what rears for rt55i fronts and csr center

dasiecz

i've been trying to decide on what rears to to add on to my current system:

onkyo tx-sr304 5.1 receiver 65watt per
rt55i fronts 7 yrs old mod. use at most still sound great
couple month old csr center
been using some old pioneers for rears
adding a psw10 sub small room don't need much bass justt more rumble sometimes

stumped on what rears to add looking at a used pair of rt35i, refurbished rti a1, new rti a4, monitor 30 or any of the r series. just can't figure out which will match my current set up best.
will also probably upgrade the csr in a few months feel like it is to under matched next to the rt55s
will add the psw10 when i get the rears as soon as i make up my mind
all suggestions welcome, thanks

ohskigod

definitly upgrade the center. keep an eye our for the cs400i, will match sweetly with those 55i's

the rt35i's will be the timbre match, but any of your other choices will work too. timbre matching (or getting close) th center to the mains is more important than matching surrounds. I would actually focus on getting the centers before the surrounds. my .02

strider

I agree with Lou, but would add that I didn't really notice a timbre mismatch running my RT55's with my CS400i. I guess my point is, if you find a CS400 in your area in good shape, I wouldn't lose too much sleep over the missing "i" in the model #. Same thing goes for the surrounds.

Another model to consider for the surrounds would be the bipole/dipole Ls/fx, especially if you're more of a movie kinda guy. If you listen to more surround music then HT, I'd hold out for another set of RT55i or 55s, space permitting.

Kex

strider wrote: »

I agree with Lou, but would add that I didn't really notice a timbre mismatch running my RT55's with my CS400i. I guess my point is, if you find a CS400 in your area in good shape, I wouldn't lose too much sleep over the missing "i" in the model #. Same thing goes for the surrounds.

Another model to consider for the surrounds would be the bipole/dipole Ls/fx, especially if you're more of a movie kinda guy. If you listen to more surround music then HT, I'd hold out for another set of RT55i or 55s, space permitting.

All absolutely true IMO. The CS400 or CS400i would be perfect, but I own an all RT55 setup currently, and although I do use the CS400 center, I have tried the CS300 and the CS245i that I also own currently (need to get them boxed up for the Flea Market at some point) and they worked really well too. The early RT--, RT--i and RTi-- (this means the early models, with blue drivers) are excellent matches together in my experience. FYI, the earliest of those, the RT-- models (no "i" designation), do not have blue colored drivers. I have not tried any matching with the more recent RTi versions, some of which are still current, or the RTi A. None of the more current models use blue colored drivers either.

I also agree with what strider recommends for the surrounds, regarding HT and music priorities, which is why I stuck with four RT55 for my setup. A pair of those, when they become available, will probably be in the $100-200 range, although they will sell for over $200 sometimes on eBay :eek: (you will have to add shipping on eBay so the total cost will generally vary from $150-250; no shipping on craigslist.com, but you will have to wait longer).

P.S. Welcome to Club Polk dasiecz !

dasiecz

thanks everyone for your replies and help.

things kinda changed a little maybe, i cracked and jumped on that deal jr's had for the psw505 sub so now have throw that in the mix

definitely will be upgrading both center and rears in a few weeks probably at the same time. depends on what i find out there for deals.

not really a fan of used stuff something about new is more attractive. space is an issue so that means the rt35 and rt55 for the rears are out.

narrowed down rears to rti4, refurb. rti a1 or rti6(might be to big?) . the ls/fx's would be nice but a little pricey for me

center doubt i'm gonna find any of the older ones out there new so looking for something newer like the csi3, csi5, cs2 or whatever higher model i can find a good deal on basically, budget restraints

really want to do the rears badly just feel so much lacking there right now
have my receiver adjusted enough to somewhat compensate for the mismatch between the csr and rt55i's to live with for now will probably upgrade my receiver in a few months and and the rt55i's in a year or two

now mostly just confused on what newer model center channel to get so again input would be highly appreciated
Thanks again for everyones help

Kex

dasiecz wrote: »

... not really a fan of used stuff something about new is more attractive. space is an issue so that means the rt35 and rt55 for the rears are out

....right now have my receiver adjusted enough to somewhat compensate for the mismatch between the csr and rt55i's to live with for now will probably upgrade my receiver in a few months and and the rt55i's in a year or two

now mostly just confused on what newer model center channel to get...

Well, if you don't want to buy used, I think you should get a current model center, from the RTi A series. In that way, when you get rid of those great RT55i speakers, you will have a center that should match exactly with currently available speakers. Since the RTi A range is very recent, and you prefer not to buy used, RTi A speakers are the most likely to be still available in two years.

If you expect to get big bookshelf speakers, like the RT55, there are none that are really equivalent currently (other than the LSi9, but that's a different range completely, with other considerations). The RT55 are considered by many to be a floorstander in bookshelf form, so you may end up leaning towards something like the RTi A5, with the same twin driver configuration, in which case the best center would probably be the current equivalent of the CS400: the CSi A6. If you do not mind "downgrading" to a lesser bookshelf, then the RTi A3 are probablly your best choice, in which case a CSi A4 may suffice.

As for adjustments with your receiver, if you find it difficult to match the CSR with the RT55i, you may want to use a phantom effect instead, whereby you indicate during setup that no center is present, and the receiver will compensate for that so that there is no mismatch. Many prefer a phantom center to a poorly matched center, and the CSR is probably not really able to keep up with the RT55i. YMMV, however, and you may already consider having the CSR to be preferable to having no center, so it's really up to you.

dasiecz

just wanted to say thanks again for everyone that repiled with advice it certainly helped

well somehow managed to get it figured out and score some really good deals on some great equipment. here's what i picked up

psw505 sub black for $199 + $40 to ship from jrs
csi3 center cherry for $119 free ship from jrs (csi5 would've been to big for my space)
fxi3 surrounds white for $205 free ship from ebay (wish they made cherry)

thats roughly $1280 msrp of equipment for only about $565 really feel like i scored

put all that with my cherry rt55i's and this should be a great system
now just need to upgrade receiver so i can give all these toys the power they need but the clarity from my onkyo sr304 should make up for it for awhile
my ears are already tingling with anticipation can't wait

apphd

Congrats, I think you scored. Also think you will be much happier with the psw505 over the psw10. Since you are budget minded and happy with your Onk check out the Shop Onkyo for deals when you are ready. They have a refurb 805 listed there now for $499 with some savings if you join Club Onkyo. I'm not a member so I don't know what it is but IIRC it usually is 10% off. I think a 705, 805 from there would fit your likes very well. A lot of people say they run HOT but also say if you give them lots of room to breathe it's a non issue. You might even run into some deals on the newer 706 806 series.