Should I go from RTi10 to RTi A5?

Menasor · January 2009

I really like the look of the RTi A series and the more I look, the more I want to change my setup to RTi A. Let me ask you guys this: Do you think it's worth it for me to sell my RTi 10's and go for RTi A5's? I have to go down to A5's since that's roughly the same price I could sell the RTi10's for.

I know a lot of you prefer the RTi8/A5's anyway, but go ahead... sway me one way or another!

sandworms · January 2009

why change what you have?

leroyjr1 · January 2009

sandworms wrote: »

why change what you have?

Sexy looking speakers

leroyjr1 · January 2009

If you have a good sub then I'll be well worth the switch. Listening to mine right now comparing them to my other speakers.

Menasor · January 2009

leroyjr1 wrote: »

Sexy looking speakers

Yup! Any thoughts leroy?

Menasor · January 2009

leroyjr1 wrote: »

If you have a good sub then I'll be well worth the switch. Listening to mine right now comparing them to my other speakers.

Hm, the sub's not exceptional, but pretty good for what it does. I think the H-100 is quite good for games/ht which is what I use my system most for anyway. Maybe in the future I'll go for an SVS PB12-NSD, eD a3-300, or Epik Valor

leroyjr1 · January 2009

Menasor wrote: »

Hm, the sub's not exceptional, but pretty good for what it does. I think the H-100 is quite good for games/ht which is what I use my system most for anyway. Maybe in the future I'll go for an SVS PB12-NSD, eD a3-300, or Epik Valor

Will you be using them for music or HT. When I first got my 5's I thought they sounded a bit harsh but put more time on them and switching some gear they sound a lot warmer and better. They sound good for both music and HT.

Menasor · January 2009

It'll be something like 40% movies, 40% games, 20% music. Will they benefit from the extra juice from my POA-2200?

leroyjr1 · January 2009

Extra juice is always good, unless it's OJ

Menasor · January 2009

leroyjr1 wrote: »

Extra juice is always good, unless it's OJ

lol what's wrong with OJ?

danz1906 · January 2009

Go for the A5 with a good sub:D

manman · January 2009

+1 a5's with sub here. I personally prefer them over the 10/a7 as well

curved · January 2009

I would get a better sub first....that's the weakest link.

Menasor · January 2009

Good sub as in like eD a2-300 ($350) and up?

nm4710 · January 2009

The A5 is technically a step down. I'm sure sonically it will be a step down as well. If you cross your fronts high then it may not be a huge difference...but as an owner of RTi8s and RTi10s I can tell you there is a big difference in the sound when the crossover is dropped to 60Hz or below. On large the 8s feel puny.

Personally I don't think your sub is nearly as bad as the folks here are making it out to be. I toyed around with the H100 for a while and I was impressed. Good value for the dollar. I've heard the ED A2-300 and did not think it was suitable for music (at least not the kind I listen to). That said, the A5s would be a downgrade...a new sub would at least be an upgrade.

If cosmetics are that big of an issue then why not sell the 10s and save up to get some A7s, or even better A9s?

Menasor · January 2009

nm4710 wrote: »

The A5 is technically a step down. I'm sure sonically it will be a step down as well. If you cross your fronts high then it may not be a huge difference...but as an owner of RTi8s and RTi10s I can tell you there is a big difference in the sound when the crossover is dropped to 60Hz or below. On large the 8s feel puny.

Personally I don't think your sub is nearly as bad as the folks here are making it out to be. I toyed around with the H100 for a while and I was impressed. Good value for the dollar. I've heard the ED A2-300 and did not think it was suitable for music (at least not the kind I listen to). That said, the A5s would be a downgrade...a new sub would at least be an upgrade.

If cosmetics are that big of an issue then why not sell the 10s and save up to get some A7s, or even better A9s?

I wish I had the money to get A9's but spending any additional money on speakers is probably not a good idea (due to a budget agreement with the wife heh). I'd probably cross the RTi A5's at 80hz.

How was the a2-300 compared to the H100? I notice they both scored similarly low on music, but the a2-300 was a few points above in the HT department

Kex · January 2009

nm4710 wrote: »

... Personally I don't think your sub is nearly as bad as the folks here are making it out to be. I toyed around with the H100 for a while and I was impressed. Good value for the dollar. ...

I agree with this. Probably one of the very best entry level subs for HT on the market IMO.

