Polk is listing the new rti series right now

Systems

I cant tell any difference between the Rti12 and the Rti9 2008 speaker. Is there a difference?

bruss

only looks cosmetic? shorter,wider and deeper

Systems

ah! Good catch! Look at that! There are differences in dimensions! Good catch, didn’t look at that for some reason!

Serendipity

Looks like a nice pair of speakers for the money. But aside from the dimensions I don't know what else has changed...

Ern Dog

Also new is the cooling system within the tweeters...

"Neodymium magnet,low-viscosity ferro-fluid cooling, and a heat sink on the back of the magnet, create better power handling and reliability."

I can't wait til someone buys one and shares their impression of how it sounds. Better? Worse? Same?

bruss

looks like the feet could be different.. lol. they even use alot of the same graphics fom the 12.. I do like the curved look on the sides though..

phuz

The cabinet design is quite a bit different, and can have a huge impact on sound quality. I really want to hear them now.

charliez

I like a lot the wood finish fronts. Former version was in gray plastic.

JimBRICK

the speakers arent rectangle they're curved sides now

RuSsMaN

The cabinet is completely different, not only in appearance, but in construction also. Extremely inert, 5 layers of mdf pressed and glued together. The crossovers have been tweaked and the tweeter is a step up. Cabinet volume and ports have changed, and the RTiA5 (new RTi8) has the 'pass through' port technology of the two larger models. Just to name a few things......

It's a lot more than new feet, and a curved cabinet, trust me.

I'm axious to get my hands on the A7 one day down the road when funds allow, to side by side with my RTi10's. That being said, ain't nothing wrong with my 10's. You guys don't need to get down in the dumps, it's just the evolution of the product line. You have to make the engineers 'stop' and release something every few years, or they will just keep changing things and tweaking things until the end of time.

As far as LSi, all in good time. Be proud to own a product with such a long lifespan, not many companies can pull it off (B&W, Vandersteen, Magnepan and Polk are the top few that come to mind). You think Polk will keep the Vifa? Who knows. Just a tidbit for the LSi fans - the original tweeter that was slated to be used in the LSi was a ribbon. Genesis-esque. The sound was (reportedly) quite good, but about 1/3rd if the ribbons failed straight out of the box, and they were of a 'delicate' nature in general - not something for Joe Q Audiophile. Actually, if it wasn't for Peter Gaskarth (now retired from Polk, formerly of KEF and Meridian fame) the LSi line might not even exist.


Now, who's gonna be first with some new RTiA's?

Cheers,
Russ

bruss

kinda wierd they use the exact same cutaway graphic for the 9 and 12 if the cabinet is that much different/enhanced. Wouldnt the shortness of the 9 compared to the 12 be made up by the increased width and depth of the 9? I dont mean to be a snotty noob. i really am curious.. They also dont list the weight of the 9 yet..

Shizelbs

Wow, I had no idea about the ribbon tweeter. I have yet to hear a speaker that used a ribbon tweeter that I didn't love. I can only wonder.... Anyways, gets me thinking, what Polk would do with a series above the LSis, ala a ~$7500 tower with a super tweeter. That being said the Vifa is pretty impressive as well.

I might snag a pair of the new RTiAs and do a side by side shootout with the 70s and 150s currently residing in the HT.

phuz

RuSsMaN wrote: »

The cabinet is completely different, not only in appearance, but in construction also. Extremely inert, 5 layers of mdf pressed and glued together. The crossovers have been tweaked and the tweeter is a step up. Cabinet volume and ports have changed, and the RTiA5 (new RTi8) has the 'pass through' port technology of the two larger models. Just to name a few things......

It's a lot more than new feet, and a curved cabinet, trust me.

Cheers,
Russ

This is what I tried to imply briefly, but didn't have the words. The cabinet and tweeter are huge. Boston has used similar (not as high tech though) tweeters in the past and I loved 'em.

I just wish that Polk (and everyone else) would get away from that fugly, cheap looking, grey/silver plastic trim.

bruss

the new fxi and csi's are up as well

dorokusai

bruss wrote: »

kinda wierd they use the exact same cutaway graphic for the 9 and 12 if the cabinet is that much different/enhanced. Wouldnt the shortness of the 9 compared to the 12 be made up by the increased width and depth of the 9? I dont mean to be a snotty noob. i really am curious.. They also dont list the weight of the 9 yet..

