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3M views 46K replies 3K participants last post by  LouM5 
#1 ·
I just felt it was about time we had an official polk speaker thread , being that according to the speaker brand poll , we have quite a few polkies in here. This might be a good place to discuss tweaks , problems or experiences with your speakers. I for one own a pair of Rti 8s which im very thrilled with and just recently upgraded my center speaker to the almighty csi 5 which has turned out to live up to the hype. The weak link in my set up is my Boston acoustic subwoofer which really isnt that bad but I could do better. The sub is positioned right next to my throne (sweat spot) ,a position I found to sound the best(at this location it also doubles as a poor man's butt kicker
). Anyhoo , it will be nice to hear from other polkies out there....
 
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#4,962 ·
Yeah I just saw a set of 40's in C.C. this past weekend and they're pretty darned big.


If you had an ideal space and were just going to set them on stands for surround listening that'd be fine, but for a wall mount they are kinda large!
 
#4,964 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by MrEdZ /forum/post/15310922


I have both R series and Rti setups, the rti is far, far better.


Much more 'full' of a sound.


The R series, while having really excellent detail for the price, are a bit weak and hollow. They sound decent run full, but give up a lot of detail. I run both my R series setup, and my rti setup crossed at 60, with the sub a touch hot (+5 over calibrated level). Anything else tends to muddy up the mid range, or give up bass punch.


That said, for HT, the R series is really an excellent value. Music is where there is an obvious difference.


I just hate the dialog on the R series. Either that or my hearing is going bad. Take for instance, the "revving" sound in the movie Cars. Until it gets low, I can't really hear distinction all that well.


I am jump to the Rti series, but only in pieces. According to the site, all series are timbre matched, but this is doubtful (imo). Would you suggest upgrading the mains, center, or surrounds first? (or save, save, save until one could upgrade all 3)?
 
#4,965 ·
The RTI A3's rock! Very enjoyable speakers.


Powered by a Behringer A500, through an HK AVR235 receiver.


Edit: Guess I'll chime in later with any more updates.
 
#4,966 ·
Hey guys,

I've had my setup since a little bit before summer, and i'm loving it so far.


Fronts - RTi10's

Rears - RTi A3's

Center - CSI A6

Receiver - Pioneer Elite 92


I've been wanting to replace the RTi10's with the RTi A7's pretty much for as long as i've had the 10's. I know there is probably not much of a difference besides the look, but i want my whole setup to be RTi A's. Anyways, i was going to use Tweeters upgrade program to do it, so i could get full price back for my 10's and pay the difference for the A7's, but low and behold Tweeter is no more, so sadly that's out the window right now for me.


I'm still learning the receiver, i haven't had as much time as i'd like to really dig into it so i've just been using the MCACC (auto calibration) setting. Bluray movies and video games sound awesome usually, depending on the movie or game of course, Directv sounds pretty good, though not all the time, and music isn't bad. The thing i'm confused about with music though is that i have to use Pure Direct for a nice full sound, when i put it on stereo it just doesn't seem to have nearly as much life (i'm using the PS3 for CD's if that matters).


After all this time, i'm still a little unsure of how high i can crank up these speakers with this receiver. The highest i'll usually go, say on a movie, is to about -25 through -20. All though sometimes i want to crank it even higher, but don't because i just worry about ruining the speakers and or receiver. Is it safe to go louder?


And another lingering thing on my mind is speaker wire, i bought some cheap 16 gauge wire (RC Royal cable car and home stereo cable) from walmart when i set all this up, and i've had this nagging feeling that i should get better and or thicker gauge wire. I see from other threads that speaker wire is very debatable, but do you think the cheap 16 gauge walmart stuff is fine, or should i go with a thicker gauge and possibly a little better wire? Also, with the current speaker wire i have now, i have it connected to the bottom sets of terminals with no banana plugs or anything. Would banana plugs be a good thing to buy?


Well anyways, this thread is great, and any and all opinions about anything i said or asked in this post will be welcomed (because i'm surely no expert, just a beginner)............Thanks..
 
