New Polk RTiA series - CES 2007

danger boy

Emlyn wrote:

Looks great, sort of like the cabinet maker borrowed the basic structure of the Wharfedale Diamond series or similar speakers and adapted and upgraded the design to meet Polk requirements.

Bingo! much more refined look now... instead of the boxy look of so many years. Looks good so far.

danger boy

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote:

I think the cabinet structure... is amazing - and taking 5 layers of MDF, assuming they are .25" thick to give you some rediculously thick sides is great...

But while the cabinets are an excellent upgrade over the cheap looking series from last time...

I was expecting... more...particularly in the region of driver array and drivers used...

To me they just look like reclothed speakers from the last series, even the driver baskets are still silver... lol - but like I said, Im not discounting the cabinet upgrade, I just expected.....more

agreed... Polk needs a line to close the gap between the LSi series and the RTi series... that my 2 cents.

sbpolk

dkg999 wrote:

I think as soon as these get into the distribution channel it may be time to update my RTi70/CSi40 front of the HT system.

Me too!

fireshoes

danger boy wrote:

agreed... Polk needs a line to close the gap between the LSi series and the RTi series... that my 2 cents.

The lines are really for two different customers. HT/music and music/HT IMO. There's no need for an in-between and no room in the dealers' showrooms either.

cfrizz

Agreed. They just have to make a smaller, lighter LSI tower speaker to add to the series.

fireshoes wrote:

The lines are really for two different customers. HT/music and music/HT IMO. There's no need for an in-between and no room in the dealers' showrooms either.

beardog03

I like..!!
will be buying a couple pairs !!!


sweet !!


this should hold me over until the new LSi`s are out !!

Thanks for the update fellas...be safe out there , and have one for me....or two !!!!

haimoc

The new Polk speakers look good. Wonder how they sound?

Emlyn

The new RTiA's look upscale enough for the places Polk sells its speakers to have me wondering why the LSi's would be necessary for the company.

audiobliss

Wow, those new cabinets really do look fantastic. However, I wonder if the new sound is enough to match the great new look. Obviously I don't know how they sound...but I do hope they're better at music reproduction than the previous series. If so....sweet!!

cfrizz

Because the two lines sound totally different & I think the LSI's are superior. IMHO. It's not about look it's about sound. If you just buy a pair of speakers because they are pretty, you are missing the whole point of audio.:D

Monster Jam

My goodness, based on how the RTiA's look, I can only imagine what the LSi line will look like. And how much they will cost!

Monster Jam

It dawned on me another reason I went with LSi over other speaker brands when I got to lookin at the pics: I knew I would be placing my center channel on top of my my huge RearProjection TV.

I don't remember if the RTi centers were curved, but some brands were, and the new RTiA obviously is. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to place it on the TV. The LSiC was (is) rectangular, and it was a natural fit.

bobman1235

Center channels are inherently designed to be put on top of televisions, I'm sure even if they're rounded they have a flat bottom...

Nelson57

I have put a self imposed freeze on the purchase of any more speakers, from any manufacturer, until I get a chance to hear these. I periodically change my theater setup from Polk to Paradigm, and have purchased some of the new version 5 of Paradigms Monitor series.

I was planning purchasing the Paradigm Monitor 11v.5 towers, but now I may be looking at the RTiAs. I like the sound of both companies, and I was starting to give Paradigm a slight edge between the new Monitor series over Polks Rtis, especially for music. I'm going to hold off now to check these babies out.

Maestro

I guess I'll be upgrading real soon!!

heiney9

dorokusai wrote:

The BIG deal here is the cabinet, and it's construction. FIVE layers of MDF - and the compression welding, and the curve WITHOUT crosscuts? You of all people should know how a cabinet can change a speakers sound. IMO, the cabinet density and construction are substantial enough to warrant a new release - not even mention the other refinements.

Cheers,
Russ

I have to strongly agree. One of the major shortcomings (for me anyways) of the lesser Polk lines is the substantial cabinet coloration that is added to the music. Piano, some acoustic music and female vocal can be greatly affected (you know that already Sid). I for one am glad they addressed this problem or atleast took it to another level.

I always felt that was a weak point with the original monitor series. My RTA-11's had some odd cabinet resonance that I always accepted, but nevertheless made me cringe on many occasions (completely independent of the sl2000's shortcomings).

I also feel one of the reasons the LSI is so dead on in midrange repro is because of the stellar cabinets. So kudo's to Polk for taking the high road and upgrading a part of the speaker that may not scream "look at me I'm very high tech", but does have a great affect on the sound repro. Although they are sweet to look at.

Personally the current RTi's and even the pics of the new RTiA still look a bit to techie and that has always given the impression, in other products, of "flash" over performance. I don't care for the all silver tweeter and bezel, I never have. It looks incredibly cheap, even thought I know it isn't.

heiney9

Emlyn wrote:

The new RTiA's look upscale enough for the places Polk sells its speakers to have me wondering why the LSi's would be necessary for the company.

Have you heard the Lsi's............I'm guessing you haven't because if you had you wouldn't ask that question.

Emlyn

heiney9 wrote:

Have you heard the Lsi's............I'm guessing you haven't because if you had you wouldn't ask that question.

You would be assuming incorrectly. I've owned LSi7's, 9's, 15's, and still have a C and two pair of FX's. :rolleyes:

My point was, the new design appears to be above the design level of the current RT line, maybe sufficiently so to make the current LSi unnecessary for the company to bring to market, or maybe enough to force Polk to place a new LSi line up a notch higher than current in price and performance to justify having two speaker lines in a store.

