towers as surrounds

Airplay355

why would someone use tower speakers as surrounds? i've seen people with towers as mains and surrounds. is there some sort of benefit from this? whats the difference between using a tower and a surround speaker? thanx

organ

I'm using towers as surrounds. Before the towers I had a pair of RT5 bookshelfs. The 800i's sound much better as surround speakers. Even with the small setting on the receiver, I get a lot more bass in the rear and everything sounds a lot bigger. The RT5's gave it a nice soundfield, but the 800i's presentation as surrounds was closer to the real theater IMO(more impact and agressive). It's also a matter of taste and room acoustics I guess.

Maurice

Shizelbs

My first purchase was a set of R40 towers. Since then I have added the surrounds and center. I may, however, if I ever get the LSi's, keep the R40's and send them to the back as surrounds to save money. Although not permanent, it may have to do the job for a while. Plus, for those of us renting apartments, and can't really get inside our walls, it can also be nice to not have big thick wires running halfway up the walls.

RuSsMaN

Organ, where are those Stereophile Recommended Class C RT5's now?

Cheers,
Russ

organ

Hi Russman,
I had no idea stereophile really liked them. Anyways, they're currently not being used. I'm saving up my gear to have 2 systems if I ever move out. I'd love to have an LSi system for 2ch and the RT system in another room just for HT. It will probably take forever for this to happen because I have a weird feeling I'm going to end up with an LSiC and surrounds before I move out LOL. They really are great speakers. Much better at imaging than the 800i's.

Do you still have the RT7's? I remember reading your review on it. IMO, the RT7 is the **** in the RT line. That's what I really wanted but coundn't find a pair. I have not heard any RT7 owners complain about anything and they're all blown away by it's sound even today. The RT5's I got were the last pair because the new RT25 and 35 were just being introduced at the time of purchase.

Maurice

RuSsMaN

Yeah, I still have the RT7's (thanks Troy). Great speaker, agreed.

Hang onto those RT5's, but if you ever decided to move them, look me up, I'll be interested.

Cheers,
Russ

Airplay355

how do you get more bass from the rear? i thought the human ear could not pinpoint the source of low frequencies? is there really a difference between speakers like the rti70 and rt55i? besides one having a floor port and being a tower.... also while we are talking about surrounds, what polk surrounds would u recommend? i like the fx series very much, but what about the Lsi surrounds? are they nice and how would they sound paired with my rti100s and cs245i?

VR3

Airplay, Towers have the impact feel to em. Bookselfs in itself, just cant seem to do this. Personally, I would prefer towers in the rear, especailly if you run 5 channel stereo. That would kick serious ****$, matching towers! If your towers have a passive, or powered subwoofer the bass will be better, but overall the impact of towers over bookshelfs makes towers louder by principle. From the ones I have heard against bookshelfs. Especailly bookshelfs with one woofer! lol!

Airplay355

thats fine that they sound better, but does anyone know why? or is this one of those opinion questions that brings up endless debates. and if towers sound better how come more people dont do it? some surround speakers cost just as much as towers do. what would be better nice surrounds? or cheap towers?

organ

Russman,
If I ever decide to let them go, I'll let you know. Glad to hear your still digging the 7's.

Airplay, VrMx pretty much summed it up. Towers have greater impact and presence when used as surrounds.
There is a difference between the 55i and i70. Without getting into the drivers, x-over, etc, the i70 has a lot more bass because they are tower speakers.

For your question regarding surrounds, the surrounds from the RT line will match your mains and center a lot better than the LSi surrounds. If you're planning on upgrading to the LSi then you might want to start there, otherwise you're better off with surrounds from the RT series. Are you using any surround speakers at the moment?

Maurice

RuSsMaN

Obviously, someone that would say that towers will have 'more impact feel' whatever that is, haven't heard a good bookshelf speaker.

