Rti100 vs rt1000i vs LS50 ??

francis1967

I have been offered a new pair of either set of speakers at $500 delivered.

Which is the better speaker, all else equal?

- Or are the rti10s much much better at $300 extra? Can't really afford it but would be good to know. Not sure if rti10 is the correct speaker to make the comparison with...perhaps rti8 is more appropriate.

- Or is the 10yr old LS50 a better work horse at $300/pair?

I would be grateful for any help in the decision-making process here.

Thanks,
Michael.

Note. The two tweeters Polk use...the silk/polymer and the tri-laminate...they confuse me. What is the musical difference?

chenj16

bump.... i now have the same question here, RT1000i vs RTi100, tri-lam vs silk/polymer.. need some comment here, thanks in advance.

VR3

LS50

reeltrouble1

Do you need speakers with powered subs? My RTi1000's are great for HT, they are ok for 2 ch but for my ears need some juice to do music, if I play it loud their pretty darn good, but at low levels they are a bit lacking. Cant compare to the others since I have never heard them and dont like to comment on things I have no experience with.

chenj16

now i hear different opinions here... a number of people point out it's a mid-product like RTi100 between 70 and 150, not enough midrange as 70 and not enough bass as 150.... and it's said they're good with music but just not enough for HT..(considering having a separate powered subwoofer is wasting..)
hmm...

chenj16

realtrouble1 - thank you very much for the input though
i still need comment on 1000i vs i100, anyone please?

jdhdiggs

I prefer the RTxxxxi series to the RTi series, but that's just me. What YOU hear is what's important. Any oppurtunity to demo?

chenj16

i actually have a stupid situation here... i have got single RT1000i and single RTi100, both grabed from eBay locally, had the 1000 for a long time and 100 just yesterday, been always looking to get the match, but ya know it's not easy at all... and the reason i bought singles is i can't afford new or used pair... singles usually go a lot lower and has blemish cosmetically or physically which i dont' really care...

so i'm hoping these speaker would perform like a match or at least close to match....:o

reeltrouble1

Chen,

cant control what someone else tells you, no bass for the RTi 1000 is very funny though, considering I was just tightening the wife's China cabinet glass when playing the 1000i at volume in 2 ch. the bass was shaking the glass like a planar on steroids. They sound great in HT in a big room you will need to supplement them with a sub for HT bass.

The best way to judge any speaker is with your gear in your house if at all possible.

The question is do you want powered subs, the mids and tweeter are sealed in the cabinet which results in a more accurate and precise mid/high speaker array some sound amplitude is lost though since the air is trapped in the cabinet when the speaker moves backwards, the sub is ported with polk's power port design claiming to waste less energy due to air turbluence.

The spec indicate some difference in the crossover between the two, hopefully someone might of owned each and can answer your question about the tweeter. All I can say is that when I drove the 1000i with an ONK they were on the "crisp" side, when I changed to a B&K amp they became more laid back in a nice way, thats why you need to hear with your gear, the speakers are part of a whole system.

Finally, I sort of fell into these 1000i's like you are doing, they are good speakers, I feel most people would like, that said I dont think I would buy a powered tower in the future.

reeltrouble1

ooops, you posted while I was replying, ok well, just hook them up and play it LOUD!!!!!!!!:D Call it Chen's Hybrid, from time to time I have also seen singles come up, just watch for them, but a WTB on Audiogon under polk for one speaker!

dcarlson

I'm totally happy with my RT1000i's. They do prefer to be played louder and do a better in an HT setup with some quality power even though they're powered. Bass is just fine in an average room (again as long as the power's there). Mine's 13X18 and I'm currently not using a sub.

chenj16

Originally posted by reeltrouble1
ooops, you posted while I was replying, ok well, just hook them up and play it LOUD!!!!!!!!:D Call it Chen's Hybrid, from time to time I have also seen singles come up, just watch for them, but a WTB on Audiogon under polk for one speaker!

thank you very much for the input! i'm enjoying my hybrid in stereo, will try some movie with these since I moved RTi38 from main to surround, do you think they're too big or waste for the surround? and now i have wiring problems too..:( would 14 gauge cable from local hardware store do the job for surrounds? they're like $20 for 100'...:rolleyes:

reeltrouble1

Your rti38 speakers can certainly be used as your surround, they will not be pushed very hard. Yes, you can go to home depot or such and get the 12-14 guage wire, I would look for Oxygen Free Copper (OFC), most speaker wire these days seems to come this way, helps in preventing corrosion in the line.

RT1

Edit:

so since you have hooked two similiar but different tweeter RTixxxxi what are you hearing? Not something you often see but hey, you have to work with what you have.

2+2

Just a thought here but my RTi100 does not require much power to drive adequately because of the 40watt powered subs at each speaker. You can use a receiver....I don't think that can be said for the LS50. RTi100 is pretty good for vocals and pop type music but the tweeter IMO is lacking detail for classical music.......