Calling all Polkies:Official Polk thread - Page 438

Just had the RTi A9s delivered. Sick as hell so cannot install them but they look sweet just sitting in their boxes beckoning me.

Also have a pair of RTi A3s waiting at the office.

Already purchased a CSi A6 and a pair of FXi A6s.

I have a sub but nothing special. Still doing research on those as well as some amps/pres.


And I still haven't put up the Panny projector and screen yet!

I hate working so much!

FYI, this set is just for my living room.

NICE... whats in the HT then, JEBUS! I want FXi's soooooo bad. I'm super jealous.

I think I'm gonna go RTi12's when I upgrade my M70's though, if they're still available. I would love to go LSi25's but I like sub bass so there's not really that much point in my opinion. I guess I could go LSI9's and a sub if I wanted to but I love floorstanders.

By the way, another quick question for the Polk EXPERTS in here... which model line boasts the tallest set of fronts?

From what I've read:

LSI25's are 49 3/4'"
RTI12's/A9's are 48 1/2"
TSI500's are 44 3/8"
and Monitor 70's are 42" - is that right???

Are those accurate?

Yes. A sub would help if you want super low bass but setup and powered right the 9s have enough for most people. Just make sure to toe them in, give them room to breathe, and get some nice stands filled with sand or lead shot. Placement with these does matter much moreso than the RTis

Actually it's a good question. Clarity definitely. Probably accuracy as well. Some might say brightness. Basically there's more to it than just size alone. Think tires for your car. There are cheap tires, expensive and mid range tires all the same size, but all give a different ride and different handling. Such things as the size and materials of the magnet and voice coil, how they're designed and put together, even the frame and the cabinet.

Overall the Rti line is just better sounding, yet there are other, more expensive speakers that blow away the Rti's... some probably using the same size drivers. It all comes down to finding affordable speakers that you find satisfying. Generally higher price = better sound.

Newegg finally got the PSW505 back in stock and I ordered finally after months of waiting.

For now I am content lol

Denon 591 AVR
Samsung UN55D8000
Monitor 50 FR/FL
TL2 Center
Monitor 30 Surrounds
PSW505 Sub (replacing Sony SAW2500)

Hoping the 505 wont be too loud for the firewall in our townhouse. It is way better than the SAW2500 I currently have, can't wait to enjoy the less muddled bass! When we get a single family I can retire the 30's to a 2.1 music system for a spare room/office and get some 70's to put up front.

The monitor 70 are nice..currently own a pair with CS2 and psw12..I'm kinda disappointed with the psw12 (muddy)

I agree


Welcome aboard


Congratulations! And welcome aboard as well


Not a stupid question, but as I also agree with the input Rob Lee has, the A6 is also timbre matched to the A7 where as the CS20 is matched to the TSi series and would be a closer match timbre wise to the Monitor line than the RTiA line.

I used my CS2 with my A9's for about a month and thought it sounded "ok" but had to keep bumping up the sound on the CS2. Once I got my CSiA6, Whole new speaker, bolder, clearer, more detailed, a perfect match to the RTiA7 or 9.


Thanks, I appreciate the input. If I feel like I need some extra bass, I always have the dual 15"ers

Rub it in why don't ya.....

PS be looking for a new thread shorty. Moving next week to a new place. Then in about a month the upgrades start (amp, cables, tv, speakers, ect)

Just in case anyone is interested:

RTi A9s (Black) are back on sale at Newegg @ 499.99 each with FS (ends 4/1).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882290158

Congratulations!!! Could this new place be a house? And could these new upgrades include, uh, maybe a big giant SUB?

No house yet. I am probably relocating for work in a couple years so we didn't want a house. No sub but another set of lsi 15s instead and possibly a SMS-1 sub eq. I think that's a decent compromise instead of a massive sun since I still have neighbors to think about.

Relocating far or near?

Eh, pretty close, like 15 mins from where we are now. Different county, school zone, etc.

1000 square feet to 1350. 2 bedroom 1.5 bath to 3 bedroom 2.5 bath. New appliances (like still in box as we speak), new fixtures, new floors carpet, paint, fence....

