Calling all Polkies:Official Polk thread - Page 3

Tweeter 1 - 1" Diameter (2.54cm-----RTi tweeter
Silk/Polymer composite dome
1 - 1" Diameter (2.54cm)
Dynamic Balance Silk/polymer composite dome----Monitor tweeter
Is there a difference?

Thanks I'll search over in that area.

The RTi's use Vifa tweeters, The LSi uses Vifa Ring Radiator tweeters. The monitors and R's do not use Vifa tweeters. There is a ton of information available on these speakers at Polks forum.
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/

A quick example of how the tweeters are different. The RTi's have a heat sink on the back of the Vifa tweeters and the Monitors do not use Vifa tweeters or have a heat sink.

Thanks I'll search over in that area.

Exactly. Most of the conversation in this thread is referring to the higher-end Polks, which I have never heard. I'm sure they use better tweeters. Also, even though the Monitors sounded harsh, (by harsh, I mean they sound like a scratchy record... the detail is there, but it's distorted) they were still detailed. They were also quite efficient. Played louder, with less power than the JBLs and Ascends.

As for Polk not being "audiophile" stuff anymore.... well, speakers are no longer the rite-of-passage, phallus-enhancing symbol they were in the 70s and 80s. Polk has changed with their market. Other speaker makers that didn't are now out of business. Disco is dead. Move on.

Thanks for the info! Anyone see a good deal on Rti8s around? I can't find any under $700 a pair??

I have a pair boxed up, after having sat in a guest bedroom for over a year with no use whatsoever. I was planning on throwing them on Ebay at the end of January, but PM me if interested. I had a full Polk RTi surround system in that bedroom with the expectations that someone would actually use it. No dice. Everyone just watches TV in the living room.

Anyone here do a comparison between the Monitor line and the Rti line?

Doc, I think you'd better join Club Polk...endless discussion, good information, just don't try to hawk anything on the Flea Market without being around awhile or wear a raincoat.

Monitors get limited airplay over there, recognized as a great start. RTis and LSis,especially for music, get most of the attention, along with alot of gear combinations.

Guess I should check in also!

Bedroom:
Monitor 70 mains
CSi30 Center
RTi38 side surround
RTi28 rear surround

living room:
Monitor 30 mains
PSW12 sub

I'm a member of Club Polk, but you guys have a pretty nice flow over here also, so I'm chiming in also.

Theater:
RTi8s Front L/R, CSi5 Center, FXi5 Surround L/R, FXi3 (inverted) Rear L/R
Subs: HSU STF-2 Front, SVS PB10-ISD Rear

Home Office/Chill:
T90EBs Front L/R, CS1 Center, FXi3's Surround
Sub Velodyne CHT-10

Love the Polk product.

How do you like your Rti8s? I have read over at club Polk that some people actually said they were bright sounding?!?
I am considering these or the Monitor 60s. I am just about ready to make the purchase on one or the other.

I know. Your right. But the only local place around here is a CC, and they only carry the monitor line!

hello

I have a

a pair of Monitor 30s
a pair of Monitor 40s
a CS1 for center channel
a PSW10 for subwoofer.



I bought these as a package. Can you please tell me which receiver best suits the above speakers and if I need to replace the PSW10 with a Dayton sub (like everybody on this board says)


Just for background - I am a newbie and not an audiophile by any stretch of imagination. This is for a 15x15 room.

Thanks

Raavango

Great thread. 'Bout time.

My first 'surround system' was Polk. Monitor 6 sub/sat with the CS200 center and M3II surrounds pushed by an Onkyo Prologic receiver. I rented 'Clear and Present Danger' on VHS and man....that was it. I was hooked. That system has since been cannibalized and reconfigured in the basement as I've moved on to different brands in the main system (Infinity and currently B&W).

Current basement system consists of the following...

R20 mains
R15 surrounds
Monitor 6 sats rear surrounds
CS200 center

I heard the R15's while auditioning surrounds for a friends system and couldn't believe what I heard....for the price. $80 for the pair (on sale) was an amazing deal for what I was hearing. He bought 2 pair for surrounds and I bought a pair as mains to ressurect the old system.

I have kept my Polk experience to the budget side as I wasn't real impressed with one of their more expensive offerings. I can't remember the exact series (RT perhaps) but it was about $1k/pair at CC a couple years ago. 3 woofers with the mid/tweeter assembly bafffled separately. They just didn't compare to the B&W 603's that were only $100 more. However the R series is more than worth the money in my opinion. I have put the R20's on a Rotel 971 amp and am even happier.

I think a Harman Kardon receiver would work good with those. HK receivers are considered to be a bit on the warm side while those polk speakers are a bit on the bright side, so in the end you have a fairly neutral sound. I have an HK AVR130 (the entry level receiver they offer) and it works fantastic!

In terms of the subwoofer, the PSW10 and Daytons are both entry level subs and you'd be taking more of a lateral step by getting the dayton, as opposed to upgrading. I would suggest saving up about $250 or $300, and then you could get a nice 10" or 12" velodyne. If you save up a little more (around $400) you could start looking at Hsu or SVS which are fantastic too.

