found a good deal on some polk audio rti8 speakers. now i just got sony ss mf 750s and was happy with the sound but yesterday found a good deal for some polk audio rti8 speakers now my ? how much of a upgrade to the polks would i get from over the sonys only going to buy if i can get at least 2 times better sound over the sony towers and a nother ? is if i get that could FOR THE MEAN TIME use my sony ss mb150h rears and cn550 center chanal and my onkyo htr 320 recever on tell bout 4mounts later win i get the money to buy the hole system no regreats on the sonys i got a game room in my garge with a pool table so its a win win thing here just woundering if i should go with the polk system i want at least 2 times the preformance win its all said and dont
It's hard to gauge sound quality by saying it sound x times better. What may sound 10x better to you may only sound 2x better to someone else.
I own the Rti8s and think they sound much better than Sony speakers. The sound has more depth, more warmth, better soundstage, and much more musicality. Opinions may vary of course, but I would suspect the Rti8s will sound much better on an Onkyo than Sony speakers will.
Don't rush into a decision though, ecpecially if you want a matching surround system with a certain brand of speakers. Check out the Paradigm Monitor line, they were the other major contendor. I preferred the sound (and the price) of the Polks over the Paradigms, but many prefer the Paradigms. Check out the Monitor 5, you'd have to look at the Polk Lsi7 or Lsi9 to match the performance. In a lot of rooms bookshelves are more suitable and the Monitor 5 is excellent.
yeah i think am going to go ahead and get the rti8 for 500 brand new there worth it to pass up so i was thinking about the rears and center i was thinking about the rti4 for rears keep it polk
for 500 you really should look at the Paradigm line!
The Paradigm performance line has TOWERS that are in that price range that will blow polk rti series away, while the monitor line is in a whole different league. They compete with the LSi series speakers quite nicely.
Gavin thats nonsence the Monitor line does not compete with the LSi line,the LSi line will blow the vinyl woodgrain off of the Montor line!The Studio line competes head to head with the LSi line.
just cheeked out the performance line from paradigms and monitor line and the rti line from polk and lsi line the polks are way over prized to me i see polk speakers sold at circuit city and frys paradigms sould at only paradimg stores they both look great and have not heard the paradigms but i have heard the polks yesterday and wow wow wow i think it will be hard to beat but if there was a speaker out there that costed less that could beat them i would say paradigm
If your focus is mostly music, the rti4 or 6 would be a better bet for surrounds. If you want some great theatre speakers definitely get the fxi3 or fxi5 to match the Rti8s. The musical performance is just fine as well, of course not quite as good as a bookshelf, but for incredible soundstage in 5.1 tracks get the fxi line.
gavin, you sell paradigm? thats all ive ever seen you suggest. Is there any speaker paradigm doesnt outdo? or blow away? just because you own them doesnt mean you need to "justify your purchase" by constantly only recommending paradigm line, sounds to me like all the threads about the Panny! Not trying to insult you, hell Ive even recommended paradigm to consider as a choice, but man, theres so much more out there, and tawaun...good call I agree, dust in the wind. No boston acoustic fans around either? NHT? My vote is for the polks.
yeah i always loved polk audio i mostly play xbox games with dolby d play back 5.1 but also am in a small room and although people tell me that smaller book shelf speakers are the way to go. i love the look of towers love it. ever since my dad gave his sony sa-va3 wich might i add is the best speaker i ever had in my room. any way i realy love towers and big speakers i want my room to be the altament xbox room i just finly got to buy my tv projection tv 55" and am able to fit speakers with a 14 inch wieth the sonys look great but its not all about looking good but the polk rti8 would look so much better with the money i spent on the sonys i realy bit my self dry that and the xbox 360 so it will take me a long time to get a new amp and the polk/paradimg so am in a tight spot the good thing is i still got a sony system that will slap my freinds polk r30, r15 and the match en center in there face. i got a nice velodyne sub woffer i got last week for 120 bucks off ebay brand new vx-10 so am set there that and my tv
I myself use Magnepan in my main system, and used to use MartinLogan, and before that, klipsch reference.
