Calling all Polkies:Official Polk thread - Page 435

The RTiA3's were delivered today. I got them for $100 off as an "open box" item thru Amazon, though they were packed identically to the new Polk's I've bought new, with the styrofoam wrap securely taped and nothing to indicate they had ever been out of the box.

Immediately I noticed they have a more solid bottom end than the 3-way Sony's they replaced - surprising as the Sony's have 8" woofs. They weigh about the same as the Sony's but are about 40% smaller, which presented a bit of a placement problem because I had everything stacked about the Sony's and the smaller speakers looked out of place. I think I need to shop for some DVD or CD storage cubes to sit the A3's on to raise them up a little higher.

Initially they were not what I'd call impressive. While they have a somewhat richer sound than the Sony's, they still sounded like much smaller speakers (which they are). Ron's description of them sounding "nasal" at first was spot on. Female voices and treble-rich music such as cymbals and high hat sounded harsh and difficult to listen to for very long, but after only a few hours I was able to crank them up and they're already sounding better.

They will be used primarily for TV and some casual music (whereas the 8's and 10's are for HT and serious music). They blend very well with the CSi3 center and RTi4 surrounds, and it sometimes sound as though there is another speaker in the open space between them. Assuming these will be breaking in as did the 10's I'm sure I'll be thoroughly pleased with this purchase.

hey polkies! anybody ever mounted towers on the wall for surrounds? monitor 60's to be specific. heh heh.

Congrats Rob! And you beat me on receiving the speakers. My A9's are schedule for delivery until tomorrow (Friday). So, I am really excited to have the whole weekend to enjoy these bad boys.

Over Christmas I bought a set of the RtiA1s for a small 2 channel system based around a Roth MC4 Cocoon bought for my wife's new iphone 4S. The A1s were chosen over many speakers considered, mainly because of exact size and the Polk style porting needed in their open bookcase location if my wife decided to keep it all.

It was a very close call over the superb Wharfedale Diamond 10.1s which would also have fit. But their 6 Ohm spec and lower sensitivity made me nervous with the Roth Tube Hybrid MOSFET amp approach and maximum 13WPC, although the little Roth did give impressive performance with my main system towers when I tested it on arrival. It also didn't hurt that the A1s were $250 delivered from Amazon at the time I ordered.

The break in period with these speakers is absolutely a fact, no matter what some so-called experts on these boards and others would have folks believe. I played the same music selections at the same volume setting using CD input through the Roth for many days into a few weeks. I could sit in the bedroom itself or across the hall in my home office and listen to the speakers open and change over time. Both Bass and Treble improved significantly while the Mids began to actually bloom.

It's funny how Polks of all stripes are generally treated around here when speaker comparisons are made but it's somewhat understandable. The technologies that makes these speakers so competitive has made for a conundrum of sorts, especially when pricing is factored in.

My wife is very happy with her new system and her iphone provides a constant stream of digital music made thoroughly enjoyable with the combination of the Roth and the Polks. Have to say I am thoroughly impressed with Polk speakers and the amazing value they represent. So much so I'm still mulling over the Lsi15s on closeout sale.

Cool, Clarke... Aeon Flux on the screen, and a Mag 515 to boot... I happen to be a big fan of both.

I have the 15's and like them HOWEVER I would go with the 9's personally and add in a sub. Even the 15's need a sub to augment the low end they dont do so get the 9's and with the savings get some good stands and a decent sub. Plus I know LOTS of folks running JUST the 9's and they dont feel the need for a sub.

A dedicated sub allows for easier placement to get the most bass and smoothest response. Normally where your fronts are is NOT the most conducive space to get bass.

This is what I did. Got the 9s and a big subwoofer. I don't feel anything is missing by not getting the 15s. Although I don't do much 2 channel stereo listening.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Actually with my horrible space challenged layout, which like Rob, you can see with the HT Sig link, I don't think it really matters much.

It's not like I can optimize any more than what I'm doing now. No room for a much better sub than I have unless I go to something like the 8" Def Tech Supercube, which would actually save a little space. The reason the speakers are not evenly oriented is due to the furniture necessity of the carousel on one side (it just clears) and the galley kitchen opening on the other side (my wife likes to watch the big screen when she's in the kitchen). Don't even get me started on the CC location! But my brother-in-law is working on a matching cherry riser for the plaz so that at least should be sorted out soon enough.

In the face of all that, MultEQ XT is what I got going on and it does a ridiculously good job all things considered. I bought my Wharfies in '02 and still love them ... but I'm kinda gettin' the 10 year itch. You know how that is.

Actually you do have room for a good sub, just not with a floorstanding speaker next to it.... put the right channel LSi 9 ON the top of the sub with a mini stand or some sort (making sure you pick a sub with minimal vibrations.

OR you could go with the LSi 7's which are wall mountable and save even more space and possibly get 2 small decent subs one under each speaker.

Just a thought.

Thanks for the suggestions but unfortunately no can do.

Rear wall is cinderblock firewall with only furring strips for wall board. Last year had an end unit fire in this development and have seen what breeching a firewall can do. That's why I don't wall mount the flat screens. And the stand bases are usually as large a footprint as the towers so that has never made any sense here. The mini-stand on a decent sub is about the only thing I might consider to move me to Monitors. No WAF though. As long as I'm in this place, it is what it is. Audyssey is my best friend.

As an owner of the 15s, can I ask a question? Have you ever tried reversing the towers and had the woofers firing inward? If not, any issues that might arise like cancellation? I started separate a thread on the topic as well.

Cheers,
Paul

Man, I've got stuff packed in so tight... just trying to move something to the right or left by an inch can lead to a major reconfiguration. Then in some cases it just doesn't all fit and I gotta put everything back and try to come up with an entirely different game plan. Right now one sub has two speakers sitting on top, plus a phone, a clock and DVD player. The other substitutes as a seat when I need to use the desktop PC (for its large screen) rather than the usual laptop.

LOL! Tell me about it! Sometimes I almost have to re-run EQ after a hard sneeze!!!

Actually, compared to what you just wrote, I have no complaints whatever.

Puts me in mind of my old setup with the fat Pioneers and a tower of equipment stacked on top of each one. Ahhh, the good ol' days.

Guess who is here!!!

And here they are in my basement....

One out of the box...

RTi A7 to the left and A9 to the right.

Now from the side....

All set........go!

Playing music now and movies this night!!!

I seem to have misplaced my microscope...

Ha, ha....not sure what happened with the size of the pics. But, I'll fix them later.

Oh snappity doo dah! Somebody's busy today!

Working really hard you know...ha!

Don't you love the tiny pics?

Actually, I'm pretty anxious to see some big pictures of the black beauties.

I'm more impressed with the 8 individual posts instead of one with them all together. LOL!

midgets over much?

What are you talking about?



Just kidding and I'm sorry about the initial posts with the tiny pics. It is fixed now. But, the quality of cell pics is not great.

Oh well, I will use my real camera next time.......cheers!

Looks good. Do those bare hardwood floors affect the sound much?

looks like you have more speaker than tv.

Do you mean in a positive or negative way? Personally, I think everything sounds pretty well. Really happy with my purchase to be honest with you. Glad that I am actually able to drive these babies with an Emo XPA-3 and that I decided to purchase the A6 (center) from the beginning. So, I am all set with speakers...............until......???

Of course, these are new speakers and therefore I am going to be nice with them for few days and then I will start taking them for a ride....