Another RTi A5 vs RTi A7 Thread. Need insight.
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Thanks for all the comments, everyone. I have some evaluating to do. I have ~60 days to send back what I have.
Oh, how I wish there was a local dealer where I could listen to the speakers... -
Where are you located?Denon AVR X4200W
Parasound A23 amplifier
Parasound A23 amplifier
LG 65" Ultra HD4k
LG 4kBR - UP970
Denon DVM 4800
Denon DP 3000 turntable
Saec 308sx tonearm w/
Dynavector 10x5 cart
Vincent PHO 701 Phono Preamp
MIT Avt3 Speaker c's
Audio Quest Big Sur ic's
Polk SDA 1C's modded
Polk LSim 707
Polk LSiM706c
Polk RTiA 3's
Polk 80F/X-RT
Polk DSW PRO 440wi sub
Infinity bu2 sub
"The early Klingon gets the Gagh" -
Hello Manticore. I live in Massachusetts, USA.
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Manticore, to add additional info: Polk lists a few dealers in the area, mostly Best Buy and (surprisingly) Home Depot. The problem is that although these are official dealers, they usually just carry small subwoofers, packaged home theater speakers or soundbars. They don't typically carry floor standing speakers. I've never seen a Polk floor standing speaker in any Best Buy that I've been in.
There is one other dealer that is about an hour drive away but I have not been able to get in touch with them to find out if they have a showroom or offer floor standing speakers. -
Unfortunately i have not heard the S series speakers but, as an owner of the A7's, A6 & A3"s they are fatiguing to listen to music. They can be tamed a bit by using a warmer sounding amp & speaker wires as i was told & found to be true a while back. These do help but, after an hour or so they are still fatiguing to the ears. If you like bright sounding speakers then the 7"s do have a very good sound to them. They put out some sound. Adding a sub fills in where they cant go.
If i hadn't already boxed up the 7"s for my son's house i would have asked you if you wanted a listen. They are a pain in the rump roast getting them back in the box so i don't want to do it all over again.
Since grabbing the LSim707's for a song of a price there is no going back. I can not predict whether there will be another crazy price drop on the LSim series but, if you feel like gambling its worth the wait.Denon AVR X4200W
Parasound A23 amplifier
Parasound A23 amplifier
LG 65" Ultra HD4k
LG 4kBR - UP970
Denon DVM 4800
Denon DP 3000 turntable
Saec 308sx tonearm w/
Dynavector 10x5 cart
Vincent PHO 701 Phono Preamp
MIT Avt3 Speaker c's
Audio Quest Big Sur ic's
Polk SDA 1C's modded
Polk LSim 707
Polk LSiM706c
Polk RTiA 3's
Polk 80F/X-RT
Polk DSW PRO 440wi sub
Infinity bu2 sub
"The early Klingon gets the Gagh" -
The problem with dealers in my area (this is just a personal opinion & observation) they actually chuckle or laugh when i asked if they carried or sold Polk speakers. Two different Hi-Fi stores both gave me the same reaction.
If you cant hear the speakers yourself it is wise to follow the opinions of those here that have first hand knowledge of the Polk sound ( & other equipment ) that others own/owned here. These folks have never sent me in the wrong direction...they do however love spending others money
In a good way of course! Denon AVR X4200W
Parasound A23 amplifier
Parasound A23 amplifier
LG 65" Ultra HD4k
LG 4kBR - UP970
Denon DVM 4800
Denon DP 3000 turntable
Saec 308sx tonearm w/
Dynavector 10x5 cart
Vincent PHO 701 Phono Preamp
MIT Avt3 Speaker c's
Audio Quest Big Sur ic's
Polk SDA 1C's modded
Polk LSim 707
Polk LSiM706c
Polk RTiA 3's
Polk 80F/X-RT
Polk DSW PRO 440wi sub
Infinity bu2 sub
"The early Klingon gets the Gagh" -
New Member to Polk Audio, just wanted to share my thoughts on my new RTi a5’s. I have these paired with my Yamaha TSR -7790 in a 5.1 setup.
They are a very nice looking speaker I have the Cherry’s I picked these up for 149.00 each new. I went with the RTi-a5’s over the 7’s because I couldn’t find that much of a Difference between the specs. Rti-a5’s preform way above there price point. I must say I don’t find these to be a bright sounding speaker at least not in my use. Source and room has a lot to do with performance of a speaker. I do have room treatments plus I don’t have my tone controls jacked up. Very nice bass output, midrange smooth and detailed top end is very nice again at least in my case, 8 ft apart toed in 15%, I’ve had higher end speaker’s Polks LSI-15’s and I have to say I’m Pleasantly surprised with the build quality and the sound quality of my RTi-a5’s. My room isn’t big but my setup is well laid out. I’m in no way a technical expert on audio but I do go back to the 70’s owning many systems and speakers up until now some with amps from two to 5 channels. I have to say the RTi line are a very nice well built very nice looking speaker. -
Most every AVR's in your range are down to 40/50wpc x 5 some less. Some manufacturers fudge on the spec's also by saying 110 x 5 or 7 at 6 ohm by using the 1khz frequency instead of the 20hz to 20,000khz range. 1khz is right smack in the middle of our hearing range and super easy to achieve that power rating for a short period of time. So in reality your AVR may only be 65- 70 wpc at 8 ohm with the 20hz to 20,000 khz x 2 and way down when 5 or more channels are in play at once. Power supplies are one of the most expensive parts of the AVR and the first area they cut cost to give you a plethora of codacs to use to play movies.
