Need your expert Polk assistance!

Laura Palmer

Absolutely!

Oh should I bi-amp the RTi8s with that Pioneer 1014 receiver? Or is that too much power for them?

2x 120 Watts would be 240...and apparantly the RTi8s can do 250, but am I pushing it? Will it sound better? Cause I don't mind using two of my amp channels for this, in fact I kinda like the idea!

I just don't want to blow the speakers. Which brings me to my final decision... should I be buying an extended warranty with these speakers or what?

marker

Laura, I personally would not bi-amp the RTi8. I think that maybe a little too much power for just the tweeter. If you had the RTi12, then yes, definitely bi-amp, but not the Rti8.

It sounds to me like the RTi12 pair you heard were not properly set up right, cause they should lay waste to the Rti8 with ease and leave them laying in the weeds.

Also, I would skip the extended warranty.

michael_w

Congrats on the new speakers.

A sub will change the sound of your system but if it is tuned properly it should blend in nicely and only reinforce the frequencies that are lacking from your other speakers. If I were you I would much rather get the HSU even though for some reason a polk might be easier to set up it would be well worth the time to properly set up a HSU. Plus that way you get to learn more !!!

With biamping... why not just try it both ways and judge from there. Pick which ever way sounds better. IMO it is better to have more power for a speaker than not enough.

Have fun


btw where are the pics? hehehe .. people here love their pictures

Laura Palmer

Damn. Does that mean I should go back and listen to them AGAIN?

What would have been configured improperly? The positive and negative connectors?

What happens when you have the positive and the negative mixed up anyway? Is it possible to not know whether there hooked up properly, cause maybe I was listening to them all night without being connected properly!!

What a waste of time

michael_w

Laura you listened to them and thought the RTI 8's sounded the best out of the three right? If you like them the best then thats all that matters. The RTI 12s are a more demanding speaker and don't sound half as good as they should running of a receiver whereas the RTI 8s perform better under those circumstances so thats probably why they didn't own the RTI 8's.

marker

Laura, by not set up properly, I mean the RTi12 was probably hi-passed crossed over too high from the receiver. It should have been set to large, or full range.

If at all possible, the best thing to do would be to try to compare the 12 against the 8 on a Pioneer 1014 in both bi-amped and standard modes, but short of that, you have to trust your own ears and go with that. It is possible that you just flat out like the RTi8 better. But I still don't think the RTi12 you heard was set up right. It sure doesn't sound like it.

cfrizz

Laura, you should go with the 8's, since you're getting a sub you should have all of the bass that you need.

But from everything I've read, you should NOT go with a Polk sub, everyone seems to think they come up wanting & end up buying something else.

Laura Palmer

Well I went back and re-read everything I've been taught since page 1, and it seems the majority of you feel the RTi12's with sufficient power (or bi-amped) are the best out of them all. So if I bought the RTi12s I'd have to take all of your word for it

I'll admit...you guys are the true audiophiles here. Even though I've compared these speakers with my own music for nearly 15 hours now...haha.

It's possible that they just didn't have enough power, but I doubt I'd be able to listen to them bi-amped on the Pioneer without buying/returning, and considering the size of the speakers it's not really a pleasant option.

Suffice to say the bassy feel is what's drawing me towards the RTi8s, and yes it does seem to defy logic considering all the built in woofers on the RTi12s.

I don't know, they just seemed a bit bright. Roughly the same as my RTi6s believe it or not. Frankly the RTi8 sounds so different from the rest that it's hard to believe it's the same line.

Laura Palmer

It seems I'm probably going to buy the HSU STF-2 also, since so many of you recommend against Polk subs...I've taken your advice on everything so far, why stop listening now?

I wonder if that store in Toronto will allow walk-in purchases or if it has to be shipped. I'd rather just pick it up on my next trip to Toronto.

Laura Palmer

Oh and just so my fears are put to rest... my listening tests for the RTi12s were due to poor amp calibration and insufficient power, right? The wires weren't just mixed up?

