time to upgrade fronts and center?

danger boy

so my current fronts and center are the RTXXXi line up.. I am curious about if I would gain much in going with the current line up fronts and center? I feel that it would be an upgrade of course. but would it be pretty minor or major?

I feel that the RT800i's and CS400i I have now are not as revealing as some current speakers are.

or

do you think just upgrading the amps would be enough? I can only do one.. not both. upgrading the amps would be less than the three fronts..

what to do you all think? I would be looking at the RTiA7, can't afford the A9's.

leroyjr1

Haven't heard the older models but I can tell you the new line sounds great and is fairly easy to push. Have you thought about the RTI a5's?

metal83

danger boy wrote: »

so my current fronts and center are the RTXXXi line up.. I am curious about if I would gain much in going with the current line up fronts and center? I feel that it would be an upgrade of course. but would it be pretty minor or major?

I feel that the RT800i's and CS400i I have now are not as revealing as some current speakers are.

or

do you think just upgrading the amps would be enough? I can only do one.. not both. upgrading the amps would be less than the three fronts..

what to do you all think? I would be looking at the RTiA7, can't afford the A9's.

I think the RTi A7's would be a great decision. I switched from the RTi10's to the A7's and i noticed some improvement in all aspects, plus they look a hell of a lot better...:D

I only had to pay shipping charges to make the upgrade though, since i sold my RTi10's for $500, and got the A7's for $500.

danger boy

so metal83 you like your 7's? that's about the level I would be looking at too. since my room is pretty small. i'm covered with a decent sub already.. so not need for the A9's, but the 9's are getting all the rave reviews.. but will think about the 7's as that's more in line with my budget.

danger boy

leroyjr1 wrote: »

Haven't heard the older models but I can tell you the new line sounds great and is fairly easy to push. Have you thought about the RTI a5's?

oh sure, i'd consider the RTi A5's.. and I think right now Polk is throwing in a free subwoofer if I read that right.

strider

I dunno, Al, the older RTxxi series still sounds pretty good to my ears. Spent some time yesterday listening to my CS400i and RT55 combo and I was surprised.

What amp(s) do you have them paired with?

metal83

danger boy wrote: »

so metal83 you like your 7's? that's about the level I would be looking at too. since my room is pretty small. i'm covered with a decent sub already.. so not need for the A9's, but the 9's are getting all the rave reviews.. but will think about the 7's as that's more in line with my budget.

I actually wanted the A7's orginally for aesthetic reasons, but then decided i wanted the A9's over everything else, but someone here by the name of TOOLFANFORLIFE beat me to the punch that SOB...lol
He was just quicker with the finger though, i shouldn't of hesitated. I'm glad i bought the A7's though, i got the last pair from Polk Direct, and they haven't had any A7's or A9's since then, so i would of been screwed since i can't afford either of these brand new (patience is not my virtue).

Yeah i love my A7's though, but i loved my RTi10's as well. In all honestly i only really switched them for aesthetic reasons, everything else in my system is from the RTi A line and i wanted it all to match. And i just love how they look. I know the A9's would of been a true uprgrade, but having the A7's sound better than my 10's was icing on the cake.

danger boy wrote: »

oh sure, i'd consider the RTi A5's.. and I think right now Polk is throwing in a free subwoofer if I read that right.

I can't speak for the A5's, all though many people here love them. I like 2 channel music now and again so i wanted something with woofers.

danger boy

strider wrote: »

I dunno, Al, the older RTxxi series still sounds pretty good to my ears. Spent some time yesterday listening to my CS400i and RT55 combo and I was surprised.

What amp(s) do you have them paired with?

this has been a bone of contention in my home theater.. I've never really had a decent powerful enough amp for the 800i's. in the past they have been run off Marantz MA500 mono blocks, Adcom GFA 5400, and NAD 2600A and even a weird Sharp amp for a short time. all pretty old and entry to mid level performance right around 125wpc each.

Maybe I should consider a beefy 3 channel amp instead of new speakers.. but if it doesn't make enough improvement.. i can't then buy new speakers. but yeah, not having a decent amp is certainly my weak link.

One thing I do know.. is that I do not like the 800i's for two ch music though.. never had them really impress me with music. home theater they are pretty dang good though. the RTxxxi line is what about 10 yrs old now I think?

nikolas812

Major.


I've had RT - 400's, 600's, 800's, 800i's, CS400i, and so on. With good amps receivers, bad receivers, pre pro/ amp setups you name it.


And with what little experience I had with the RTi line up. The difference seemed major to me... Better all around..

And I here the RTi-A line up is even better.....

YMMV


Nick

Hawkeye

I think people, myself included, abandon perfectly fine speakers for the wrong reasons. I know I've been through several different speakers in my time and the one thing I overlooked was this: I never had front end gear, amps, pres and a good source to actually push the speakers I had to their full potential.

Since you've mentioned your amplification was a weak spot all along, that's where I'd go first. Push what you have to the limit, then consider a speaker change in the future.

Gordon

shack

I currently have RT55i fronts, CS400i center and FX300i surrounds. I have the oportunity to hear lots of good HTs and to my ear, newer/better speakers will not yield much improvement in the way of SQ. I think most of your mfgs would tell you (privately and off the record) that there has not been leaps and bounds improvement in speaker design. Some yes, due to materials and electonics...and then there is the goal of getting more sound out of smaller boxes...

