Surround Speaker Question

neoera1

Hello, I recently purchased a pair of Rti A5 fronts, a Csi A6 center and a DSW Pro 600 sub for my new home theater room (16ft x 14ft) and was now turning my attention towards the surrounds. I use the system for about 50% games/movies and 50% music including multichannel music. Would going with the Fxi A4/A6 speakers negatively affect the sound of the multichannel music more than the Rti A1/A3 would negatively affect the localization for games/movies? I have no place near me to audition the Fxi's but i have auditioned the Rti A1/A3 and they sound great. Also, would going withe the smaller driver in the Fxi A4 or Rti A1 make a negative difference in sound? Would it be better to stick to same size drivers all the way around? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

mdaudioguy

The RTis would be the best compromise, IF you have some space to the side and back of your primary seating area, IMHO. I think they'd make great surrounds if they can be located to the side and slightly behind the listener, and angled toward the listener. Sound-wise the RTi and FXi are very similar, except that the FXis provide a more spacious, non-localizable field - great for movie surrounds, perhaps not-so-great for multi-channel music, if that's your thing. It seems like you understand the compromise. I also think the smaller speakers would be adequate (for HT), and the larger ones better (for music). If you have the space and can properly position them, go with the RTiA3 pair. I think that would be a fantastic set of 5.1 speakers.

NewHTguy

I believe most people listen to two-channel music with either 2.0 or 2.1. If that is what you plan to do, then choose your surrounds to maximize HT.

wutadumsn23

NewHTguy wrote: »

I believe most people listen to two-channel music with either 2.0 or 2.1. If that is what you plan to do, then choose your surrounds to maximize HT.

Very true, surrounds will benifit you most in HT. Timbre matching your surrounds isn't as crucial as it is with the front 3, so you can stray from the series if need be. It doesn't hurt to keep it in the family, but won't kill you if you don't. Good luck and welcome to Club Polk.

-Jeff

neoera1

Thanks for all the responses guys. I do use my system for 2 channel listening but was looking into upgrading to sacd. There are a lot of classical releases in multichannel that I am interested in. I do have enough room behind my seating to properly place the rti so i will go with those for side surrounds. When I upgrade to 7.1, should i go for the fxis for rears or stick with rti for rears? Thanks for all the help.

SugarmillMan

I posed a similar question to Polk Customer Service.
They recomended I use my Fxi4's as rear surrounds and my RTIa1's as my surround sides. However, I do 90% HT and 10 % music.

mdaudioguy

NewHTguy wrote: »

I believe most people listen to two-channel music with either 2.0 or 2.1. If that is what you plan to do, then choose your surrounds to maximize HT.

wutadumsn23 wrote: »

Very true, surrounds will benifit you most in HT. Timbre matching your surrounds isn't as crucial as it is with the front 3, so you can stray from the series if need be. It doesn't hurt to keep it in the family, but won't kill you if you don't. Good luck and welcome to Club Polk.

-Jeff

Pay attention!!! The OP is interested in 50/50 HT and multichannel music. In other words, the rear speakers are basically just as important as the others in order to reproduce music recorded in multiple channels. Timbre-matching would be especially important in this scenario.

SugarmillMan wrote: »

I posed a similar question to Polk Customer Service.
They recomended I use my Fxi4's as rear surrounds and my RTIa1's as my surround sides. However, I do 90% HT and 10 % music.

I do the opposite in my room, with the FXis on the side walls and RTis on the back. It works well for me, but I made the decision to do it this way due to the shape of my room - somewhat longer than it is wide. YMMV!

neoera1 - Where are my manners?? Welcome to CP!

wutadumsn23

mdaudioguy wrote: »

Pay attention!!! The OP is interested in 50/50 HT and multichannel music. In other words, the rear speakers are basically just as important as the others in order to reproduce music recorded in multiple channels. Timbre-matching would be especially important in this scenario.

Wow, really dude?? I do the best I can, sorry I am not always "right" A little tact goes a long way.

-Jeff

mdaudioguy

wutadumsn23 wrote: »

Wow, really dude?? I do the best I can, sorry I am not always "right" A little tact goes a long way.

-Jeff

Hey Jeff, I didn't mean to jump on you personally... I just wanted to make a point that timbre matters especially in the case of someone with an interest in multichannel - could have been a bit more tactful, I guess, since you were obviously sincere in your response. I had tried to give a response that fit his stated needs and was frustrated that others appeared to disregard what he had said. No matter, I'll take a pill.
Keep doin' what you're doin'!

Patrick Murphy

I have to agree with timbre matching your speakers, particularly the tweeters. I had a mishmash system and although it sounded good it was a whole lot better and more ambient when I kept everybody in the 'family'.

I also have been extremely impressed with the FXiA4 surround speaker in dipole mode. I had Cambridge 'The Surround' speakers previously and the improvement has been quite noticeable in clarity, volume and spaciousness.

I had a pair of RTA11t fronts and through research here and AVS, it looked like the RTi line was my best option and it has been for me. All my speakers sound pretty much the same when using the Audyssey setup test or pink noise.

wutadumsn23

mdaudioguy wrote: »

Hey Jeff, I didn't mean to jump on you personally... I just wanted to make a point that timbre matters especially in the case of someone with an interest in multichannel - could have been a bit more tactful, I guess, since you were obviously sincere in your response. I had tried to give a response that fit his stated needs and was frustrated that others appeared to disregard what he had said. No matter, I'll take a pill.
Keep doin' what you're doin'!

LOL, it's all good, seems like I have been PMS'ing as of late, lol. Wasn't trying to disregard what he had said in his post, just wasn't as thourough as I should have been. Share those pills, lol.

-Jeff