Is one speaker better for music than the other?

selkec

Which series is better for what? Is Rti better for home theater and Lsi for Music? Im about 70/30 HT/music. I am and will be using an Emotiva Xpa2 and Xpa5 to power my speakers. So I will have plenty of power. Does one have more bass? I dont want the Lsi25. I do not want powered subs in my towers because Ill end up getting the svs ultra13 or the epik conquest for plenty of bass. What is the main difference in the 2 lines?

candjhuntley

From what i've read, many prefer the RTi line for HT and LSi for music due to the soundstage. It's said the LSi is more laid back and the RTi is more pushing forward.

I haven't experienced the RTi, but i can tell you that the LSi line is great for HT and awesome for music. In the sig, you can see the setup my buddy has (though the sub is still on the way) and what little we've watched testing so far, it has been incredible, even without a sub (though a sub is DEFINITELY needed - incredible = doing good at midrange and highs). With a sub, it will be an awesome HT setup. And if you already have the amps to run it (that's one big reason i've found why a lot of people recommend the RTis over teh LSis) then i would say get some LSi15s or 9s for your front with an LSiC and some 9s and F/X in the back and sit back and enjoy no matter what you use it for - you won't regret it!

ben62670

LSI's are great for HT also. You have the amps so you are ready for them.
Ben

Jeb85

I really like my LSi15/LSiC/LSi9 system for HT you can't go wrong. LSi15s for music is awesome as well!

danz1906

Lsi better for Music...RTiA better for Home theater,,,That said for you the RTiA would
be a better choice.

ben62670

danz1906 wrote: »

Lsi better for Music...RTiA better for Home theater,,,That said for you the RTiA would
be a better choice.

My buddy is running full LSI's in his place for HT with the same amps as the OP. Sounds great. HT is more forgiving of speakers than music, and the RTxx speakers are easier to power than LSi's, but he already has the amps.

selkec

What would make the Rti's better for HT? As of right now I only have the XPA-5 but it has plenty of power. Im torn on what to do. I love my rti150's and Csi5 but the other day in frys they had the Lsi's set up in the theater they have and it caught my attention. Actually I thought the center channel seemed to sound better watching movies than the csi5. They were playing Pirates of Carribean. Untill then I always thought I liked the Rti better. The problem is they do not have the lsi's set up in the speaker room. Only the rti's so I cant compare them side by side. I may have to make them work and actually pull them out of the theater to the speaker room or visa versa. Im torn.

candjhuntley

There's another thread in which i just read someone saying, roughly, "Look for speakers that do music well and they will do HT well too - but good HT speakers won't always do music well" - that's the gist of it.

If i were you and you were willing to start your system from scratch, since you already have the power to drive them, get the LSis that you would want to run. You know they do music well as everyone points out - but as has been pointed out, they also do HT well - driven properly you can't go wrong at all with them.

The only thing i've read so far (that i can recall) that makes one better than the other has to do with the soundstage - but this is subjective concerning if this is an issue. Go with what you know will be great for music, and it will be great for HT too.

And from what i've read, the LSis are very picky regarding placement. So even if they pulled the LSis out and put them in teh sound room and hastily hooked them up - and especially if they just hooked them to a receiver with no external amp driving them - you might not get a fair assessment - i dont' have a frys around me, but based on what i know of it, i'm not convinced that they are reliable to set up speakers adequately - perhaps on par with a best buy or such? The only real audition for you would be to put them in your room with your equipment and see what you think

Hope it helps

PS - perhaps i'm biased, but in case you can't tell, i think you should go with the LSis

curved

If it's within your price range, get the LSi's!!

PSOVLSK

I've said this before, but I think when people say that the LSi are better for music than for HT what they mean is that the improvement over say the RTi line is more evident for music than for HT. In other words, the LSi is better than the RTi in both music/HT, but the difference isn't as significant with HT.

curved wrote: »

If it's within your price range, get the LSi's!!