In regards to the picture, they may not have a 3D rendering of that yet. There is a caveat included about the construction in the interim.

NewOrlnsDukie

Well, it's a definite major upgrade cosmetically IMO.

And the new center is a little modified angle-wise for those who will be putting it upside-down, which could be a big help in the land of entertainment ctrs...

VR3

I'm just not impressed.

Granted, I think the RT line should be discontinued. LOL

Have thought that for YEARS. Same ol tricks, over and over again.

Lets see...

RT5 Series - Dynamic Balance Drivers, Soft Domes
RT55 Series - Newer Drivers, Tweaked Crossovers, Power Port, Anti Difraction Grills, ARC Port, Moved to Tri-Lam tweeters
RT55i Series - Newer Drivers, Blue Cones, Real Wood Veneer
RTi38 Series - Different, drivers, not really any new technology to speak of here, stopped doing the powered tower gig... Moved back to soft domes, silks.
RTi6 Series - Plastic fronts, better veneers that didn't suck, different drivers all the way around.. similar sound. Totally new tweeter, basically the same sound from the RT55i series. Except not a tri-lam, Power port plus, better cabinet construction, floating grills instead of anti-difraction baffles
Current series - rounded cabinets, extremely inert, Newer power port design I guess, reworked drivers and crossovers.

With the above in mind, I probally missed a few - but the key is, the current series that is coming out is going to sound alot like the series before, pretty much all of the RT series sound the same except the RTi38 generation which only lasted a year and a half.

PS: The last series also used a heat sink and ferro fluid for cooling the tweeter. Nothing new there.

RuSsMaN

You're an Odyssey and Taylo fanboy, and for no apparent reason, other than you are excited out it. What is not to impressed about? Once again, jury, verdict, sentence before you even get hear them?

Flavor of the month please step to the side, audiophiles interested in hearing something new, bring it. The last RT you actually owned was the the i70, no?

Cheers,
Russ

cfrizz

This obviously falls along the lines of "If it's not broke, don't fix it!

I think there is a lot to be said for consistency. They have a sound that is pleasing to the ears & makes them money. Why would they mess too much with that Sid?

Change just for the sake of change is not always a good thing.

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote: »

I'm just not impressed.

Granted, I think the RT line should be discontinued. LOL

Have thought that for YEARS. Same ol tricks, over and over again.

Lets see...

RT5 Series - Dynamic Balance Drivers, Soft Domes
RT55 Series - Newer Drivers, Tweaked Crossovers, Power Port, Anti Difraction Grills, ARC Port, Moved to Tri-Lam tweeters
RT55i Series - Newer Drivers, Blue Cones, Real Wood Veneer
RTi38 Series - Different, drivers, not really any new technology to speak of here, stopped doing the powered tower gig... Moved back to soft domes, silks.
RTi6 Series - Plastic fronts, better veneers that didn't suck, different drivers all the way around.. similar sound. Totally new tweeter, basically the same sound from the RT55i series. Except not a tri-lam, Power port plus, better cabinet construction, floating grills instead of anti-difraction baffles
Current series - rounded cabinets, extremely inert, Newer power port design I guess, reworked drivers and crossovers.

With the above in mind, I probally missed a few - but the key is, the current series that is coming out is going to sound alot like the series before, pretty much all of the RT series sound the same except the RTi38 generation which only lasted a year and a half.

PS: The last series also used a heat sink and ferro fluid for cooling the tweeter. Nothing new there.

thejck

I saw the new DSW pro 400 sub at the electronic store that I went to last night. really cool deal where you can switch it from a down firing to a side firing sub. Plus aparently the amp in there can detect when a signal is coming through that it cant handle and it compresses it to prevent cliping. the remote is real small and feels and looks like the remotes that creative had with those computer cdroms drives small and flat. Didnt listen to it but will try too when i got back. the speaker is a lot bigger than the psw 404 that was sitting right next to it.

VR3

RuSsMaN wrote: »

You're an Odyssey and Taylo fanboy, and for no apparent reason, other than you are excited out it. What is not to impressed about? Once again, jury, verdict, sentence before you even get hear them?

Flavor of the month please step to the side, audiophiles interested in hearing something new, bring it. The last RT you actually owned was the the i70, no?

Cheers,
Russ

I think its cool that Polk is offering extremely nice cabinets for a low price as always. But, alot of the complaints that followed the RTi line was brightness. And last I checked brightness wasnt exactly related to the cabinet strength. But maybe I'm wrong.

