2 sets of speakers as fronts.

[gocard]

I really like the musicality of the RTi4s, but appreciate the deep bass the RTi8s can produce. My question is, can I get the best of both worlds? My receiver has a bi-amp option, so can I send the one of the biamped channels to the RTi4s and the other to the RTi8s?

Or, is there a better way to use both sets of speakers as fronts?

[maximillian]

I have done something similar here:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65063

I like the combination. A lot of people advise against it because of interference between the two speakers canceling out some of the signal. If you put them close together you may experience this more. My combination seems to work well though and I like the effect. It seems to give a larger soundstage.

I suggest trying it out and make sure you can toggle either set of speakers to do a comparison of one vs. the other vs. both. You may need to play with placement.

[Roland P]

Sell the RTi8's and get a sub :D

[Face]

Sell the RTi8's and get a sub :D

+1

Stereo=2 speakers.

[maximillian]

Wouldn't the RTi8's will have a better mid response than a single RTi4 with a sub?

[gocard]

I've got a 5.1 setup right now paired with the Marantz SR 7002, with the RTi8s as fronts, CSi3, and RTi4s as surrounds, with a PSW10 (got it for free). The treble of the RTi8s sound a bit hollow, while the bass of the RTi4s sounds weak. I was thinking I could switch to a 3.1 setup and combine the 4s and 8s to create a better setup for the fronts, since their strengths are the other's weaknesses. I didn't realize I could accomplish a dual front setup with the A/B setting on my receiver, so I'll test it out tonight.

[maximillian]

I have some temporary stands for the RTi6's which places their base around 36 inches (tweeter is thus pretty high). I then have them about 1.5 feet on either side of the 50's. I have placed the 6's on top of the 50's once but it didn't sound as good as keeping them at a distance.

Try to see if you can detect interference between the two. Let us know how you like it.

[Roland P]

Wouldn't the RTi8's will have a better mid response than a single RTi4 with a sub?

I've been expirimenting with the LSi9's + sub. I used the bass-management in my receiver. At 60Hz x-over, the musicality of the LSi9 is still there. At 80Hz and up, the musicality is gowing away. At 100Hz the musicality is gone.

So I think you can get good results with the RTi4's + sub. (Or add an amp to the RTi8's and plug it into .1 output of your receiver :cool:)

[venomclan]

Sub it.

[ohskigod]

i've played with stuff like this early on in my hobby days, but you'll realize its just not the way to go for good\accurate sound. if you have room issues, hat set up will bring them right to the forefront.

that said, what the hell, it aint like your killing people in Darfur....so try it out :D

[wingnut4772]

I would think that you would get better, more accurate results from just one pair of good speakers that you like.

[maximillian]

So I think you can get good results with the RTi4's + sub. (Or add an amp to the RTi8's and plug it into .1 output of your receiver :cool:)

How much will a sub contribute to the mids? I don't have a sub since the 50's have enough for my home. The wife complains about the noise otherwise. I know the 50's are low end Polks. But I can tell that they really mellow out vocals and fill in the mid and low end. If I play the 6's alone then I have to crank the volume to get enough low end from them. Then they sound way too bright. With the 50's I can run them at lower volume and the mids and lows are filled in by the 50's. It also seems to fill the soundstage better since I can separate them more. As mentioned in my link above, due to the different response of the speakers I get a false image as well. The vocals tend to be more centralized and backup singers seem to be coming from the sides. It may be an artificial effect, but it sounds good.

I guess some day I will just have to try out a sub to see if it can do as good a job as the 50's. Would two lower end subs (stereo) be better than one big one?

[Gaara]

The LSis have more detail then the Rtis so I suggest you get 3 sets of fronts, a pair of LSi9s for detail, a pair of RTi4s for musicality, and a pair of RTi8s for bass.

If anyone tells you differently they are just jealous because they didn't think of it first.

[maximillian]

The LSis have more detail then the Rtis so I suggest you get 3 sets of fronts, a pair of LSi9s for detail, a pair of RTi4s for musicality, and a pair of RTi8s for bass.


I know you were trying to be facetious. However, the LSi9's have enough mid and maybe even enough base to not require any extra help from other inferior speakers. Getting back to the original question... if you don't have the money to jump to an LSi setup (external amps, LSiC for HT, etc.), would an RTi4 and an RTi8 work fairly well together? Would the combination of the two produce something more than a sum of their parts? Sure, it will never be as good as an LSi setup. But can certain limitations of each speaker be overcome by combining two different types, or are there too many negatives. Maybe people say there are too many negatives, yet some say that they have had some good results.

Another application where multiple front pairs might be handy is what if you had a large room (20 foot wall). Wouldn't it be nicer to try to fill the front stage will sound from a bank of speakers?

[Roland P]

How much will a sub contribute to the mids? I don't have a sub since the 50's have enough for my home. The wife complains about the noise otherwise. I know the 50's are low end Polks. But I can tell that they really mellow out vocals and fill in the mid and low end.

mmmhh...
A friend of mine bought my previous speakers, the R30's, and used them together with his spirit absolute 2 to get that mellow sound. I think that 'mellowness' :D is in the sub-mid range (I guess 60-200Hz). This particular sound cannot be added with a sub (I've tried Spirit's + sub).

[Face]

Another application where multiple front pairs might be handy is what if you had a large room (20 foot wall). Wouldn't it be nicer to try to fill the front stage will sound from a bank of speakers?
A pair(2) of SDA's can fill the front soundstage.

Or if you want accuracy, look into the LSi9's. But, I don't see them filling a 20' wide room with bass.

[Gaara]

No i think it is a terrible idea. I tried it once, I had A+B speakers on my rcvr so why not. It sounded great I had a big wall of sound and movies were awesome! Then I realized I couldn't really hear anything clearly, instead of coming from a specific point sounds came from this big 2ft wide area. Music sounded weird I couldn't place instruments at all they were just kind of there. I grew weary off it and sold off one of the sets, things improved greatly.

Moral of the story it is a waste of money and most likely it will sound better with just 1 pair. The only time I can see it as a good idea is if you had a huge room and sat far away, I can see using a L/C/R setup for music with the center being played at a lower level w/a mixed L/R signal just to prevent a hole in the sound.

[michael_w]

IMO you should just hold off and buy the right pair of speakers instead of piecing together a few lower end models to make it sound better. For the price of the 8's and 4's you could get very close to a pair of LSi's (used market is your friend). I too did the same and played around a lot and it usually ends up being a waste of money in the long run. If you own the two pairs now, might as well give it a shot. If not, take a look at audiogon :)