Cause I cranked up the bass on the amp, and it seemed like a speaker people would like... it just didn't provide me with any real "kick".

disneyjoe7

Originally posted by Laura Palmer

Cause I cranked up the bass on the amp, and it seemed like a speaker people would like... it just didn't provide me with any real "kick".

Laura,

Don't crank up the bass to make it sound better. If the receiver doesn't have the guts to power the 12's up right, cranking the bass up can because the amp to clip more then it will fry the Tweeters in a heart beat. To really make those 12's sing add any amp cheap / small 100w per channel. (If down the road you can afford a larger amp then by all means buy a larger amp) I know this sounds funny / odd a 100w amp when you can buy a 105w receiver trust me must receivers 100w can't compare to an amps 100w.

reeltrouble1

Originally posted by cfrizz
Laura, you should go with the 8's, since you're getting a sub you should have all of the bass that you need.

But from everything I've read, you should NOT go with a Polk sub, everyone seems to think they come up wanting & end up buying something else.

Ms's Palmer and Frizz,

Understanding their are better speakers than Polk including subs I would offer these thoughts.

I am a bit suprised by your statement knowing you are aware decisions regarding speaker selection are finally based upon what you hear and not what you read. Reading/research is worthwhile as a starting point. SVS has certainly been the flavor here for the past couple years, now some others seem to be catching on.

There were many here that used the Polk subs and I still use mine and am perfectly happy with them, albiet they do 90% HT. However, my 450's are in fact very kickin musical subs to my ears, I am able to easily differentiate musical tones in the lower register/ octaves when I choose to use them. The majority of music recordings rarely dip beneath 40 hz, accordingly I find my Polk subs easily reach the low 30 hz region with no rolloff. Now the sub guru's know this is in part because I have stacked two of them, nonetheless, this was done for HT not music. Chamber music is the most notable genre with alot of bass lines below the 40hz tone line.

If I am incorrect I apologize to both of you, however, I thought each of you enjoyed music more than HT, Ms. Palmers' considered Rti12 speakers go to 30 hz and the 8's go to 40 hz prior to the 3db rolloff. This is why I choose not to even use a sub for music, I find it unnecessary.

My experience is of course, uniquely mine, when I used RTxxxi as my front speakers I had to but some power to them before I enjoyed listening to them, lets say around 88/90 db at my listening position 14 ft from the front stage. Now add a sub and how does this fit into your environment?

I have no issues with the other subs mentioned. But thought I would at least state that I do use Polk subs and am happy with them, having no intention of changing anytime soon.

RT1

disneyjoe7

I love my RTi150's very sweet, needs lots of power I believe these sound like **** if under powered. They love power draw lots of amps / kill must if not all receivers trying to power them. Love how they sound, but hate them when I run my sub with them I listen to music 2 channel only, use sub only for HT.

So IMHO use a speaker that can sound good by it self, add an amp if needed. Use sub for HT nothing else.

Laura, I place the RTi12 in the same category as for as power needs, though must will say RTi12 are a bit easier to drive then the RTi150's

cfrizz

Sorry if I offended RT1 I should not have made such a broad statement.

However, Laura will not be adding a separate amplifier to drive her speakers at this time, and she seems to want a good thumping bass right now.

From her statements, she seems to hear more bass out of the 8's rather than the 12's. That is why I figured she should get the 8's & supplement the bass with a sub.

Now from the time I have been on this board, I have seen many people start out with Polk SW & switch to another brand. And I find it interesting that you yourself have 2 505's, why did you get 2 of them?

We are simply trying to help Laura get the best setup the first time around, without having any regrets later on. Its easier to do it right the first time around, and cheaper.

If I was starting from scratch again, some of my purchases would be a lot different, including the sub I have.

Cathy

KLD2246

Hi Laura,

Listen, if you have the money, get the system that will make you not go in three months "I wish I would have got the RTi10' instead? I went all out and stayed with Polk. I love the system, it plays well together. You hear people say since your getting the RTi10's, you dont need subs. Thats great but trust me, you will want the sub to go with the unit. Why not get the best you can afford and move to the receiver. Personally I have the Yamaha that works well but I can see once I move into a larger house, I will upgrade but until then, swordfish makes my house rockkkkkk.

jdhdiggs

Originally posted by marker
It sounds to me like the RTi12 pair you heard were not properly set up right, cause they should lay waste to the Rti8 with ease and leave them laying in the weeds.

