Just switched to Energy RC-70/RC-LCR's (my comparisons to RTi A5/CSi A6)

Menasor

Hey guys,

Just received my new Energy setup yesterday and wanted to give my thoughts on them against the RTi A5/CSi A6 setup. I know this is not a fair comparison (RC-70's are more than twice the msrp of A5's and are more in line with the LSi's), but I'm going to do it anyway.

As most of you already know, I really enjoyed the A5's. They are beautiful aesthetically, and a great performer for home theater. However they liked a bit of that refined sound I was looking for.

Pros of A5's:

-beautiful design
-power midrange (slightly pronounced)
-great dynamics for ht
-detailed forward sound


Upon unboxing the RC-70's I was immediately captivated by the driver design and the excellent finish. You can definitely tell that this speaker was well built.

After hooking up the RC-70's and RC-LCR, I immediately noticed that the soundstage had increased in width and height. Also, the imaging was definitely better. I would call the Energy's neutral to slightly warm. They have a very smooth refined sound, while retaining lots of detail. I felt that the tweeter on the 70's sounded very natural and transparent. The 70's also had that low end that the A5's did not have (once again, not the A5's fault since I'm not really comparing to the A9's here). The A5's had more in your face midbass slam. I would call it pronounced midbass. The 70's in comparison were a bit more laidback, but I felt it was more neutral in that respect.

Playing some 2ch music running the RC-70's in full range, the sound enveloped me a lot more than the A5's did. Instruments sounded much more natural and I was able to visualize the soundstage better (knowing where the drums were, the singing was, guitar was, etc). I threw everything I had at it: classical, rap, hip-hop, instrumental music, etc. Everything sounded great.

Now on to home theater. I crossed the RC-70's at 60hz and let my PC12-NSD take care of the rest. I felt that the sub was able to blend better with the 70's due to the 70's greater bass output. Interestingly enough, the RC-LCR, which uses smaller drivers than the CSi A6 and has a smaller cabinet, sounded bigger. Dialogue was improved as well (more natural, less sibilant, while still being as audible). I also felt the RC-LCR was able to disperse a wider area of sound compared to the A6. Dynamics I would say are equal between the RTi A5's and the 70's.


Pro's of the RC-70's:

-beautiful finish
-excellent soundstage and imaging
-smooth sound without losing detail (excellent tweeter)
-very well balanced sound
-2ch is its strength


Conclusion:

The Polk RTi A5 is a great performer for its price range. Its main strength is home theater, where its forward sound is able to hit you in the chest and bring the action in your face.

The RC-70 is a more refined speaker and has a sound you would expect of a speaker in its $2000/pr price range (smooth, detailed, natural).

Overall, I would recommend the A5's to anyone running an HT system, but right now I have nothing but praise for the RC-70's in a system that values both HT and music.


Here are some pics. Enjoy!

broncsrule21@

nice looking speakers.

nguyendot

Those are beautiful...... /drool

I would have wallmounted that tv though!

Menasor

broncsrule21@ wrote: »

nice looking speakers.

nguyendot wrote: »

Those are beautiful...... /drool

I would have wallmounted that tv though!

Thanks for the comments guys! They look even better in person. I was thinking about wall mounting the tv, but I didn't want to put holes in my walls and it would make my tv look smaller as well heh. Would look cleaner though for sure.

nguyendot

As good as those speakers look, they deserve a wall mounted tv for that 'clean' look.

I finally wallmounted mine. I'm ripping out sheetrock and running all cables in wall next....

Along with removing the curtains. It's ugly right now so I only watch it with the lights out

dougy

Congrats on the speakers. They look great. Also, thanks for the pics and the review. that's very helpful to anyone who may be considering them. Enjoy!

ChrisD

Those are some incredible looking speakers.

comfortablycurt

Excellent looking speakers, and nice review. I'm really digging the design of that center channel, I've never seen a center with two mids around the tweeter like that before.

thuffman03

Energy makes good speakers! Very nice setup.

Menasor

Thanks for the kind comments guys.

Menasor

Anyone else want to chime in on the RC-70's or the RC series in general? Would love to hear your comments.

Gravyfries

I have a pair of RC30's on my secondary system and I really like them. They are indeed laid back and not bright at all which I think is great. I also have the Rosenut. I also like the magnetic posts that hold the grills on. Awesome speakers!

Menasor

Gravyfries wrote: »

I have a pair of RC30's on my secondary system and I really like them. They are indeed laid back and not bright at all which I think is great. I also have the Rosenut. I also like the magnetic posts that hold the grills on. Awesome speakers!

What are you using as your primary setup?

curved

Energy recommends a long break-in ~400 hrs. How many hours do they have?