On a related topic, I would probably have a preference for the newer RTi A5 for appearance also, and possibly for sound ... but I'm not sure about that, and I think it would depend largely on what type of receiver or amplification you are using too. I found my NAD receiver pushed a very surprising amount of bass from my large speakers (very similar to RTi8) when compared to my other receivers, and even an external amplifier rated with about 30% more w/ch than the NAD. So much so that I actually lowered the crossover to increase the benefit of more controlled bass from the speakers. With a lower crossover, you may just want to forget the subwoofer altogether for some types of music completely (and disable the crossover completely), in which case the RTi10 (or RTi A7/9) just might be a better choice, as nm4710 suggests. The subwoofer would be there for HT and whatever types of music you thought sounded better with it.

trinidesignz · January 2009

+1 for the a5 and get a better sub. I love my a5's and in feb. I'll be getting a big tin of emotiva xpa-5 to juice them. lol

mantis · January 2009

nm4710 wrote: »

The A5 is technically a step down. I'm sure sonically it will be a step down as well. If you cross your fronts high then it may not be a huge difference...but as an owner of RTi8s and RTi10s I can tell you there is a big difference in the sound when the crossover is dropped to 60Hz or below. On large the 8s feel puny.

Personally I don't think your sub is nearly as bad as the folks here are making it out to be. I toyed around with the H100 for a while and I was impressed. Good value for the dollar. I've heard the ED A2-300 and did not think it was suitable for music (at least not the kind I listen to). That said, the A5s would be a downgrade...a new sub would at least be an upgrade.

If cosmetics are that big of an issue then why not sell the 10s and save up to get some A7s, or even better A9s?

In some points here you are correct but one thing you are missing is the refined sound the new rtia series has over the Rti line. I think the A series has so much more to offer then just the new sexy cabinet. For the first time in a long time I felt the Rt series line is musical. Since the release of the Lsi line, I have lost intrest in the rt series. This new line(ok not so new) had me at hello. I sat down a few months back and really listened, tweaked and was surprised.
I think this is a good plan. I think if you are also looking for refined sound, this isn't a bad plan. You maybe surprised.

Dan

mdaudioguy · January 2009

nm4710 wrote: »

The A5 is technically a step down. I'm sure sonically it will be a step down as well. If you cross your fronts high then it may not be a huge difference...but as an owner of RTi8s and RTi10s I can tell you there is a big difference in the sound when the crossover is dropped to 60Hz or below. On large the 8s feel puny.

Personally I don't think your sub is nearly as bad as the folks here are making it out to be. I toyed around with the H100 for a while and I was impressed. Good value for the dollar. I've heard the ED A2-300 and did not think it was suitable for music (at least not the kind I listen to). That said, the A5s would be a downgrade...a new sub would at least be an upgrade.

If cosmetics are that big of an issue then why not sell the 10s and save up to get some A7s, or even better A9s?

I debated this same thing with my system... and received a lot of similar comments. I do have a decent sub, but finally came to the conclusion to hold what I have and spend my money on other things, like an Emotiva amp. In the end, I didn't think the slightly refined sound of the RTiA's was worth the money, IMHO, especially considering that I already owned the RTi10s. Yes, I think the newer series is more attractive, but I also think the older line has a kind of quirky beauty with the inverted cone outriggers.

Dawgfish · January 2009

Menasor,

One thing you might want to consider is how you intend to listen to your system, i.e. mostly music, mostly movies, or 50/50. I own the RTi12s, the RTi10s, and the RTi8s and have used all three as my fronts in my home theater system from time to time. The Rti12s to me are definitely the best overall, but to me the RTi8s (or A5s) were the second best as fronts to me because of their better midrange imaging. The RTi10s do sound better to me when playing music though. So my advice would be, if you were going to listen to mostly music, I would keep your RTi10s. If you listen to music and movies 50/50 like I do, or use your system mostly for movies, I would definitely go for the A5s. Also, as others have eluded to, the A5s with the new cabinent and features may be more musical anyways and those be as good or better than the RTi10 for music. This one I cannot answer though.

Menasor · January 2009

Thanks for all the responses guys.

I think short term plan is to sell the RTi10's, go with the RTi A5, and stick with my sub. I mostly use my system for movies and games, so I think my sub is ok for those applications.

Long term, I'll have to get a CSi A6 (or swap my CSi5 with a CSi A6 somehow) and a new sub (maybe an SVS PB12-NSD? or one of the eD's although I don't like their looks all that much). I was considering Epiks, but they are just too large.

