New Main Speakers LSi9 vs. RTiA7

campisfortis

I am a long-time Polk fan, but new forum member. I have enjoyed my current setup for the last five years:

Denon 3801 Receiver
Monitor 10 (with SL2000 tweeter) - Mains
CS400i - Center
f/x500i - Surround Side
RCi80 - In Ceiling Surround Back
Velodyne SPL-1200 Sub.

I have purchased all of these new over time, as technology and my circumstances have changed. The Monitor 10's are the first real speakers I have owned, and I have been quite happy with the sound they provide over
the years. The rest of the speakers have been selected to be as compatible as possible.

For me, this is a perfect setup. I listen to mostly HT, and when I am listening to music, I normally use the 7-Channel stereo mode (which I love). To my ears, this combination provides accurate, well-balanced sound, which is what I am looking for. I am not impressed by "sizzle" or one-note bass. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

While this setup has provided may hours of listening pleasure, my old Toshiba 50" Rear Projection TV has died.:( My wife wanted a replacement hung on the wall with small speakers beside it. I wanted a 65" (to provide the larger image size in 4:3 as the Toshiba, bigger is better, right?).

After much discussion we agreed on a LG 55" LED/LCD. It will sit on a new three-panel furniture quality cabinet (66" wide). This equipment will arrive next Tuesday . My beloved Monitor 10s will need to go, to be replaced by either small towers or bookshelf speakers, and to make it worse, the CS400i might not fit in space reserved for a center channel .

I need help deciding what to use for the replacement for the mains. With about $1000 budget, I am considering the LSi9 and RTiA7. I know the LSi9 is a "better" speaker, but since I was happy with what I have today and I am crossing over to the Velodyne at 80Hz, which speaker will sound more like the Monitor 10s?

I know the LSi9 would present a challenge for my Denon 3801, but I believe I will be okay with the mostly moderate volume levels I normally use, and I can always get a 2-channel amp later to drive the mains via the Denon pre-outs.

On the other-hand the opinion seems to be the RTiA7 can be fatiguing when listening to music and it has a bit more sizzle than music-lovers appreciate (this might be balanced by the Denon, as it is often considered to be restrained).

So here are my options for my new mains:

LSi9 or LSi7 and drive with Denon until I can afford an extra two-channel amp

or

RTiA7, never mind the amp,

or

RT25i (spare pair I have) and save $$$.

If I cannot make the CS400i fit, I may have to replace it with CSiA4 (everything else it too wide, I have only about 8.5" by 20" to work with). Assuming a CSiA4 as center, would it make any sense to have LSi9 as mains?

One last question, since I have the SPL-1200 which is a capable musical sub, would I be just as happy with the RTiA5 (or even RTiA3) compared to RTiA7?

I know this is a lot of questions, but I appreciate any advice you can give me.

Bernal

LSi 9 or LSi 7 are speakers at 4 ohms and requires external amplifier for excellent performance.
Denon is not tested for 4 ohms and can open the security system.
better RT.

---

01) DENON AVR-4308CI: Advanced 7.1 CH/5.1+2 CH/ 3.1+2+2 CH A/V Home Theater /MultiMedia Multi-Source/Zone Receiver with Networking and WiFi/170 watts x 7 channels
02) SUNFIRE Grand Signature - Bob Carver's
03) OPPO DV-980H 1080p Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI and 7.1CH Audio
04) OPPO BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player w/SACD & DVD-Audio / DENON DVD-2500BTCI: Blu-ray Disc™ DVD/CD Digital Player/Transport
05) HITACHI P55T501. 55" HD1080 Plasma HDTV
06) POLKAUDIO LSiC (Center speaker)
07) POLKAUDIO LSi15 LEFT (Front speaker)
08) POLKAUDIO LSi15 RIGHT (Front speaker)
09) POLKAUDIO LSif/x LEFT (Surround speaker)
10) POLKAUDIO LSif/x RIGHT (Surround speaker)
11) VELODYNE OPTIMUN 12" (High Output Digital EQ SubWoofer 2400W/1200WRMS)

PSOVLSK

I'd go with the Rti line for a few reasons: 1) you say you listen to music in 7 channel stereo. If you listened in 2-channel, I'd recommend the LSi7's. 2) The center channel issue. If seems as though you wouldn't be able to upgrade to the LSiC. This ties in with reason #1 I gave.

I don't have experience with the RTi line, so I'll save opinions on which you should get for others.

Kex

campisfortis wrote: »

I am a long-time Polk fan, but new forum member. I have enjoyed my current setup for the last five years:

Denon 3801 Receiver
Monitor 10 (with SL2000 tweeter) - Mains
CS400i - Center
f/x500i - Surround Side
RCi80 - In Ceiling Surround Back
Velodyne SPL-1200 Sub.

... I am considering the LSi9 and RTiA7. I know the LSi9 is a "better" speaker, but since I was happy with what I have today and I am crossing over to the Velodyne at 80Hz...

LSi9 or LSi7 and drive with Denon until I can afford an extra two-channel amp

or

RTiA7, never mind the amp,

or

RT25i (spare pair I have) and save $$$.[/B] ...

