Upgraded Polk RTA 15tl vs RT3000/2000 vs ????

Hello. Long time lurker, first time poster.

I currently own a well kept set of RTA 15TL’s. I’ve had them for about 8 years now. I really do like them, but after hearing some Dunlavey’s and other various better stuff, I’m more and more realizing these are a bit muddy in the low end and a bit fatiguing in the upper end. Also the sound stage sorta, well... sucks.

I’ve read about swapping the tweeters and getting the crossovers redone and was getting ready to go down that path, but then I started looking into the RT3000’s and a lesser extent the RT2000’s.

So what’s everyone’s opinion? With the cost down on rt’s, it looks like I’d almost be spending the same to upgrade the RTL’s as I would holding out and trying to get a good deal on the others. (Can’t find any rt3000’s for at the moment but I’m willing to wait).

I just acquired a Sansui AU-6600 that is getting a thorough going over, so that’ll likely be my preamp/power. I’m still on the hunt to upgrade my turntable. Currently have 3 different mid/low decks none of which are amazing but aren’t terrible. (Sansui, hitachi, technics)

I honestly listen to most stuff in lossless format on a modded ssd iPod video with 500gb capacity these days.

I also frequently use my home stereo setup for mixing/mastering because it’s still a big step up from the low end krk studio speakers I use at our practice space/studio for recording demos and doing rough mixes. I’m not about to drop 10k+ on high studio speakers when I can just go to a real studio with a real dialed in mix room for final mixing.

So anyway, there’s my spiel. I hope to get to know some of ya and have lots of other questions too!

Oh my total budget is 500-750, hopefully less. I’m a poor musician who runs my own little guitar repair shop, so I realize my budget is pretty low but it’s the way it is.

Comments

  • Oh I forgot to add. If I stick with the RTA 15TL’s I’ll likely wanna add a couple subs. Which ups the cost even more to keep those instead of switching.

    But if my end result would be better than rt3000’s I’m willing to go that route.
  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,420
    What gear are you running? Muddy could be aged crossover components or your upstream components
    Gustard X26 Pro DAC
    Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
    B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
    Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
    Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
    Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)


    There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    That speaker needs to be out in the room due to the rear passive. Too close to the rear wall results in muddy bass. Adding spikes helps the bass and the mids. You have to play with the positioning to improve the soundstage. The original SL3000 is not a bright tweeter, but it does have a bit of an edge. The RD0198 is a definite improvement. You should not need a sub with those speakers.
    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

  • Upstream was an SAE two r6, which I liked, but it stopped working. The guy who was supposed to fix it has had it for 2 years now and hasn’t done anything with it. Supposed to be getting it back this weekend to fix it myself. I repair guitar amps so I’m hoping I can sort it out. I initially gave it to him because he’s more familiar with receivers and said he’d have it done in a week tops. :p

    In its place currently I have a modular component systems (MCS) 3223 that is nothing special but gets the job done. Definitely noticed a quality drop from the sae.

    I just acquired a sansui au-6600 that isn’t working but I’m in the process of figuring out how to fix it. If I can’t get it figured on my own, I definitely won’t be taking it to someone who will keep it for 2 years. Once I get that and the SAE both at full tilt, I’ll decide which one I wanna keep.
  • F1nut wrote: »
    That speaker needs to be out in the room due to the rear passive. Too close to the rear wall results in muddy bass. Adding spikes helps the bass and the mids. You have to play with the positioning to improve the soundstage. The original SL3000 is not a bright tweeter, but it does have a bit of an edge. The RD0198 is a definite improvement. You should not need a sub with those speakers.

    Totally, I hear ya. That’s definitely one of my issues. My space limitations suck. My listening room is shallow, probably 15’ or less. I’ve got them a little under a foot from the back wall and kicked inward. I was hoping the angle would help deflect those waves a bit. It did slightly but, yea my room isn’t ideal for the RTA’s.

    On that note, would the rt3000p work better with my space constraints?

    The thought of getting the RTA’s new tweeters and crossovers is tempting because I do like projects. But I’m really wondering if it’s worth the trouble.

    Anyone out there heard both of these and have an opinion on if one is just “better” all around than the other?

    Also, I don’t think I ever mentioned the type of music I listen to. Most of my listening falls along the lines of doom-y metal, post-hardcore, emo, indie rock, shoegaze, industrial, Etc.
    Generally on the heavier end of the spectrum, and lower tuned. So a speaker focused on clarity and separation in the low end is pretty important to me.
  • Bringing this thread back.

    The spikes helped my rta15tl’s. Quite a bit. Thanks for the recommendation. But now I’m considering moving them to my bedroom and still going with something else in my living room.

    I can snag a set of lsim705’s for fairly cheap right now. So what is everyone’s thoughts on lsim705 vs. the rta15tl. And in general, is the rt3000p just not very well regarded?

    How would you rank those 3 for a simple stereo setup for listening to music at low to medium volumes? Looking for a tight low end, big sound stage, and a fairly detailed mid range.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    I'd take the 705's over the others.
    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

  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,050
    edited November 2020
    I have owned the 15TLs, rt2000, 3000 and SRT. I found all of the RT series great for home theater but not very musical and ended up selling all of them. If you buy used RT series with built in subs, plan on having to replace the power caps at some point since they all have age on them now. Happened to my RT3000s. Dont even bother with the RT2000s. They lack big time in the mid range and will just leave you wanting more.

    The 15TLs may be sounding muddy and lacking bass due to worn out crossover components. If you want to keep them, XO and tweeter upgrades are in order and should fix all the issues you mentioned. Honestly, for big sound stage I'd try to find a good pair of SDA's upgrade them and you should be quite happy.
    ____________________________________________________________ polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS SVS PB13 Ultra x 2Pass Labs X1, Marantz 7704, Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400, ADCOM 7807, Panasonic UB420, Sony SCD-C333ES, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050