Rti A7 question

sssteve72

Hi everyone.

I just purchased a set of RTI A7's and received a free PSW10 sub. I've already got the sub hooked up, still waiting on the RTIA7's to come in (hopefully Wednesday).

I am going to set them up on a Onkyo TX-SR703 I bought a year or more ago. Actually they are replacing some OLD Fisher speakers (15 to 20 years old). Here is a link to the TX-SR703.

http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=TX-SR703&class=Receiver&p=s

So my question is.. Does anyone see any problems with running the RTI A7's with the Onkyo TX-SR703? It isn't like I am going to damage them with this AVR right??

I guess I should also mention I will mostly be using this as a Home Theater.

Any opinions welcomed.

Thanks

Steve

curved

You will not damage the speakers with this AVR. It will probably be a little underpowered though. But you can always add an amp in the future....for now I would try bi-wiring them - break them in first.

zingo

You will not damage them if you don't drive them into clipping/distortion. They will be underpowered, but so are my speakers so live with it.

Where in your HT will you be using them?

sssteve72

zingo wrote: »

Where in your HT will you be using them?

---

They will be on my Left and Right Front channel. I'm going to move the OLD Fisher speakers to the sides for the time being. Those things are well... Well they were cheap (and I don't just mean dollars). They have a 15" woofer, I think a 6" mid and a small tweeter. I have a Polk audio speaker for the center channel. I don't even know what model it is. I got it for about a $100. Then I have some small Bose Bookshelf speakers in the rear. Eventually I want to have Polk Audio all the way around I'm not sure which ones yet though I would like to find ones that are Cherry finish. I put the PSW10 sub I got for free in a corner on the right behind a lazyboy chair. For the cheapest Sub Polk sells it has enough bass for me. Of course I am coming from never having a sub in my life.

I've received one of the RTI A7's. They are in Cherry and I really love the real wood. They look so nice I think I could just sit there for an hour and run my fingers across them. The other one is supposed to come in tomorrow and I will hook them up. I can hardly wait. I'm sure my wife thinks I am nuts.

Kchill

Hey, enjoy your system...that reciever will be fine for now...if you feel the need for power..then get the power...but if you held out for 15 years...I doubt you will need the power!

sssteve72

As long as it is better than one of those "Home theater systems" for about $299 at Best Buy I will be happy. Not that those are terrible but I would like a little more sound than that.

sssteve72

Yay I received the other RTI A7! Uggh it had a dent in the side. It was small, I considered just keeping it.

I got it from Crutchfield so I called them and they are sending me a new one. They have great customer service.

[Deleted User]

You should consider the rest of the RTi A line for the rest of your HT setup.
The CSiA4 or 6 for center The RTi A1 or 3 for rear or FXi A 4 or 6. These are all timbre matched by Polk so they basically sound the same and are designed to work together. This depends on your budget. Pick up a pair at a time.
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products//surround/series/rtia/
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products//bookshelf/series/rtia/
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products//center/series/rtia/
These are links to the above
http://www.polkaudio.com/education/index.php
This will help explain HT set up Etc.
I tested an RTI A system using the A9's fronts, A6 ctr A3's rear & A1's surround back (7.1) OMG WAF good she loves the cherry. She was sad when I had to give them back. On to the next testing (TSi line)
Anyway I hope this helps
Len

sssteve72

Len wrote: »

You should consider the rest of the RTi A line for the rest of your HT setup.
The CSiA4 or 6 for center The RTi A1 or 3 for rear or FXi A 4 or 6. These are all timbre matched by Polk so they basically sound the same and are designed to work together. This depends on your budget. Pick up a pair at a time.
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products//surround/series/rtia/
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products//bookshelf/series/rtia/
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products//center/series/rtia/
These are links to the above
http://www.polkaudio.com/education/index.php
This will help explain HT set up Etc.
I tested an RTI A system using the A9's fronts, A6 ctr A3's rear & A1's surround back (7.1) OMG WAF good she loves the cherry. She was sad when I had to give them back. On to the next testing (TSi line)
Anyway I hope this helps
Len

Thanks Len,

I've been looking at all of those you mentioned. I really love the Cherry finish. IT really is beautiful to look at. To bad it isn't available on the FXi A4 or 6. I was unsure of the RTI A3 for a surround. Do you really get enough sound out of them? What if I wanted to use some RTI A5's for surround? Too much?

