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View Full Version : Upgrade from Old RT800i - VM30, A9, A7 or A5?



indianajonze
01-27-2009, 02:18 PM
i'm ready to finally retire my 10 year old RT800's (still kicking butt btw), and i've been debating between the VM30, A9, A7 or A5s.

according to the spec sheets, the closest match to the RT800 appears to be the A5. is this correct? if so, would i even hear a difference if i chose the A5's? have things changed much in the past 10 years to warrant an upgrade?

my concern/focus is on the midrange and upper sounds. I have a pair of kickbutt subs that can go VERY low, so i'm not concerned about the low end at all. does this mean i shouldn't even consider the A9's? it seems to me that in my setup, much of the A9's power (low end) would be wasted...plus, i'm not crazy about all that bulk in the speakers

so if my assumption that the A5 would be too similar and the A9 would be too much wasted bass (PLEASE correct me if i'm wrong), this would leave the A7 or the VM30.

The A7's look great, but i'm concerned about the single midrange driver when my RT800 has dual 6-1/2" drivers. would I lose midrange in such a situation?

what about the VM30? how are the midrange/upper ranges compared to the others?

i'm in a 20x20 room and have a powerful, high end pioneer elite receiver to drive everything (plus the dual subs which reach down to 18hz with authority).

sorry about so many questions, but i really want to do this upgrade right. before anyone tells me to go hear them for myself, i can't find a dealer in northern new jersey that has any of these models, let alone several so i can compare them. i'd be buying blind (though with my experience with polk that's not such a risk). please help...

nikolas812
01-27-2009, 02:42 PM
have things changed much in the past 10 years to warrant an upgrade?


I would say yes.


The RT800 was my first polk speaker and I am very familiar with it.

With that being said I have had just about everything from the RT800's up to LSi9's.

I haven't had any of the new RTa's but I have had a pair of RTi4's. And the difference in the highs was a dramatic change IMO. Much much smoother and more extended than the RT800's.

I would have to imagine the midrange might be a little better on the RTia5 also.




Nick