RT35 or 25's for mains

jmtbkr · April 2002

hello all-

I have a small room that has been set up for HT viewing only - no audio. I have been contemplating the RT35's but after thinking about setting up the speakers on my reciever to small and letting the sub take care of everything below 80hz, why would I not just use RT25's - afterall, either speaker will be cut off at 80hz and I'm sure that either of them will have no problem at that freq.

I could understand the advantage of the 35 if I didn't have a sub, but now I'm confused.

BTW- I'm using RT15's rear and a CS245i center along with a 12"Velodyne sub.

Thanks muchly!!!:)

mjk91383 · April 2002

I have owned both the RT35i and the RT25i within the past year.

For musical purposes, I find the 35i to be the better of the two. The larger driver on the 35i tends to blend a little more smoothly with my sub (PSW350).

On the other hand, the 25i is, hands down, one of the best bookshelf speakers for the money, and almost all of the members here would agree with me on that. Both the 35i and the 25i will go great with your center and surrounds, so you won't have a problem there.

Have you auditioned either model at your local shop? If not, you might want to hurry up and find some before they're all gone... good luck!

joe

OrangeToupee · April 2002

I'm sure they'll both sound very good; I own the 35i's and am therefore partial to them.

I also have a 12" velodyne and have found that I prefer setting my speakers to small, and setting my crossover at 100Hz's instead of 80Hz's. If you have the option, you may consider trying both of these settings to find what you like best. I find the response of the sub, between 80-100Hz's more pleasing than my speaker's response.

scottvamp · April 2002

Hi jmtbkr, welcome to the club! Nice little setup you have. All great speakers for the money. Pesonally I would go with the rt25i. I have a pair of these and they are awesome. Should blend very well with your cs245i. Your sub should take care of the rest.
Have Fun!

jmtbkr · April 2002

I'm sure they will both sound great too....
Excellent point about using a 100hz cut off, I will try this!!

My point I guess I was trying to make was why use a larger speaker if all you are going to do is reproduce 100 hz and up. Most towers use the 5 1/4" -or smaller- for the mid-range.
Will the 35 have a bigger 'soundstage' than the 25?

None of the soundrooms near me have either pair set up in the same room.:(

Stocks_sd · April 2002

If you have the money I would definitely buy the 35's. I originally had 35's up front and 25's in the back. I absolutely loved the 35's but got the upgrade bug. Now it's 800's in the front and 35's in the back. There's such a difference in rear sound now. I can hear the sound roll behind me from one side to the other. I never had that with the 25's. Don't get me wrong, I like the the 25's and think they are great little speakers, but I don't think they have the sound that the 35's do. I actually kind of feel like I'm wasting them as surrounds.

RuSsMaN · April 2002

Put me down for the 25's, they sport the identical mid-bass as your 15's and 245. Closer timbre matched than the 35's.

Cheers,
Russ

For **** and giggles, check out Robert J. Reina's (Stereophile) kind words about the RT25i......

RT25i review

Cheers,
Russ

juice21 · April 2002

i would normally choose the 35 over the 25 as a personal choice in my favorite for a speaker, but in your system, i would go with the 25 to mate perfectly with your 245, 15's...

johnnyamerika · April 2002

I too would go with the 25s as they match your setup better than the 35s. The extra displacement doesn't necessarily translate into more complete sound...the system needs to be in sync with itself.

scottvamp · April 2002

Put me down for the 25's, they sport the identical mid-bass as your 15's and 245. Closer timbre matched than the 35's.

Me and Russ are on the same page with this one. Better match, your front stage would be seemless with the 25's.

robertgray · April 2002

FYI - Circuit City in-store price for the 25s is 89.95, (if you can find them - CC website no longer carries them). I took advantage and picked up 4 ea 25s, CS245 @ 179, and PSW350 openbox @ 309. (I obviously bought the Polk recommendations for system matchups) Now if only my Onkyo TX SR600 (449) would arrive, I'll be on my way to replacing the Panasonic boombox filling in for my recently blown 20 year-old Sansui receiver.

jmtbkr · April 2002

Thanx Guys!!!!!

Just returned from CC and.......

SUCH A DEAL.........!!!!

2 Rt25i's and a SR600(last one:D ) for:

$675!!!!

Guess it pays to be a regular there. My salesman definately took care of me!!

The 25's are fantastic as mains. Just did a crude, basic wire-up of everything and as most of you had said, it is just seamless beauty. I use the 5th Element as my test DVD, and it has the house moving on the foundation!!!

Tomorrow, the optical and sub cables(AR) go on. Can't wait to hear the difference. Just using the old spagettii RCA's I've had for years:o

Thanks again!!
jeff

BBUBBA · April 2002

GO WITH THE 35'S THEY ARE BETTER SOUNDING FOR MAINS I HAVE BOTH THE 25 & 35 . MY ORIGIANL SET UP WAS RT35'S MAINS RT25'S SURROUNDS AND CS245I CENTER WITH PSW350SUB. ONE THING TO THINK ABOUT IS UPGRADING , YOU GETT THE 35'S AND YOU CAN USE THEM FOR SURRROUNDS LATER.aND USE THE 25'S AS WELL OR PUT THEM IN A ROOM FOR A SEPERATE FEED.

bkleinke · April 2002

Until I upgraded to a LSi system I used 4x RTi25s and a CSi245 (+ an SVS pc20-39) and it sounded very very good. The LSi's IMO are better, but cost a tad bit more <grin>

You can't go wrong with the 25s (and it doesn't look like you did

)

Brian

RT35 or 25's for mains

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