+1. And if you're getting an SVS or Epik, I'd go with the 9's. I have a similar set-up and LOVE it.

syntheticzero

As a new Polk owner, I have to say, get the LSis. The RTis are "good" speakers but the LSis really blow away the RTis, honestly. I owned RTis to start with and they were okay for music, but somewhat underwhelming. Yes, the RTis are fine for HT but really, the LSis are astounding speakers for the money, they're just in a different class.

ben62670

Bottom line is Polk's bang for the buck out class nearly anything out there. It would be real hard to beat LSI15's in the 4k or less category. HT of Music. The LSi's are very eye appealing, and can put out clean DB's that most can not match. If you have the clean power that LSi's require you can not beat them bang for buck in HT or 2 channel for modern speakers. I am not a fan boy.
Ben

leroyjr1

I'd say try to find audio shop that carries both series and see for yourself. I own both series and like the RTIa series alot better for HT than the LSI. It all depends on your taste.

ben62670

leroyjr1 wrote: »

I'd say try to find audio shop that carries both series and see for yourself. I own both series and like the RTIa series alot better for HT than the LSI. It all depends on your taste.

I agree, but in store listening evaluations are misleading. LSi's are almost never powered properly in a store:(

leroyjr1

My choice would be RTIa for HT and SDA's for music. Skip the LSI series.;)

Erik Tracy

syntheticzero wrote: »

As a new Polk owner, I have to say, get the LSis. The RTis are "good" speakers but the LSis really blow away the RTis, honestly. I owned RTis to start with and they were okay for music, but somewhat underwhelming. Yes, the RTis are fine for HT but really, the LSis are astounding speakers for the money, they're just in a different class.

Different strokes...

I owned the LSi7s and gave them up for RTiA3s for.....music...and yes I had the clean power to back them.

But that's just my preferences for my system, volume levels, styles of music, and sonics.

Its all about what *you* like.

candjhuntley

Erik Tracy wrote: »

Different strokes...

I owned the LSi7s and gave them up for RTiA3s for.....music...and yes I had the clean power to back them.

From what i've read, i wouldn't use the LSi7s to evaluate the LSi line - and if the speakers from the LSi series you're planning on using for your mains is the 7s, you'd probably be best served to go the RTi route.

But instead of settling for 7s, at least grab the 9s - from what i've read (and i've heard the 9s, but not the 7s) the 9s are the sweet spot of the LSi line (when put together with a solid sub). The 15s are great, but you pay a lot more for them with the added woofer that when added to a sub (which you will definitely do anyway for HT) is not necessary. But i also see that some people turn off their subs for 2 channel music listening and only use the sub during HT use - so it's how you use them i guess. But the 9s have incredible depth and range and can do a lot of things that the 7s just can't keep up with. The 7s probably do good surround duty where they're not required to handle a lot - but for your mains, the 15s or 9s are your best bet.

dale442

When driven proper the RTI series is more than good enough for music.

For fun, one night I ran my ex RTI-4's off of my Carver TFM-45. Sounded nice and at high volume as well. They had no problem taking the clean power!
It's all gotta work together.

Dale

nooshinjohn

leroyjr1 wrote: »

My choice would be RTIa for HT and SDA's for music. Skip the LSI series.;)

plus one on the music side. I have a set of lsi15's coming for use as my rear surrounds in my 7.1 setup...and I love the way the sda's work as mains for H/T applications as well. My suggestion would be to consider a nice set of SDA for the front. The nice part about them is if you buy them right, you can resell and get all of your money back if they don't suit your taste

syntheticzero

>I owned the LSi7s and gave them up for RTiA3s for.....music

Never heard the LSi7's. The LSi9's, to my ear, blow away the RTi A3's in terms of pure detail. They're just more "high resolution". The A3's are, however, brighter speakers, and if that's what you like, then I can see preferring them. I much prefer the depth and accuracy of the LSi9's.

dale442

I should have added a bit more detail.
The Carver flattened all the harshness out of the RTi4's. They sounded smooth, had a decent soundstage and took everything the amp had for over an hour. No where during the test did they cry for mercy. I was very impressed, for what they are.


Dale

mantis

Lsi's are good double duty speakers but I think they do a better job with 2 and multichannel music. They are warm and laid back. Not qualities you want for movies. They do a good job playing movies but I always wanted more dynamics when I owned them. You have to have a lot of power to get them to move. I'm sick of that.

The RTia or any rt series speaker for that matter excel at movies. Very dynamic and easy to drive. When you give them more power , they roar like a lion. But for me music is not as good as the Lsi's not even close. The new RTia's are impressive and probably the best polk has offered as a double duty speaker in this line but still the LSI's outclass them for music here.
If someone where to ask me a 50 50 split between music and movies, I would sell them rt, if they are music first then movies 2nd, then Lsi would be my first choice.

Dan