With that setup, and since you are mostly interested in HT and multi-channel stereo, I would say RTi A5 would be the better choice, but the LSi option would probably remind you more of the Monitor 10 you were using before. The RTi A5 are reputedly much easier to drive than the A7 (or A9), and with them, some would even question whether an external amp would add any noticeable improvement (as with everything else, others will disagree, of course).

The RT25i will work, and they are a good speaker, but I would never consider them an acceptable long term solution for me (I like the bigger Polk speakers, driven with a very capable receiver). YMMV.

... If I cannot make the CS400i fit, I may have to replace it with CSiA4 (everything else it too wide, I have only about 8.5" by 20" to work with). Assuming a CSiA4 as center, would it make any sense to have LSi9 as mains? ...

It would really be worth it, IMO, if you can make the CS400i fit. It is highly regarded and frequently sought. Otherwise, when you have been around for a while (25 posts minimum), you could probably sell it quite easily in the Flea Market here for $150-200. The CS400i is NOT a good choice with any LSi series speaker, nor is the CSi A4. They have totally different tweeters, and the front three speakers should always be matched. If this is not possible, using a phantom center is better IMO than using the wrong center. It IS, however, possible to match center speakers from different RT generations, just as many choose the CS400/400i to match with their SDA and vintage Monitor series speakers.

... One last question, since I have the SPL-1200 which is a capable musical sub, would I be just as happy with the RTiA5 (or even RTiA3) compared to RTiA7? ...

Without an external amplifier, IMO, both of these would be good alternatives for your intended use (the choice of the A3 would be solely based on a less imposing appearance concern). I would personally not get the RTi A7 or above without either a very beefy receiver, or an external amplifier.

P.S. Welcome to C.P.!

dorourke07

Just a thought if you are really interested in getting into the LSI game. I own the LSI 9's and they have been fantastic and if that's direction you really want to go, there have been great deals on the PolkDirect page for ebay and in the flea market. You could take your $1,000 budget and use part of it to get the external amp you need to run them. This forum has been filled with great advice and from what I can tell the long-timers take great care of their gear if you look for used equipment. I don't think you could go wrong with either series but in the long run it sounds like you want the LSI9's.

campisfortis

Okay, it seems the LSi are out, if for no other reason than I have no room for a LSiC, and they the LSi are a poor match accoustic match for any other center.

As a test, I will connect my RT25i, to see what I think of them. Since I have a solid sub and don't care about two channel, I may just get the RTiA3, which I suspect are very similar.

Otherwise, I am now leaning toward the RTiA5, I know from reading other posts, some people agree the RTiA5 is more "musical" than the RTiA7. And since the -3db low-end is close to what the Monitor10s have (~ 38 Hz?), and since I am crossing over at 80 Hz, I suspect the difference in low-end will not be audible to me.

I am somewhat disappointed as it seems everybody loves the LSi. Oh, well, at least I will have the 55" HD TV.

leroyjr1

For mostly HT the a5's with your sub will be a good choice. You will not be dissapointed with which ever speaker you choose.

Just glad your wife didn't make you get Bose.

Erik Tracy

I'll stir the pot a bit....:D

One thing you haven't mentioned yet is the size of your HT room.

It would be my opinion that if you have a large HT room that towers for mains and a sub may be the better setup.

If your HT room is small to medium sized, then "bookshelves" as mains with a sub would work quite nicely.

That then cracks the door open to some options.

You mentioned that you wanted some feedback on RTiA3s - and since I run those now in my rig I can tell you that for moderate level listening they offer outstanding performance for the money.

I may be in a very small minority, but I've tried the LSi7s in my rig - did a 'death match' shootout with the RTiA3s and for my preferences for music and HT - I preferred the RTiA3s which I run with an Epik Valor sub.

For music, the RTiA3s have what I would call 'sparkle' (as opposed to sizzle) and detail on the high end. I would not call them fatiguing at low to moderate levels at all. But at high volumes and with certain types of music and recordings, the highs can begin to wear you down. I love the detailing and imaging I can get for music.

For HT - RTiA3s are easy to drive, and can fill a medium room no problem.

If I had a bigger room, I would personally go towers, but I am space constrained and my family room is 'medium sized' (12x14) so the RTiA3s (with a CSi3 center and RTi4 surrounds) do an admirable job.

fwiw....:)

campisfortis

I did not mention my room size, as the benchmark was the Monitor 10s, and my main goal was to provide performance close to them, and I am quite happy with my current performance. However, since you mention it, my room, I think, would count as large. The room is about 17 x 20. The "front" wall with the TV and mains is 17', but with an opening on one corner. One long wall (20') has four windows on it, the "back" left corner is open to the side of the stairway. Oh, and there is no rear wall, the rear is open to the kitchen which, counting the nook, is another 20 feet long.

So the main equipment is in a inverse U cabinet (around the TV) on the back wall, the surround sides are in line with my listening position (~14' from the front of the cabinet), the sub is under a metal and stone table to the lright of the listening position, and the surround backs are in the ceiling about 6' feet behind my seat.

I think you can see why I like 7-Channel stereo mode for music, and why I want a 55" TV.