TSi 500, RTi A5, or RTi A7

Leon S.

Ok people, the LSi 25's are out ! Thanks for the response. Sooo, now, which of the following, TSi 500's, RTi A5, or the RTi A7. I've been thinking about the RTi A5's the most. Since,I will be running a sub-woofer, are the RTi A7's not worth the extra money, seems like the only improvement would be more bass from the A7's, as I said I will be running a sub. Do the A7's offer enough improvement in the high and mid range to justify the extra cash ? What about the TSi 500's, are the RTi A5's a good improvement over them ? Polk Direct actually charges more for the 500's, than the A5's and A7's (go fiqure) :eek:, is that because they are the better speaker ? ? ? I somehow think the A5"s may be the ones for me. I enjoy both equally, music and movies . I am using a Sony STR-DG1000, 7.1 receiver.

Mike Reeter

I would go with the 5's and a good sub...My friend just bought a pair for less than $400. at Polks e-bay store and they look fantastic,I have'nt heard them yet,but I'm sure they will sound great,especially for the money.

maximillian

It depends on the sub you get and how much music listening you do. The RTi's have a more detailed tweeter than the TSi's so they are the better speaker. Some people prefer the mid range response of the A5's over the A7's. The A5's will not perform as well with bass compared to the A7's. For HT, this shouldn't matter since you will have a sub. However for music not all subs do well. So again, it depends on the sub you get.

Ultimately it depends on your ears. Can you find a local dealer to listen to them first? Or at least try to find a local, fellow Polker that you could bumb a listen.

Leon S.

maximillian wrote: »

It depends on the sub you get and how much music listening you do. The RTi's have a more detailed tweeter than the TSi's so they are the better speaker. Some people prefer the mid range response of the A5's over the A7's. The A5's will not perform as well with bass compared to the A7's. For HT, this shouldn't matter since you will have a sub. However for music not all subs do well. So again, it depends on the sub you get.

Ultimately it depends on your ears. Can you find a local dealer to listen to them first? Or at least try to find a local, fellow Polker that you could bumb a listen.

Yes, Best Buy and Circuit City both in town. But, they both only have the TSi 400's set up for listening, and I'm not impressed with those at all. What a bummer. Each of them only have in store stock of the TSi 400. No where to hear the better Polk's. I plan on buying a Polk Audio sub-woofer also ! If I can just find a place to hear them ! Hmmmm, I wonder if Polk Direct has a return policy, maybe I can return them if I don't like them, but, somehow I don't think I would end up sending them back. Right now I have Sony SS-K70ED speakers (made by B&W) for the front channel's, Sony SS-K30ED (made by B&W) speakers for the surround channels, and a Sony SS-CNK10ED (again, made by B&W) for the center, and last, a Sony SA-WX700 for the subwoofer of course made by Sony. This setup is actually pretty nice, but, I keep reading so much about the Polks that I feel I may be happier with a nice setup of all Polk Audio speakers.

jcaut

Hi Leon,

Crutchfield has a 30-day return period and will even pay return shipping on some items (large speakers are excluded though, I think), so they might be an option for letting you evaluate the speakers in your home with your gear. You'll pay a little more than you could elsewhere...

You should post your location because there might be someone on here within driving distance that could demo some of the speakers for you.

Jason

leroyjr1

+1

Rti a5's and a good sub

kolky

Just received my A5s. I am currently running them with a JBL northridge sub (waiting for my ED A3-300) to come in. I think they sound amazing. I'm very happy that I went with these over the A7s.

I think the two mid-range drivers on the A5s beat the 1 on the A7s if you are running them with a decent sub and crossing them at 80hz anyway. They don't have a lot of low end but with the sub it doesn't matter much.

I don't have experience with the TSi 500 but I can tell you that the A5s are much nicer to look at.

curved

Go for the A5 and a GOOD SUB...

maximillian

Leon S. wrote: »

I plan on buying a Polk Audio sub-woofer also !

