FXi or RTi bookshelf for surrounds / rears?

S_T

hi ya'll....been slowly upgrading my old sony (yes sony...ewww i know) 5.1 dvd setup to a full fledge bluray configuration. To keep things under budget, i have procurred:

- rti8 fronts
- csi5 centers
- onkyo 805 receiver/amp

i am a bit stuck on the rears and surrounds, however. I am deliberating between the fxi5/fxi3's for surrounds (or rear) and/or rti6's/rti4's. Is there any suggestions on the best combo for rears/surrounds with these timbre matching sets?

jacob.simpson

S_T wrote: »

hi ya'll....been slowly upgrading my old sony (yes sony...ewww i know) 5.1 dvd setup to a full fledge bluray configuration. To keep things under budget, i have procurred:

- rti8 fronts
- csi5 centers
- onkyo 805 receiver/amp

i am a bit stuck on the rears and surrounds, however. I am deliberating between the fxi5/fxi3's for surrounds (or rear) and/or rti6's/rti4's. Is there any suggestions on the best combo for rears/surrounds with these timbre matching sets?

I would choose FXi A6 your reciever is an awsome package, because of the Power rating i would go in for this. and secondly you have 5.1 It may be better to use a Bipole/Dipole and the link also suggests the same.(though it does have the updated lineup)
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/rtia/systems.php

rednks1

you are on the right track i am using the fxi3 as surounds and rti4 as the backs for a 7.1 system once you set up correctly you will enjoy it for a long time

kuntasensei

If I could go back in time, I'd go FX series for my side surrounds but keep my direct radiators (RTi28) in the rear. However, it really depends on your room.

BjornB17

I ended up buying 2 pairs of FXi3's off of ebay (pretty easy to find) to use for my rear surrounds. Prior to that i have used RTi4's, RTi6's and monitor 30s and having the dipole/bipole speakers is a HUGE improvement. The sound seems to now comes for the side or rear of the room rather than from the exact position of the speaker itself. FXi3's are plenty capable every at very high volumes, no need to get the FXi5's in my opinion. my system is pretty comparable to you so hopefully this opinion helps.

stereo55

Fxi3's onsale ($150/pr free ship) , but color is white . Great price though .
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290122&Tpk=Polk%20Audio%20fxi3

Tracy

I went with the FXi A4 for my surrounds. It was actually a tough choice for me as I had upgraded my RTi A3's to A5's as my mains so I had the A3's or the FXi A4's to use as my surrounds. My space isn't big enough for 7.1 so I had to choose and went with the FXi's because of the home theater preference ratio over music. So sadly, my A3's are on the bay. But I think if you're mostly into home theater than the FX's for surrounds/rears are the way to go, imo.

S_T

Thanks for all the advice. For the time being, I picked up another 2 RTi8's...yes i know a little bit of an overkill. I reasoned that if i got the rti6's/fxi5's, it would necessitate spending more $$ on stands (I can't readily wall mount my setup). But those A3's at $150 a pair sound like a steal. Would those dipoles/bipoles make that huge of a difference over the RTi8 rears?

BTW> Also picked up some Polk DSW Micropro 1000's for real cheap; great little sub that pack quite a punch.

jacob.simpson

S_T wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice. For the time being, I picked up another 2 RTi8's...yes i know a little bit of an overkill. I reasoned that if i got the rti6's/fxi5's, it would necessitate spending more $$ on stands (I can't readily wall mount my setup). But those A3's at $150 a pair sound like a steal. Would those dipoles/bipoles make that huge of a difference over the RTi8 rears?

BTW> Also picked up some Polk DSW Micropro 1000's for real cheap; great little sub that pack quite a punch.

Thats great, where did u get those 1000s and what price did you pay, Post reviews on its performance, am hearing very mixed views/ reviews on this one.

S_T

jacob.simpson wrote: »

Thats great, where did u get those 1000s and what price did you pay, Post reviews on its performance, am hearing very mixed views/ reviews on this one.

