RTIA vs Signature Series

cfrizz

rburgess714 wrote: »

Yeah, I like TonyBs and F1Nuts suggestion of McCormack, Parasound, B&k and hi-end cabling but I am not there yet. Not saying I will not take that path at some point but for now I just want to listen to some music at various volumes and enjoy it without constantly changing the settings to take the edge of the A7. They sure are pretty but I am boxing them up today. The A3s are already boxed and I guess I have a csia6 for sale though the center sounds pretty damn good but I assume the timbre will not pair well with s60?
RB

He is not an audiophile, maybe in the future but for right now he made his wishes perfectly clear. He just wants to enjoy his system without jumping through hoops.

We all know that the RTiA series is bright for music. Rather trying to convince him to spend 100s/1000s more dollars trying to tame them, just let him get less bright speakers so that he can enjoy his system now.

And while I like having a prepro for my system, I have used a receiver with an amp and was very satisfied with the results. To this day, the biggest improvement I have ever made to my system was getting a powerful amp. But it took me years to get to that point.

He upgraded his receiver so when he is ready he can add an amp to ensure whatever speakers he has will run to their full potential. He just needs the right speakers that won't give him a headache.

Skip has had the entire Signature set up in his house for quite some time and is the most qualified to speak as to whether RB would benefit from getting these speakers instead of the RTia's that RB has now.

RB, right now don't worry about the center channel, just return what you can and get something else. Who knows, you might like how it sounds. Just take it one step at a time.

None of my speakers match since it was put together over several years with upgrades coming as technology changed, and my system sounds just fine to MY ears.

There are no absolutes in this hobby, it is up to you to decide how much you want to spend and how good it sounds to YOU.

F1nut

Well Cathy, we don't know if he is or is not, but since he made it clear that music is more important I'm inclined to offer advice with that in mind.

mrloren

I tamed my Rti8's.

I thought I had em good and tamed by keeping the high @ -1db and leave the bass alone. With all the crud in my family room killing the highs this worked well.

Now with the new Marantz I have these have tamed a lot more and are sounding much better.

I am also using Furez 10awg cables.

A while back co-workers and I had a long lunch and went to Fry's. The guy in the audio dept had a blast with us. We demoed all he could. He had us on Yamaha Pioneer and Sony Receivers. We mostly did A/B with RTi and TSX lines that they had in the room. The TSX sound much warmer and softer than the RTi. If I had the money I would have traded my RTi8 for the TSX 440T hands down.

Now my setup at work in the warehouse is an old Sony 2100ES receiver, a pair of RTi4 and a old 12" Sony sub. that goes 9 hours a day and sounds good but is not played loud during business hours. Now when I work a weekend or the night time guys want to crank it they love it.

I was able to pick up a new TSX 250C for like $100 this Christmas just need the TSX 440T or a pair of S55/60. problem is need to save. Oppo is coming first.

Now if you want to sell your center PM me.

rburgess714

Again, thanks for the feedback and candor. While some day I may explore pre pro separates for now I think I am going to use my AVR and purchase the S60s. A7s and A3s were returned today.

papatom

rburgess714 wrote: »

Again, thanks for the feedback and candor. While some day I may explore pre pro separates for now I think I am going to use my AVR and purchase the S60s. A7s and A3s were returned today.

Good choice. You won't be disappointed with the Signatures. I currently have them but will.be handing them off to my father sometime this week since he doesn't have a system.

cfrizz

Are you getting more? You just got those.

HzTweaker

papatom wrote: »

Good choice. You won't be disappointed with the Signatures. I currently have them but will.be handing them off to my father sometime this week since he doesn't have a system.

As Russ stated I have a pair of the Sig20s and we put them to the test, and I still do every time I listen to them with out disappointment.

I agree with papatom.

Azguy

F1nut wrote: »

You'll never get good sounding music using an AVR, even with an external amp.

What does one use to get good sounding music?

rooftop59

I think most here would recommend separates (a pre-pro and a seperate amp), a two channel preamp and a seperate amp, or a high end integrated. Only the first can do multi channel.

Being a lower end consumer myself, I think that there are avrs that offer pretty good music performance myself, but I am also a cheapskate

BobbyMcGee

So is the general assumption then that the Polk Signature-Series line of speakers are on the same level as the RTiA series?

I was under the impression that the Signature Series may be more of a replacement for the TSx series than the RTiA series since Polk seems to have dropped the TSx series like a hot-potato.

