Polk RTi vs Klipsch Ref vs Infinity Beta ? (1 Viewer)

[DaveBlairW]

I am upgrading my home theater - a full speaker package is up next.

Source material is provided by Cal Icon MkII CD and Sony S7700 DVD players. A/V receiver is Marantz SR8400, with MonsterPower HTS5100 power conditioning. Music will be close to 50% of the mix, and movies from DVD the other 50%.

Listening area is 27' by 21' with a cathedral ceiling.

I've identified these possibilities from local dealers:
1) Polk RTi - RTi10 fronts, CSi5 center, FXi5 surround
2) Klipsch Reference - RF5 fronts, RC7 center, RS7 surround
3) Infinity Beta - Beta 50 fronts, 360 center, ES250 surround
4) Monitor Audio - As wildcard, the new RS Silver series

Ideal speaker will mate well with the SR8400, and showcase the best of the source components. Neutral sound adding least to the recording is desired. System volume will be on the moderate side at loudest.

I'm seeking good advice before taking the $2000 - $2500 plunge for the speakers. What here has worked well and stood the test of time in your system? Any pitfalls with one of these brands?

 

[Victor Ferguson]

I have some Polks. I can give you some advice on them. Well first the center is a great choice. If you are not going to get a powered sub stick with the RTi10's up front, however if you are going to go with a sub I would recommend the RTi8's. If you search for reviews you will find they have a cleaner midrange. As for the surronds. If you are going to go with a 6.1/7.1 setup you may want to get some direct radiating speakers. I use RTi4's as my surrounds and they match up real nice with the 8's. I have mine on a HK reciever and they sound great my room is just a little larger than yours and they fill it up very well. While the 10's and 8's both have decent response. I would recommend a sub to help out in a room the size of yours.

 

[Sami Kallio]

Out of those I would go with Klipsch personally. Polk's LSi-line would be great but I'm not sure if you can get it locally and if it would get you over the budget. More $$$ needed in amplification as well but definately worth it if you are going to be listening to music as much as you say.

For a size that big, definately get a subwoofer.

 

[eddieZEN]

I'd go for CSi5 center but get the RTi6s ($340 shipped from jandr.com) and use the savings for a Hsu or SVS sub, $400-600.

If you're not doing much SACD/DVD-A surround music you can also go cheap with the $100/pair Polk R15s for surrounds, they only do maybe 10% of the work for HT anyway.

 

[Jeremiah Dant]

I would go with the klipsch setup, and maybe upgrade to rf-7 and definitly get either a rsw-12 or 15 subwoofer. polk would be my next choice.

 

[dan^w]

Possible stupid question ahead...

Regarding using the CSi5 in the center with the RTi6s up front: in general, is it possible for the center channel to be too big for the fronts, where the center might be too dominant?

 

[Sami Kallio]

Yes and no. No as you need to calibrate the sound output, yes as you might get lower output from the centre than the fronts. Once you add a sub that takes away the burden from the front three, it really isn't that much of a problem.

One thing to consider is the size of the room which in this case is large. My LSi7's sound really good on my HT room (13x11) but on my much larger living room you could tell they were bookshelves even with the sub. On the other hand the RTi150's sound much fuller (with a sub too) but don't have the clarity of the LSi's. Maybe in his case the RTi8 is justified over the RTi6.

http://www.polkaudio.com/home/compar...3&speakers=349

 

[DaveBlairW]

A big thanks for the helpful responses here. And the winner is . . .

I took advantage of the annual Polk spring speaker schedule within the past week, and went with the RTi10 front mains, CSi5 center and FXi5 surrounds.

My goal was to achieve a major upgrade from my previous "Brand X" speakers at a reasonable price, and the RTi series hit the sweet spot.

It was right down to the wire versus the Klipsch Reference series, with an excellent local dealer also running a nice promotion on the Reference 5's.

I'll post a new thread with first impressions of the Polk RTi series for others who may be including these in their purchase plans.

 

[DelRay]

Excellent choice Dave. I've had my Polks about 4 or 5 years now. Every time I think I want to sell them and buy something new, I just pop in a CD or DVD-Audio disc. Then I say to myself. "I think I'll keep em". Way to go

 

[Jeremiah Dant]

good choice. i would have chosen klipsch over polk (just a personal prefernce), but polk is still really good. I hope you enjoy.