Basically the new place is renovated top to bottom with all new stuff. Good school district, more than enough space to expand family wise and in a safer area.

Very nice.

We have relocated since Sept of last year. When my wife and I married (year and half ago), we had a 2 year old and her two teen and pre-teen daughters.

I lived in my 1212sq ft house, they lived in a 900sq ft house. Because of the school district, I was already selling my house and moved in with them once we were married.

Do I have to spell it out? Me and four girls trapped in a small box.

Being able to stay in the same district, I set out on a do or die mission to find the "right" house.

We now live in a 2900sq ft house complete with "man cave" with no split tails aloud. I can't tell you how much happier I've been this past 6 months

Well, don't let yourself become PW. Enjoy the mancave, and make it clear up front...
if she gives you a "it's either me or the HT", the HT is what stays

Lol, this is the best a guy could have. The receiver and one of my M70's was purchased by my wife.

Plus, so long as I don't say a word about the upstairs, I get full reign in my cave. Am I dreaming or what?

I just bought a CSi A6 center channel speaker and was listening to it with my ear right up to it and noticed that the mid driver on the right is louder and brighter than the mid driver on the left wich is quieter and duller is this normal

The crossover is designed in a cascade array. One driver is going to get everthing from,,say, 400hz on up and the other will get 400hz on down. It's totally normal. All Polk centers are designed this way.

Thanks for the info! As they say,you learn something new every day.

Interesting. If both drivers are identical then quite possibly this is done to minimize the comb effect.

Just got my PSW505, what a step up from my little Sony SA-W2500.

I did Audessey with gain at 12 o'clock to start, it was way too loud and got offset at -12db. Moved to 9 o'clock and seems to be just right for my room when adjusted to -6db. Just adjusted by trial and error as my wife didn't want to sit through another set of measurements.

So far a great sub for mixed HT/games/music.

Saw the Newegg deal after the a9s arrived.

I could have saved almost $500.00

Always the way.... always the way.

Where did you purchase them? Is there a way they can do a price match?

Now, let's talk about the fun stuff: how do you like your A9s?

Hi Polk people.

Rather novice at home theater compared to most of you. Soon to be a polker as well though.

Right now I have a yamaha htr6250(rx-565 in the US I think), cerwin vega e710 fronts and a cerwin vega center. Old acoustic profile surrounds and a velodyne dls 4000 sub.

Just bought some polk tsi400s to replace the vagas and polk rti a1s to replace the surrounds.

Nothing crazy high end that's for sure. But come on, it's gotta sound better than cerwin vegas. Can't wait.

I plan to bi-amp the tsi400s with the rear surround channels. Good idea? Any other tips for my set up?


Sooooo embarrassed about the cerwin vega. But had them for over 15 years since all i cared about then was 2.0 loudness. Now I want a little clarity and sophistication.

PS, I know the tsi line is the same as the monitor line for more money.

Thanks for reading.

No reason to be embarrassed about the CVs. Those are great party speakers.

Thanks. The only problem is the parties ended many years ago. lol
I agree, they pound. But for home theater and wanting a decent clean crisp sound, they are sorely lacking. Kind of hope I can still get a similar volume out of the polks. So hard to tell testing in the store in a big room with different equipment etc etc.

You will get plenty of volume out of the Tsi400. IMO "bi-amping" with a receiver is completely pointless though.

Can you explain why? Or point me to info about it? I keep hearing totally mixed opinions about it. Some say it does nothing. Some say, specifically with this speaker, it sounds better. Not sure why. I just want to hook everything up to get the best I can with what I have.

Because the amp channels on your receiver are all already drawing from the same power supply. The constraint on power delivery is that power supply, not the amp channels themselves. It would be one thing if you were using actual separate amplifiers, but you're not.

It won't hurt anything, but there won't be any benefit either.

FWIW I totally agree. BTW (for the OP) the Tsi's are not electrically identical to the Monitors, and they do have a slightly different sound. I've had several of each, as well as RTi's.