I don't have experience with Polk subs but I have read that they are not that musical. However, a lot of people like the newer DSW PRO 500 sub. There are a few subwoofer threads on this forum that can help you choose the right sub. As others have mentioned, a good musical sub with the A5's will do nicely. The benefit is that the A5's are easier to drive with a receiver. The A7's can also be driven from a receiver, but they sound much better with an external amp.

Chitown_Badger

Just an FYI on the polk direct from ebay...they do charge sales tax, and you need to factor in the $90 shipping for the A5s. But, with the 25% live search cash back, you can get them right around $400.

nm4710

You should listen to them and find the ones you like the most. I've heard the TSi line (quite an improvement over the monitor series), the RTi's, and the RTi A line. To be honest, there is an enormous difference between the A5s and A7s, whether or not you use a sub. The sound you'll get with good amplification and your mains set to large is great with the A7s and OK with the A5. Even with the sub crossed at 60Hz you'll still hear quite a bit of difference. Don't take my word for it - check it out yourself. I tried it at a local store and was suprised at the results. If you listen to a lot of music, the A7s are even more of an improvement - I have a very musical sub (a sealed KEF)..but I still prefer my RTi10s by themselves for critical listening.

My advice: If you really want amazing sound and are willing to pay for it go for the A7s. If you're OK with making the sub do more work, then why not just run bookshelves up front? (A3s sound great, are much cheaper to buy and ship than the A5/7). If you're going to go through the expense/eyesore/inconvenience of towers for your fronts then at least get some with a couple of real woofers in 'em!

One more piece of advice: I am using the same receiver as you. It's a good receiver, but it does not have enough power to adequately drive the A7s (prob barely enough for the A5s). I am running mine as a pre-amp/processor into an emotiva LPA-1 amp which delivers much more juice. Also I'd stay away from the auto-EQ features of this receiver, as I find its preferences sound horrible with the RTi speakers I own (seems to emphasize the treble in these already-bright speakers).

Chitown_Badger

Tweeter should have the RTi A line available for auditioning..at least until they close down for good.

4406bbl

Chitown_Badger wrote: »

Just an FYI on the polk direct from ebay...they do charge sales tax, and you need to factor in the $90 shipping for the A5s. But, with the 25% live search cash back, you can get them right around $400.

Please explain, I went to live search and ebay or Polk direct were not listed,what is the secret?

Chitown_Badger

4406bbl wrote: »

Please explain, I went to live search and ebay or Polk direct were not listed,what is the secret?

You actually have to register with live search and activate your membership. Then, go to live search and type in what you want to purchase. If ebay comes up, go through there. If it doesn't you should be able to go directly to ebay anyway and have it still work. When you click on a buy it now item, the live search cash back icon should appear at the top of the page with the 25% notificiation.

4406bbl

Thanks.

curved

nm4710 wrote: »

If you're going to go through the expense/eyesore/inconvenience of towers for your fronts then at least get some with a couple of real woofers in 'em!

I agree with a lot of your post except this......this comment is pretty ridiculous.:rolleyes:

nm4710

curved wrote: »

I agree with a lot of your post except this......this comment is pretty ridiculous.:rolleyes:

Well perhaps I did take things too far. :-) I just think that if you're going to do towers then you might as well go for speakers that give you as much bass as possible. I bought a pair of RTi10s and if I could do it again i'd get RTi12s. I'll just leave it at that.

NM

Fongolio

I have the RTiA7's and for music with my Carver TFM-25 (without a sub) they are nothing short of spectacular. For HT I have them connected to a Pioneer Elite receiver and two 10" subs for that shake the room durring movies experience. I have them on a switch I bought at Radio Shack and switch the speakers between amp and receiver. I have not for even one second regretted buying these speakers. Best bang for the buck speaker out there in my opinion.