I have also reccomend Ascend Acousics to people with high performance systems as well, that arent concerned with looks, but you will NEVER hear me give a polk, axiom, bose, etc. etc. reccomendation. They just don't sound right to my ears. Bose, to any of our ears lol
To me, NHT nave muddy mids (super audio series)and the 1.x series have nasty highs.
As far as MY EARS are concerned, aside from magnepan, which require TONS of current from a nice amplifier (mine is a rotel), the speakers that I use and are most familiar with are paradigm.
I beleive that we need to give our expertise on the brands that we are familiar with, and not try to BS others by trying to sound intelligent when we arent familiar with others.
In their respective price range, Paradigm will perform better than MOST (not all) speakers in it. The same can be said about my Magnepans, which are VERY high performance to my ears., but not everyone's cup of tea either.
you obviously haven't seen the threads where I've reccomended:
Thiel Martinlogan VonSchweikert Magnepan Athena Mirage Onix Klipsch Reference HSU research for subs Dynaudio Totem
I have opinions in a wide variety of speakers, but people in here that are newbies rarely want to spend te kind of money required to step into one of the companies listed above, there being a few exceptions. Thats why very rarely will you see me throw out one of these names.
my ears are young i mostly lissen to rap hip hop on sacd's and mostly xbox love losts of bass i realy hate speakers that have way to much and sound like the sound comes from to boxs and not an area. and i notice the only speakers that i have owend that make sound that blends mids highs and lows into one tight sound that was my dads old sony sa-va3 active towers and my freinds polk ls90s i may self liked the va-3 sound much over the polks both were out dated and much more money win they came out over my newer sonys i want sound that blends will with the bass mid and highs and dont sound like sound is coming from 2 boxes like my curent sonys do although i like the bass from the sonys very tight but again there mids are just not there still after some mods i did to them and the highs sound like they were made from boom box speakers so i have to move on and get sound that will blend well with better highs but most of all mids
Rumadian
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Nikolas,
The LS90's was not a great product. The Rti-8 is bright with muffled mid-range and fairly shouty bass. When it comes to Polk's offerings, examine a pair of RTi-6 bookshelf speakers mated with a sub-woofer (for your music, I would recommend a Velodyne CHT model). This combination is fantastic for your tastes... and will help you attain the goals you are looking to achieve -- all working well within the limits of your current electronics.
Garvin,
Even the best of us fall within the trap of only recommending what we enjoy. The freedom of these boards is to show appreciation or even disdain for a product. We all also have our bias's. There is no issue with telling someone you do not like brand x, y, or z.
In the case of Polk and Paradigm -- it's all on the same level. In fact, from a build and parts standpoint, the Lsi edges out the Studio series. When it comes to sound -- it is purely taste. There is no wiping the floor at all, as both products are voiced quite differently. How one likes the sound is preference, but none slam the other no matter how you slice it... be it R versus Performance , Rti versus Monitor, or LSi versus Studio. Its all cut of the same class.
marogus
Unregistered guest
Posted on
POLK IS JUNK.
You can do better for your $ Nikolas. Just look around, browse through this and other forums.
i keep geting pulled in and out from polk i hear lots of stuff saying both things i new that polk was realy over prized win me and my freinds took a day about 3 years ago win no parents were home and same for him at his house the vs. was polk ls90s vs sony sa-va3 both were in the 4 digit $ but the polks were more by 400 $ and the sonys flat out blow them away ever since then i always thought that i could get more for less vs polk but sometimes i dont no i like polk and there sound as well. its hard and a nother system that is a better buy is my system over my other freinds polk r50s vs. my sony ss-mf750s i spent 500+ for the hole system with a velodyen vx-10 sub he spent way over i think around 700$ and he has the same reciver as me onkyo htr 320 he gose with polk r50 towers r15 rears and the matching center i can not tell you how much more bass i have over his, on his system the subwoffer is only 50watts polk 10" and its very muddy win the gain gets to say 70% i can max my system out and the system becomes better sounding win volume hits the max. i just dont no were am going to go with this system the sony system is almost brand new but i feel that my damands for lissning are not met. i want realy more warmth in the sound and win i move the system into the garage i have a nice klh sub that will shack the pool balls into defrant places lol
I found the LSi line to be very pleasant...IF you mostly play them at moderate levels (under 85db). Above that they tend to implode, the midrange basically collapses and the bass gets very very muddy.
