Please help in finding a center for my RTI10's

Its_Too_Loud
Its_Too_Loud Posts: 12
edited January 2009 in Speakers
Ok so after reading a ton of reviews on here re: a very nicely matched center for the RTI10's i assume a CSI A6 is my best bet so i went to go buy it. Bought it at a store locally where i usually get all my H/T equipment. Low and behold i go to buy the a6 and the polk sales rep for the region is in the store and have a conversation with me and says i should just get the csi A4.. so i bought it.. safe to assume he is right? Let me know what i should do cause the CSI A4 is still in the box and i can always get it changed for the CSI A6.. Thanks in advance.. btw im hoping also to get maybe FXI a4's or FXI a6's for the rears.
Post edited by Its_Too_Loud on
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  • leroyjr1
    leroyjr1 Posts: 8,785
    edited January 2009
    Definately the CSI a6. Warning it's huge.:eek:
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  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited January 2009
    Wow...I find it hard to believe that a sales rep would try to sell you on a less expensive speaker...lol

    I'd definitely go with the CSi A6 myself...it'd be a much better match for the RTi 10's.

    As leroy said though...that is a big speaker. Make sure you've got the room for it.
    The nirvana inducer-
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  • Igo
    Igo Posts: 411
    edited January 2009
    Its_Too_Loud wrote: »
    Ok so after reading a ton of reviews on here re: a very nicely matched center for the RTI10's i assume a CSI A6 is my best bet so i went to go buy it. Bought it at a store locally where i usually get all my H/T equipment. Low and behold i go to buy the a6 and the polk sales rep for the region is in the store and have a conversation with me and says i should just get the csi A4.. so i bought it.. safe to assume he is right? Let me know what i should do cause the CSI A4 is still in the box and i can always get it changed for the CSI A6.. Thanks in advance.. btw im hoping also to get maybe FXI a4's or FXI a6's for the rears.
    In both cases, the 6's are tembre matched to your speakers. The 4's are not. That's center and surrounds
    ...Link to my System Showcase...
    "ES - Kind'a simple but I like it"

    Sony ES STR-DA4300ES 7.1
    Sony ES SACD SCD-C2000ES
    Sony 400 Disc CD CDP-CX455
    Infinity BU-2 Sub-Woofer
    Polk Audio RT800i Towers
    Polk Audio CS400i Center
    Polk Audio FXiA6 Surrounds
    Sennheiser HD 280 Pro Headphones
    DH-Labs T-14 Speaker Cables
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  • Its_Too_Loud
    Its_Too_Loud Posts: 12
    edited January 2009
    dammit.. and that was the regional rep for polk audio too that gave me that info.. so i should exchange it huh? here goes more money..lol.. i read somewhere on these forums that a guy said the a4 and a6 are both tembre matched for the rti series.. guess not
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  • timmythugs
    timmythugs Posts: 71
    edited January 2009
    WOW. That sux you did not have a opportunity to match your HT. Looks matter as much sound!
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  • Igo
    Igo Posts: 411
    edited January 2009
    Its_Too_Loud wrote: »
    dammit.. and that was the regional rep for polk audio too that gave me that info.. so i should exchange it huh? here goes more money..lol.. i read somewhere on these forums that a guy said the a4 and a6 are both tembre matched for the rti series.. guess not
    Actually, the surrounds are supposed to be but I'm not sure how. They are 5.23s and the 6's are 6.5s.
    ...Link to my System Showcase...
    "ES - Kind'a simple but I like it"

    Sony ES STR-DA4300ES 7.1
    Sony ES SACD SCD-C2000ES
    Sony 400 Disc CD CDP-CX455
    Infinity BU-2 Sub-Woofer
    Polk Audio RT800i Towers
    Polk Audio CS400i Center
    Polk Audio FXiA6 Surrounds
    Sennheiser HD 280 Pro Headphones
    DH-Labs T-14 Speaker Cables
    Panamax Max 500 DBS Line Conditioner
    Panasonic TH-50PZ85U 50'-Plasma
    Play Station III - BluRay
    Logitech Harmony 550 Remote
    Logitech diNovo Mini Keyboard
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  • leroyjr1
    leroyjr1 Posts: 8,785
    edited January 2009
    Its_Too_Loud wrote: »
    dammit.. and that was the regional rep for polk audio too that gave me that info.. so i should exchange it huh? here goes more money..lol.. i read somewhere on these forums that a guy said the a4 and a6 are both tembre matched for the rti series.. guess not

    Yes the a4 and a6 are both timbre matched.
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  • thsmith
    thsmith Posts: 6,082
    edited January 2009
    Absolutely they are, If you have a large room you may like the A6 better but if you have a small room the A4 will be just fine.

