SF Bay Area Members - Demo the Polk Audio RTiA3

beardog03

very nice !
I thank Polk Audio, and those involved fro making this happen for us...

I am really looking forward to hearing these

dorokusai

I say that Beardog be removed from the list....just because he's motivated.

RuSsMaN

EVERYONE - I've got pm's, emails, and posts to sort by timestamp, and I'll update the demo list tonight.

Ron, if you CAN - unless you do hardcore multichannel music daily - could you leave these on your front stage so they can get properly broken in? I'm afraid with the casual movie / tv watching pulling rear channel duty, it could take quite a while. I want you to put the spurs' to 'em brother.

Cheers,
Russ

beardog03

dorokusai wrote: »

I say that Beardog be removed from the list....just because he's motivated.

wwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa


is it my turn yet ?!!

Ron Temple

RuSsMaN wrote: »

EVERYONE - I've got pm's, emails, and posts to sort by timestamp, and I'll update the demo list tonight.

Ron, if you CAN - unless you do hardcore multichannel music daily - could you leave these on your front stage so they can get properly broken in? I'm afraid with the casual movie / tv watching pulling rear channel duty, it could take quite a while. I want you to put the spurs' to 'em brother.

Cheers,
Russ

I put 4 hours in front, an hour of mch as surrounds, then a movie. I'm going to switch the CRS+ to the front and use them as stands, the 1Cs are too high.

I should be able to get 20 hours on them this weekend easy. By the end of next week hopefully 50.

First blush, I'm very impressed. I don't want to listen that closely yet, but they've got a crisp edge to them that's very addictive.

Ron Temple

Update: I moved the A3s back to the front using the CRS+ as stands. This brought them down nearly a foot, bass immediately got better. The 1Cs went back into the surround position...they suck as surrounds . Also, my sub doesnt' blend with the A3s. I hadn't realized how much the 1Cs were contributing running large. I was nearly flat. With the books, running small, I've got a deep suckout in the 50hz region (duh) and a veritable mountian range response. It still sounds ok, but I would need treatments and eq if I wanted to switch to books.

As far as the A3s go...getting better. Considering they are an HT first speaker, they sound extremely good on some types of music, mellower stuff where their detail combines with the warmth of the music...might even say I prefer them to the 1Cs (blasphemy:eek:) on others...well let's let them keep working for awhile. HT's the bomb.

beardog03

Thanks for the Update , Ron...

Keep em commin !!

Ron Temple

Com'n guys...let me know where you live so we can figure a shortest path demo tour...send it to my PM box. I've got Steve, Robert and Luc's address, I need shadow, Michael and dannieboiz. The speakers will be done here and ready to move right after Christmas. I can't find any hard and fast rule about the demo length, but since there's quite a few of us, I'd think a week or less each would get these speakers back to Polk sometime in early Feb.

The speakers are very nice...you're going to love the demo.

Aqs612scag

I'd like to be included in the demo please if its not too late.
Thanks
Alex

auto_pilot

I'm in the Fairfield, CA area...can I be included????

Ron Temple

Aqs612scag wrote: »

I'd like to be included in the demo please if its not too late.
Thanks
Alex

auto_pilot wrote:

I'm in the Fairfield, CA area...can I be included????

Not up to me guys...PM RuSsMaN or doro and ask.

dorokusai

I don't have any problem with those two Polkies.

Auto-Pilot & Aqs - Just know that this is a handshake style demo and the logistics need to be worked out amongst the participants. No shipping is happening.

Aqs612scag

Understood, thanks Doro.

dorokusai wrote: »

I don't have any problem with those two Polkies.

Auto-Pilot & Aqs - Just know that this is a handshake style demo and the logistics need to be worked out amongst the participants. No shipping is happening.

66chevyIISS

woofiepaws wrote: »

Any chance there will be demo opportunities in the Seattle area?

yes I would be all over this demo!

danger boy

is this just a repackaged speaker from the last line? yes i'm being critical.. i think i've earned the right to question the authority by now.

if it is.. it's nice looking.. but, not great. totally a repackaged RTi6 from the last line up. same specs, same price. cab is different.

seriously, I think it's run it's course on this look. Polk seems to always add a wood face and repackage their line up every couple years.. nearly every line up has gone thru this make over.. starts out with non wood face.. two or three years later.. oh look, lets make the front wood and sell it all over again. tiresome.

Ron Temple

danger boy wrote: »

is this just a repackaged speaker from the last line? yes i'm being critical.. i think i've earned the right to question the authority by now.

if it is.. it's nice looking.. but, not great. totally a repackaged RTi6 from the last line up. same specs, same price. cab is different.

seriously, I think it's run it's course on this look. Polk seems to always add a wood face and repackage their line up every couple years.. nearly every line up has gone thru this make over.. starts out with non wood face.. two or three years later.. oh look, lets make the front wood and sell it all over again. tiresome.

Certainly you've earned your opinion...and yes...the A series are voiced similarly to the previous rev, but there are definite improvements. I'm not going to make any negative comments until they've made the rounds...let everyone enjoy them without preconceptions.

shadowofnight

Ron Temple wrote: »

Update: I moved the A3s back to the front using the CRS+ as stands.

