TSx440T or RTiA7?

audionut373 · July 2015

I have a small living room (15'X15') that has oak hardwood floors and am looking for a pair of speakers for my NAD integrated 3140 amp running into a NAD 214 amp that puts out 80W per channel. I listen to jazz, classic, African and blues music. I'm looking for speakers that have decent mids and bass without having to run a subwoofer. The specs look pretty good on the RTiA7's but I read a review on "Top 10 Reviews" website that stated that the TSx440T's are "Among the few floor standing speakers that can stand alone without a subwoofer". I can get the TSx440T's on Polk's Ebay site for $229.99 each as opposed to the RTiA7's at $369.99 each.

I am planning on replacing my NAD equipment with a vintage Marantz 2270 in the near future because I really love the sound of vintage Marantz receivers. I assume that 70W per channel would drive either pair of speakers without any problems?

cnh · July 2015

RTi-A7s are a better speaker for you, especially if you're going to run them off NAD power which will help give more warmth.

The truly musical speakers in the current Polk line up, though, are the LSiM series. But that's a lot of coin.

Upstatemax · July 2015

Getting decent bass response out of a smaller room is not that difficult.

I only run my Focal 806V's in my 2ch and I get plenty of bass, they are the smaller bookshelf of the series.

I actually got rid of a larger speaker (LSi 9's) because they had too much bass for the room.

The RTi A7's are also not known for their mid's, I also found that the A7's don't really open up till you start throwing larger amounts of power to them, my HCA 1500A really opened them up nicely.

With the receivers you're looking to use, large, power-hungry speakers might not be your best choice. A well designed bookshelf might give you much better results.

msg · July 2015

I always wondered how the TSx sounds for music compared to the RTiA series.
when I was first shopping, Polk told me that the RTiA was the better speaker of the two, but still, I'd like to hear the difference for myself. last time I looked there was very little information about the TSx. I still want to hear TSx550's

rooftop59 · July 2015

I have not owned either of the towers in question, but I have owned or auditioned bookshelf speakers from both lines. On the one hand, the RTi series definitely have higher quality parts, and you are rewarded with more detail. However, you also have a top octave 5db boost giving the speakers their signature "bright" sound, which I find fatiguing after a while. On the other hand, the TSx have a warmer sound, and lack the upper octave boost, making them a little easier to listen to for long periods of time. However, the lesser quality parts result in less detail and a more veiled presentation overall. I did not hold onto them.

Therefore to the OP I would recommend looking elsewhere unless you are willing to shell out for the LSiMs. With the music you listen to I don't think you would be very happy with either speaker...

audionut373 · July 2015

I appreciate the comments so far! My budget is about $750 max so I am limited to what I can buy. I must also add that I'm a vintage audio fan and have a Pioneer SX-737 and Sansui 1000X in my den that I listen to hooked to a pair of Optimus Minimus 7's. The 7's that I have are the ones with the port in the rear which improves the bass over the non-ported ones!

Of all the"lower cost" speakers, Polk seems to have lots of good reviews. I did have a pair of LSi 300's for awhile but they did not satisfy my bass requirements. One of the main problems around here (SW Washington) is that no one seems to carry either of the Polk's that I'm curious about so that I can audition them!

As I mentioned in my post I also have the NAD equipment in the living room. I'm happy with the NAD gear but I have a separate integrated amp, amp and tuner. I want to replace all that with a classic receiver eventually so that I have room to add a turntable and more room for my vinyl.

cnh · July 2015

audionut373 wrote: »

I appreciate the comments so far! My budget is about $750 max so I am limited to what I can buy. I must also add that I'm a vintage audio fan and have a Pioneer SX-737 and Sansui 1000X in my den that I listen to hooked to a pair of Optimus Minimus 7's. The 7's that I have are the ones with the port in the rear which improves the bass over the non-ported ones!

Of all the"lower cost" speakers, Polk seems to have lots of good reviews. I did have a pair of LSi 300's for awhile but they did not satisfy my bass requirements. One of the main problems around here (SW Washington) is that no one seems to carry either of the Polk's that I'm curious about so that I can audition them!

As I mentioned in my post I also have the NAD equipment in the living room. I'm happy with the NAD gear but I have a separate integrated amp, amp and tuner. I want to replace all that with a classic receiver eventually so that I have room to add a turntable and more room for my vinyl.

If you're into vintage audio look for some Polk Monitor 7s, they would sound nice on an SX 737.

TSx440T or RTiA7?

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