    If there is a return policy try the 4 and see if you like it.
    Speakers: SDA-1C (most all the goodies)
    Preamp: Joule Electra LA-150 MKII SE
    Amp: Wright WPA 50-50 EAT KT88s
    Analog: Marantz TT-15S1 MBS Glider SL| Wright WPP100C Amperex BB 6er5 and 7316 & WPM-100 SUT
    Digital: Mac mini 2.3GHz dual-core i5 8g RAM 1.5 TB HDD Music Server Amarra (memory play) - USB - W4S DAC 2
    Cables: Mits S3 IC and Spk cables| PS Audio PCs
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  • Its_Too_Loud
    Its_Too_Loud Posts: 12
    edited January 2009
    Super.. Thanks guys.. Return policy is great.. I can try out the csi a4 cause the room i am in is not huge and due to other folks here they might snap at volume levels..lol.. apperently the rep's reasoning to me is that when your listening to 5.1 or 7.1 its the center that does 70-80% of the work and that means there is no such thing as the RTI10's over poering the csiA4 due to the fronts barely playing.. and in 2.1 for music im laughing cause i have the RTI10's playing and a velo dps-12.. i think thats the model.. Sounds great on music.. just ned to figure out if i should stick to the csi a4 or grab the csi a6
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  • mdaudioguy
    mdaudioguy Posts: 5,165
    edited January 2009
    Best center - A4, A6? Naaaa.... Another RTi10. That's where it's at. ;)
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  • Igo
    Igo Posts: 411
    edited January 2009
    The rep was absolutely correct when he said that the center will do 70-80% of the work but he wasn't talking about the center over-powering the front mains. Indeed, there will be times the front L/R will knock the snot out of the center. The L/R need to be everything the center is and more at times. True, most dialog and on screen action are anchored to the center speaker and for this reason the center speaker will do most of the work but the front left and right can and will be called on for just about anything from a pin drop to splattering explosions in movies let alone the subtle nuances to dynamic crescendos of music or on-stage performances. Also, and ever increasingly the rears are called on for more dynamics and off screen ques as well as an increasing presence in music. For both they are not always just for ambience anymore.
    An excellent way to test for timbre matching, and something you can do well enough from the store shelf, is to run a white noise test pattern on the entire system. Ya know, the hiss pattern that circles the system for attenuation/SPL balance checks. If timbre is different between speakers, the exact same audio signal sent to miss-matched speakers will sound hugely different. This I know from experience and there can be a huge difference.
    Again, I still maintain that the csi A4 hasn't the nuts to stay with the big i10s. Just an opinion.
    ...Link to my System Showcase...
    "ES - Kind'a simple but I like it"

    Sony ES STR-DA4300ES 7.1
    Sony ES SACD SCD-C2000ES
    Sony 400 Disc CD CDP-CX455
    Infinity BU-2 Sub-Woofer
    Polk Audio RT800i Towers
    Polk Audio CS400i Center
    Polk Audio FXiA6 Surrounds
    Sennheiser HD 280 Pro Headphones
    DH-Labs T-14 Speaker Cables
    Panamax Max 500 DBS Line Conditioner
    Panasonic TH-50PZ85U 50'-Plasma
    Play Station III - BluRay
    Logitech Harmony 550 Remote
    Logitech diNovo Mini Keyboard
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  • Its_Too_Loud
    Its_Too_Loud Posts: 12
    edited January 2009
    Weird that i spoke to the polk regional sales rep again today and he told me the csi a4 and csi a6 and both matched for tembre with the RTI10's... I can return my csiA4 and get the a6 for $110 more.. worth it? Im running a Yamaha HTR-6190 on everything.. will that amp run RTi10's, CSIa4 or a6, FXIa4's.. Im using a velo DPS-12 also.. Let me know.. thanks
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  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited January 2009
    Igo wrote: »
    In both cases, the 6's are tembre matched to your speakers. The 4's are not. That's center and surrounds

    The CSi A4 is most certainly timber matched to the RTi10's. The difference in size of the drivers makes no difference. All of the RTi, CSi and FXi series speakers are timbre matched to one another. I think some of the in-wall/ceiling speakers are timbre matched to the RTi's as well.

    That being said though, the CSi A6 is still a much better center channel, and would probably be a better match for the RTi10's.

    edit-yep the TCi Series in wall speakers are timbre matched to the RTi's.
    The nirvana inducer-
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    Audioquest Speaker Cables and IC's
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  • Dagoods
    Dagoods Posts: 32
    edited January 2009
    Been there done that.

    I have the RTi10's and started out with a CSi A4. It sounded great, but I decided I had to have the larger one. I got a CSi 5 (model prior to the A6)from Polk Direct a couple of months ago and I was glad I upgraded. I noticed a big difference between the 2. While the CSi A4 is a very good speaker the CSi 5 has a deeper sound and seems to blend better with the RTi10's.

    It is bigger, if you have the room and extra cash for it you will be much happer in the long run with the CSi A6.

    If anyone is interested I have a 6 month old A4 I will make someone a real good deal on!
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  • Gadabout
    Gadabout Posts: 1,072
    edited January 2009
    Don't let size worry you. If you don't have enough room in/on the rack or don't want to put it on the floor. I used this Omni Mount on my DLP. It holds the CSi 5 just fine. The kick stand on the CSi 5 easily lets me point the center to the seating positions.

