Rti-12's For $50!!

[guitarplyrstevo]

So my department manager at my job is going to sell me two polk audio rti-12's for $100 in a cherry color. My question to you guys is how good are these speakers? For the longest time I have been looking at the av123 x-mtm encore tower speaker but i dont know which tower will perform better. I've heard the rti-12's and have been blown away at the sound, but ive heard so many good things about the av123 speakers too (specifically the x-series). So what do you guys think? Which speaker will perform better? Dont factor money into this because i already know the answer to that.

Also my receiver isnt the greatest receiver in the world. Its an onkyo tx-sr574s that i also got from my job for $10. Do you guys think this receiver will power these speakers well?

 

[WmAx]

So my department manager at my job is going to sell me two polk audio rti-12's for $100 in a cherry color. My question to you guys is how good are these speakers? For the longest time I have been looking at the av123 x-mtm encore tower speaker but i dont know which tower will perform better. I've heard the rti-12's and have been blown away at the sound, but ive heard so many good things about the av123 speakers too (specifically the x-series). So what do you guys think? Which speaker will perform better? Dont factor money into this because i already know the answer to that.

Also my receiver isnt the greatest receiver in the world. Its an onkyo tx-sr574s that i also got from my job for $10. Do you guys think this receiver will power these speakers well?

$100? If they work, you would be a fool to turn them down. Even if they have 1 or 2 blown drivers, it's still a great deal(you can get a couple of replacement drivers from Polk and still be way ahead in the cost savings game here). These speakers were around $1k per pair new, I believe. Maybe even a little more.

-Chris

 

[MDS]

Let's see now...two fairly well respected tower speakers with a very nice cherry finish and a very capable Onkyo receiver for $110. I'd say you are doing quite well.

 

[guitarplyrstevo]

haha you guys are telling me something i already know. what about the sound quality of these polk rti-12's? im trying to compare them to the av123's x-mtm encore speakers. I was originally planning on getting two of those but im not sure if the av123 speakers would be better or worse since ive seen very good reviews on the x-mtm speakers.

 

[mike c]

reviews on speakers are totally useless IMO. our taste in speakers is totally subjective and even relative to what we've already heard.

how many of the speaker reviews you've seen are A/B?

most of the reviews will probably end with "these are fantastic, the imaging is bla bla" well, what was their previous pair of speakers? probably not too fancy.

the Rti12 is definitely worth 100 bucks EVEN if you buy the Av123 speakers ... you'll make that money and more - easy if you decide to resell.

OT:

do you have a subwoofer?

 

[Cruise Missile]

I love my RTi 12's. Hopefully someone else who has the av123's will write up their thoughts on them for you.

First off the 12's will perform almost exactly to the specs that Polk published for them. The freq. response is very linear. I have never been able to hear the points that the crossovers split the signal between the three driver sizes. The highs are quite good, never harsh or bright, typical of silk dome tweeters. The mids cut through with clarity bringing voices and lead musicians to center stage, right where they belong. The bass side of the 12's has a great deal of potential, but you are going to need serious power to flesh the bass out. The bass drivers are in a huge enclosure, read 3/4 of the entire cabinet, helping them to extend deep into the lows. Polk recomends 50-500 watts af amp. With a 90 db sensitivity theese babies will scream if asked to.

I have been using my 12's with my denon AVR 4806 and have been very happy with the sound. So far as amps go my 140 wpc receiver has been able to drive them. to be pointed out however, the denon puts out around 183 wpc in stereo, so your milage may vary. I also have tried running the 12's full range and then crossing them over to a sub at 80 hz. The latter results in a better bass response in my room.

When listening to music the polks dissapear into the background. leaving the music to take the stage. When listening seated in the "sweet spot" the imaging is simply stunning. However, move left or right of the sweet spot and the imaging loses focus. Fun story here, I had a former acoustical engineer for boston acoustics over for movie night. Before the movie I was showing off My setup playing Santana Abraxis SACD. This album is recorded in stereo. While playing this I actually had to unplug my center channel speaker to convince my guest that I wasn't using multi channel playback! That speaks volumes on the imaging.

The main thing is to listen to them and then make your decision. At $100 you can give them a listen and have them there for some A/B comparisons. Then if you don't like them P.M. me and I'll Buy 'em.

Hopefully someone will step in with a review of the av123's for you. I know Mike c, I kinda did exactly what you said. But I thought I'd share anyway.
Have fun, new gear always ROCKS!!

 

[GlocksRock]

You should tell him you are going to pass, and that I'm offering $150 for the pair.

 

[ChunkyDark]

So where do you work and do they have any openings?

 

[Ron Temple]

The RTi12s for most of their life sold for ~ $1500/pr. You'd be foolish not to pick them up. As noted, they sound good on a receiver, great on a hefty receiver and if you really give them some current those bass drivers become very controlled and punchy. The 12s can really pack a wallop. Regardless, you might still prefer the AV123 sound. The RTis are more forward than any MLS speaker I've heard (not that many). It's just that you can't lose with the RTis since they are practically a gift. Try them out.

 

[Warpdrv]

Ron, I hadn't noticed before, tht you have the old Polk SDA 1C's....

Those things were impressive, in fact my current dealer that now sells B&W and Paradigms used to sell those things at the old building he used to be in. I would always drool on them...

Most of the time I would get a "ahhh sir, do you mind not dribbling on the speakers !!!"

Not to often do I see anyone that has them.... I would imagine they are still treating you well.... ?


To the OP... Buy the Polks, you can't go wrong... great investment...

 

[jaysonbarnett]

buy them and then ill give 400.00 for them. That is a once in a life time score.

 

[guitarplyrstevo]

Oh im definitely going to pick these up. there are 5 towers left in the store for $100 each. Im going to convince him to give 2 cherry for $100. my buddy is getting two black brand new for $150 and the last one is black that is pretty well damaged. Even at $100 each i think its a steal.

Anyways, I work at frys electronics and these are NOT for sale. I will be pretty happy from these speakers, only thing i need is a more powerfull amplifier.
Thanks guys

 

[guitarplyrstevo]

One more question. Since my onkoy 574 is only 80 watts per 7 channels, is there any way i can get more power out of them? I know some receivers have bridging where i can take two channels and have double the power, or bi-amping which im not too sure of. Is there any way i can get a little more power out of this reciever? ive also seen that at 6 ohms each channel is 100watts, will this work with the rti12? i know the speaker is rated at 8 ohms but im not 100% sure this will work. Thank you guys for all your help

 

[Ron Temple]

Ron, I hadn't noticed before, tht you have the old Polk SDA 1C's....

Those things were impressive, in fact my current dealer that now sells B&W and Paradigms used to sell those things at the old building he used to be in. I would always drool on them...

Most of the time I would get a "ahhh sir, do you mind not dribbling on the speakers !!!"

Not to often do I see anyone that has them.... I would imagine they are still treating you well.... ?


To the OP... Buy the Polks, you can't go wrong... great investment...

Hi Warp,

Yep, they are a remarkable speaker still. I recently picked up a pair of 2Bs running in surround duty as well. I was able to pass a pair of SDA-CRS+ back to a friend who was letting me "store" them . There's kind of a cult of SDA owners. We all watch for local deals on CL or ebay for folks who don't know what they have and if the deal is right, scoop them up. 1.2TLs still sometimes sell for more than original MSRP in certain parts of the country (3gs +). Pretty amazing for a 20+ year old speaker.