have a pair of rt55i that I'm moving to the rear channels (replacing my faithful 30 year old Marantz Imperial V.)
I'm driving everything w/ a Pioneer Elite 53tx, so I'll report here how it does pushing these "beasts."
The 53 is rated at 100w X 7. I can, if needed, use the 2 rear surround channels to bi-amp the fronts (as I'm not planning on doing 7.1 any time soon.)
I think the Pioneer has enough balls, but we'll see. If not, maybe a pair of Outlaw monoblocks are in my future.Jeff (Snoopdog)
It was my nickname before the rapper was born. -
What are outlaw monoblocks?
How do you bi-amp with rear surrounds and get stereo sound? -
They are single channel amplifiers ...
http://www.outlawaudio.com/products-amps.html
There are several ways they could be used to bi-amp speakers. -
Outlaw monoblocks are single channel power amps made by Outlaw Audio. (200 watts @8 ohms).
My Pioneer Elite is a 7.1 AVR. I can assign the 2 channels used for rear surround (or 2nd room spkrs.) to the front L and R.
I'd then run two sets of spkr wires to the rt150s. So, in essense, I'd be feeding 200 watt to each rt150, instead of just 100 watts.
What I don't know yet, is if that is enough for these beasts.Jeff (Snoopdog)
It was my nickname before the rapper was born. -
SnoopDog ...
From my personal experience with the RTi12's which are probably slightly more speaker than the RTi150's is that they'll definitely use all you give them.
The listenings I've done in my own set up now are with
- 100 wpc Onkyo receiver
- 200 wpc Sunfire Cinema Grand
- 425 wpc Sunfire CG Sig II
- Dual 425 wpc Sunfire CG Sig II's to bi-amp
Although I'd agree that the last configuration is probably overkill they did sound better each step along the way.
So what's enough or at what point are there diminishing returns ? I guess it's all a matter of taste or hearing or perspective or whatever. I'd say there are diminishing returns between the last two configurations but not between the 2nd and 3rd. Different amps will of course make for different results.
