RTi4 crossovers
Answers
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My AV receiver sounds pretty clean, and even if it weren't, I seldom exceed 35% volume. The only thing I can think of is when I change the HDMI source (IPTV, Firestick or BlueRay) and I get the odd pop sound when it connects, but even then it happens rarely and at low volume. I can't recall any power surge events such as nearby lightning either. I suppose anything is possible.Polk RTIA3 Fronts
Polk CSIA4 Center
Polk PSW Sub
Pioneer VSX-521-K AVR
And a friendly Labrador Retriever -
Watching movies can have a "ballistic" sounds. Helicopters, gun shots and explosion scenes have been historically my Achilles heel.
Many receivers now are rated at 2 channels and many time at 1khz not full 20hz-20khz like in the past. 1khz is a very easy way to rate higher power than the power supply is actually capable of. I've seen a slew of AVR's that are rated at 140 wpc x 5,7 or 9 channels. In reality that is in 2 channels maybe. After 2 channels you could easily be down to 40-50 wpc with multiple channels running in a movie. Power supplies are the most expensive part of a receiver yet that is the first part they cut corners in. They are also not putting as big or many storage caps into modern receivers like in say the 90's.
It you compared receivers from the 90's verses now the same comparable wattage multi-channel receivers will weigh drastically less that those 90's models.
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I think my subwoofer handles much of the power sucking low end frequencies, and my 3.1 system is typically used to watch CNN or CBC News (god I'm feeling old now). lolPolk RTIA3 Fronts
Polk CSIA4 Center
Polk PSW Sub
Pioneer VSX-521-K AVR
And a friendly Labrador Retriever -
I think my subwoofer handles much of the power sucking low end frequencies, and my 3.1 system is typically used to watch CNN or CBC News (god I'm feeling old now). lol
I had a powered subwoofer as well everything below 80hz went to the sub. I still blew drivers and tweeters. That is until I put the front three on a separate power amp. The rears usually can be okay on the receiver.
Just an FYI, I'm not casting stones whatsoever. Please do not take it that way.
I've opened so eyes when I ask folks to pick up my old denon 3805 that was 120x5 then ask them to pick up my 2 channel Aragon 4004 that is much heavier than the denon 3805.
They denon still had 90 wpc running 5 channels. -
Those cause brain rot.my 3.1 system is typically used to watch CNN or CBC NewsPolitical 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 -
Also just curious if a malfunctioning crossover could blow speakers? Or would that just typically result in no power to the drivers or poor crossover function. Could a malfunctioning crossover boost the input signal to the point of blowing a woofer? If I replace the (3) blown drivers and known blown resistor, would these be as good as new, or do drivers typically have a lifespan at which point their performance degrades?Polk RTIA3 Fronts
Polk CSIA4 Center
Polk PSW Sub
Pioneer VSX-521-K AVR
And a friendly Labrador Retriever -
Case in point...lol
Give it up, they are not worth putting money into.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 -
Nope I wouldn't drop any coin into them.
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What would be an equivalent model in the used market. I liked the RTI4's for their depth of sound in a small package. I don't need audiophile quality or volume output for my uses. Polk or Klipsch?Polk RTIA3 Fronts
Polk CSIA4 Center
Polk PSW Sub
Pioneer VSX-521-K AVR
And a friendly Labrador Retriever -
The R200 would be my recommendation.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 -
They're about 10x more speaker than I need. lolPolk RTIA3 Fronts
Polk CSIA4 Center
Polk PSW Sub
Pioneer VSX-521-K AVR
And a friendly Labrador Retriever -
Well, here are your choices.
https://www.polkaudio.com/en-us/category/home-speakers/bookshelf/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 -
Polk RTiA 3 - next gen RTi4What would be an equivalent model in the used market. I liked the RTI4's for their depth of sound in a small package.