But look at some of the premier speakers sold today, B&W, Wilson, Sonus Faber, etc... their design has changed very little, if at all, over the past decade and they make beautiful sounds. I have considered upgrading my HT, but when I compare it to the newer speakers...there is not enough reason to do so.

pearsall001

Hawkeye wrote: »

I think people, myself included, abandon perfectly fine speakers for the wrong reasons. I know I've been through several different speakers in my time and the one thing I overlooked was this: I never had front end gear, amps, pres and a good source to actually push the speakers I had to their full potential.

Since you've mentioned your amplification was a weak spot all along, that's where I'd go first. Push what you have to the limit, then consider a speaker change in the future.

Gordon

Very good advice...it has me second guessing myself about the LSi15's as I sit here listening to the AAD 2001 monitors!! Gorgeous sound!!!

strider

danger boy wrote: »

One thing I do know.. is that I do not like the 800i's for two ch music though.. never had them really impress me with music. home theater they are pretty dang good though. the RTxxxi line is what about 10 yrs old now I think?

Yeah, about 10 years old, maybe a little bit less. I bought my first pair of RT55 in 2000, CS400i and RT55i in '01, IIRC.

You still have the SDA 2Bs hooked up, don't you??

My vote's for amplification. Why spend the money on new speakers and still have that lingering doubt....

Find something used that holds it value pretty well. That way if you're still not hearing what you want, you flip it and buy speakers. A used amp will loose less value then if you tried to resell a pair of speakers you get brand new.

strider

This might work, a Rotel RMB-1095. 200w x 5.

Toolfan66

shack wrote: »

I currently have RT55i fronts, CS400i center and FX300i surrounds. I have the oportunity to hear lots of good HTs and to my ear, newer/better speakers will not yield much improvement in the way of SQ. I think most of your mfgs would tell you (privately and off the record) that there has not been leaps and bounds improvement in speaker design. Some yes, due to materials and electonics...and then there is the goal of getting more sound out of smaller boxes...

But look at some of the premier speakers sold today, B&W, Wilson, Sonus Faber, etc... their design has changed very little, if at all, over the past decade and they make beautiful sounds. I have considered upgrading my HT, but when I compare it to the newer speakers...there is not enough reason to do so.

my other/older setup is with the RT55i's as my front's, i love the sound they make even w/o an AMP they kick it. i have nothing but love for my 10 yr old RTi55's, but with that said the RTi A9's sound much better even w/o an AMP.AMPing them is what they need though period.

Back to the topic, i say put your money to amping what you have they will sound like you just got a new set of speakers.

Early B.

danger boy wrote: »

I've never really had a decent powerful enough amp for the 800i's. in the past they have been run off Marantz MA500 mono blocks, Adcom GFA 5400, and NAD 2600A and even a weird Sharp amp for a short time. all pretty old and entry to mid level performance right around 125wpc each.

Maybe I should consider a beefy 3 channel amp instead of new speakers.. but if it doesn't make enough improvement.. i can't then buy new speakers. but yeah, not having a decent amp is certainly my weak link.

Danger --

Either way you go, you'll probably be making a lateral move.

You've already experimented with separate amps, so if they didn't do it for ya (especially the Marantz), then you gotta look elsewhere. It could be the speakers or something else in the chain.

If you're gonna upgrade, then go up, not left or right. Otherwise, enjoy what you already have. If you wanna stick with Polk, then get the Lsi series. You can be virtually assured that the Lsi's will be an improvement over your existing speakers.

messiah

Keep what you have... invest in amps. Newer is not always better.

cfrizz

So what do you have for amps & how old Al? You know what I'm going to say! If you've got less than 200wpc get more. If you already have it, then get new speakers.

danger boy wrote: »

so my current fronts and center are the RTXXXi line up.. I am curious about if I would gain much in going with the current line up fronts and center? I feel that it would be an upgrade of course. but would it be pretty minor or major?

I feel that the RT800i's and CS400i I have now are not as revealing as some current speakers are.

or

do you think just upgrading the amps would be enough? I can only do one.. not both. upgrading the amps would be less than the three fronts..

what to do you all think? I would be looking at the RTiA7, can't afford the A9's.

Ern Dog

My vote is to get some new speakers.

I had some RTi10's which I was never really satisfied with so I upgraded amps, cdp, and pre and in the end was still unhappy with the speakers. Looking back I wish I would have gotten better speakers sooner.

You have already tried some good amps without success. Save your dough and go BIG.

danger boy

cfrizz wrote: »

So what do you have for amps & how old Al? You know what I'm going to say! If you've got less than 200wpc get more. If you already have it, then get new speakers.

Cathy,

i have swapped out several different amps over the years.. none of them really brought out the best in the speakers... so I'm sure you're onto the right thing.. about upping my amp power. I have heard what a more powerful amp can do for nearly any speaker.

Most of my amps are 10 to 15 years old and in the range of 125 wpc. I think the Adcom that I have is the only high current amp of the ones I use.

asd1234

Why don't you give Emotiva a call and have them send you a XPA-5 for a 30 day trial. By the end of that you will know if you want to upgrade your speakers or not.

Mike21

I'm with hawkeye.

As a general rule, I upgrade speakers before anything else. However, the sound you are missing may be due to insuffucenct amplification rather than your speakers.

In my experience, one needs to double the wattage of the amplifier to gain a meaningful improvement. Like, replace a 2 x 100w amp/receiver with a 2 x 200w amp/receiver.

Of course, if you are running a low-fi 100w amp, replacing it with a good high current 150w amp (like NAD or Rotel) will make an improvement.