Rti a Series under rated Home Theater

After trying many speakers I’ve settled on the Rti A speakers for home theater. Have 3 a9s, a csia6 and fxia6 for surrounds. I bought 3 a9s to use one for center channel when I move. For now I am going to hook up the csia6.

I definitely feel Polk is under rated for home theater. Having a matching set of rtiA speakers really is a great experience. I tried klipsch RP an RC64III, infinity’s, Martin Logan, def tech, and elac.

After being frustrated on how much the other brands cost and or sound I went with the rtiA setup. Even sending them back only to buy again. The price they can be bought at crutchfield and else where is crazy.

I just couldn’t stomach the cost of the others for marginal gain and many cases actually no gain. All the higher priced models still left me missing something. Maybe I’m too critical but I definitely think the pins are great value.

Anybody else have other speakers they turned from to the rtiA series?

Comments

  • sponger
    sponger Posts: 325
    Good for you for trusting your own ears over the naysayers. I feel the same way about the Signature series. I could not tell the difference between the S15 and a pair of B&W 705 S2 bookshelves. I personally see no reason to give them up. But I do think it would be interesting to see Polk delve into ribbons and fiber cones. Then again, I don't know how well folded ribbon would fair against the terylene "hi res" tweeter in the Sigs. I don't know of any speaker with a folded ribbon tweeter that has the "hi res" certification that the Sigs have.
    Denon X7200WA
    LSiM 705 703 704c
    Denon DP 400
    Yamaha CDC 775
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    edited February 2019
    "hi res" certification for speakers means nothing more than they are capable of reaching 40kHz or more. Since no human can hear above 20kHz the "certification" is simply marketing hype.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    I went away from RTi to Signatures. I listen to a lot of music and the Signatures are a much more musical speaker than RTi. The RTi did sound better in HT.
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
  • Toolfan66
    Toolfan66 Posts: 16,832
    edited February 2019
    Don’t know where you think they are underrated for HT, it’s what they are built for, and is one of Polk’s top selling speakers, there is a reason this line has been around so long, I owned the RTiA series for 10 years, loved them for HT, moved up to the LSiM series about a year ago..
  • K_M
    K_M Posts: 1,627
    edited February 2019
    Stereophile gave the RtiA3 a very good review.
    https://www.stereophile.com/content/polk-audio-rtiii-a3-loudspeaker

    We have the Rti6, which is quite similar sounding, and other than a bit too much treble, which can be easily fixed, they are great sounding, especially on vocals, and many types of music. I find myself listening to them quite a lot.

    In our comparison with B+W and a few other speakers regarded as "higher end", the Rti6 was honestly somewhat better overall, and easier to live with.
  • Geoff4rfc
    Geoff4rfc Posts: 2,116
    I definitely feel Polk is under rated for home theater. Having a matching set of rtiA speakers really is a great experience. I tried klipsch RP an RC64III, infinity’s, Martin Logan, def tech, and elac.

    I do know on this forum they are anything but underrated. Over the years I have seen many applaud their performance in H.T, and, in fact, there was an article some few years ago touting the home theater of Liam Neeson which consisted of RTiA7's as his mains. I'm sure he loves to listen to his set up and hearing dialogue such as...."I have a very special set of skills, I will find you and I will kill you" B)

    Source: BRP Panasonic UB9000, CDP Emotiva ERC3 - Display: LG OLED EVO 83 C3 - Pre/Pro: Marantz 8802A - Amplification: Emotiva XPA-DR3, XPA-2 x 2, XPA-6, Speakers, Mains/2ch-Focal Kanta No2's, C-LSiM706, S-702F/X, RS-RTiA9's, WS-RTiA9's, FH-RTiA3's, Subs - Epik Empire x 2

    Cables: AudioQuest McKenzie XLR's/CDP/Amp, Carbon 48/BRP, Forest 48/Display

    EXPERIENCE: next to nothing, but I sure enjoy audio and video MY OPINION OF THIS HOBBY: I may not be a smart man, but I know what quicksand is.
    When I was young, I was Superman but now that old age has gotten the best of me I'm only Batman