I would love to hear anyone's thoughts on the RM-10/RM-6800 (these 2 seem to be the same except for slightly different styling and subwoofer) and RM-20/RM-6900 (same).

This would be for a 6.1 setup where TV/home theater (sports & movies) would be primary audio use. The RM-20/RM-6900 is a bit more $$, but I would prefer the smaller size of the RM-10/RM-6800.


Also would love any feedback on some newbie questions:

Speaking of the size issue: since the front speakers will be set up in bookcases, I may have to lay them on their sides -- does this screw anything up?

Also, a random Polk question: do these systems use standard speaker cables, or is there a proprietary system like Bose has?

thanks.

I have a Yamaha htr 5790 paired up with a set of R-20 mains a 245i center ,a set of fx300i dipole surrounds and a set of MK2s for back surrounds with a Velodyne Dps-10 sub and a Ksw-10 sub and it all sounds very nice and tight, I am also using amps for the 5 channels with the back surrounds being driven by the avr . But I feel the best sounding speakers are what sounds best to the user , I like my setup alot and it brings me great enjoyment. Lou

Doc, I too am looking at getting a new set of speakers and have auditioned both the Rti and Monitor line. I started with the Rti line and to me, the Rti8s sounded bright, not bad sounding, but they seemed to emphasize the highs more then I liked. I compared them with the Rti10s and found the Rti10s to have a much fuller sound, less emphasize on the highs and balanced the mids with the extra driver quite well. I then listened to the Monitor line, at a different store, starting with the Monitor 40 bookshelf speaker. I thought that these balanced the highs and mids well but was a little light on the bass. I then spent some time listening to the Monitor 50 and 60s with each step up having just a little better sound then the previous model, mainly in the mid range. This same store also had a set of Rti8s so that I could compare the two. I found that the Monitor 60 had a less harsh sound, more comparable to the Rti10 in terms of balance (don't get me wrong, I would jump at the chance to get a set of the Rti10s if I could, but the budget would not allow it), then the Rti8 and to me seemed a better sounding speaker. So IMHO the Monitor 60 sounded better and that is the line that I am going to be pulling the trigger on in the next few days.

RT7 fronts here
a 275 center channel
rt15 surrounds

Velodyne sub
Denon receiver

Some years old.. but still sounds great!

Sounds similar to mine. I might even have the same center.

I have R50 fronts, the CS1 center (I think), and R20 rears all together with a Velodyne CHT-12.

After grad school I'll start looking at replacing all the speakers eventually but it's good enough for now!

RM10's & sub.
Still have 2 Pioneer HPM60's circa 1978. Should've looked for 3 more on ebay. Would've made quite a 5.1 esp. center spkr.
Yamaha V1500 replaced a mid 80's Sony avr with only B channel.

whoops i made a typo, i have the CS2 You have a pretty solid system though, especially the velodyne (which i love)

Here's my Polk Audio collection:

RT7 x 2 as fronts (love 'em)-nine years old and still sound awesome.
CSi30 center
PSW650 sub
RCA model 40-5003 (Rat-Shack) surrounds-they sound very good actually

All powered by a Pioneer VSX-1015 TX. Makes a very good combo.

I've had the RM6900 for a week now, and I like 'em For the size, there is a lot more "authority" there than I expected, they fill the room nicely and when I'm watching something like Saving Private Ryan or Die Hard I'm worried about the neighbors calling the cops!

About the size, the fronts with the RM6900 are around 12-13" tall. You will NOT be standing these up in a bookcase, the bottoms are angled, not flat. They have to be mounted on either the included stands, or a floor stand.

Or as you say, mount them on their sides, but the sides are rounded and you'd have to come up with something to keep 'em steady and properly aimed if you did that. The center is identical to the fronts, and mounts on the side with a special stand that comes with the set - maybe you could order 2 more of those direct from Polk? They'd work for that purpose with the fronts as well...

Don't know how mounting on the sides would affect the sound quality.

The RM6800 uses different fronts, they appear identical to the RM6800 - RM6900 rears, which are 7" tall, and flat on the bottom so they can be set on any level surface. Those should fit in bookcase with no probs.

They use standard speaker cable, no probs there. And all speakers (except the sub) have binding posts instead of spring clips which I like. Not sure why the sub doesn't have binding posts, but that don't bother me since I'm running the sub off my receiver's front preamp outs.

Hope this is useful...

Howdy! Thought I'd check in for the fun of it...

I have a Denon 3805 pushing RTi-8s and a CSi-5 in front, with a PSW-505 sub (also have RC55 and RC60's for the walls and ceilings for the basement currently being built). Listened to the Monitor series at CC, and they sounded OK, though a bit muddy compared to the RTi series. I haven't taken the time to tweak the receiver yet, and probably won't do so until all the equipment goes into the basement where it belongs...

By the way, I have a question that maybe you all could help with: My Dad has some RT-8s from about 10 years ago, and is considering upgrading the speakers, or getting a center channel. Does anyone know what center channel speaker would be timbre-matched for these older Polk speakers? Either current model or older model. His speakers seem in great condition and he likes them, but he is getting into HT and recognizes the importance of timbre-matching, especially for the front speakers.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

-J

According to polkaudio.com faq the CSi3 is the current CC model that matches the RT-8s.