I have a Polk CSR for my center channel. Space and $ at the time was an issue. I could fit the CSI A4 but for now outta $. I'd like to try the CSI A6.

[Deleted User]

Surround Speakers - Unlike the front three speakers, that must produce sharply focused images, the job of surround channels is to envelop the audience in diffused sound known as "ambience." To excel at this job, rear speakers should not (with the exception of localized 5.1 channel effects) call attention to themselves as sources of sound.

For these reasons, surround speakers work best when elevated at least two feet above the seated listeners' heads (a height of six to seven feet above the ground is considered normal), and mounted on the side walls in line with or slightly behind the audience. If you are using front-firing speakers, they should face each other so that the sound is projected over the listeners' heads.


If your seating area adjoins the rear wall, or if you cannot place speakers on the side wall, you'll have to position the speakers on the rear wall. In this case, bi-directional (bi- or di-pole) speakers are recommended, since they will produce the most diffuse effect. If you use front-firing speakers, do not aim them at the audience as one would a front speaker, but point them straight forward so the sound projects past the audience. Another option is to mount in-wall speakers in the ceiling, aiming them downward at the listening area.

Check out this http://www.polkaudio.com/education/index.php

Fongolio

Congrats on the RTiA7's. Not only do they look good but once broken in (give them at least two months of fairly regular use) they sound fantastic. I'm using mine for HT and for two channel (on a switch). When running HT I use 2 10' subs to boost the bass but in 2 channel with my Carver pre-amp, Kenwood amp, and Pro-ject turntable no sub is required. They come alive and deliver deep clean defined bass. No single audio purchase has been as satisfying as my RTiA7's last December. Enjoy and welcome to Club Polk!!

FrysElectronics

The a7's are by far one of the best speakers. The Onkyo is actually a good match with those speakers. You could also go with Onkyo's 705 or the new 706 which is coming out pretty soon. I recommend a better sub though. If you want to match the cherry finish on the A7s, the Polk psw 110 and the 125 comes in black and cherry. ENJOY YOUR SPEAKERS!

sssteve72

Len wrote: »

Surround Speakers - Unlike the front three speakers, that must produce sharply focused images, the job of surround channels is to envelop the audience in diffused sound known as "ambience." To excel at this job, rear speakers should not (with the exception of localized 5.1 channel effects) call attention to themselves as sources of sound.

For these reasons, surround speakers work best when elevated at least two feet above the seated listeners' heads (a height of six to seven feet above the ground is considered normal), and mounted on the side walls in line with or slightly behind the audience.

Check out this http://www.polkaudio.com/education/index.php

Let me start by saying.. ACK I just got chocolate on my pants...
I read the polk education article you linked too. Actually I had read that before.

I have problems with the side speakers because I am in a bonus room so my walls are only 4ft tall at the sides then slope up to a 9ft ceiling in the center. The room is about 18ft across in that direction but still sloped ceiling nonetheless. It is about 23ft in the other direction then shrinks down to a 10ft x 10ft room way behind me. About 600sq ft. It's not ideal for a HT but it's what I have.

Ambience is a fine line. To little sound and you aren't getting the effect, to much and they call attention to themselves. Isn't that a volume level more than anything though? I am more concerned about can the smaller RTIA3 speakers accurately produce the sound. I wouldn't think they would sound as good as a RTI A5 tower for example.

sssteve72

Last night I got the RTIA7's hooked up. I popped Episode II into the DVD player for test run (made it thru about 20 minutes before the wife made it home). Right at the beginning of the movie there is a part where a chrome polished looking B2 bomber spaceship comes in for a landing. It's when the senator comes back to corian (or whatever its called). The bass was tremendous! I could feel it in my chest and even on the couch I was sitting on. It was like I could feel the bass in the air. Nothing in the room made any heavy sounds just the sound from the speakers and the sub. Awesome doesn't even describe it. The bass sounded very well controlled.