Graboid

I second the RTiA7s. I got a pair about 3 months ago and I love them. And contrary to some, I think they look fantastic too. I have been listening to alot more music again and everything just seems so smooth and transparent on these speakers. It's kinda like hearing it for the first time.

leroyjr1

nm4710 wrote: »

You should listen to them and find the ones you like the most. I've heard the TSi line (quite an improvement over the monitor series), the RTi's, and the RTi A line. To be honest, there is an enormous difference between the A5s and A7s, whether or not you use a sub. The sound you'll get with good amplification and your mains set to large is great with the A7s and OK with the A5. Even with the sub crossed at 60Hz you'll still hear quite a bit of difference. Don't take my word for it - check it out yourself. I tried it at a local store and was suprised at the results. If you listen to a lot of music, the A7s are even more of an improvement - I have a very musical sub (a sealed KEF)..but I still prefer my RTi10s by themselves for critical listening.

My advice: If you really want amazing sound and are willing to pay for it go for the A7s. If you're OK with making the sub do more work, then why not just run bookshelves up front? (A3s sound great, are much cheaper to buy and ship than the A5/7). If you're going to go through the expense/eyesore/inconvenience of towers for your fronts then at least get some with a couple of real woofers in 'em!

One more piece of advice: I am using the same receiver as you. It's a good receiver, but it does not have enough power to adequately drive the A7s (prob barely enough for the A5s). I am running mine as a pre-amp/processor into an emotiva LPA-1 amp which delivers much more juice. Also I'd stay away from the auto-EQ features of this receiver, as I find its preferences sound horrible with the RTi speakers I own (seems to emphasize the treble in these already-bright speakers).

Vocally the RTI A5's are soooo much better than the a7's. I've had all three speakers in house (5,7,9's) and that extra mid driver makes a big difference. I got rid of the 7's and kept the 5's and 9's. i found running a decent sub with the rti a5's had a better fuller sound than the 7's with a sub.

nm4710

leroyjr1 wrote: »

Vocally the RTI A5's are soooo much better than the a7's. I've had all three speakers in house (5,7,9's) and that extra mid driver makes a big difference. I got rid of the 7's and kept the 5's and 9's. i found running a decent sub with the rti a5's had a better fuller sound than the 7's with a sub.

Hmm well I own the RTi10's and a set of 8's (one gen older but same driver setup)...I actually think the 10's have better midrange. I guess we all have different ears.

leroyjr1

nm4710 wrote: »

Hmm well I own the RTi10's and a set of 8's (one gen older but same driver setup)...I actually think the 10's have better midrange. I guess we all have different ears.

Everyone has their own opinion on how speakers sound. The best thing for a new person trying to choose between different kinds and styles of speakers is to try it out for themselves.

curved

nm4710 wrote: »

Hmm well I own the RTi10's and a set of 8's (one gen older but same driver setup)...I actually think the 10's have better midrange. I guess we all have different ears.

What do you mean when you say "better midrange?" (I'm not arguing, just trying to get an idea of what you're trying to say.)

anton.chigurh

I’ve got both the rti10s and rti8s. I like the both…but prefer my 10s for music. Having said that…..I’ve added separate amplification (lpa-1) to give the 10s a little extra power they need…….and most would probably argue I have too crappy of a sub (klipsch synergy sub12) to try to use in a 2.1 setup with rti8s.

Dawgfish

I own the RTi 12s, RTi 10s, and RTI 8s. To me the the RTi8s have the best midrange, but all sound quite good. Listen to them and decide which ones you like best. I like the RTi12s best, but they are all excellent speakers. The best bang for the buck imho is probably the RTi8s (or A5s) with a good sub or two, but I think you wouid be happy with any of these, so if you can get a good deal on one or another, go with the deal.