Airplay, I'm willing to bet, for more than 90% of 'rear tower' users, they either
A. had them already
B. match the mains (perhaps identically)
C. didn't want to have to find stands
D. wall mounting was not a viable option (see c also)

Look at the speaker itself, and it's tonal signature, forget the size, and find what works best for you, and the rest of your rig.

Cheers,
Rooster

VR3

Hmm, I like this rig...

Mains: RTi150
Center: CS1000p (the one with 2 subs, 2 woofers, 1 tweeter)
Back Surrounds: RTi150
Side Surrounds: RT55i
Subwoofer: W/E

That would be an awesome sounding system. The RTi150 would make a very good surround speaker! lol! Talk about bass! Russ sums it up.

faster100

Actually useing RTI150's as surrounds unless in a 5 channel stereo setting is a total and complete waste of a great speaker, I just don't see it, Not a whole lot of info go's to surrounds or atleast not enough to make sense of useing a huge speaker like the 150's......

rs159

True, that would be extreme overkill, but if cost is no option and you have the room, just for cool factor alone it would kick ****. You could also run 5 channel stereo and use it for parties and the like.

BeginnersLuck

Originally posted by Airplay355
thats fine that they sound better, but does anyone know why? or is this one of those opinion questions that brings up endless debates. and if towers sound better how come more people dont do it? some surround speakers cost just as much as towers do. what would be better nice surrounds? or cheap towers?

This brings up a great question. Some would argue that bookshelves should sound better then towers becasue there is less cabinet space to resonate. So a properly matched bookshelf/subwoofer will always sound better than just a tower. However the tower's tend to sacrifice midrange design to provide deeper extension into the lower frequency ranges. Therefore, tower will sound much fuller because they can reproduce a a greater frequency range. For example, I think the 35i's with a sub sound better than a 600i's without a subwoofer. The 35i's should sound a little more accurate in the midrange and the sub will provide cover for any lacking low end.

Fortunately, we get to choose speakers based on other factors than just sound...like I would not feel comfortable with bookshelf fronts with my cat always running around bumping into things. So I choose to go with towers even though I thought the 55i's sounded a little better than my 800i's, especially when you pair the 55i's with a nice sub.

P.S. A lot of people just simply do not have the room to place towers in the rear...I know I don't. But for those luck few who have the space the options are endless...

-BL

bionicmushroom

I kinda agree with faster that it would be a waste of a great speaker, I think that was what happened when I tried to run another set of rt1000i's as my rears... Man, they sounded like crap. It looked cool but I just couldnt get the sound to work for me so I took them back and got the f/x 500i's and man there was a huge improvement. I guess that is what they are designed for huh?

ken brydson

At the suggestion of several club members I was looking for a deal on RTi38's as surrounds. Best I could find was $190 ea. Came across the CC RT600i deal and picked up a pair for $200. As far as I can tell they are nearly identical to the 38's, all of the spec's are the same and I believe the driver and tweeter are identical. The fact that the driver array is at the top of the speaker I feel like I've got 38's on 24" stands.
Add the cost of stands to a pair of 38's and the bill is well over $450 VS $200 for the 600i's.
Bottom line is I think they sound spectacular. You can't beat the bang for buck! The cool factor ain't bad either. They look impressive!!

organ

Ken,
If money is a problem, you can always go for the RTi28. There are a few forum members here using the 25's or 28's as surrounds and they're very happy. If you don't want to buy stands try mounting them on the side or rear walls.
You got a very good deal on those 600i's. The sound great. Last year I helped a co worker buy some audio gear and we picked the 600i's as fronts with a Denon receiver and it sounded very nice.

Maurice

hamzahsh

I think someone would use towers, if the listening is room very large but for a mid-sized room RT38i would do a better job 'cause you can mount them on wall but not the RT800i. In orders words size of the room is the important issue not the speakers.

joe logston

i do it to , rt-7 as mains rt-20p as surounds, sounds dam good to.

organ

Holy **** joe! You're hardcore with your subs there. RT20, 2 PSW650 and an audio source. Holy crap man, HT must sound great on your system.

Maurice