Norm Apter

sssteve72 wrote: »

Last night I got the RTIA7's hooked up. I popped Episode II into the DVD player for test run (made it thru about 20 minutes before the wife made it home). Right at the beginning of the movie there is a part where a chrome polished looking B2 bomber spaceship comes in for a landing. It's when the senator comes back to corian (or whatever its called). The bass was tremendous! I could feel it in my chest and even on the couch I was sitting on. It was like I could feel the bass in the air. Nothing in the room made any heavy sounds just the sound from the speakers and the sub. Awesome doesn't even describe it. The bass sounded very well controlled.

Steve, it sounds like you are very impressed with RtiA series. Thats great to hear. I've never heard the floorstanders, only a set of Rtia bookshelves
(RtiA3s, I think). Anyway, I've mostly been working on my two-channel for the past few months and now am looking toward the HT set-up in the future and have been thinking more and more about RtiA series.

Just curious if you did some comparison shopping before you made your purchase. Did you audition other models/makes of speakers (if so, which ones) and if so, what sold you on the RtiAs?

sssteve72

Norm Apter wrote: »

Steve, it sounds like you are very impressed with RtiA series. Thats great to hear. I've never heard the floorstanders, only a set of Rtia bookshelves
(RtiA3s, I think). Anyway, I've mostly been working on my two-channel for the past few months and now am looking toward the HT set-up in the future and have been thinking more and more about RtiA series.

Just curious if you did some comparison shopping before you made your purchase. Did you audition other models/makes of speakers (if so, which ones) and if so, what sold you on the RtiAs?

This will probably sound a little crazy. But I didn't even listen to the RTIA7's before I bought them. YIKES I KNOW!!!

I really wasn't even in the market for new towers. I was really wanting to purchase a sub and I had $500 to spend (oops I overspent). I know Polk makes good speakers some may even say great. A number of factors drove me to purchase these. Price, Real wood finish, and what I believe to be a quality manufacturer, by that I mean that I didn't think it was goin to sound like garbage. I hate that you want to go out and buy some speakers and spend upwards of a $1000 and they aren't even real wood. I fully understand MDF and the reasons for using it. So these having a real cherry wood veneer finish was a big point for me. And let me tell you they are absolutely beautiful. The fact is that what I really wanted was a sub and I got one for FREE from Crutchfield (the deal ends today). I read alot of reviews of these both here at polkaudio.com and at crutchfied.com where I bought the speakers. I know there is nothing like hearing them for yourself. But I couldn't find anyplace here in Indianapolis where I live to listen to them. So I took a gamble. Rolled the dice with a $1000.00.
You only live once ya know. And c'mon its Polk so was it really a gamble at all?

As for the sound, I wouldn't say they have as much bass as the speakers I replaced, but I will say I think they sound more defined or more detailed and I can definately tell a difference at the higher end. The speakers I replaced had a 15" woofer at the bottom of the speaker. So my old speakers had bass but I would describe it as loose, less defined. Besides the bass should come from my sub more than from my front speakers. They would probably even be better if I had an amp (beyond my AVR) driving them.

I'm not a heavy music listener and I probably don't have as picky of an ear as alot of people but for me I am very happy with my purchase of the RTI A7's. In fact all of the times I have gone to a store and listened to speakers I usually think all of the speakers sound good. If anything it has shown me the weaknesses of the other speakers I have. I was depending on my fronts for bass because I had no sub.

Actually I did go listen to a sub, it was a Klipsch. I thought it sounded like garbage. It was probably adjusted wrong but it rattled. I thought man, I don't want to spend $500 on a sub it sound like this thing. Nothing against Klipsch, I'm sure they make a great product but that one I heard needed some work.

Norm Apter

Thanks for the review.

So, I see you are using them for Home Theater. I'm assuming that in addition to the sub you have surrounds and a center (in place or in mind). Do you plan to go with the entire RtiA series (when funds permit), or do you have an alternative plan?

