Kchill
12-27-2008, 11:41 PM
Had to get out the house for a while and went to Fry's. What a wonderful place to be. I had the audio room all to myself and they had a Janet Jackson dvd in the player hooked up to a Onkyo Tx-NR905 (which was "on sale" for about 2200) so since I have a onkyo I stood and gave these speakers and others a good listen. I ran through a full line from rtia3 to the rtia9.
First let me say that the Janet Jackson dvd was of all her videos and since I am familiar with all the songs it made for good reference material.
Since I own some rti10's I first wanted to hear the rti7's. They were good and on par with my 10's. The music was on point and it was very clear. I also have to add that the center channels did not seem to work or was very low. Don't know why? I was also able to fool with the controls of the onkyo and set it to dolby digital II music just like home for good reference.
I then switched to the bookshelfs. The rtia1's kicked butt, in fact I think for the money one could not do better. I would venture to say that one could pass with them as fronts and backs and be very happy. More so I was impressed with the fxi's that they had up high on the back wall of the room. They helped me find the sweet spot in the middle to take in the music. Those fxi's made all the difference as the music blended with ease and pitch.
I moved on to the rtia3's and was disappointed. I say this because I could not tell the difference between the two that would justify the more expensive purchase. They are still great speakers but did not stand out.
Then I switched to the lsi series. Knowing that they are 4 ohm being driven by an 8 ohm reciever (could be switched to 6oms) they were just plain bad. I will say again that this would be expected by such a set up.
But when I put the rtia9's on...wow...i mean wow! I should have just left the room. Things were so clear and crisp. Paired with the fxi's it was a done deal. I felt I was next to Janet and that she was only singing to me.
This brings up a couple of question. First how good of a reciever is the txnr-905? I think for my system that I need to just bite it and buy a more expensive reciever. I think i'll have to look at the onkyo 700 series or better. Second I did not know that the rtia9's had 2 5 and 1/4 midrange. The rti'1 only give you 1 5 and 1/4 midrange....seems as if there should be a rtia2 with the 2 5 and 1/4 midrange. My rti10's of 1 6 and 1/2 midrage. Is this what made the huge difference? So the bigger the midrange the less you get? I don't think the 3 7 inch subwoofers made a difference. Am I wrong in my observation?
If I were to ever make a jump ( which I promised myself never again ) it would be to the rtia9's with the fxia6's (but I got fxi3's)...I'll keep my center.
First let me say that the Janet Jackson dvd was of all her videos and since I am familiar with all the songs it made for good reference material.
Since I own some rti10's I first wanted to hear the rti7's. They were good and on par with my 10's. The music was on point and it was very clear. I also have to add that the center channels did not seem to work or was very low. Don't know why? I was also able to fool with the controls of the onkyo and set it to dolby digital II music just like home for good reference.
I then switched to the bookshelfs. The rtia1's kicked butt, in fact I think for the money one could not do better. I would venture to say that one could pass with them as fronts and backs and be very happy. More so I was impressed with the fxi's that they had up high on the back wall of the room. They helped me find the sweet spot in the middle to take in the music. Those fxi's made all the difference as the music blended with ease and pitch.
I moved on to the rtia3's and was disappointed. I say this because I could not tell the difference between the two that would justify the more expensive purchase. They are still great speakers but did not stand out.
Then I switched to the lsi series. Knowing that they are 4 ohm being driven by an 8 ohm reciever (could be switched to 6oms) they were just plain bad. I will say again that this would be expected by such a set up.
But when I put the rtia9's on...wow...i mean wow! I should have just left the room. Things were so clear and crisp. Paired with the fxi's it was a done deal. I felt I was next to Janet and that she was only singing to me.
This brings up a couple of question. First how good of a reciever is the txnr-905? I think for my system that I need to just bite it and buy a more expensive reciever. I think i'll have to look at the onkyo 700 series or better. Second I did not know that the rtia9's had 2 5 and 1/4 midrange. The rti'1 only give you 1 5 and 1/4 midrange....seems as if there should be a rtia2 with the 2 5 and 1/4 midrange. My rti10's of 1 6 and 1/2 midrage. Is this what made the huge difference? So the bigger the midrange the less you get? I don't think the 3 7 inch subwoofers made a difference. Am I wrong in my observation?
If I were to ever make a jump ( which I promised myself never again ) it would be to the rtia9's with the fxia6's (but I got fxi3's)...I'll keep my center.