With an LSi design a year away, a very favorable market reaction to the new RTiA line may have an impact on the performance level of the LSi line, or if it even makes it to market. Those who still want Polk to produce a higher level speaker line, but still one competitively priced, may want to speak up more.

cfrizz

Emlyn, once again you are focusing on just the looks of the speakers. What sets the LSI's apart from the RTI's is the sound. It always has.

All other speakers companies have multiple speakers series in stores so why shouldn't Polk?

heiney9

Emlyn wrote:

You would be assuming incorrectly. I've owned LSi7's, 9's, 15's, and still have a C and two pair of FX's. :rolleyes:

My point was, the new design appears to be above the design level of the current RT line, maybe sufficiently so to make the current LSi unnecessary for the company to bring to market, or maybe enough to force Polk to place a new LSi line up a notch higher than current in price and performance to justify having two speaker lines in a store.

With an LSi design a year away, a very favorable market reaction to the new RTiA line may have an impact on the performance level of the LSi line, or if it even makes it to market. Those who still want Polk to produce a higher level speaker line, but still one competitively priced, may want to speak up more.

Perhaps I read more into your original post than was there. The RTi line as it stands right now is far away from the Lsi line in terms of "up market" performance. I doubt that Polk has done anything more than a little refining on the RTiA and I'm sure it's still several notches below the Lsi. So I think both products are very warranted.

If Polk didn't have the more upscale Lsi lines I would have to look elsewhere for speakers. The current RTi line perfomance is not appealing to me at all and I doubt the newer RTiA line is much different in terms of sound. That being said I'm sure for their price point and application (HT) they are perhaps the best value in the market and I would expect that to remain, but I'm not interested in a speaker that is primarily marketed for HT applications. Hence the need for continuing the Lsi line.

I guess we will both have to wait until we can get our ears on them

Emlyn

heiney9 wrote:

I guess we will both have to wait until we can get our ears on them

It's about time we got an exciting new Polk product line to speculate about!

Cathy, I'm not focusing on appearance alone. The cabinet structure beneath the veneer is what I'm focusing on. The cabinet design is superior to anything Polk has produced in the past because of the recent availability of improved materials design combined with lower labor costs for production. The drivers look pretty much the same, the power port looks pretty much the same. The high frequency response may or may not be altered--it was always controllable by Polk's engineers within the crossover design. There's nothing inherently wrong with the tweeter.

Certainly no substitute for hearing what they're capable of though. Around my area, Tweeter will be about the only store carrying the new line. Tweeter also carries the LSi line. Folks may not buy them once they see the new RTiA line. Unfortunately, many people do base their speaker buying decisions mainly by the way the speakers look. Tweeter is also hampered in their stores in this area by not having gear capable of driving the LSi's. If the LSi's are taken more up market with their redesign, they may no longer have a home at Tweeter, which is about the only retailer around here besides Circuit City that would carry a Polk product. Tweeter recently picked up the third-rung Focal line, which competes well with the LSi series. It may be a question of space available on the retail floor and customer demand determining whether the LSi makes sense any more.

VR3

IMHO - Polk may need to really do something nice with the LSi line, and keep their sound traits to really compete with JM Labs new V line up...

If I hadnt already invested money into the Tylers - the new V line, if its sound can come within a 10 foot pole of their looks... Id be all over them...

The LSi line has a classy look, the V line has a classy...Im about to kick your ****$ look...

New RTi line up looks nice, although looks like we have Onix Rocket enclosures, different veneers - rebadged... but... haha, I dont know..

Holydoc

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote:

New RTi line up looks nice, although looks like we have Onix Rocket enclosures, different veneers - rebadged... but... haha, I dont know..

Funny...I was thinking the exact same thing.

BIZILL

why everybody be dissin' my now-outdated rti's? i always thought they looked excellent. i must say that the cherry-wood rtia's look astonishing. but the pic of the lone black floorstander doesn't impress me over that which i already have. good thing too. i have no more dinero. and i must coordinate with black and silver for the room. again, those cherry-woods amaze me!

TennesseeOutlaw

OK, I just read this whole thing, and someone at the beginning asked if these new RtiA's were powered or passive? I would like to know as well.

Also, I am a newbie, so I have no clue what IMO and IMHO mean.. Would appreciate it if someone would fill me in on that.

Thanks

McLoki

TennesseeOutlaw wrote:

I have no clue what IMO and IMHO mean.. Would appreciate it if someone would fill me in on that.

Thanks

IMO = In My Opinion

IMHO = In My Humble Opinion

Michael

VR3

All the speaks will be passive - 99.99% sure

Mike Reeter

TennesseeOutlaw wrote:

OK, I just read this whole thing, and someone at the beginning asked if these new RtiA's were powered or passive? I would like to know as well.

Also, I am a newbie, so I have no clue what IMO and IMHO mean.. Would appreciate it if someone would fill me in on that.

Thanks

I would guess that they are "passive"

IMO=In My Opinion...IMHO=In My Humble Opinion

TennesseeOutlaw

Thank you very much.. I just remember about 10 years back Polk had some speakers that included an "A" in them, and that was for amplified.. But I wanted to make sure. As far as the IMO and IMHO thanks.. That has been killing me.

VR3

Maybe the A stands for adnormal