Based on what? In almost every case, I would STRONGLY prefer the 8's to the 12's. The only time that I would not pick the 8's would be in pure 2 channel music with >250W seperate amp pushing the 12's.

Just because a speaker is the largest or most expensive of a line, doesn't make it the best. Some examples of polk speaker series that are around 50/50: Rti: 70 vs 150, 8 vs 12, LSi: 7 vs 9 or 15 vs 25. In each of those cases I would probably take the "lesser" speaker regardless of price with the exception of the 70/150.

marker

Originally posted by jdhdiggs
Based on what?

Based on my own personal auditioning experience between the two, and it was on a Denon 3805 at that.
I realize some people may hear things differently than I do with different tastes, but to me, even on a 3805 receiver, it wasn't even close. It was big obvious difference that I honestly think everybody ought to be able to hear too.
But, to each their own.

Laura Palmer

KLD, I wish it were that simple. Because the LAST thing I want is to have the upgrade bug in a year and THEN want the RTi12s. Because frankly, I *can* afford to buy them now...but I've heard them and just don't like them as much, as weird as that seems to be. The best I'd be able to power them is with the bi-amping feature on the 1014 because it'll probably be a while before I can afford to buy a pre-amp. So I'm left to wonder, should I enjoy the RTi12s a lot less than I would the RTi8s just knowing that the RTi12's technical specifications are better and that in a few years it may sound better providing I buy a preamp?

I'm hoping that if I *do* have the upgrade bug, that it won't be for the RTi12s, cause then all my listening tests were for nothing

I hope instead it's a different Polk series, or even another manufacturer.

Glad to hear from you JDHDiggs, since we seem to have the same kind of ears. For some odd reason I seem to like the RTi8s more (at this moment in my life) based on the results I heard.

So I picked them up today

Next week I'll be buying the CSi5...then all I'll need to send away for is the HSU STF-2. Then I'm done. Done Done Done.




P.S. Technically I still have 30 days to *finalize* my decision. I've finally got these RTi8s in my own house, and I'm gonna do some thorough testing for the next few weeks. I still may exchange and upgrade for the RTi12s depending on what I've learned over the next month.

Laura Palmer

By the way those Polk warning labels scared the heck out of me!

I took the speakers out of the box, out of the packaging, etc... and THEN I noticed it saying "CAUTION ATTACHING STANDS AFTER SPEAKERS HAVE BEEN TAKEN OUT OF THE BOX MAY CAUSE SEVERE DAMAGE."

Oh no!

Luckily when I plugged them in they worked. Exactly what could have gone wrong anyway? Does the styrophoam provide some sort of grounding when trying to screw in the base stands...cause frankly I don't get it

Seemed pretty darn serious though.

reeltrouble1

Originally posted by cfrizz
Sorry if I offended RT1 I should have not made such a broad statement.

Cathy

First off I am by no means offended, in fact I find it rather refreshing that a lady from the Northeast takes time to hang out with us, adding to the forum discussions and knowledge base, Second off, I am afterall a transplanted Southern Gentleman who knows his manners!!!

I have two of the Polk PSW450 subs. I simply needed two since my HT room is rather large, over 3500 cuft. When I came here I new very little about audio gear, but I knew lots about music, and I know what I like, let me hear it and I know if its any good for me in short order. I am formost a "sound guy" who is also interested in the science of audio if that makes sense. So I started with the one sub (budget decision) and my very first post here was about the strange noise it made when I turned it up (clipped the poor thing) stacking was suggested with another sub to alleviate the problem and it worked like a charm. So for a pittance of 450.00 (closeout) I had two brand new polk subs, that could fact dig down pretty well. My understanding was the other lady (Laura) could get a rather large accomodation price on Polk products, I felt she should know the polk sub she was considering was not some kind of "dog" but a mid-level piece as well as the potential to use two of them. Now two subs is not the answer for everyone and they are bit difficult to calibrate into the system but it can be done several ways and not just stacked. Sure if she has the dough for a higher level product it makes total sense for her to get it. DarqueKnight uses two SVS behind his SRS-SDA for his HT system as another example.