Gravyfries

Menasor wrote: »

What are you using as your primary setup?

Nad c325bee amp and c542 cd player. Extremely basic and perfect for me!

Menasor

curved wrote: »

Energy recommends a long break-in ~400 hrs. How many hours do they have?

Only about 10-15 right now. I had heard from other owners it's more like 50 hrs... Hm haven't heard the 400 hr number before

dfranks

Beautifull speakers Dude.

I have the A5/A6 setup as you described, the problem I have with them is I am not letting them out of my sight long enough to demo anything else:)

Enjoy the speakers!

danz1906

Nice System

vschaos

very nice setup!! I too am looking into speakers and was linked to this thread. I really like the review and the way the speakers look. I think I may get everything you have with the exception of the receiver. Does the denon amplifier do the job or maybe something else I could get?

Also what speakers do you have for surround?

jazz!

ok, im new....and looking for some help!! i am building a new house and want/need a great setup! the room is 22wX13dX9h with a waffle ceiling.

i have started with the speakers.
Energy RC-70(2) front
RC-LCR center
RC-R (2) rear
cant find a V1- sub and looking for 2 i think?
i have 8 months.....yes 8 months to pick my setup..lol i do have a sony 46" 240hrtz but want 60"+ no idea about power?

any help would be great!
thank you so much.

jazz!

BTW i have 5000 cdn left in the budget.

cnh

WELCOME TO CLUB POLK!!

Hey jazz!,

You'd be better off if you started a new post on this...that way you could attract more of a response.

Someone is lending me a pair of RC-10s for a while, I'm interested in hearing that aluminum dome tweeter--how a metal tweeter can be laid back, that is.

cnh

cfrizz

I'm looking forward to reading your review Cnh, because I have the same doubts.

Beautiful speakers Menasor, congrats.

Jazz, Welcome to Club Polk!

nypapaya

Not to dig out the old topic, but just found it may be more appropriate than create a new discussion.
I have been thru a series up grade in the recent 3 years.
from Polk 301 stereo setup ( no sub) , Polk monitor 70 (with Energy ESW M-8, Not deep enough, but very flat), Polk Rti 12 (with Pinnacle babyboomer, the whole logic of going with 8" subs is the wife factor, however, the pinnacle does have good depth).
Then Energy RC-70 (received yesterday from Vxxxs $399 each new black ash).
I had read many discussion about the RC and Rri comparison. Here is my observation.
RC-70 and RTi 12 are not built for same type of setup, or not same type of music, one or another. What I mean is,
If compared side by side (for the past 2 days, RTi12 with Onkyo 806, RC 70 with Onkyo 502, both use LFE crossover setting 80Hz, I know RTI 12 need more watt so I want to give a fair game), with subwoofer out of configuration, RTi 12 will give me better full range sound. However, with subwoofer turned on, the RC-70 does give more balance and overall more detail (especially mid range, which is much accurate and warm), high is sweeter too. RTi12 is still excel on the mid bass. For movie, they are probably on par, depend on the type of movie. For music, I would say RC-70 is superior than the RTi 12 (I test both with spanish guitar, Jazz, Classical (Mahler, Brahms, Paganini)), lady Gaga, Enya, Coldplay, Blackk Eyed Peas, Green Day, Maroon 5, the Police, Rihanna, Basia.

cnh

Welcome to Club Polk!

Nice review. I realize this is an old post as well. And I haven't done a review of the bookshelf versions above (RC-10s).

But generally speaking what you say for your comparison also applies to the differences between the RC-10s and the RTi-A3s.

Except that the RC-10s can get a little sloppy with bass if not properly positioned! Of course one can always plug them up with the foam port cylinders that come with them. They image very well, and are a very smooth and somewhat warmish speaker. And, somehow that aluminum dome is actually fairly laid back yet detailed. As I say somewhere else, I place them between the Rti-A3s and the LSi-7s. Prefer them to the A3s for music. But the A3s are quite good for HT surround.

Enough for now.

Enjoy the Energys, they are a nice set of towers!

cnh

nypapaya

cnh,

Thanks. Been learning from your posts

steveinaz

I have a pair of Energy C-9's and C-3's. The C-3's are on the patio system, and the C-9's are in the bedroom. Very smooth treble, nice bass, but midrange always seemed a little cold and recessed. I bet the "RC" series is real nice. Enjoy!

ravaneli

Which finish is that, cherry or rosewood? They look fantastic, man!

larry777

Thats the Rosenut finish. I really like my RC-70's for my 2 channel system powered by a vintage Sansui Au-717 Integrated Amp. You will notice better sound as they start to break in more. They will open up a lot compared to when they are new. Mine are not completely broken in yet either ( Energy recommends at least 100 hours ). Thats a great price at $399 each.