#4,967 ·
Hey everyone, I have the following set-up and wanted to know what the ideal settings would be for the best sound, etc on the receiver. The room is 15x15


Onkyo-605

Fronts- Monitor 50

Center- CS2

Surrounds- R15


No sub, that that will come soon in the new year, however it will most likely be the BIC H-100.


Is this a good set-up for the room, etc? Any other comments people may have regarding this setup, specs, settings, etc?


Kinda a noob at all this :)
 
#4,968 ·
Hey metal! Long time no see here. You might remember I also have the RTi10's. I thought for sure you'd have some 7's by now
, but no matter, 'cause what you have are some pretty good speaks, IMHO. I'm sure there are many different opinions, but there's an article on Crutchfield that states 16 gauge is fine up to 80 feet, so there's likely no reason to change what you have. Banana plugs are great if you move your stuff around a lot - i.e., no connection quality difference. It's really just a convenience thing.


Trust me, you can keep cranking that AVR up, and you'll harm your ears before you harm your speakers.
 
#4,969 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mdaudioguy /forum/post/15327211


Hey metal! Long time no see here. You might remember I also have the RTi10's. I thought for sure you'd have some 7's by now
, but no matter, 'cause what you have are some pretty good speaks, IMHO. I'm sure there are many different opinions, but there's an article on Crutchfield that states 16 gauge is fine up to 80 feet, so there's likely no reason to change what you have. Banana plugs are great if you move your stuff around a lot - i.e., no connection quality difference. It's really just a convenience thing.


Trust me, you can keep cranking that AVR up, and you'll harm your ears before you harm your speakers.

Hey hows it going mdaudioguy!

Yeah i was pretty adamant about wanting those A7's back then, but i just kept putting it off and putting if off. Then when i finally decided to go for it, my Tweeter stores had begun liquidation and couldn't honor their previous trade in policy. Had i only gone in the store a couple days ealier..ughhh lol. Now i'll have to just get some 7's off Polk Audio Direct and sell my 10's privately, but i'll probably go back to putting it off now..
lol. I love the 10's though so either way i'm still happy with my choice.


Thanks for the info on the speaker wire. I have about 50ft going to each rear speaker, and of course not nearly as much going to my fronts, so i guess i should be fine if 16 gauge is good up to 80ft.


One thing though, i finally got around to actually hanging my rears (i had them propped up on boxes on my end tables for the longest time, just couldn't decide where to hang them) but i need some extra wire going to my left rear speaker, because right now the wires kind of going diagonally down the wall to the floor behind my couch (since i put them higher up). From looking at it, it seems i'll need an extra 4-6ft. Would i have to take that speakers wire out and completely re-run it with a new one with added length, or could i just splice into the existing wire and save some hassel without worrying about losing sound quality?


And as far as cranking my AVR, i'm glad to know i can crank it more than i have been without worrying....
 
#4,970 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by metal83 /forum/post/15327454


... i need some extra wire going to my left rear speaker, because right now the wires kind of going diagonally down the wall to the floor behind my couch (since i put them higher up). From looking at it, it seems i'll need an extra 4-6ft. Would i have to take that speakers wire out and completely re-run it with a new one with added length, or could i just splice into the existing wire and save some hassel without worrying about losing sound quality?

It's going well, but I still can't keep up with your prolific post rate! If you have some extra wire around, then I'd just go ahead and splice it and save a couple bucks for the time being. Tape it good or use some shrink tube. No big deal. Of course, you'd NEVER do this with $5K speakers.
 
#4,971 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by prometheis_78063 /forum/post/15177219


I have Polk (cherry) R50 fronts ($199 ea, paid $60 ea/new), Polk (black) CSR center ($199, pd $59 refb'd) and new Polk (black) T15 bookshelf ($100/pr, paid $50/pr new)! The T15's are more similar to the R15 bookshelf (MSRP $179/pr) in specs/size/weight/SNR/wattage, all are exactly the same! I believe Polk and B/B had a deal where Polk would change the facing/grill on the R15, and called it the T15 so nobody could price match that speaker (only my theory). Fact - only Best Buy sells the T15, everybody else including amazon sold (past tense) the R15. The R series originally made 2006 is/has been phased out and I've saved some serious money! I bought the T15's at BestBuy 2 weeks ago for $100/pr. Today (2 weeks later) they're half off, $50/pr + tax. Yes B/B was great about price matching their website within the 30 day return period (kudos to you)! You can also order online but you'll pay tax and s&h...happy hunting! I've yet to hear them all together (onkyo TX-SR806 in the mail) but expect big things from these speakers and receiver in my small room (hence the R series) before Christmas..."jingle bells jingle bells..."