RT1

jdhdiggs

Well Laura, since you are of the fairer gender, chances are that your hearing is superior to a majority of the people here and you have no need to deafen yourself with loud music, but rather prefer a more nuanced presentation.

My guess for your next "upgrade" will likely be one of two paths:

1). Smaller: Something along the LSi line (Or similar) for a much more refined flavor (maybe the 15's, but more likely the 9/7's)

2). MUCH bigger: Maggies or SDA's

I can not imagine you wanting the 12's after you get a good sub hooked up and calibrated.

The 12's seem to be a much more "Rock out" speaker to just blast music and bass. The 8's seems a bit more refined for more typical listening settings. Guess it depends on what you want. (Yes, these two are very close in my book, if the 12's were cheaper than the 8's, I'd rec the 12's)

As for the stands thing? I think the don't want you scratching up the top of your speakers while their upsoide down and you are wrestling with the legs.

Laura Palmer

I read an article about subwoofers in HDTV magazine this month and apparantly it's safe to put your TV on top of your subwoofer? Is that true? Assuming it's a light DLP TV, I'd imagine (which is what I'm shopping for).

I think they also said the same thing about stacking a center channel on top of your subwoofer.

Frankly, I never would have thought of doing this. I figured the rumbling of the subwoofers would affect whatever it is underneath... it can't be safe for a center channel, can it?

What about placing a center channel on a glass stand? Won't the vibrations of the speakers cause some rattling?

Laura Palmer

Here's another thing I find interesting (as I re-read the last bunch of posts again).

People have mentioned that if I decide to keep the RTi8s for good to definetely go with a sub, but if it were the RTi10s and RTi12s it may not be necessary. With my results so far, I think it's quite the contrary. I think the ONLY way to make the RTi10s and 12s sound good would be to add a subwoofer.

The RTi8s on the other hand have a terrific level of warmth to them that make me only really desire a subwoofer for movies (though I'm sure you're all right that music would sound even better also).

As I said, the 10s and 12s were much more bright. (Not a bad thing, just different from what I expected). Again, this could be due to calibration and poor setup, but I still found it funny

Oh and currently these speakers are running on a Yamaha receiver. I assume they should all be set to "large"? Any other settings I should tweak? I don't know much about amp calibration so I may have to get out the old manual

cfrizz

Laura, have fun tweaking and enjoying the beginnings of your new system!

Keep us updated as you add the remaining pieces!:)

Cathy

wingnut4772

Yay! There are girls on this forum. I always find myself alone in these things . If you have not purchased a sub yet, I highly recommend the Outlaw Audio LFM-1. It is designed, in part, by HSU and goes really well with my LSI speakers.

Click on my Theater link and you can see it on the right. It is really LOUD if you want it to be but I live in a townhouse so I have to tone it down.....but when I move, Look Out!

It is also very musical. I listen to a lot of blues and classical and it sounds great.

Have Fun
Darla:D

cfrizz

I am beyond impressed with your system!! Outstanding! Welcome to Club Polk & I do hope you will stick around with Laura & I.:)

Cathy

wingnut4772

Thanks! I am not going anywhere. Us gals gotta stick together :cool: Is this a fun hobby or what?

cfrizz

This is a great hobby. Expensive but great. I keep finding out that the more I know, the more I need to learn:rolleyes:

bikezappa

When oh when will all people address females over the age of 20 as women. I know all this PC stuff is crap, but imagine if males were at work and the male boss walked in and asked if there were any boys that could help him with this problem.

I coached a womens bike racing team for 10 years in MA. I would have lasted 1 week if I addressed any of the team members with the term girl. And I know if I was addressed as a boy I would b not like it.

I'm not trying to offend anyone in this forum. The forum has helped me make many good decisions.

Sorry for the rant.

Welcome all women to the club.

Peter

wingnut4772

I think if we say it it's ok;) But thanks for caring.