Help tuning in RTi A5's for music

[bevo]

I've had my RTi A5's for about 2 weeks now, and just can't get the vocals to come out in them. The music sounds great, and the bass is fine. It's the vocals that are hidden inside of the music. They just are not as loud as they should be.

I have adjusted the EQ as much as my ability will let me. When I first got the speakers, the high's were almost non existent, but a few tweaks to the eq fixed that. I just can't figure out how to get the vocals to come out.

Fronts are set to small, crossover at 60.

If anyone has any EQ settings to share, or experience with these speakers with a denon, your help would be appreciated.

On a side note, I was really surprised at how well the 90 watt per channel denon pushed these speakers. It's 10 times better then I thought it would be. I thought I would have to buy a new receiver with pre outs and amp very soon, but now I can get the sub first instead. Also, the rm8's seem to actually sound good, with the RTi A line. I thought they would be overshadowed by the larger speakers, but that is not the case so far.

[BjornB17]

Is it just with either male or famle vocals or with all? Are you listening to a specific type of music?

[renowilliams]

I have the RTIA5's and I've never experienced your problem. I have a Yamaha RX-V861 reciever and I have it set to small but my crossover is set to 80. Don't know if that will help.

Good Luck

[bevo]

Is it just with either male or famle vocals or with all? Are you listening to a specific type of music?

I listen to pearl jam, tool, alice in chains, clutch, etc. Pretty much any music that came out in the early 90's and was labeled alternative. I also listen to various metal bands. So needless to say, no female voices will probably ever reach my speakers, unless it's some background singers for some classic rock.

They sound great when watching movies, or playing games, it's just when I put in the music that it seems to happen. Don't get me wrong, the speakers do not sound bad. It just seems that the vocals are getting overwhelmed by the music. I would think that it was just how the music was recorded, but I have listened to this exact same music for the last 15 or more years.

Hopefully I can get a few hours alone this weekend to experiment some more. My little boy is only 2 1/2, so he doesn't really need to hear the music blasting like I like it to.

[Ron Temple]

Make sure the jumpers between the binding posts are tight. Sounds like you either have a defective pair or the tweeters aren't getting the full signal.

[bevo]

Make sure the jumpers between the binding posts are tight. Sounds like you either have a defective pair or the tweeters aren't getting the full signal.

I have the speakers hooked up to the top posts. I'm not sure but I figured that those were for the tweeters. You may be right about defective though, I was expecting alot higher pitched sounds from them, the way people claim them to be bright speakers. I'm not sure what "bright" means, but I assumed it meant that they leaned more toward a treble sound, so to speak.

I have only had one decent house stereo in the past, and it was much, much brighter then my current setup. I have however had very nice car stereos when I was young, and they were also much brighter then the RTi A5's.

I hate to claim something is wrong with them, being as I have not heard a decent setup in a long time. I also am not up to par on the new technology that the receivers have these days, so I could have something set wrong. My rm8's sounded fine though with the same settings. I'm still learning, and most of what I have learned, has come from this forum. I wish the search function worked better in here. None of my searches ever come up with anything.

Everything else is so loud it is hard for me to tell if there is sound coming from the tweeters. Would I definitely know if the tweeters were not working. The high end is kind of dull in my speakers. It's both of them though, so it's hard to believe that they are both broken.

I can tell that the RTi A5's should sound better then anything I have owned before, but I just can't seem to get it right.

[CRESCENDOPOWER]

Are you listening to the A5s in stereo mode, or surround sound when listening to music?
Are you running the A5s full range with no filtering when listening to music?
Have you tried to move the speakers?
My advice is to shut off any type of EQ when listening to music in stereo. Polk speakers already sound fantastic and don’t need any help from an EQ. An EQ will cause more damage than it will help.

[dborzz]

I somehow doubt that both of your speakers are defective. I would continue to play around with the settings. Definitely make sure you have it in stereo mode so you get the full sound. Otherwise your vocals will be headed for the center channel. Those A5's should sound sweet once you get things set correctly. Crossover at 80hz seems to be the standard or go full band.

[Erik Tracy]

Are you listening to the A5s in stereo mode, or surround sound when listening to music?
Are you running the A5s full range with no filtering when listening to music?
Have you tried to move the speakers?
My advice is to shut off any type of EQ when listening to music in stereo. Polk speakers already sound fantastic and don’t need any help from an EQ. An EQ will cause more damage than it will help.

I second this recommendation.

Just because your avr has all these fancy DSP sound modes doesn't mean they will sound better than plain "old school" 2-channel mode.

Depending on the mode, the Center channel may get more emphasis and the Left and Right fronts will sound 'recessed' or 'distant'.

Set your avr to be in a "straight" or 2-channel or "direct" mode and do some more listening. I doubt both speakers are somehow bad.

Also, check to see if your speakers are wired 'in phase' (all terminal connections match for both speakers to your avr). Having your speakers wired out of phase can also make it sound like the music has a 'hole' in it.

Check, check, and recheck....

[leroyjr1]

If you can try using another receiver. My first receiver was the Denon 1508 & 1708 and I didn't like the sound. The highs and mids were terrible. Switch to the Onkyo problem solved.

[Menasor]

Hm, my RTi A5's sound fine. Does your receiver have Audyssey EQ? It could be that your mids and lows are overpowering your highs.

Like others have said, try plain old stereo mode for music. The vocals should sound very nice once it's in the right mode and calibrated right.