Review: RTi A1

[nadams]

Okay, so I'm actually just starting this thread to remind myself to write a full review of the RTi A1. These are the speakers that I "won" by hosting a gathering here at my place. I tried to raffle them, I really did... but the attendees would have no such thing. I really am grateful to Polk, for providing the speakers, and to the folks who attended, for being so gracious as to give me these speakers without a second thought. I wasn't even going to be in the drawing!

Right now, the RTi's are perched on top of my SDA 2's. And I have to say, with a proper set of stands to get them a little lower, I don't know if I'd miss the SDA's. :o

Blasphemy, I know! I'm a vintage Polk guy, myself. I've owned: Monitor 5jr's, Monitor 10's and my current SDA2's. But let me tell you, hooked up to the same Adcom 545 and Hafler Pre as the SDA2's, these RTi's really sing. I got the opportunity to listen to them bi-amped with a pair of heavily modded Knight mono tube amps, and a pair of Adcom 565 monos, but the 545 does just fine.

These speakers excel at detail the way a pair of SDA's never could. At least not my SDA's. The RTi's pick out every little detail of any song you throw at them. No, they can't reach down into the sub 50hz range like the big SDA's can, but, give them credit! They only have a 5.25" driver!!!

I'm listening to them right now with Gentle Giant - "Three Friends" on vinyl, and am simply blown away at the detail and how low they actually can go, with such small drivers. I feel guilty to say.... I actually enjoy these with certain music more than I enjoy my vintage Polks. Midrange and highs are just so much more enjoyable. With a sub, I think I'd never miss my SDA's. :(

[renowilliams]

Shhh......don't let the other SDA owners hear you say that. What your saying borders closely to blasphemy. I know what you mean though, for me music lives in the mids and the RTI speakers do a great job there.

[nooshinjohn]

Sorry, but I gotta call BS on that...
Could it be that your SDA's are missing a couple drivers in each cabinet?

j/k.... I am surprised that they rate so highly as for there to even be a comparison made between the two. I will have to consider them when I get around to a bedroom rig. Thanks for the review.:)


John

[Conradicles]

My guess is that most folks who own the RTi A1 have no clue that they can sound sooo good because they never feed them good amplification. I have been guilty of it in the past as well as now.

Glad you enjoy the little guys. Polk Audio does it again!

[cnh]

Hi Tim (Reno),

Well, Noah is a long time SDA owner as well as the other Polks he mentions above.

That's some awesome praise for a tweeter that often feels like someone is scratching a chalk board to me? The RTIs are known to have an 'excess' of detail in that tweet.

I think the real question would be how do they stack up against and RDO-194? As I remember Noah...and I'm just getting my ears on the SL2000 myself....you're still running the SLs in your SDA's. Might that be a factor here? I don't know. I'm just asking other members who have them to weigh in.

As for me, with the exception of the Rti-A9s I find most Rtis too bright for my tastes.

But, hey, some people like that! All I know is that when I hear things 'live' they are not bright but more laid back. But I do agree that the SL2000s are not the most 'detailed' tweet I've heard. So that is probably what you're hearing!

I am glad you're enjoying those!

cnh

[Erik Tracy]

Hi Tim (Reno),

Well, Noah is a long time SDA owner as well as the other Polks he mentions above.

That's some awesome praise for a tweeter that often feels like someone is scratching a chalk board to me? The RTIs are known to have an 'excess' of detail in that tweet.

I think the real question would be how do they stack up against and RDO-194? As I remember Noah...and I'm just getting my ears on the SL2000 myself....you're still running the SLs in your SDA's. Might that be a factor here? I don't know. I'm just asking other members who have them to weigh in.

As for me, with the exception of the Rti-A9s I find most Rtis too bright for my tastes.

But, hey, some people like that! All I know is that when I hear things 'live' they are not bright but more laid back. But I do agree that the SL2000s are not the most 'detailed' tweet I've heard. So that is probably what you're hearing!

I am glad you're enjoying those!

cnh

Be nice now...:p

Different sounds for different tastes.

Each Polk series have oddities that don't appeal to everyone - take the LSi tweeters - some would say that they are sooo laid back as to be asleep under the covers. ;)

I'm one of those rare breed that had LSi7s and decided to go with the RTiA3s for that high end 'sparkle'. :p

If someone has the opportunity to do a fair up comparison and likes what they hear - then it is all good, right?

Geez - Gentle Giant eh? That goes WAY back....I've got Three Friends and Free Hand on vinyl.

[Ron Temple]

Whatever was done to the A series tweeter, whether it be crossover or cabinet, it's much more listenable than the previous rev. I got a chance to put A3s on top of my 1Cs (sound familiar) and was very impressed. They are a very nice sounding speaker. I can't remember which amp I had them on... might have been Luxman or Adcom GFA 555. I liked them alot. I didn't like them as well as SDAs, which do have a more laid back sound, with the detail spread across a far larger soundstage. The A3s had more edge to every intrument, great for imaging, but not as organic or natural sounding. I also heard them vs some older NHTs, some Brit bookshelves I used to own (can't remember the name, but decent) and LS 50s. They wiped the floor with the other books and I preferred the LS50s for their smoother and bassier presentation, but it was close.

[lightman1]

I was impressed by them. Hard to do.

[nadams]

With some material, the tweeters are a bit high. The Gentle Giant albums seem to have been mastered a little softer, so they work a bit better with these. I think in terms of grittiness, they're probably right along the same line as the SL-2000's that are in my SDA's. What the SDA's have going for them is tons more active driver area, so the increase in lower frequencies drown out the tweeters a bit.

The RTi A1's don't have that advantage, so unless the material is mastered soft, they're going to sound a little bright. For some material, I drop the high frequency dial on the pre back a notch to tone it down.

[camel_89si]

personally i love my rti-a1's. they may be a little bright to some, but it really doesn't bother me too much unless i'm blasting something such as Metallica's newest album, Death Magnetic, which, is almost painful to listen to loudly on any speaker (gotta love the loudness wars...). and yea i know i'm not feeding mine near enough power right now, but they still sound really good, and i can't wait to get a better receiver in the near future! and then one day possibly a nice amp to go with!

[AudioGenics]

what are your listening room dimension size ?
have you tried different room positioning and heights.
also different gear.

[cnh]

Don't small speakers have good 'imaging' mostly because of their 'size'? What one speaker company used to call 'point source'?

I remember a cheap acoustic suspension set of KLH 5" two ways I had that imaged like crazy! Better than speakers that cost hundreds more. But there were other shortcomings there...

cnh