R50's better than monitor 30's?

merlin803

I picked up a pair of the monitor 30 bookshelf speakers a couple of days ago but noticed today at Circuit City that the floor standing R50's were cheaper than the bookshelf speakers.

My center is the CSi20 if it matters.

Would the R50's be much of an improvement?

Fulmer

I've got the R50s and I love them. I'd be quite surprised if you liked the sound of the Monitor 30s over the R50s. The R50s are more comparable the Monitor 50s or 60s in performance. My R50s replaced my RT25i bookshelves and believe me- a big big mprovement in the low end. FYI, outpost.com sells these speakers for $90 each so a pair is about $220 with shipping. The R30s are even cheaper at $120 a pair with free shipping. I can't believe they can ever keep them in stock at these prices, but then again they are not backed by Polk.

VR3

The R50 might be better than the RT25i for HT, but for music - the 25i will use the 50 as a mop - period.

You get better bass, but you are trading off the more important aspects that a subwoofer CAN NOT fix.

The Monitor line seems to be much better than the R line, and I would do an audition first. Remember, bass dosnt matter. Your gonna buy a subwoofer regardless, right?

Fulmer

I could not disagree more. Do you have both? I can say from 4 years of experience with the Rt25i's and 2 months with the R50's, that the R50's sound better. And before the R50's, I had the RT25i's as my fronts and R10's for rears. I listened to music in 4 channel surround, and I never really could tell much of a difference between the two sonically. I've always thought the R series have been vastly underrated. But that's my opinion with my ears.

AsSiMiLaTeD

I'm with Sid on this one...IMO the monitors are better all around...

YOu may get a bit more bass with the R50s...but that's not really all that important if you ever plan on adding a sub, which most people do...

IMO the mids and highs on the Monitors are superior...

merlin803

Thanks for all of the advice. I like how the monitors sound so I decided to keep them, upgrade my center to a CS1 and upgrade my surrounds to R15's.

I should be content for a while.

Fulmer

I have not heard the monitors, so I can't say. My original comments were based on the paper specs of the monitor series vs. the R50s. My logic is as follows: the RT25i is probably fairly equal to if not better than the Monitor 30s (both have 1" tweeter- RTi with trilaminate; 5.25" midbass- good to about 60Hz), I prefer the R50's fuller sound to my RT25i's and therefore could reason I'd probably prefer it to the Monitor30 . I can't believe I'm having to explain why a tower with dual 6.5" mid/bass drivers may in fact sound better than a bookshelf with one 5.25" mid/bass. As I've said before, the tweeters do not sound world's different at all. I would be quite surprised if you could tell any difference between the 3/4" silk/polymer tweeter (R50) and the 1" silk/polymer tweeter (Monitor 30). After just going downstairs to A/B my speakers I can only hear a slight difference between the R50s and RT25i(trilaminate tweeters) IF I keep my ear 1ft from the tweeter . Yes, I'd give a slight edge in smotthness to the RT25i's at that distance. Now, driving just the right side speakers (balance all the way right) with 4 channel music and standing between my R50 front and my RT25i rear (6 feet from both), they sound identical. I favor neither side. Now, where's all the bass coming from? Not the RT25i. So, why spend more for the Monitor 30s, unless a bookshelf is what you want. The R50's are not the best looking speaker I've ever seen, but you certainly won't need stands (or a sub for music).

Fulmer

Never mind, I see you've since made your decision. Look for the R15's at outpost.com. They often go on sale for $50.

VR3

What are you driving your speakers with?

reallybigafro

i'm also looking at picking up a pair of R50's at Fry's for $159 (pair) good price??? any other suggestions?

merlin803

Fulmer, I picked up a couple R15's from ABC Warehouse (they went on sale today for $34!).

Vr3MxStyler2k3, I am driving the speakers with a Onkyo
TX-SR601.

Fulmer

I thought I was a good bargain hunter. Good prices for both of you. Congrats. Merlin, I'd love to know how you think the R15's compare to the Monitor30- my hearing may be going bad.

merlin803

Fulmer,
I am certainly no expert but I really like the monitor 30 's and can't imagine that the R15's would sound as good (but to be fair, I have the R15's setup as my surrounds and have not tested them as the mains).

VR3

I've heard the R20...

The R line is GREAT for HT, but music on them run way short...IMO

I personally like the RT line over the R line - I havnt heard the Monitor line - but its suppose to be great

shaddai

Merlin,

I was going to suggest you buy the R50 when you first started this thread since it would timbre-match the Csi20 but from what I've read about the Csi20, you are much better off upgrading to the CS1 and keeping it all in the Monitor line in your front soundstage. Concerning your rear surrounds, CC had the R15's and R20's on sale on separate occasions and you can probably find them new or as opened items in most stores. I personally bought a pair of R20's at CC for $80 (after MIR) during black Friday. Hope those R15's are doing well for you as rear surrounds.

Every speaker in my system is R series except for the center channel and sub. When I calibrate the speakers with Avia, I can definitely hear a difference in the pink noise going from left channel to center to right channel. However, I don't notice a difference when playing an actual movie. If I ever did upgrade my mains, they can be no less than Monitor 50's since I can't imagine ever having bookshelves in the front again. My movie/music diet is 80/20 so the R series is good eough for me.