Same tweeter. Same size midwoofer w/similar voicing
Similar dimension closure
Samsung 60" UN60ES6100 LED, Outlaw Audio 976 Pre/Pro Samsung BDP, Amazon Firestick, Phillips CD Changer Canare 14 ga - LCR tweeters inside*; Ctr Ch outside BJC 10 ga: LCR mids “Foamed & Plugged**”, inside* & out
8 ga Powerline: LR woofers, inside* & out
*soldered **Rob the Man (Xschop) LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & Mids - 981, connected w/Monoprice Premiere ICs
Ctr Ch: Rotel RB981 -> Bi-amped CSi A6 Surrounds: Premiere ICs ->Rotel 981 -> AR 12 ga -> RTi A3. 5 Subs: Sunfire True SW Signature -> LFE & Ctr Ch; 4 Audio Pro Evidence @ the “Corners”. Power Conditioning & Distribution: 4 dedicated 20A feeds; APC H15; 5 Furman Miniport 20s -
So the RTIA3 is the more modern version of the RTI4's then?Polk RTIA3 Fronts
Polk CSIA4 Center
Polk PSW Sub
Pioneer VSX-521-K AVR
And a friendly Labrador Retriever -
So the RTIA3 is the more modern version of the RTI4's then?
Yes -
Infinity and JBL's were a vastly different experience, those needed shims for sure. They had much less clearance in the voice coil area.
I've refoamed dozens of woofers over the years and never once removed DC or used shims. Including Infinity RSII, III and IIIa woofers. RS7B woofers and mids.
--Gary--
Onkyo Integra M504, Bottlehead Foreplay III, Denon SACD, Thiel CS2.3, NHT VT-2, VT-3 and Evolution T6, Infinity RSIIIa, SDA1C and a few dozen other speakers around the house I change in and out. -
I've heard the model number before but assumed that the 3 was below the 4 in the pecking order, when, as you mentioned, it's an improved version of the 4's with a larger woofer. I read a comparison of the two models on here after you mentioned it, and it seems like the 3's are a noticeable improvement over the 4's. I will keep my eyes open as they sound exactly what I'm looking for.Polk RTIA3 Fronts
Polk CSIA4 Center
Polk PSW Sub
Pioneer VSX-521-K AVR
And a friendly Labrador Retriever -
Correct. If my memory serves me well the RtiA9 is the improved Rti12 with a much better cabinet and XO.
So all the RtiA models are the improved Rti line. -
$225 Cdn for a pair of used RTIA3's in good shape with no cosmetic blemishes. Grills in perfect condition. Can test listen before purchasing. Fair deal? Anything I should look out for?Polk RTIA3 Fronts
Polk CSIA4 Center
Polk PSW Sub
Pioneer VSX-521-K AVR
And a friendly Labrador Retriever -
I believe I misspoke or rather mis-posted. I’m sorry for all the stir my mistake caused.
The RTi4 has a 5 1/4” or 6 1/2” mid woofer? The ‘A3 has a 6 1/2; the ‘A1 a 5 1/4.
The ‘A3, per a reviewer, is THE largest bookshelf on the market - not a bad thing in the bass department. $225 I believe, is a good $ for an unblemished pair.
Some Armacell on all smooth & shiny surfaces of the midwoofer is a very inexpensive ($5 @ Lowe’s or HD) and maybe an hour of your time. See my “ RTi A3s wall mounted as Surrounds.”
https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/173492/rti-a3s-wall-mounted-as-surrounds#latest surrounds#latest
The day they arrived… look at the pictures.
