Advice on Speakers

GordonGnu

First Post.

I have been offered a set of speakers for what i feel is a good price. They comprise:

R40 floorstanders
RT25i Bookshelf speakers

My intention is to use the R40 for music and also as fronts for my 5.1 set up. The RT25i will be used as rears for the 5.1

At the moment i have not looked at the centre channel and Polk are difficult to source here in the UK. The speakers above are second hand (obviously)

A couple of questions.

I run a Rel Q200e sub. I notice that the R40 cut off at 40hz so the Rel should back them up quite nicely. The RT25i however cut off at 50hz and the rear port is slightly worrying as they will be wall mounted. Will this affect the lower frequencies? Can the ports be blocked?

Will the combination of these four speakers make for a decent 5.1 set-up. I use a Yamaha amp which outputs 80 watts per channel.

What centre speaker should i be looking at to complement this set up?

Thanks in advance for your help

GordonGnu

20 views.........anyone?

ohskigod

should be more than an adequate setup, what are you usin a s a center?

if you are running the speakers on small setting, the port being against the back wall might not be that big a deal. might have to use your ear on that call. will there be any space at all between the port and the wall, i know some of the bookshelves have a spacer in front of the port (like my rt55's) if this is the case, i see little to no problem, if the openning will be flush against the wall, might be a small issue, but for surround duty?, not much.

ohskigod

oops, you dont have a center, must have missed that. even in phantom mode, this is still a very decent entry level home theater set up to start off with.

shack

The RT25i is designed to be mounted on the wall.

From the web site - Surprisingly deep bass response provided by a rear-firing Power Port venting system built into the speaker's back plate, which doubles as a convenient keyhole wall mounting bracket

Center Channel - a CS245i will work well and they can still be found on ebay for a reasonable price. Polk recommends the CS175i as a good match but I would prefer the larger 245.

GordonGnu

I was looking at getting either a CS120 or CSi3 for the centre duties, but it depends on availability and price.

The RT25i do have spacers to hold it slightly away from the wall, so i guess that will be ok.

VR3

I'd use the RT25i for mains, and the R40 for surrounds

Yall see why.....

(The RT25i.....sounds amazing for what it is...)

dorokusai

I wouldn't suggest either of your above choices for matching with the R40's. You mean CSi20 right? The CSi20, while a model line match, is way undersized for real action, and the CSi3 is a semi-radical departure in tweeter sound and design. It will definetly sound different than the R40's, and that is atypically not desireable.

I would go CSi30 or CS245i, as Shack suggested, minumum.

GordonGnu

Ok, thanks for the advice dorokusai

Just out of interest, what kind of sound can i expect from the Polks I have mentioned, is it likely to be as bright as say a set M&K or is it more likely to be of a similar warmth to B&W?

dorokusai

Gordon - That is kind of a loaded question. I say that because too many things IMO have an effect on your particular reference of sound quality and character. Gear, cabling, enviroment, etc.

The only Polk that I personally would consider bright, would be the LSi series, and that is actually a positive feature, as it is a pretty accurate speaker also.

GordonGnu

It was rather loaded wasn't it

Guess i will have to wait til next Thursday to listen to them

Thanks for the replies

shack

Originally posted by GordonGnu
or is it more likely to be of a similar warmth to B&W?

I've listened to many B&W speakers and while I find them to very acurate and detailed and even dynamic (whatever that means)...I'm sure the term "warm" will never be part of my description. I think you may be the first person I know of to describe them that way.

I rarely agree with Sid...but using the RT25i with a CS245i center would make and excellent front soundstage. While the RT40 is a good speaker...IMO the RT25i is an excellent speaker (probably just because I own a pair). Get them and move them around to find out which sounds best. Don't assume that because one is a floorstander and one is a bookshelf that you are locked in to where they should be used.

GordonGnu

Well, I have a massive smile on my face now

Set up the fronts using the R40 and they sound fantastic.

Tomorrow I shall be mounting the RTi25's on my walls for rear effects and, best of all, I have just ordered a CS400i for centre channel duties.

I have picked up all of these speakers used and have paid just over £500 in total, around about $1000 with current conversion rates. The R40 were less than 12 months old and harldy used.

I am a very happy Polk owner now, can't wait to get the full 5.1 set up now

Thanks for all the replies and advice

GordonGnu

Thought you might like to have a look

Here