Dawgfish · January 2009

Menasor,

No need to swap your CSi5 center for a CsiA6. I own them both and to me they sound identical. If you were planning on swapping for timbre or sound quality you are waisting money IMHO. If you want to swap to the CSi A6 to be a better cosmetic match to the A5s, I gues that's another thing altogether, but that's still a lot of money to spend when you already have a perfectly good CSi5. Now if you want to run two center chanel speakers like I do, than go ahead and get one (I am running both the CSi5 and the CSi A6 in a two center set up and it sounds great).

Sherardp · January 2009

I think you should upgrade that sub 1st. The 10s are very good speakers, and as someone else mentioned upgrade the weakest link which in your case would be that sub. Rather than waste money on fronts, I would upgrade to a nice SVS or Epik that really enhance the sound you have. For your application either sub would shine.

Motzart · January 2009

Ok I'll be the odd fish in the pond! :rolleyes:

Why change anything?
Your speakers are timber matched and the sub is a decent brand with great user ratings......150watt RMS dips to 24HZ what more could one want?
BIC isn't a run of the mill brand....they make NICE stuff.

Don't fall into the money trap when ya got nice stuff just cuz something looks sexy.
If ya had hohum stuff I'd say go for it but you don't.
Sound is where it's at and if your not gonna really gain anything but looks IMHO why bother?
Invest in some more CD's......buy some brews and call it good!

OR if your into surround pick up some FXi A? surrounds to add in.

Just my 2 cents if it's worth that? :cool:

.

Ron Temple · January 2009

It's your money guys and I can see moving from RT books to floorstanders, as well as, 8/5s to 12/9s, but if you're looking for an upgrade, I'd look for something different...if you stay within Polk, LSis or vintage. As others have said, your system will improve more with an upgrade at sub.

Sami · January 2009

I'm with Ron, the best upgrade plan IMHO for the system would be:

#1 Sub
#2 External amplifier for the remaining channels
#3 LSi's (if you plan to stay with Polk)

Menasor · January 2009

Thanks for all the replies guys... and for making me think a lot harder about this!! Haha.

I guess the whole reason for the switch is purely cosmetic. I love the sound I'm getting from my RTi10/CSi5. If all things pan out, the switch to RTi A5/CSi A6 shouldn't cost me anything. If the sound I get from RTi A5/CSi A6 would be equivalent or better than what I have now, then I think I have enough reason to switch personally due to better looks in the new cabinets. If it's a downgrade because of my sub... then it's different; I'm kind of getting mixed responses about this so

I forgot to mention that the first speaker I looked at that made me go "WOW" were the RTi A5's. So in my heart I guess that was the speaker for me from the start. Does this make sense? Like... I have my 10's and I love them, but every day I find myself staring at the RTi A5 product details page on Polkaudio.com...

Motzart · January 2009

Menasor wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies guys... and for making me think a lot harder about this!! Haha.

I guess the whole reason for the switch is purely cosmetic. I love the sound I'm getting from my RTi10/CSi5. If all things pan out, the switch to RTi A5/CSi A6 shouldn't cost me anything. If the sound I get from RTi A5/CSi A6 would be equivalent or better than what I have now, then I think I have enough reason to switch personally due to better looks in the new cabinets. If it's a downgrade because of my sub... then it's different; I'm kind of getting mixed responses about this so

I forgot to mention that the first speaker I looked at that made me go "WOW" were the RTi A5's. So in my heart I guess that was the speaker for me from the start. Does this make sense? Like... I have my 10's and I love them, but every day I find myself staring at the RTi A5 product details page on Polkaudio.com...

You too? :rolleyes:
I resemble that remark!!

danz1906 · January 2009

I must admit, the A5s look way COOL:cool::D:p:)

nm4710 · January 2009

Honestly I've heard the A5. The new RTi A line sounds a little less bright than the RTis (I"ve heard 'em side by side at tweeter)...but it's honestly not a huge improvement. The RTi As still sound a little shrill on some recordings. The bass difference OTOH between an A5 and an RTi10 is huge. There is no doubt in my mind, an A5 would represent a downgrade from an RTi10. If you're going to upgrade on aesthetics you can do a heck of a lot better than the RTi A series anyway...even for the dollar (look at AV123). I'm with Motzart on this one. You've actually got a pretty decent system. If you have more money to invest in it, then UPGRADE. Don't step down in sound quality. You will quickly find yourself staring at the RTi A7 page anyway.

Cheers
NM

Should I go from RTi10 to RTi A5?

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