Foam them per Gardenstater’s “Foam…” thread. You’ll already have the Armacell. This mod does require more patience but IME at minimum equally worth it.Samsung 60" UN60ES6100 LED, Outlaw Audio 976 Pre/Pro Samsung BDP, Amazon Firestick, Phillips CD Changer Canare 14 ga - LCR tweeters inside*; Ctr Ch outside BJC 10 ga: LCR mids “Foamed & Plugged**”, inside* & out
8 ga Powerline: LR woofers, inside* & out
*soldered **Rob the Man (Xschop) LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & Mids - 981, connected w/Monoprice Premiere ICs
Ctr Ch: Rotel RB981 -> Bi-amped CSi A6 Surrounds: Premiere ICs ->Rotel 981 -> AR 12 ga -> RTi A3. 5 Subs: Sunfire True SW Signature -> LFE & Ctr Ch; 4 Audio Pro Evidence @ the “Corners”. Power Conditioning & Distribution: 4 dedicated 20A feeds; APC H15; 5 Furman Miniport 20s -
The RTI4's have 5 1/4" woofers and 1" tweeters (silk dome) and the RTIA3's use a 6 1/2" woofer and 1" tweeter. The 3's are rated at 50-26,000 Hz and 20-150W and 89db vs the 4's at 60-26,000 Hz, up to 125 watts and 89db. Seems the main difference is better bottom end and more volume potential and 2"'s deeper and taller and 3lbs heavier. To get better performance out of my stand-in XT15's I've got my Subwoofer crossover set at 200hz but with the 3's I can probably reduce that to 100hz and let the 3's handle more of the bottom end load. My space is limited as I have my big screen in a corner with a fireplace on one side and a doorway on the other. The base of my bookshelf stands just squeeze in on either side of my tv stand but there is room at speaker height to squeeze in slightly larger bookshelfs. As for adding Armacell, I don't think CNN justifies the need.
My 4's are set as small speakers in my AV. Would the 3's be the same?Polk RTIA3 Fronts
Polk CSIA4 Center
Polk PSW Sub
Pioneer VSX-521-K AVR
And a friendly Labrador Retriever -
Ok change of plans. The first set of A3's I saw were in black/ash colour but I came across a listing in the Cherry for $15 more but located 40 miles closer, and still in the box. I prefer the Cherry and these are in mint condition, and with the price of gas and time saving, they actually work out cheaper. Stay tuned!! Polk RTIA3 Fronts
Polk CSIA4 Center
Polk PSW Sub
Pioneer VSX-521-K AVR
And a friendly Labrador Retriever -
Nothing does.As for adding Armacell, I don't think CNN justifies the need.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 -
Thanks for the heads up on the RTIA3's. I'm very pleased with them.Polk RTIA3 Fronts
Polk CSIA4 Center
Polk PSW Sub
Pioneer VSX-521-K AVR
And a friendly Labrador Retriever -
Well to end this thread, although I replaced my RTI4's with a pair of RTIA'3, I was able to rebuild the RTI4's to their original state as follows.
-sourced a used woofer to replace my blown one
-replaced (upgraded?) both tweeters with Dayton ND25FN-4 silk domes
-replaced blown resistor on each crossover with Mills MRA-5 2.5 ohm
The total part costs were around $ 95, but shipping costs added another $60, and if I weren't fairly close to PartsConnexion, likely an additional $30 if I had required shipping. All costs in Cdn $$. They sound as good or better than the originals. Financially, because these weren't top end floor standing speakers, it's hard to justify the cost of repairing them, but I did it more as a learning experience. So I'm calling it even.
Polk RTIA3 Fronts
Polk CSIA4 Center
Polk PSW Sub
Pioneer VSX-521-K AVR
And a friendly Labrador Retriever -
I’m unfamiliar w/this phraseAs for adding Armacell, I don't think CNN justifies the need.
Samsung 60" UN60ES6100 LED, Outlaw Audio 976 Pre/Pro Samsung BDP, Amazon Firestick, Phillips CD Changer Canare 14 ga - LCR tweeters inside*; Ctr Ch outside BJC 10 ga: LCR mids “Foamed & Plugged**”, inside* & out
8 ga Powerline: LR woofers, inside* & out
*soldered **Rob the Man (Xschop) LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & Mids - 981, connected w/Monoprice Premiere ICs
Ctr Ch: Rotel RB981 -> Bi-amped CSi A6 Surrounds: Premiere ICs ->Rotel 981 -> AR 12 ga -> RTi A3. 5 Subs: Sunfire True SW Signature -> LFE & Ctr Ch; 4 Audio Pro Evidence @ the “Corners”. Power Conditioning & Distribution: 4 dedicated 20A feeds; APC H15; 5 Furman Miniport 20s
