upgrading my Polks

[mrpito]

Hi Guys,

This is my first post on here although I've had an account for over a year. I bought my first set of Polks about a year and a half ago and a decent Yamaha receiver to complete my first real 5.1 home theatre set-up. I listened to quite a few different speakers and I gotta say that Polk blew everyone else out of the water in that price range.

I Went with the Monitor Series low end :

2 Monitor 50 towers
1 CS1 Centre
2 Monitor 30 rears
1 Sinclair Audio SW10.3 Sub
1 Yamaha RX-V861 Receiver

Well, I find that I want to upgrade my speakers now and I wanna make sure that I make the right choice. I've been pricing some towers out and I've gotten some decent prices. I'm trying to decide between the following 3 models and depending on which one I get, it changes the rears selections.

1) 2 x RTi A7's Priced @ CAD$378 each (CAD$756)
2) 2 x RTi 10's (used) @ CAD$550 for the pair
3) 2 x RTi A9's @ roughly CAD$1000 (will be on sale in 4 weeks)

I've only heard the A7's and they sound pretty good but they didn't really blow me away. I can get similar sound and clarity with my Monitor50's. From what I've read, the RTi10's are basically the same speakers as the A7's. I think I'm mostly leaning towards the A9's but I haven't heard them because noone has them set-up in town to listen to.

So, if I get the A7 or 10's I'm considering the following Centre and rears:

- CSi A6
- FXi A4

If I get the A9's, I'm considering the same Centre but the FXi A6 for rears.


So, my questions are:

1) Which speaker should I go for based on performance and price?
2) Based on the speaker selection, which Centre and Rears should I get?

Thanks guys, i appreciate the help!

[leroyjr1]

Get the A9's and be done. It's a very nice speaker for both music and HT.

[Sherardp]

A9s with center and rears. Add an amp later and really feel those 9s move some air.

[mrpito]

A9's seem to be the general concensus thus far but why? Also, which rears should I be matching the A9's with?

I got quoted a good price for the Fxi A4's and the CSi A6 center as a package but I think the FXi A6's would be a better match. Would the A4's be good enough if I got the A9's?

Thanks for the replies guys...

[jimmydep]

A-9 front, CSi-A6 center, FXI-A6 Rears, with external amplification this will be hard to beat, especially for HT.

I've heard the A-9's they are definitely a "FULL" range speaker that has lot's of detail in the mid and highs with a tremendous low end.

Jimmy

[thsmith]

SDA-1Cs for mains and CSiA6 for center.

[danz1906]

A5s with a Sub and the CSiA6.

[mrpito]

So, it appears that everyone agrees with the CSi A6 Center.... What about the rears? I'm about 90% decided on the A9 Towers so should I go with the FXi A4 or the FXi A6? Is there perhaps another alternative to rears other than those 2?

[jimmydep]

So, it appears that everyone agrees with the CSi A6 Center.... What about the rears? I'm about 90% decided on the A9 Towers so should I go with the FXi A4 or the FXi A6? Is there perhaps another alternative to rears other than those 2?

What is your room layout like?

[mrpito]

well, right now it's in the bonus room... mostly square(16ft deep x 20ft wide) but early next spring I'll hopefully have my basement done and that will be bigger... that'll be roughly 24-30 wide and about 20ft deep.

[xcapri79]

Welcome back to Club Polk. If you are gettting the RTiA9's and CSiA6 for the front, consider getting an Emotiva XPA-3 amp to drive them. I would move the Monitor 50's to side surrounds and the Monitor 30's to rear surrounds and have them driven by your receiver.

See how you like that set up before adding the FXi A6. I say this because I think that you will enjoy your RTiA9's more with a good amp and most of us have to live within a budget.

By the way, I see you have the Sinclair Audio subwoofer.
How do you like it?
Have you listened to the other Sinclair Audio speakers?
http://www.sinclairaudio.com/pdf/rev...%20(email).pdf

How do they compare with the Polks?

[NewHTguy]

So, it appears that everyone agrees with the CSi A6 Center.... What about the rears? I'm about 90% decided on the A9 Towers so should I go with the FXi A4 or the FXi A6? Is there perhaps another alternative to rears other than those 2?

The OWM3s have a high waf because they are so versatile. I have them sitting on the end tables, not ideal, but nothing I do is ideal. I like mine and they're cheap. But, I'm mostly a two-channel guy. When/if I get into multi-channel DVD audio, then I'll need to look for some Lsi surrounds.

[mrpito]

Thanks for the great tips guys... I'm going to pick up the A9's in a few weeks during the sale and I'll try using the Monitor 50's as rears and the Monitor 30's as presentment speakers. I'll see if they timbre match for a few weeks and if they don't, then I'll probably get the Fxi A6 rears.

I like the idea of getting an external amp to drive the A9's and the CSi A6 center. Any other good amp's out there that can do the job nicely?

Thanks again everyone for your great responses!

cheers!

[jimmydep]

I like the idea of getting an external amp to drive the A9's and the CSi A6 center. Any other good amp's out there that can do the job nicely?

cheers!

How much do you have to spend???

[sTiLlLeArNiNg]

mrpito can i ask where are you getting your price's from?