As a TSx series owner, I am quite happy with them (2x TSx440T, 2x TSx220B, and TSx 250c) but I am already seeing some decent deals for the Signature Series and I am now considering upgrading to the Signature Series if they are considered on-par with the RTiA series (which have remained eternally outside my budget).

I have not had a chance to hear the Signature Series in person but I have been able to compare my TSx440T tower speakers to the RTiA7 tower speakers and definitely noticed the difference in sound quality so the Signature Series has me intrigued.

F1nut

The Signature series is not the replacement for the RTiA series.

rburgess714

Consider the source as you read this being that I am new to the site and I have not built out a new system since 2004.

I received the s60s and s35 yesterday. First impression was the build and aesthetics. These guys look great. The black washed walnut while not as attractive as the cherry of the RTiA looks pretty darn good and much better than any other black box speakers I have seen any where close to the price. The rounded corners, silver drivers, metal feet, and silver allen bolts add a nice touch.

As far as the sound my AVR does a good job of driving them, note that I really only listen to music in 2-channels. The sounds is full with crisp highs but not shrill at all and bass is solid and sounds better with more volume. I am a music junkie but certainly do not claim to be an audiophile so my descriptions may not be in the audiophile encyclopedia The sound stage seems fairly wide and a less defined sweet spot than other speakers I have heard as of late. Music also seems to be more defined or layered. Listening to live music I could hear every instrument in detail but not to the point of distraction of the overall ensemble. I would like to hear a little more at lower volume but I think the s55 or even the large bookshelf would do this or adding a separate amp sometime down the road. Don't get me wrong they sound good at low volumes and while my kid is sleeping but I just want to open them up a bit.

Watching TV and Movies with the s60s and the s35 is pretty good as well. I still own the CSI A6 and was comparing the two. I know apples and oranges but first pass the A6 center does seem better for dialogue. I have decommissioned the A6 and have been tinkering with the dsp modes and dialogue lift features of my AVR and seem to be getting better results.

All in all I am very pleased and really enjoy music from the 60s and I am sure I will being making some additional purchases in the near future. Specifically the bookshelves and a used B&K or Parasound 2 or 3 channel amp.

I appreciate the feedback and recommendations of the 60s I have no doubt these will get even better over time.

Regards,
RB

F1nut

Thanks for sharing your impressions. Just one thing, the feet are plastic, not metal.

rburgess714

Well you made me look and I stand corrected. Once I sat them in place I merely assumed. I guess I have to send them back now..kidding I do like thus far.

cfrizz

Congrats, give them time to break in, but also start saving your pennies for a 2-5 channel amp. I always recommend at least 200wpc @ 8ohms. That is usually enough to drive any speaker to its full potential no matter where the volume knob is. For me that was the biggest surprise of getting a Parasound 1500A years ago.

Thanks for the review, keep us posted to any other changes/improvements that you hear and enjoy.

rpf65

DSkip wrote: »

With the new approach, you can't really think of the new lines as replacements. It's more of a downsizing shift to reduce the clutter of Polk products in the market. The shift has price points in mind but I get the vibe that the current/previous lines don't have much bearing on that point. It's probably the best thing they could have done.

I will say I'm very excited about the new line intended to be the new flagship.

Why?

rooftop59

rpf65 wrote: »

DSkip wrote: »

With the new approach, you can't really think of the new lines as replacements. It's more of a downsizing shift to reduce the clutter of Polk products in the market. The shift has price points in mind but I get the vibe that the current/previous lines don't have much bearing on that point. It's probably the best thing they could have done.

I will say I'm very excited about the new line intended to be the new flagship.

Why?

Why what? There are a number of points made in skips statement.

kevhed72

I'm waiting for the RTiA blowout sale on the website....to finish off my HT rig

Joey_V

When's the new flagship coming?

polrbehr

DSkip wrote: »

With the new approach, you can't really think of the new lines as replacements. It's more of a downsizing shift to reduce the clutter of Polk products in the market. The shift has price points in mind but I get the vibe that the current/previous lines don't have much bearing on that point. It's probably the best thing they could have done.

I will say I'm very excited about the new line intended to be the new flagship.

I was pretty excited to finally get to order the S35. But damn, those S60s looked tempting as **** today when I was at Adorama... just can't justify getting those with a perfectly acceptable pair of RTi10s in the HT I guess.

rburgess714

cfrizz wrote: »

Congrats, give them time to break in, but also start saving your pennies for a 2-5 channel amp. I always recommend at least 200wpc @ 8ohms. That is usually enough to drive any speaker to its full potential no matter where the volume knob is. For me that was the biggest surprise of getting a Parasound 1500A years ago.