How on earth did you use CRS+ stands ? Unless maybe you layed something flat on top of the stand ? I have those stands here as well...I guess for testing it would be ok...couldnt have been a pretty sight

Ron Temple

shadowofnight wrote: »

How on earth did you use CRS+ stands ? Unless maybe you layed something flat on top of the stand ? I have those stands here as well...I guess for testing it would be ok...couldnt have been a pretty sight

I still have the CRS+ sitting on them ...the A3s tweeters are still slightly high, but it's pretty good. I suppose I could take the SDAs off and put a board on the stands and bring them down further, but I'm pretty tall anyway.

shadowofnight

Also, looking at your fine photography work...did the grills really need that much plastic material right in front of the tweeter ? Seems kinda strange they just used a repeating pattern across the entire grill that way ?

shadowofnight

Ron Temple wrote: »

I still have the CRS+ sitting on them ...the A3s tweeters are still slightly high, but it's pretty good. I suppose I could take the SDAs off and put a board on the stands and bring them down further, but I'm pretty tall anyway.

Yeah I am 6'5" myself...ear level takes on a whole new meaning for me as well

Ron Temple

shadowofnight wrote: »

Also, looking at your fine photography work...did the grills really need that much plastic material right in front of the tweeter ? Seems kinda strange they just used a repeating pattern across the entire grill that way ?

The pattern reinforces the grill with only 4 pegs inset at the corners combined with the interlocking corner supports...don't know it's overkill or not. You'll see when you get them.

RT...night night.

Ron Temple

Not getting much love here on location guys...here's what I know...

unknown...

shadow - somewhere in the valley
dannieboiz - ????

known...

Luc - SJ (but isn't ready, so he goes last)
Alex - Daly City
Steve - SF
shahmichael - Novato
auto_pilot - Fairfield
Beardog03 - El Sobrante

Who's motivated...who wants them next...who's willing to pickup or meet halfway? Speakers available on the 27th.

They are still getting better BTW, but should have 100-120hours on them by Thurs.

Chime in...:)

shadowofnight

Damn...I just made a trip to san jose yesterday for the doc and to check out the 2.3's for Wes....I am only 45 minutes from san jose so me to you..you to me...either way is fine...I will pm you details.

RuSsMaN

I'll update the list over the holidays, just get the rotation started - and we'll make sure everyone that wants a demo gets a demo.

Be sure to post your thoughts, 20 words or 2000 words, on the product page.

Ron Temple

I just posted my review...won't be up for a couple of days I guess. shadowofnight will be getting the speakers tomorrow. Beardog03 after that, then auto_pilot as he's close to Robert. From there it depends...

Thanks to Polk, Russ and Mark for allowing me to enjoy these speakers.

This is what I said...YMMV

Rti A3

Looks like I’m the first, so let’s start this out with a bang. The A3s are an impressive bookshelf speaker. The new sleek, curved cabinets and veneered baffle make you want to take the screens off and play them naked. They seem to be voiced very similarly to the previous Rti rev, but to my ears, there are significant improvements in sound quality as well. I’ve had them for over 2 weeks and they’ve continued improving, but right out of the box, they slap you in the face with a crisp, wide and deep soundstage with incredible macro and micro detail. Bass improved over time, getting richer and impactful, though for HT you’ll want a sub. I expected them to be a great HT speaker, but what really impresses me was how they handle most of the music I throw at them.
Female vocals, club jazz, rock, fusion and classical music sound remarkable with the A3s. These guys image like a beast, instrument placement and separation are embedded in crystal and coupled with dynamics have me grinning from ear to ear. This comes at a price and perhaps the only drawback I see with these speakers. They aren’t exactly forgiving of poor recording. When it gets busy up top, guitar distortion or a lot of clutter in the tweeter range, it can get a tad fatiguing…not as much as my recollection of the previous rev, but it’s there. This is a slight drawback because honestly, I expected them to be an HT speaker that was good for most music. What I find, is that the A3s are excellent for both. I have run these large without a sub on bass heavy tracks from Fiona Apple, Sarah McGloughlin and Patricia Barber and was extremely impressed how linear and balanced the presentation with great punch and depth. A sub is still recommended, but they are more than adequate for a small office 2 channel rig. I knew they’d be great for Home Theatre and I’m not disappointed. All that detail gets unleashed. They play big…soundtrack, dialog, dynamics are stellar. They perform as fronts, sides and surrounds, offering everything one could want for all types of movies. I think you can tell…I love them. In summary, the Rti A3s are excellent all round speakers priced in the $400-$500 range and arguably perform as well or better than speakers at or above their price point. I’d give them a score of 4.7, if the site would let me, but I don’t have that option. So the rest of you guys need to give it a 5 to bring the score up to it’s correct level ;^)

shadowofnight

Took the hand off of the A3's from Ron today ...will be using them both as surround speakers as well as mains in a 2 channel setup. I do need a set of surround speakers at the moment , so if these sound as good as they look I might pick up a pair of the cherry variety

beardog03

I am really looking forward to hearing these puppy`s..!!

Ron Temple

Beardog03 has got them now...expect a review from shadowofnight shortly.

shadowofnight

Review submitted to polk...says 2 to 4 days till posted. When it post's I will cut and paste it here...overall I enjoyed the speakers very much. These were black...and ok looking...got to see these at frys in cherry and they are BEAUTIFUL cabinets in cherry. The cherry veneer on all visible sides ( Especially the front baffle of the speaker ) is freaking awesome looking.

Thanks to Polk for providing these for us to test/review

madh

I'm interested in checking these speakers out. I'm in San Francisco. How do I get in on this?