[ls7z06]

I also upgraded About a year ago from Monitor 50's, CS1, and Monitor 30's. I went with the RTiA7's, CSi A6, FXi A6 surround, and FXi A4 rear surrounds. I did listen to both the A7and A9 speakers while shopping. I personally thought the A7's blew away my old Monitor 50's. I chose the A7 for these reasons.... 1) I simply liked the sound better, 2) I felt my 130W Onkyo would be better with the A7's and I would not need a seperate amp, 3) With the main diff being the A9's lows, I knew I was getting a new sub to better handle the lows anyway. So, I took the money I saved between the A9's and the A7, plus the money I saved on not having to buy an amp, and put that cash towards a nice SVS sub. I have no regrets. Had I bought the A9's, I would have spent significant money for speakers capable of producing lows that my cutover setting was sending to my sub anyway. Good luck and have fun.

[mrpito]

Thanks everyone for all of the GREAT advice. I just wanted to update you all on my final purchases. I ended up going with the RTI A9's and I have absolutely no regrets! They are amazing speakers and I can only imagine what they will sound like once I purchase an external AMP to power them. The best part of all was that I got them for an amazing Deal! As a matter of Fact, I got everything at quite the bargain.

Here's what I bought:

- RTI A9 Towers @ $588 for the Pair
- Polk MicroPro 1000 Sub (secondary sub)
- CSi A6 Center
- FXi A4 Surrounds - Bought the Center and Surrounds for $650 combined

I originally had the CS1 as the Centre , the Monitor 50's as surrounds and the Monitor 30's as rears for about 4 weeks but I felt they just weren't doing the A9's justice and I sold them and bought the CSi A6 and FXi A4's instead.

I couldn't be happier with my set-up. As a side note, I got the Basement done ALOT sooner than expected and I have this all set up down there in a 22 ft wide by 17 ft deep room. I also got the LFE out split from the receiver out to both subs on opposite corners of the room. All that I'm missing right now is to buy an external amp to power the towers and the Center and I'll never have to leave the basement again!

Anyways, Thanks everyone for all of your help in helping me decide.

Cheers!

[Menasor]

Thanks everyone for all of the GREAT advice. I just wanted to update you all on my final purchases. I ended up going with the RTI A9's and I have absolutely no regrets! They are amazing speakers and I can only imagine what they will sound like once I purchase an external AMP to power them. The best part of all was that I got them for an amazing Deal! As a matter of Fact, I got everything at quite the bargain.

Here's what I bought:

- RTI A9 Towers @ $588 for the Pair
- Polk MicroPro 1000 Sub (secondary sub)
- CSi A6 Center
- FXi A4 Surrounds - Bought the Center and Surrounds for $650 combined

I originally had the CS1 as the Centre , the Monitor 50's as surrounds and the Monitor 30's as rears for about 4 weeks but I felt they just weren't doing the A9's justice and I sold them and bought the CSi A6 and FXi A4's instead.

I couldn't be happier with my set-up. As a side note, I got the Basement done ALOT sooner than expected and I have this all set up down there in a 22 ft wide by 17 ft deep room. I also got the LFE out split from the receiver out to both subs on opposite corners of the room. All that I'm missing right now is to buy an external amp to power the towers and the Center and I'll never have to leave the basement again!

Anyways, Thanks everyone for all of your help in helping me decide.

Cheers!

What! RTi A9's for $588 for the pair? You got a steal my friend! Enjoy! :)

[mrpito]

What! RTi A9's for $588 for the pair? You got a steal my friend! Enjoy! :)

Ya, it was a local shop blowing out their last 20 pairs of Polk RTI A9 speakers since they were dropping the Polk line of products they carried because there was too much competition with the big box stores. They had 5 pairs per store at that price and I had to line up @ 5am in order to make sure I got 1 of the 5 pairs. They sold out in 2-3 minutes! I got pretty lucky.

[coolsax]

nice score.. that is an incredible Deal

[jimsvm]

I noticed a Canadian doller figure.Where you from mrpito

[mrpito]

Hi Jim,

I'm from Calgary, Alberta. I got them at one of the SoundsArround stores here in September. They have an annual sale 2nd or 3rd week in September and they blow out alot of old inventory. I knew these would be going on sale about 6-8 weeks before the sale from one of their staff and just had to be patient. It was quite the steal though considering that most shops retail the pair for $2000 CAD.

[mrpito]

Hi everyone,

First of all, I wanna say thanks for all of the help you guys provided in helping me choose my gear. I'm really happy with my A9's, CSi A6 and Fxi A4's.

The next big purchase for me is an AMP. I have a Yamaha RX-V569 powering them and they got about 105W p/channel right now (which in reality it's probably alot less when running 5.1). What I want to do is buy a 3 channel amp that can power the A9's and the CSi A6 and then use the AVR to power my surrounds.

What I'd like is some suggestions on what amp to use to power the towers and center that won't kill my wallet though either. I think top-end I'd want to spend is $600 CAD ($550 USD).

Any suggestions?

[Sherardp]

If your Yamaha has preouts then I'm sure you can find some excellent deals on Adcom or Sunfire in your price range. I would even suggest Outlaw Audio as well.

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....00-x-3-w/-obm-

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....rand-Five-Ch-2

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....Cinema--Grand-