As far as the subs go, I really like the Polk DSW Subs and find them to be very musical and quite good overall. I own the DSW 400, 500, and 600. The 400 is probably the most musical to me. I love the 8 inch woofer for tight, musical sounding bass. I am a drummer and it sounds just like a real kick drum on an actual drum kit. It isn't bad for home theater also and goes pretty low. The 600 is the best for home theater and it's quite musical too. It goes real low. The 500 is probably the best all around, being equally adept at music and home theater. They are all excellent subs. People are starting to find out about these subs. I have owned them since they came out and have told people from the get-go that these aren't like past Polk subs. Others are starting to agree with me now, even though they didn't believe me before. I own lots of other subs from other manufactures and short of high end Martin Logans, and some of the SVS subs, I feel the DSW subs can hang in there with anything on an equal footing and are some of the most musical subs around. I also own a Klipsch Sub 12 and do not like this sub at all, though it is a good home theater sub. It goes very low, is very loud, and hits hard. It's also very muddy and lacks detail, especially for music. The DSW 600 goes almost as low, hits almost as low and simply spanks the Klipsch with music. I also love the remote with the DSW subs. They are very handy for making on the fly adjustments to fine tune the sound depending on what you are watching or listening too. I don't feel these subs need a lot of adjustments once they are initially set-up, but it's still fun to fine tune them just to see what kind of difference it makes (I like to tinker with my system). Hope this helps.

nm4710

curved wrote: »

What do you mean when you say "better midrange?" (I'm not arguing, just trying to get an idea of what you're trying to say.)

I think the 10's sound more balanced than the 8's. When I listen to acoustic guitar, for example, I find that the response with the 10's is more linear. The 8s I own just have weak bass and a weak lower-midrange. They also don't image as well. My test is this: I play a stereo track through the fronts and close my eyes. With the 10's it sounds as if the person singing in center stage. With the 8's I can tell the sound is coming from both sides.

While it's true that the 8 has two drivers that do midrange, those drivers are also trying to reproduce lower frequences...I just don't think they're up to the task of both.

Dawgfish

nm 4710,

The better midrange depends really on the application. I too think the RTi10s definitely sound better then the RTi8s when listening in 2 channel stereo for music. However, in home theater applications it is a different story. To me the RTi 8s when combined with a center channel for home theater or multi chanel stereo blends better with the center channel (in my case a CSi5). I run my fronts full range, so the sound that was coming from the two 6.5" drivers in the RTi'8s blended well with the sound that came from the two 6.5 inch drivers of the center channel (I use an external amp on my front three speakers and run all full range so similiar sound and frequency response was coming from all three front chanels) and made for a wider, and more seamless transition moving in the front soundstage from right front to center to left front. In fact with this set up (or having all of the speakers crossed over at the same frequency for that matter), the RTi 8s blended better with the center channel than either the RTi10s or the RTi12s I'm running now for fronts, even though I prefer the RTi12s overall for their better frequency response and better two channel stereo performance (i'm currently running the RTi12s as fronts, RTi10s as sorrounds, and RTi8s as back sorrounds). That's the experince I have with my set up anyways, it may vary with yours and your own listening preferences. Again, application makes a big difference.

Leon S.

Well, so far, it looks like I might be making the right decision. I am still considering the RTi A5's first and foremost. As for sub-woofer recommendations, I seem to have hit that on the head also, because the DSW PRO 500 is also first on my list. I notice some people telling me to go listen first, that is the point of me starting this thread, there is no where locally for me to go and have a listen. The only ones in this town are Best Buy, and, Circuit City, and both of them only have the TSi 400's to audition. Neither of them carry the models I listed at all. There is another Best Buy about 50 miles from me, about an hours drive, I need to call them and ask what they have in stock. Until then, I want you all to know that I really appreiciate all of your comments, PLEASE, keep it coming. I just received a catalog from Crutchfield, and , lo and behold, a full page spread for the Polk Audio RTi A5 (a sign ?, LOL), man, that Cherry finish is absolutely gorgeous ! ! ! Anyway Polksters, please keep the comments coming, I really , really do thank you ! ! ! Leon.

Dawgfish

Leon S.,

You are most welcome, and thanks for the kind words. Honestly you can't go wrong with any of the RTi towers. If you do end up going with the RTi A5s and DSW-500 (or really any of the RTi peakers), make sure you pick up a CSi A6 for your center. It's much better than the CSi A4 and it blends extremely well with the RTi A5s. With that set-up, your ears will be in sonic heaven. Trust me on this-one, I really enjoyed my system in that configuration (as well as the current one).