I got them at a local home theatre shop for $275. At first, I was amazed by the performance, but upon further listening, I am not as impressed anymore. I was confused with the surprising bass response from the RTi8's (thought they were only good for mids). I've since played around disconnecting the subs altogether and you know what, i don't miss them at all. I might just go with a 5.0 system setup with how nice my fronts are sounding right now.

edit - after playing with it a little more, i do notice a little difference if i start cranking it up (around 33 volume). it works for it's diminutive size, but i was expecting more from 1200w.

jacob.simpson

:D275 is a steal for that little beast, i sincerely suggest you should play around with its settings and placement and caliberate am sure you can squeeze enough performance out of it. Could you please let me know where and which retail store am seriously interested if its somewhere near or even if i need to pay for shipping if its working out less from the retailer.

lit1up

I have fx3i's and everyone who watches a movie says it sounds great, since they are wall mount they do not take up floor space. I have all Polk in my setup except for subwoofer. My speakers are older, 8 years old but still perform great.

Monitor 7jr omni wll mount up front
CSI 300 or 400 upfront
fx3i rear
sunfire subwoofer 800w
Sony ES receiver 125w per channel 8 ohm .01 thd

For loud music I have two sets of monitor 10B stacked (on top with Adcom 555 200w per channel feeding them, it is my own wall of sound), ha ha, that I have had since 1984 and in the bedroom some bookshelf 15t with 100w polk subwoofer I got free when I bought the fxi and csi speakers. I am a loyal polk fan.

S_T

jacob.simpson wrote: »

:D275 is a steal for that little beast, i sincerely suggest you should play around with its settings and placement and caliberate am sure you can squeeze enough performance out of it. Could you please let me know where and which retail store am seriously interested if its somewhere near or even if i need to pay for shipping if its working out less from the retailer.

After playing around with it more, the "boom" has come back! Turns out, after doing the self calibration, Audyssey EQ pushed my subwoofer down to near non-existent levels (-10dB setting!). Disabling this helped the front stage back again to where i first heard it with some thumping bass and letting the RTi's shine more in the mids. I would give this thing a definite thumbs up now!

ps - PM me and i'll give you the retailer. Keep in mind i had a special deal in place to get it that low.

jacob.simpson

S_T wrote: »

After playing around with it more, the "boom" has come back! Turns out, after doing the self calibration, Audyssey EQ pushed my subwoofer down to near non-existent levels (-10dB setting!). Disabling this helped the front stage back again to where i first heard it with some thumping bass and letting the RTi's shine more in the mids. I would give this thing a definite thumbs up now!

ps - PM me and i'll give you the retailer. Keep in mind i had a special deal in place to get it that low.

Thanks man will PM u now am looking at adding this small fellow to my line up.:D

patcwin

can anybody help me ??? I have purchased a set of RTI8's, along with RTI6's and CSI5 for an center channel.. I have an Older Klipsche sub that puts out a great bass.but is it going to work with all of this and my new Onkyo tx-sr 705. any help would be greatly appreciated..good bad or ugly.....Its all new equipment except my sub.. will it work together ..thank you>pat

S_T

patcwin wrote: »

can anybody help me ??? I have purchased a set of RTI8's, along with RTI6's and CSI5 for an center channel.. I have an Older Klipsche sub that puts out a great bass.but is it going to work with all of this and my new Onkyo tx-sr 705. any help would be greatly appreciated..good bad or ugly.....Its all new equipment except my sub.. will it work together ..thank you>pat

You have a very similar setup to what i have: rti8's, csi5's, and onkyo receiver (albeit i have the 805). I don't see why your Klipsche sub wouldn't work with it as long as you setup your sound stage properly.

S_T

I am curious if the driver size for the surrounds matter (e.g. 5.25" fxi3 vs. 6.5" fxi)? I know surrounds are mostly fill-in, but for HT setups it seems some are recommending larger drivers as well?

Kchill

S_T wrote: »

I am curious if the driver size for the surrounds matter (e.g. 5.25" fxi3 vs. 6.5" fxi)? I know surrounds are mostly fill-in, but for HT setups it seems some are recommending larger drivers as well?

I have not set up my fxi'3 due to the room size but I did a store review back in jan. on the rtia9's and rtia7's and what i noticed was that the speakers on the 9's just kicked butt but then I had the same thought you did, since the speakers were 5.25 vs. the 6.5 of the 7's did this make a big difference????

I'm expecting good things from my fxi3's