I've pretty much owned every series.... RT5, RT35i, RT55, RTi70 -- then I pretty much decided to stop. I heard the last series back at the Polk HQ, nothing real different I guess.

Consistency is great, but I'm still under the impression that the best RT line was the very first one. The tweeter in the RT5 was absolutely phenominal sounding. Detailed and very very smooth.

I like Tyler Speakers, I wouldn't list me as a fanboy. I'm more than willing to try other brands. Salk Audio, AV123, Ascend, Totem, Martin Logan, VMPS, JM Lab, list goes on to the brands I want to try.

I definitely am an Odyssey fan boy. Color me a fan for life after the customer service I've received.

ohskigod

I like the looks, and always had a respect for the RTi line. I owned the RT55 for quite a while and loved em. Did I like other speakers better, of course, but liked em none the less.

The last RTi line (the silver faced ones, seemed to sound quite different to me then the older series, including my RT55, but maybe its just me).

The RTi's are what they are, high quality, but not budget busters. great build quality. They strike most as a speaker that excel for home theater at there price point, needing quite a few more shekels more for a significant improvement that the average listener will hear. I went with the 2 different systems layout for 2 channel music and home theater, but if you have to do both in the same system, and are on a budget, the RTi line will serve you very well.

couple that with the fact that they are relativly easy to drive (especially compared to LSi's) You can drive them with top of the line recievers, seperates, or more entry level recievers and they still perform relativly well (unlike the LSI line)

get rid of the RTi line? from a marketing standpoint it would be a foolish decision, its a solid performing product at a great pricepoint.

sucks2beme

The new line up looks much better. I hope the they sound as good.

So, when is Polk going to get some real audio dealers to stock
these and the LSI line? Right now in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, only Fry's carries
these lines. A top 10 market should have a real dealer that can
set up and demo the product. Right now, I couldn't tell
the difference between these, LSI's, or R50's in the Fry's demo room.
It all sounds like crap. You want to know why Bose still sells?
Because they excel at setting up their crap to sound better.
A poor speaker demo'ed well will crush good speakers hooked up
all willy-nilly. Russman, maybe it's time to wake up someone in management
and tell them it's time to put Polk speakers back on the map.

Willow

I quite like the look of them, I'm not very partial to the plastic fron of the rti8 that I have. The new one remind me of a cross "look wise" of a combo of the monitor series and the R series.

VR3

I agree whole heartedly that discontinuing the RTi line would be absolutely stupid. They are a great seller.

I just want to see something different from Polk for a change.

dorokusai

Everybody suddenly becomes a marketing guru when new things arrive, hilarious.

MikeC78

Customers need/wants creates the market, right?

sucks2beme

dorokusai wrote: »

Everybody suddenly becomes a marketing guru when new things arrive, hilarious.

Not a guru. A fustrated consumer.
If I can't hear a difference when listening,
price will make the selection for me.
Not everyone will come to this web site to learn what
sounds good, and how to make it sound good.
Go to a dealer, hear a good sounding SYSTEM, and
buy it. Too much money at stake for blind buys.
You know what sounds good. What about everyone else?

john22614

I agree with sucks2beme......Polk needs to get their RTI and LSI lines in better retail stores.......higher end places that set them up right and create an atmosphere conducive to quality listening and comparisons......going to Frys is like going to Kmart....just not worthy of these great speakers. Fry's has them cranked to the pt of being obnoxious.....then some uninformed sales guy tells you to get this one 'cause the "bass is awsome"....need I say more?

fireshoes

For a lot of people, those chain stores are the only way they will ever get exposed to a higher quality brand. The Polk's will still shine over the crap in difficult environments. Polk needs those stores because they make a lot of sales collectively and give Polk much needed income.

fireshoes

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote: »

I agree whole heartedly that discontinuing the RTi line would be absolutely stupid. They are a great seller.

I just want to see something different from Polk for a change.

Besides the new woofers, new tweeters, new crossovers, new ports, new bracing, and new cabinets for the RTi series, you must have missed the memos on in-shower tile speakers, in-wall subwoofers, remote-controlled subwoofers with room optimization, subs that you can choose front or down firing position, IP-addressable LCi in-wall speakers, the first THX Ultra2 certified in-ceiling speaker, and the brand new VM series low-profile speakers.

Other than that, they're not doing anything different though. :rolleyes: