Choosing a new system

Old Scot
Old Scot Posts: 3
edited January 2003 in Speakers
I was hoping for some help choosing the speakers for a new system - here is what I have identified so far:

RTi 70s - fronts
CSi 30 - Center
RTi 28s - Surround
PSW 303 - Sub

I am running a Yamaha RXV 620 Receiver and a Toshiba SD 1800 DVD. I do not have a lot of extra cash and I am trying to stay within a budget of $2000 CDN.

Do the RTi 70s overwhelm the other products included here? I have thought about exchanging the RTi 28s for the FXi30s?

Desperately wanting to decide,

Thanks,

Old Scot
Post edited by Old Scot on

Comments

  • dthomps
    dthomps Posts: 352
    edited January 2003
    Hey Old Scot-
    That sounds like a great speaker list. The Rti70's have a really nice sound to them. IMHO the most important swap you could make for yourself would be the Csi30 for the Csi40- YOu will really notice a difference between the two, and a really nice center is pretty important. I looket it up on Polks website how much this would all cost, and it came out to a bit over your budget with the Fxi30s. If it makes much difference, you can buy the Csi40 all day on ebay for around $300 (US) shipped. If you are set on a Csi30 I am sure it would quite well in a home theater setup. I would recommend going to your local Circuit City and having a good long listening session and really find out what you really like. Take it easy, I hope this helps you out. Mike
  • Soccerplyr
    Soccerplyr Posts: 160
    edited January 2003
    Having just made the upgrade to the RTi70's, I suggest getting something bigger then the 303. You won't even notice it's there. Saturday I took back my velo cht 8 (thank you CC 1 yr upgrade) because the bass provided by the 70's made the sub useless. I got the 404 (frequency response a little better then the same size velo) and have noticed a little difference. Jury still out as I haven't had sufficent time to play with it yet.
    Pioneer Elite VSX-21TXH
    Monolith 7x200 Amplifier
    Harmony Hub
    Sony VLP-HW40ES
    Visualapex 106" Electric Screen
    Oppo BDP-103
    Music Hall MMF 2.1
    Polk LSiM 705
    Polk LSiM704c
    Polk LSiM702F/X
    SVS PB-2000
  • kberg
    kberg Posts: 974
    edited January 2003
    Hey there,

    Well, I can tell you that the RTi70's are an excellent choice, and I agree with the CSi40 over the CSi30, but don't get me wrong here. I "test drove" the CSi30 as well, and it is also a great sounding center - I just think the CSi40 better matches the RTi70's if you're concerned about a perfectly matching front soundstage - and yes, the CSi40 is more expensive, but worth it. The center channel speaker is the most important speaker in your system.

    The FXi30's are incredible speakers, and I highly recommend them over RTi28's, if you are more interested in movies than music because of their bipole/dipole feature. If you are as interested in music just as much as movies (not me, I'm primarily a movie guy), then the RTi28's or RTi38's (being direct-firing speakers) are a better choice, I believe.

    Hope that helps.

    Kevin
    Mains: polkaudio RTi70's (bi-wired)
    Center: polkaudio CSi40 (bi-wired)
    Surrounds: polkaudio FXi30's
    Rear Center: polkaudio CSi30
    Sub: SVS 20-39 PC+
    Receiver: ONKYO TX-SR600
    Display: JVC HD-56G786
    DVD Player: SONY DVP-CX985V
    DVD Player: OPPO DV-981HD 1080p High Definition Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI
    Remote: Logitech Harmony H688
  • Old Scot
    Old Scot Posts: 3
    edited January 2003
    Thanks for the responses all. I have decided to splurge more than my expected budget (budgets were meant to be exceeded weren't they) and I am going to add the CSi 40 Center. The jury is still out on the Sub however.

    Once again thanks!
  • joe logston
    joe logston Posts: 882
    edited January 2003
    up grade your sub, that will be the best for the money, a good sub is worth its weight in gold
    . rt-7 mains
    rt-20p surounds
    cs-400i front center
    cs-350 ls rear center
    2 energy take 5, efects
    2- psw-650 , subs
    1- 15" audiosource sub

    lets all go to the next ces.
  • Old Scot
    Old Scot Posts: 3
    edited January 2003
    Well here is where I ended up (When the RTi70s came through the door - divorce loomed - they are now being returned :-( ).

    Fronts: RTi 38s
    Center: CSi 40
    Surround: RTi 28s
    Sub: PSW 404

    Overall I think I have ended up with a decent system:-) What do you think?

    Old Scot
  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited January 2003
    Sounds like a great system.

    Let me get this straight though, the *wife* wouldn't let you keep the 70's, but she doesn't have a problem with 38's on stands?

    And contrary to popular belief, ALL speakers are important in home theater, not just the center. Lookin' good Scott.

    Cheers,
    Russ
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
  • faster100
    faster100 Posts: 6,124
    edited January 2003
    My wife actually liked the towers (70's) over the stands and rti55's we had, we had the csi30 and liked it, just was able to pick up the csi40 "real" cheap and nabbed it, the 404 when setup right can definatly make a big difference and anyone who can't tell much difference maybe needs to calibrate it, or turn it up.. The 303 was nice when im listened to it at CC but the 404 was the best... The 70's are nice and i have had them for almost a year...
    MY HT RIG:
    Sherwood p-965
    Sherwood sd871 dvd
    Rotel 1075 amp x5
    LSI15 mains
    LsiC center
    LSIfx surround backs
    Lsi7 side surrounds
    SVS pb12/plus2


    2 Channel Rig:

    nad 1020 Pre-amp
    Rotel 1080 stereo amp
    Polk sda 2B
    kenwood grunt Tuner
    realistic lab 450 TT
    Signal cable IC