Polk Rti A3 first listen !

polkseller
polkseller Posts: 184
edited November 2007 in Speakers
I received the polk RTI A3 last week in the store but I installed them yesterday.

I listened to them on a harman AVR 645 (HDCD decoding) avr with a sony blu ray player on them.

CD tested: John Mellencamp, the best that I could do HDCD.

These polk really give all the resolution of the HDCD. The main difference between the A3 and RTI6 appear to be soundstaging... BIG BIG soundstage, vertical and horizontal. You can feel the strong stereo imaging even if they are new. John cougar voice's was not perfect because the speaker are new and midrange is somewhat veiled, BUT these polk really shine.

I think they will be better than the last RTI serie, soundstage is already better and higher, bass feels strong. I think the curved cabinet help the soundstaging a lot.

I will let you know of all of my tests. I will test the A5 saturday.
Pier
Post edited by polkseller on
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Comments

  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited October 2007
    Keep it coming Pier, a lot of people are looking for opinions on the new RTiA's,
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • fireshoes
    fireshoes Posts: 3,167
    edited October 2007
    I like that they dumped the red on the Polk logo. Wish they had gone magnetic grill though. Cabs are pretty nice, and I'm glad the silver front is gone.
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited October 2007
    Amen to that. Silver baffles just scream of "cheesey." It's my one and only gripe with my Energy C-9's.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • polkseller
    polkseller Posts: 184
    edited October 2007
    Yes cabinets are very nice

    Grill feel a bit cheaper than before,but it is also lighter.

    Woofers are Dark color instead of grey. Rubber surround is more round shaped compared to RTi6 flatter rubber suspension.

    A3 seems to like high current better than the rti6 (more control of the woofer when the hk 645 push hard (-8db on the knob in surround off mode)
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  • vonnie123
    vonnie123 Posts: 326
    edited October 2007
    Where did you audition them? I just bought some clearanced RTi6s tonight and love them. The A series is supposed to be an upgrade for sure.
    [
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  • polkseller
    polkseller Posts: 184
    edited October 2007
    I also bought a clearance pair of Rti6 for real cheap, but I really think the A3 are superior in soundstage for the moment. First time I remember experiencing something like that. 3D sound (back side and front effects with 2 speakers) it is Very impressive.

    I auditionned them in my Future shop store, Qc
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  • MattN03
    MattN03 Posts: 558
    edited October 2007
    Please post up about the A5's when you review them.
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  • polkseller
    polkseller Posts: 184
    edited October 2007
    I will try the polk A5 side by side with the Energy RC70.

    Energy Rc70 is a solid contender.
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  • aaharvel
    aaharvel Posts: 4,489
    edited October 2007
    an rti-a1 vs. rti4 comparison if at all possible PolkSeller -
    H/K Signature 2.1+235
    Jungson MagicBoat II
    Revel Performa M-20
    Velodyne cht-10 sub
    Rega P1 Turntable

    "People working at Polk Audio must sit around the office and just laugh their balls off reading many of these comments." -Lush
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  • G-force
    G-force Posts: 82
    edited October 2007
    I went to fry's today and saw they had the RTi A7 set up playing a concert DVD. They looked and sounded great. I really wanted to see the cherry, but all they had was black. Physically they are really deep speakers. Looked damn near 18-20" from front to back. The new contour design looks excellent. I just wish they had some cherry to look at.

    On a side not, they had the RTi8 priced at $199 and RTi10 priced at $249. Smokin' deals on some very nice speakers!
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  • polkseller
    polkseller Posts: 184
    edited October 2007
    what ?? rti8 and rti10 that cheap, its under cost dude!

    I agree that the new contour design is very well done.

    The rti4 vs A1 test will be tought to to because we have no more rti4 in stock..
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  • G-force
    G-force Posts: 82
    edited October 2007
    polkseller wrote: »
    what ?? rti8 and rti10 that cheap, its under cost dude!

    I know! and I thought I got a good deal at $550 authorized for my RTi8.

    I also forgot to mention they had the CSi5 for $205!!!
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  • jcgriff
    jcgriff Posts: 6
    edited October 2007
    Yeah, I was in a Fry's in San Diego yesterday and the RTi10's were $245, I didn't see the CSi5 price. I bought cherry 10's two weeks ago for $307 and a 5 for $255 and thought that was a great deal! I'm going back today and get some money back.

    I got LSi A4's on Amazon for $249, (same price as the Lsi3's?), just good timing I guess to put together such a great set of speakers this cheaply.

    Sub is next.
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  • polkseller
    polkseller Posts: 184
    edited October 2007
    Ok I listened to the polk A5 next to the Energy RC70......... here's the details so far for the new rti A5.

    First difference between the Rti8 and the Polk A5 is the Powerport of the front bottom of the A5. Bass is very strong compared to the Rti 8. Sound like a 8 inch sub ! Bass is very well controlled too, no boommy bass to cover midrange details. A little less bass compared to the Rc 70 but more control. YOU WILL LIKE IT FOR SURE cuz it is impressive.