Codacs i.e. Dolby digital, DTS, DD master audio, DTS HD master audio, Dolby atmos etc, etc these all cost money for the rights to use in AVR's
My Pioneer Elite SC-95 AVR specs at the bottom show 135W RMS is max it can output per channel. Bench test by sound and vision below shows that when driven in the multichannel mode it would output ~97W RMS per channel.
That means my front A7s would get ~194W each in the bi amp mode vs 135W in the standard mode so in this case bi-amping does deliver more power to the speaker...
Post edited by zvucnik on -
No they wouldn't. That whole biamp with a receiver is malarkey! It would get less just like the 5 channel specs told you above.
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It's all really just simple math. If your amp puts out 135 watts per channel, and you hook up speakers to 5 channels, you will get 675 watts per channel because 135 x 5 = 675. And if you bi-amp that, your watts per channel will increase to 1350. And then add the watts per channel rating of each speaker, which is at least 400. So now you are looking at 1750 watts per channel and anyone will tell you that that will totally kick all kinds of A$$!
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Aww, bless your heart. That made me laugh. Just the authority of the statement. I remember those days myself, back when I was an even littler audio dude than I still am. It made so much sense when I first read it in the manual! Woah, free power?!? I'm not letting that go to waste! Uhlektrikle Magik!That means my front A7s would get ~194W per channel in the bi amp mode vs 135W in standard mode so in this case bi-amping does deliver more power to the speaker...That means my front A7s would get ~194W per channel in the bi amp mode
lol'dNo they wouldn't. That whole biamp with a receiver is malarkey! It would get less just like the 5 channel specs told you above.
I disabled signatures. -
Aww, bless your heart. That made me laugh. Just the authority of the statement.
And if you bi-amp that authority, LOOK OUT!!!! -
Lol Dyin'!It's all really just simple math. If your amp puts out 135 watts per channel, and you hook up speakers to 5 channels, you will get 675 watts per channel because 135 x 5 = 675. And if you bi-amp that, your watts per channel will increase to 1350. And then add the watts per channel rating of each speaker, which is at least 400. So now you are looking at 1750 watts per channel
Literally.
Send help.
j/k. don't send help. Neither literally, nor figuratively or even metaphorically.I disabled signatures. -
What the heck??? How did this 4 year old thread come back to life??? Dr Frankenstein, Dr Frankenstein....Source: BRP Panasonic UB9000, CDP Emotiva ERC3 - Display: LG OLED EVO 83 C3 - Pre/Pro: Marantz 8802A - Amplification: Emotiva XPA-DR3, XPA-2 x 2, XPA-6, Speakers, Mains/2ch-Focal Kanta No2's, C-LSiM706, S-702F/X, RS-RTiA9's, WS-RTiA9's, FH-RTiA3's, Subs - Epik Empire x 2
Cables: AudioQuest McKenzie XLR's/CDP/Amp, Carbon 48/BRP, Forest 48/Display
EXPERIENCE: next to nothing, but I sure enjoy audio and video MY OPINION OF THIS HOBBY: I may not be a smart man, but I know what quicksand is.
When I was young, I was Superman but now that old age has gotten the best of me I'm only Batman -
What the heck??? How did this 4 year old thread come back to life??? Dr Frankenstein, Dr Frankenstein....
A new guy who is hopelessly out of his depth.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
I never understood bi-amping... a 500W speaker bi-amped wouldn't draw 500W on both sets of terminals, right? It'd still draw whatever it needs and a single 500W amp would easily provide the same power.
Is the benefit getting the tone of certain amps? Bi-amping is probably the most confusing thing I've ever seen and I've tried to understand it but no one seems to agree on it. -
True biamping needs external active crossovers and separate amplifiers. Tweeters need very little power, so what are you gaining throwing 135watts at a tweeter? Maybe a new tweeter or two 🤔
The limited power supply in a receiver is just that, limited. You do not have the power reservoir in caps like you do in most power amplifiers. -
True biamping needs external active crossovers and separate amplifiers. Tweeters need very little power, so what are you gaining throwing 135watts at a tweeter? Maybe a new tweeter or two 🤔
The limited power supply in a receiver is just that, limited. You do not have the power reservoir in caps like you do in most power amplifiers.
Okay that's what I thought. I see people say if you have a speaker that's 500W, to bi amp with dual 500W amps and that seems insane because your tweeter draws what, 20% of the total power?
Please help me here: My understanding is that bi-amping only is beneficial when using 2 separate amps to... what? What benefit would using, say, in a 500W speaker, a 100W amp for the treble and a 500W amp for the bass even provide? You wouldn't be getting more power, right? You'd just be splitting the power up between frequencies?
And I see people say to use identical amps, so why wouldn't you save money and use one amp if your speaker can only safely draw up to 500W anyways? Also won't the impedance change??
It's very confusing, and I trust you Polkies to guide me lol -
Man, I remember the “but, but Denon said it’s double the power!” days…
I kind of miss that level of ignorance…