The reason I ask is because several people here have mentioned something about matching timbre for best results for 5.1 system. I think that staying strictly to that guideline would be either the older Rti series or the RtiAs bookshelves. Any game plan?

Fongolio

I've got a pair of the RTiA7's (see my earlier post) and I use RTi70's for surround and a CSi40 for center and the the RTiA7's blend beautifuly with the others. Even though they are considerably older the '70's and the '40 really work well with the A7's. I see them come up here and on Ebay from time to time. I got lucky and got mine at a local pawnshop. The RTi70's, CSi40, and two R20's for $325.00. I used the RTi70's for the fronts until I bought the RTiA7's last December. Really nice speakers as well.

sssteve72

Norm Apter wrote: »

Thanks for the review.

So, I see you are using them for Home Theater. I'm assuming that in addition to the sub you have surrounds and a center (in place or in mind). Do you plan to go with the entire RtiA series (when funds permit), or do you have an alternative plan?

The reason I ask is because several people here have mentioned something about matching timbre for best results for 5.1 system. I think that staying strictly to that guideline would be either the older Rti series or the RtiAs bookshelves. Any game plan?

The more I read about it the more I am planning on buying the entire Rti series. And oh yeah when funds permit or when the wife does. Wait is that the same thing? I've heard the same thing about matching timbre. I'm no audio/video expert but if they are designed to work together and match then I can't really argue with that.

Right now I have a Polk CSR for center channel, a couple of Bose 2.2 Bookshelf speakers as rear surround and I moved my front speakers some 15-20 year old Fisher ST-415 to the side. I can already tell you that any change in those side speakers is going to be an improvement. Those things have paper cones and my cat even clawed up one of the 15" woofers 10 years ago. Although I could never hear any difference after he did.

If I could afford (Ok I guess I could) the RTI A9's as my front I would have gotten them but they were a little more $ than I am willing to spend.
As I am seeing things now I would like to change my center to a CSI A6. The CSR is ok but it seems to be lacking. The Csi A6 is a little big but down the road my room is going to change anyway and I will make the space for it. I've been looking at the Fxi A6 and the Rti A3. I was even considering RTI A5's as a possibility although I haven't seen anyone trying to use those as a surround. It probably shouldn't be but aesthics are important to me. I like the idea of my speakers matching visually as well as audibly. I guess I don't have any definite plans but I would like to stay with the Rti series.

Norm Apter

Fongolio wrote: »

I've got a pair of the RTiA7's (see my earlier post) and I use RTi70's for surround and a CSi40 for center and the the RTiA7's blend beautifuly with the others. Even though they are considerably older the '70's and the '40 really work well with the A7's. I see them come up here and on Ebay from time to time. I got lucky and got mine at a local pawnshop. The RTi70's, CSi40, and two R20's for $325.00. I used the RTi70's for the fronts until I bought the RTiA7's last December. Really nice speakers as well.

Can you tell me a little bit about the RTi70s?

As I mentioned somewhere else, I had never even heard of Polk Audio before last Sept. and thus am not familiar with the older lines. For example, with regard to the RTi series, I know of only two lines: a) the Rti4s, Rti6s, Rti8s (etc) and b)the newer RtiA line.

I'm assuming that the RTi70s preceded the 4s/6s/8s (?). Is there a reason why you chose the former over the latter? Lower cost in general? Or was it just because you got an especially good deal at the pawnshop?

Fongolio

They were a super good deal for a full set of surround speakers even though the R20's are kind of low end (I still use them as surrounds in my bedroom setup). I demoed them in the pawn shop and they sounded great. Even better once I got them home and connected to my Pioneer Elite receiver. I had heard Polk speakers before at a local electronics retailer but these sounded better. The RTi70's are a tower speaker with two 6 1/2 woofers and a soft dome tweeter and power port plus aimed out the bottom. Bi-ampable with the identical drivers as the CSi40 center. These were my first Polk speakers and I was really impressed with how great they sounded. Here's a link to the Polk description:
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/rti70/
Sorry about the thread jacking sssteve72.

sssteve72

Fongolio wrote: »

Sorry about the thread jacking sssteve72.

No big deal here. As long as people find something useful and enjoy themselves I am all for it.