    Midrange is stronger and voices sounds a bit dry compared to the RC70. I think that the polk will calm down the mids when break-in done. Midrance resolution is a little bit better on the polk such as drum sets, piano and acoustic guitar.

    Highs seems to be as good as before in the RTI serie but it is too powerfull or harsh for the moment. Soundstage again feel a bit wider and highter than the Rti 8. The RC70 metal dome is better on the resonant frequency (harmonics) of cymbals, it give a better width on instruments and it is also easyer to listen to.

    The A5 also take less current than the RC70 to play loud.

    I can definetely say that before the A5, the Rc70 was my favorite floorstanding speaker when comparing it next to the RTi 8 or Rti10. Now with the A5 beside it, I think polk will come out first again on a price point thats more than half of the Rc70 asking price.

    That all for the moment. Ask questions if you want!
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  • polkseller
    polkseller Posts: 184
    edited October 2007
    bump
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  • Ron Temple
    Ron Temple Posts: 3,212
    edited October 2007
    Very interesting...thanks for sharing. It sounds like the same RTi tweeter and perhaps it's only weakness. Very cool about the bass...:cool:

    Combo rig:

    Onkyo NR1007 pre-pro, Carver TFM 45(fronts), Carver TFM 35 (surrounds)
    SDA 1C, CS400i, SDA 2B
    PB13Ultra RO
    BW Silvers
    Oppo BDP-83SE
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  • polkseller
    polkseller Posts: 184
    edited October 2007
    The bass is amazing ! Very good work at polk audio .
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  • Topper
    Topper Posts: 403
    edited October 2007
    Great first impression reviews on the new gear bud! Really helping me choose my next setup :).

    Question though (as am leaning on the bookshelf spks) - hows the highs on the A3? i heard people were complaining about the highs of the predecessor so any chance this area's been improved? particularly after the break-in?
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  • polkseller
    polkseller Posts: 184
    edited October 2007
    Dont know for the highs yet. I seriously think that polk tweeter is very good when paired with good quality amp and speaker wires. The truth is that many superstore use computer board and very long cheap speaker wire to power the speakers, that lead to a unbalanced sound with exagerrated highs or a dry sound.

    Every polk speakers in the RTI line that I brought home sounded really good compared to the store sound.

    The new RTI line has improved sound overall. I think that the 100 hours break-in period will improved the linearity of the sound

    I tried the RTI A7 today. it was hooked to the latest DENON 988(2808) , so I cant compared them to the A3 and A5 reviewed with the HK 645 (way better sounding amp)

    The sound of the A7 (new) is very good. The highs seems to be like 3-5db less powerful than the A5. They were underpowered.A good choice for those of you that look for a softer sound. They seem to equal the Rti10 sound.

    I must admit that the Denon sound is not as good as the harman 645. while highs are very calm,detailed and not bright at all, the overall sound lack musicality and the mids are restrained. The bass is 1/3 the power and control of the HK645 and soundstage is bad.
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited October 2007
    Here's a couple photos of the RTiA3 and RTiA5. Don't ask me how they sound, as I've had no time. Russman is going to get the RTiA5, so ask him down the road.

    The fit and finish of the loudspeakers is excellent. There are no seams on the veneer and the Cherry is absolutely beautiful. I don't think I could do black speakers anymore after seeing all the gorgeous wood that's been in my house lately.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • MattN03
    MattN03 Posts: 558
    edited October 2007
    dorokusai wrote: »
    Here's a couple photos of the RTiA3 and RTiA5. Don't ask me how they sound, as I've had no time. Russman is going to get the RTiA5, so ask him down the road.

    The fit and finish of the loudspeakers is excellent. There are no seams on the veneer and the Cherry is absolutely beautiful. I don't think I could do black speakers anymore after seeing all the gorgeous wood that's been in my house lately.

    The drivers and tweeters look the same as the existing RTi line-are they? The finish looks great-the front of the RTiA5 looks much nicer than my RTi8.
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  • polkseller
    polkseller Posts: 184
    edited November 2007
    drivers are black this year instead of grey.
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  • jephdood
    jephdood Posts: 1,671
    edited November 2007
    Any plans to sample RTi A9's? Your description of the difference in top end from the 5's to the 7's is very interesting.
    "I did not slap you. I high-fived your face."
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  • reeltrouble1
    reeltrouble1 Posts: 9,312
    edited November 2007
    great to see Polk is continuing to build and improve upon this outstanding series of speakers, I think I will need to get a set to add to one of the home rigs.

    Thanks for the review's.

    RT1
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  • Dave38
    Dave38 Posts: 101
    edited November 2007
    I'm wondering how the A9's would compare to the LSi-15's? Imaging, soundstage, bass, over-all sound.
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