    I bought the CSi 3 originally, and quickly upgraded to the CSi 5. I think the extra $110 would be money well spent upgrading to the CSi A6. However, give the A4 a listen, maybe that will be enough for you in your HT area.

    Scott
    Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid. ..... Frank Zappa
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  • danz1906
    danz1906 Posts: 5,144
    edited January 2009
    comfortablycurt wrote: »
    The CSi A4 is most certainly timber matched to the RTi10's. The difference in size of the drivers makes no difference. All of the RTi, CSi and FXi series speakers are timbre matched to one another. I think some of the in-wall/ceiling speakers are timbre matched to the RTi's as well.

    That being said though, the CSi A6 is still a much better center channel, and would probably be a better match for the RTi10's.

    edit-yep the TCi Series in wall speakers are timbre matched to the RTi's.

    Yep the CSiA6 is the way to go:cool:
    Linn AV5140 fronts
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  • Igo
    Igo Posts: 411
    edited January 2009
    I'd have to hear it for myself. I've never heard two different driver sets be tembre matched. Have you ever heard both in a side by side?
    ...Link to my System Showcase...
    "ES - Kind'a simple but I like it"

    Sony ES STR-DA4300ES 7.1
    Sony ES SACD SCD-C2000ES
    Sony 400 Disc CD CDP-CX455
    Infinity BU-2 Sub-Woofer
    Polk Audio RT800i Towers
    Polk Audio CS400i Center
    Polk Audio FXiA6 Surrounds
    Sennheiser HD 280 Pro Headphones
    DH-Labs T-14 Speaker Cables
    Panamax Max 500 DBS Line Conditioner
    Panasonic TH-50PZ85U 50'-Plasma
    Play Station III - BluRay
    Logitech Harmony 550 Remote
    Logitech diNovo Mini Keyboard
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  • Igo
    Igo Posts: 411
    edited January 2009
    Dagoods wrote: »
    Been there done that.

    I have the RTi10's and started out with a CSi A4. It sounded great, but I decided I had to have the larger one. I got a CSi 5 (model prior to the A6)from Polk Direct a couple of months ago and I was glad I upgraded. I noticed a big difference between the 2. While the CSi A4 is a very good speaker the CSi 5 has a deeper sound and seems to blend better with the RTi10's.

    It is bigger, if you have the room and extra cash for it you will be much happer in the long run with the CSi A6.

    If anyone is interested I have a 6 month old A4 I will make someone a real good deal on!
    So what was it that made you trade from the 4 to the 6 and what's the difference in sound between the two?
    ...Link to my System Showcase...
    "ES - Kind'a simple but I like it"

    Sony ES STR-DA4300ES 7.1
    Sony ES SACD SCD-C2000ES
    Sony 400 Disc CD CDP-CX455
    Infinity BU-2 Sub-Woofer
    Polk Audio RT800i Towers
    Polk Audio CS400i Center
    Polk Audio FXiA6 Surrounds
    Sennheiser HD 280 Pro Headphones
    DH-Labs T-14 Speaker Cables
    Panamax Max 500 DBS Line Conditioner
    Panasonic TH-50PZ85U 50'-Plasma
    Play Station III - BluRay
    Logitech Harmony 550 Remote
    Logitech diNovo Mini Keyboard
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  • Igo
    Igo Posts: 411
    edited January 2009
    I have the older brother but it is the same speaker really. I've worked this thing to death for 8 years now. Fantastic speaker.
    ...Link to my System Showcase...
    "ES - Kind'a simple but I like it"

    Sony ES STR-DA4300ES 7.1
    Sony ES SACD SCD-C2000ES
    Sony 400 Disc CD CDP-CX455
    Infinity BU-2 Sub-Woofer
    Polk Audio RT800i Towers
    Polk Audio CS400i Center
    Polk Audio FXiA6 Surrounds
    Sennheiser HD 280 Pro Headphones
    DH-Labs T-14 Speaker Cables
    Panamax Max 500 DBS Line Conditioner
    Panasonic TH-50PZ85U 50'-Plasma
    Play Station III - BluRay
    Logitech Harmony 550 Remote
    Logitech diNovo Mini Keyboard
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  • Its_Too_Loud
    Its_Too_Loud Posts: 12
    edited January 2009
    I guess overall is it worth the extra $125 including tax to exchange it from the a4? im not an audiophile or anything but if you guys say do it i will exhange it..lol.. I am running it with a Yamaha HTR-6190.. Will that be fine?
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  • metal83
    metal83 Posts: 1,219
    edited January 2009
    Its_Too_Loud wrote: »
    I guess overall is it worth the extra $125 including tax to exchange it from the a4? im not an audiophile or anything but if you guys say do it i will exhange it..lol.. I am running it with a Yamaha HTR-6190.. Will that be fine?

    Do it! ;)
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