*NOTE* after talking to the techies at Polk, only the crossover was changed from the R15 (24-60Khz) to the T15 (20-64Khz) with the T15 having the wider range. The Onkyo TX-SR806S audio is up and running for all my analog (RCA) components. Video connections to follow, no hurry though as my TV is analog and I wouldn't be gaining anything (yet)!
 
#4,972 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mdaudioguy /forum/post/15332179


It's going well, but I still can't keep up with your prolific post rate! If you have some extra wire around, then I'd just go ahead and splice it and save a couple bucks for the time being. Tape it good or use some shrink tube. No big deal. Of course, you'd NEVER do this with $5K speakers.

I've actually slowed down a bit there for a few months with my prolific post rate, but as i've said before this website is kind of like an addiction...



Yeah i do have some extra wire around, so i'll probably just do as you suggested and splice it, every little bit of money saved counts i suppose, more money to put towards the RTi A7's (eventually) haha. But of course if i had $5k speakers i wouldn't even think of doing this, that just wouldn't be fair to them... I'm not even sure it's fair to my current speakers, but i'll do it anyway...
 
#4,973 ·
Hi, I am new to this forum. I recently bought a single TSi 400 off ebay for $72 shipped. Now I would like to get another one, as cheap as possible, to go with it. The closest match I could find in my price range(I'm on a very tight budget), is a monitor 60. Would this speaker match up pretty well? I would be using them for the fronts. I am also considering saving up and just buying another TSi 400 and then, over time, getting the remaining speakers. I have a 7.1 HK 235 and a pair of paradigm titans,a pair of smaller paradigm bookshelf speakers(unmarked) and a CC v.2. Any ideas or recommendations are welcome. Thanks!
 
#4,975 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by delrmx01 /forum/post/15338161


Not sure if this is allowed but, I just saw a Fry's ad this morning and they have the RTi8's on sale..a very, very good sale.

They are sold out and have been for awhile. Does anyone know what is up with this? Why run an ad on a product that you dont have in stock.
 
#4,976 ·
Just an FYI guys, and I'm not sure if this is frowned upon, but I have a BNIB pair of black FXi3s sitting in a closet that I was planning to use as rears for a 7.1 setup. I've been to lazy to put them on Ebay but since there don't seem to be any black ones left out there I thought I'd see if anyone here had been looking.
 
#4,977 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by BostonGeorge /forum/post/15339177


Just an FYI guys, and I'm not sure if this is frowned upon, but I have a BNIB pair of black FXi3s sitting in a closet that I was planning to use as rears for a 7.1 setup. I've been to lazy to put them on Ebay but since there don't seem to be any black ones left out there I thought I'd see if anyone here had been looking.

PM Sent
 
#4,978 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by JASOG888 /forum/post/15336432


Hi, I am new to this forum. I recently bought a single TSi 400 off ebay for $72 shipped. Now I would like to get another one, as cheap as possible, to go with it. The closest match I could find in my price range(I'm on a very tight budget), is a monitor 60. Would this speaker match up pretty well? I would be using them for the fronts. I am also considering saving up and just buying another TSi 400 and then, over time, getting the remaining speakers. I have a 7.1 HK 235 and a pair of paradigm titans,a pair of smaller paradigm bookshelf speakers(unmarked) and a CC v.2. Any ideas or recommendations are welcome. Thanks!

Go with Plan B -- SAVE! You would never be happy with mismatched mains.
 
#4,979 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by BostonGeorge /forum/post/15339177


I have a BNIB pair of black FXi3s sitting in a closet....

Dang it! Where were you about 6 months ago?
 
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