RT800 or RT2000p?

frodaddy

I have a 5.1 setup right now and I am upgrading to 7.1. Currently I have a CS1000p center, and RT800's for the other 4 channels. I'm kind of happy with the setup, but my room gobbles up the midbass since it's so large. By midbass I mean 80-200Hz which is above the 80Hz crossover freq of my subwoofer (my AVR doesn't have an adjustable crossover). I'm curious to know if the RT2000p's would help in that freq range since the 8's and mid are crossed at 100Hz; but the mid is in a sealed enclosure vs. my RT800's being ported.

Okay that's the background information, so here's my options:

A) Purchase some RT800s for the rear surrounds. Eventually build a midbass 10" driver for my front L/R, and cross it over and EQ it to fit with my RT800 L/R speakers. This would give me 80-200Hz impact I'm looking for in my room.

Buy a pair of RT2000p's that my friend has for sale. We plan on doing a test with these vs. my RT800s before I purchase, though. The RT2000's would become L/R and have RT800s for surrounds.

So how do the RT2000p's compare to RT800's? I'm concerned that the RT2000's will be weak with upper-midbass while the RT800s are strong; but the midbass problem would be fixed. I've listened to the RT2000s alot in his HT, but the 8's were always hooked up to his LFE. I've only heard them a couple of times using the entire tower for a single channel, but it was with music and at nearfield.

Has anyone ever had an RT800 vs. a RT2000 and can report the differences?

frodaddy

Somehow I missed this thread when I did my search before I posted: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24036&highlight=rt2000p

It's interesting the comments that are made about the RT800i's; I find that my RT800's are quite the opposite in "punchiness" and "sound like 10in woofers".

Looking over the crossover schematic with what knowledge I have on them so far, the RT800 doesn't appear to be sporting a cap for the woofers where the RT2000p has a large one. Also, IIRC, the RT2000's mid-woofer is in a large sealed enclosure so this should help with the tightness of the midbass.

I'm thinking maybe I should have posted this in the "Vintage" section?

cambir

I have not owned either, so I can not comment on the differences.

However, I sure would be interested in a pair of RT800s if you buy 2000s and want to get rid of some 800s.:D

Also a great deal on a pair of 2000s in the for sale forum right now.

marker

Another vote for the RT2000i.

frodaddy

Thanks for the replies everyone! I didn't know half of the parts for the RT2000p aren't being made anymore :eek: I won't overdrive them since I'll actually cross them over at 80Hz. I know, I know... it's almost sacreligious to do that.

Hopefully my friend will come over tomorrow evening and we'll do the comparison. I'll post the results!

del44

I've ben running the 2000p's in my setup for about 6 years or so. I've been very pleased. Since I have dedicated subs for the LFE, I am running speaker wires from the amp. I think that it sounds better this way vs. using LFE to the powered section. In 2 channel, the 2000's will have a fuller sound. I think that adjusting the sub section a little "lean" makes it sound better.

marker

frodaddy wrote:

Thanks for the replies everyone! I didn't know half of the parts for the RT2000p aren't being made anymore :eek: I won't overdrive them since I'll actually cross them over at 80Hz. I know, I know... it's almost sacreligious to do that.

Hopefully my friend will come over tomorrow evening and we'll do the comparison. I'll post the results!

Well if you're going to cross them over at 80 Hz anyway, then I change my vote to the Rt800i in that case.

Dude, that would be an almost criminal neglect of some serious woofage there on the 2000s! :eek: :mad:

mark g. nelson

I own both and if I had to keep one it would be the 2000's. I wouldn't give them up. I have a friend with a $45,000 setup and he has offered me more then I paid for them.He is not getting them to say the least. Polk has made some great models over the years that I love(RT55i,LS90s) but the 2000's have this "GOOD HELL" factor when dialed in properly. The unavailable parts issue does concern me, I don't want to replace me speakers anytime soon. Ken please say it ain't so.

frodaddy

It's a done deal! I bought the RT2000p's from my friend. We A/B'd the RT800 and RT2000p's a few times WITH THEM CROSSED AT 80Hz and we both had the same conclusions. The RT2000's had much more detail, had a bigger and better soundstage with better imaging, created a "presence" with the sound, and handled complex midrange with ease. The RT800s made a great effort, but they had a lack of overall detail, much less of a soundstange, sounded "smaller", and the midrange was very muddy when things got complex. The RT800s gave it their best shot, but they were quite simply outclassed; and all of this testing was WITH AN 80Hz highpass crossover!! We never ran the RT2000's full range because; quite frankly we both agreed it wouldn't have been fair at all.

So, my conclusion is the RT2000p's are a better speaker and I'm very happy to have a pair of these. I used my front RT800s to upgrade from 5.1 surround to 7.1; and that made a HUGE difference for my home theater. RT800 vs. RT2000p? My vote is RT2000p no question!

Thanks for the replies everyone

danger boy

Atta boy.. there you go.. that's what this hobby is all about doing demos.. to find out what you prefer not us... we can recommend this speaker over that speaker.. but it all comes down to what your ears like best. and only you can make that decision..

congrats on your new to you RT2000's baby.

enjoy

marker

The RT2000's own internal crossover is 100 Hz if my memory serves me correctly, so you could potentially have at least some nasty double filtering going on if you also cross them over at 80 Hz from the AVR or pre-pro.

Why not just run them large/full range like they are designed to be? Or at the very least lower the crossover point to 40 Hz if possible? Like you already alluded to, the gap in performance between them and the 800s will only increase exponentially if you do.

BTW, CONGRATS on getting 2000s!

The RT2000i/p is one of the few speakers here that I've never seen anyone who had a pair say anything negative about, at least not that I can recall offhand.

frodaddy

marker wrote:

The RT2000's own internal crossover is 100 Hz if my memory serves me correctly, so you could potentially have at least some nasty double filtering going on if you also cross them over at 80 Hz from the AVR or pre-pro.

Why not just run them large/full range like they are designed to be? Or at the very least lower the crossover point to 40 Hz if possible? Like you already alluded to, the gap in performance between them and the 800s will only increase exponentially if you do.

For me, I can have way too much bass if I don't control it properly. I used to be a believer in running all speakers full range, but I've EQ'd my infinite baffle subwoofer at the crossover point and the system sounds much better like this. (BTW, my AVR has a fixed 80hz crossover point so I can't experiment with lower ones.) Without the crossover the bass gets really muddy and kills the midrange, but with the 80Hz crossover I've controlled the low frequencies with the EQ and everything sounds great. If there is some double filtering going on, I can't notice it.

I did more 2ch listening today with the RT2000's full range, and they do a great job with the bass. But, with an 80Hz crossover on them and my infinite baffle handling the low frequencies the sound is incredible (okay that's technically 2.1ch, hehe). It digs MUCH deeper, much more impact, and more articulate than what the RT2000's can do. But, it's not overpowering at all! When I turned off the RT2000's subwoofer portion, the sound changed and there was a gap. So, even with an 80hz crossover the RT2000's powered section is doing it's thing and they are also doing a good job of bridging the gap at the crossover point.

ktm300mxc

hey frodaddy you can still get parts i just orderd 2 tweets for my 2000p's just in case i ever need them the guy i talked to at polk told me they have all the drivers for them and i replaced 1 amp last year it cost me $250 but worth it since i only paid $100 for the pair from a pawn shop in vegas the guy that worked there didnt know what they were and could not find any paperwork on them 1 amp was blown but i have had no other trouble at all i love these speakers