Thanks for the review, keep us posted to any other changes/improvements that you hear and enjoy.

Yeah I am pretty excited and though my avr drives them well and I like the sound I think adding an amp is on the road map. Been checking this site and others for used pararasound and b&k.

K_M

DSkip wrote: »

No clue. Based off what they have done with the t series and now the s series, I think they're going to knock it out of the park with the new series. I'm hoping for a price tag at or around $2k for the totl tower (pair) and performance exceeding that of the LSiM series. I'll be honest and say I'm not a huge fan of that series and think Polk is better than that.

How do you feel about the older Lsi series?
They are my favorite, but not perfect either.

Honestly, every series seems to have good and bad points, and I like each of ours over the years in different ways.

Willow

I can attest to the brightness of the rti. It was like being snow blind but in the ears. I'll admit they sounded better in my old house, but it was carpet everywhere in that room and softer materials in furniture. If a local bb had the s to listen to I'd give them a try for the halibut. For now my rtis will stay in storage until I set up a ht room.

rooftop59

DSkip wrote: »

I like them less. I did enjoy them years ago but I've heard so much from so many other companies that they just didn't stand up to the competition. With that said, the LSi had more competitive pricing and I think represented a better value that was hard to overlook. The LSi9 at $1000, even with the bass hump, was a fun speaker and a great value. They were also a simpler design, which usually favors on the side of improved sonics.

My biggest issue with the LSi/LSiM is that ring radiator tweeter. I just don't like it.

Obviously I have don't have the experience to make a real argument, but I will say that I really like the tweeter, always have. I am listening to the LSiM703s that I got for an extremely reduced rate, and i REALLY like them.

The bass bump in the older LSi bookies was what killed it for me. And for the opposite reason, I will never again purchase any RTi A speakers. The 5 khz bump is seriously irritating. I just can't take any significant, really noticeable frequency bumps. Of course, no speaker is neutral, but at least make some attempt at neutrality!

K_M

DSkip wrote: »

I like them less. I did enjoy them years ago but I've heard so much from so many other companies that they just didn't stand up to the competition. With that said, the LSi had more competitive pricing and I think represented a better value that was hard to overlook. The LSi9 at $1000, even with the bass hump, was a fun speaker and a great value. They were also a simpler design, which usually favors on the side of improved sonics.

My biggest issue with the LSi/LSiM is that ring radiator tweeter. I just don't like it.

List a few you like better please!

I thought the Lsi/lsim tweeters were one of the things that drew most to them.
What do you not like about it?

txcoastal1

Dynaudio Esotar tweeter, or Morel softdome

msg

RB - glad to hear you were able to make your returns and are settling in with the Signatures. Curious - presuming these are more to your liking than the A7's were? Are you able to comment on the differences you've noticed, by chance?

re: the A6... indeed, those big centers are nice. I wonder if the S30 would be closer to the A6 performance for you?

rburgess714

Msg..really more bass at lower volume and the tweeter is crisp not shrill and like I said earlier my avr seems to drive them well.

As far as the a6 and s35 I am going to play around with it over the weekend. I don’t know enough to say whether the 30 would be more akin to the a6. The a6 is twice the speaker weight wise and the 30 falls in the middle. I could use an audiophilicated speculation on that.

mr2686

On a recent trip to Frys, I had the chance to do a side by side comparison of the RTIa7 and the S60, and was not impressed with the S60 at all, in fact I would take the 7's (or any of the Rti line over them all day long. I thought the S60's were way too bright (not harsh) for music in comparison. I personally love my Rti8's for music, so if anyone dislikes the Rti line because they're too bright, I can't imagine you liking the Sig series for music.

tonyb

mr2686 wrote: »

On a recent trip to Frys, I had the chance to do a side by side comparison of the RTIa7 and the S60, and was not impressed with the S60 at all, in fact I would take the 7's (or any of the Rti line over them all day long. I thought the S60's were way too bright (not harsh) for music in comparison. I personally love my Rti8's for music, so if anyone dislikes the Rti line because they're too bright, I can't imagine you liking the Sig series for music.

I haven't heard the Sig. series yet, but your impressions strike me as odd as most think they are smoother than the RTIA series. Did you happen to take note of what they were hooked up to ?