The Paradigm Monitors will not have the warmth of the LSi's at moderate levels but will hold up better at high volumes, and for HT I would definitely choose them over the LSi's which I think are more suited for laid-back music listening. Not sure I'd call the Monitors "warm" though if that's what you're after.
Polk generally is not the best value for your money. The "R" series is particularly lousy, so I am not really surprised that you preferred your Sony speakers over your friend's R50s. Polk subwoofers, like subs made by most speaker companies, are also very weak.
I would disagree with David Pannell about Gavin, who often recommends a variety of speakers though at the budget level he does have his favorites just as we all do. (Mine being the Internet-direct Ascends, in case you have not noticed, LOL.)
Regarding "warm" or "bright," this quality depends not only on your speakers, but also your receiver, your source player, and most importantly, your room accoustics and speaker placement.
Gavin I've heard everything Paradigm has made for the last 12 years,and they do offer a lot of bang for for the buck,but competition has become a dog fight in the under$2500 pricerange in the last 5 years,lots of companies offer a lot of bang for the buck these days.And out of the Monitor line the only really solid choices are the Mini Minitors and the Monitor 5s.All the floorstanders have annoying a boominess and hollow quality in the midrange that is unbarriable to my ears.The Monitor 11 is one of the worst buys in speakers,listen to them even next to the older,even before V2 series Studio series and they dont even sound like they are from the same company.The LSi series is in a far different league than the monitor series (hence the price difference)and they should sound better with no appologies.The Performance series is a very good series as whole in their pricerange,but their are much better options in the Monitor series pricerange as far as dirrect competitors same country,the PSB Images are far better at every pricepoint than the Monitor series as is the Wharfedale Diamonds just to name a few.The Studios still represent increadible value and performance in their class and they can compete with anything in their class or higher in some cases.The LSi line has very high class drivers and increadible cabinet ridgidy for their price and beyond,and its deffinately one of the best lines out their at their pricepoints,so you can stop the Monitor rants against them,its a terribly wide gap between the 2
i think am going to go ahead and buy the rti8 i heard them at frys and i realy like the sound they do sound very good to me and look very well built and atractive and next pay day get the rti4s and the center
i have one more ? since nobody answerd in my other threads is a prob am having with the sonys and will have with the polks is. i still have my onkyo speakers mounted on the wall i will not take them off do to there will be holes and marks, so i want to put them to use with the same amp that is also powering the sonys/polks. i think i need a speaker switcher BUT all i see is switchs that only have one input from the amp and a out put for 5 to 6 speakers do i have to buy 5 of them for each speaker or is there one that has all 5 speakers for one switch?
I have no experience with the paradigms, but I do own lsi-9's and they are a very good speaker. I know its easy to slag polk and it's not a sin to dislike what they offer, but the lsi's ARE very good speakers.
you will NEVER see me reccomend the monitor 9 or 11. I can't stand the bass. It is far too boomy. However, I like the monitor 7 on down in the series. A man that I just reccomended Paradigm to who was stepping up from a Bose Lifestyle system. they are a decent choice for certain people.
BTW. This gentleman that I am refering about:
He went from a bose lifestyle 12, and was thinking about putting another lifestyle with the really really tiny cubes in a "media room"
I have since sent him to the paradigm dealer that I work with, and he has since purchased: Right now he has a 5.1 speaker setup, but can go all out for 7.1
Monitor 7's ADP-370 surrounds CC-370 center HSU research VTF-3 Integra DPC 7.5 DVD player Integra DTR 7.6 7.1 reciever
for some people they are a great choice, for others, they aren't so great. I'll take the studio or sig's ANY DAY over the monitors. But, for someone looking for a decent pair of lower midpriced towers that has clear treble and decent bass, with good imaging, I will continue to reccomend Paradigm.
I have not heard a whole lot from Wharfedale these days, so I tend to stay away from talking about companies that I have little to no experience with. I used to have a pair of sapphire SP-87's. Does anyone remember these, and/or have any experience with them? I really liked these speakers' silky treble and SMOOTH mids, but the bass overwhelmed my room, and they had to go. Are wharfedale still cut from the same cloth? Improved? cheapened? If I liked these speakers, can anyone throw out some reccomendations for my own personal use for 'Dales that I might like?