1audionewbie

Hey sssteeve72,

I think I have a pretty similar situation to yours and here is what I did.

Bought the monitor series at first and was not impressed enough. Sent them back to crutchfield and got the Rti a7s, CSIa6 and RTIA6 surrounds and a DSW 500 sub. I also grabbed an Onkyo TX-SR705 receiver which I think is the newer model of your receiver.

Conclusion= meh

The sound was ok in my opinion. The sub did about 80-90% of the LFE work and the speakers just didn't really shine.

Last week I saw that Emotiva had a free shipping deal going on (which is a big deal since I live in Alaska) and I ordered a UPA-7 amp which is 125watts by 7 channels and in a 5 speaker system it delivers 140wpc. If I brought my amp over to your house and hooked it up to your A7s I bet you wouldnt let me leave your house with my amp!!!!!!! In just 2 channel listening mode you are getting 170wpc from it and let me tell you those speakers come to life in every way with even that much power. The mids and highs are good with the receiver but with a good amp the bass is rediculously impressive. I have a large living room 16x22 with vaulted ceilings and I sit over 10 feet away from my A7s and they shake everything in the house when I turn them up. My girlfriend was in the garage when I hooked up the amp she could feel the bass and said the music was clear as day on the other side of the house through walls and doors. (i likes it loud)

So basically if you really want your A7s to shine get them some more power. I recommend Emotiva personally because there the only place I could find that much amp for such a good price.

Like I said I bought the UPA-7 but I'm 5.1 right now. I almost regret not getting the XPA-3 which is 200wpc and just using the receiver to power the surrounds. Might be some food for thought if you decide to make a purchase.

sssteve72

1audionewbie wrote: »

Hey sssteeve72,

I think I have a pretty similar situation to yours and here is what I did.

Bought the monitor series at first and was not impressed enough. Sent them back to crutchfield and got the Rti a7s, CSIa6 and RTIA6 surrounds and a DSW 500 sub. I also grabbed an Onkyo TX-SR705 receiver which I think is the newer model of your receiver.

Conclusion= meh

The sound was ok in my opinion. The sub did about 80-90% of the LFE work and the speakers just didn't really shine.

Last week I saw that Emotiva had a free shipping deal going on (which is a big deal since I live in Alaska) and I ordered a UPA-7 amp which is 125watts by 7 channels and in a 5 speaker system it delivers 140wpc. If I brought my amp over to your house and hooked it up to your A7s I bet you wouldnt let me leave your house with my amp!!!!!!! In just 2 channel listening mode you are getting 170wpc from it and let me tell you those speakers come to life in every way with even that much power. The mids and highs are good with the receiver but with a good amp the bass is rediculously impressive. I have a large living room 16x22 with vaulted ceilings and I sit over 10 feet away from my A7s and they shake everything in the house when I turn them up. My girlfriend was in the garage when I hooked up the amp she could feel the bass and said the music was clear as day on the other side of the house through walls and doors. (i likes it loud)

So basically if you really want your A7s to shine get them some more power. I recommend Emotiva personally because there the only place I could find that much amp for such a good price.

Like I said I bought the UPA-7 but I'm 5.1 right now. I almost regret not getting the XPA-3 which is 200wpc and just using the receiver to power the surrounds. Might be some food for thought if you decide to make a purchase.

Hi audionewbie.

I came to the same conclusion myself yesterday. The family was gone so I had a chance to turn it up a little.

The RTIA7's have good bass. But you need power. I was finding at low volumes the bass wasn't there but when I turned it up it came to life. Very solid or punchy, not boomy at all; which to me meant they were power hungry and I really need more power to get the full effect from them. However, mostly I will use them for HT and rarely do I listen to music. I've really enjoyed the RTI's in HT. I've watched a few movies. The most recent was Vantage Point. All I can say is WOW. I don't need to draw as much bass from them when watching a movie (hence the sub). Not that I would mind getting more out of them.

I was looking at the Emotiva, but I have no plans to purchase one at the moment. However if you want to bring your amp over and leave it, then by all means DO IT!!!:D