Beta 50 or RTi10?? Almost done choosing

[bigbassdave]

Ok guys thanks so much for your help so far. I talked with Buckeye who owns the Rti10's and while it sounds like he is very happy with them he did tell me they were very power hungry and that his high end receiver barely gets the job done. This means my humble Onkyo Ht-R520 probably wont do the trick as well as I thought. I have flip flopped on which brand to go with a couple times and I have to order by Sunday. Does anyone know if the Infinity Beta 50's might be less hungry for power? I have heard them in the circuit city I work at and I like them a lot. If I go with these as fronts I will most likely go with the Infinity C360 as the center. If I go with the Polk RTi10's I will buy the matching CSi5 for the center. I have to choose from these two speakers as they are they only brands I get a large discount on. Thank you for your replies in advance

 

[j_garcia]

I believe the RTi10 and 12 are closer to 4 Ohms rather than their claimed 8 Ohm rating, so they almost certainly draw plenty of current. 4 Ohm loads will present a problem for most average receivers, but hat your buddy considers "high end" may not actually BE high end gear because most decent receivers can handle at least two 4 Ohm speakers without difficulty. I'm not familiar with the Betas, but I would say if you aren't also upgrading your receiver, they would be the better choice rather than the Polks.

 

[fergusonv]

Polk fan here that also owns some RTi8's which may be a good option for you as well, there is alot of debate over at the Polk forums on which sound the best when ran with a sub and they are somewhat easier to drive. I also own the CSi5 and it's a great combination. I highly recommend them.

 

[bigbassdave]

Thanks J thats what I was starting to think,
Just to clarify though, Buckeye didn't say it was "high end" I did. He has a Denon (cant remember model) so maybe I spoke too soon. Fact is it is certainly more powerful than what I have. He had a good point saying I could run the 6 1/2 inch speaker and tweeter and not send power to the 2 7" woofers on the RTi10's and it would sound great with my current receiver. While that would still be a big upgrade to my HTIB speakers now I would esentialy just be powering a pair of bookshelf speakers. I dont' want to have a pair of awesome floor standing units if I can only enjoy half of their components. I have read elsewhere that the RTi10 and 12 were close to 4 ohm. So now I'm leaning toward the Beta 50's and the c360 in the front. You guys have already helped me to decide that although the Polk sub may not be the best out there it is the better choice for my current situation. So last question would be about the pair of rear surrounds. I'm thinking I will go with the Polk Fxi3's. They are Bipole/Dipole speakers. How important is that? They will be placed directly to the side of the listener about 6 to 7 feet away from my head. I'm sure I like these speakers cause my friend has a couple so I have heard them numerous times. Small part of me thinks I should go with Beta 20's in the rear though just to keep all my speakers Infinity. (except for sub of course). Thanks for your patience and help guys I really appreciate it. I know I will be happy either way but I want to make sure I get the best setup considering the receiver I have. Basically, I want it to ROCK now and sound even better a year from now when I get a nice receiver.

 

[bigbassdave]

Thanks for the thought on the Rti8's. That would save me some cash. I can pick them up for 360 a pair. Anyone have thoughts on the Rti8 vs Beta 50? Problem is I don't know where I can go to hear the RTi8's. Circuit City only carries Polk Monitor series and while I think they sound great I like the Beta 50's more.

 

[fergusonv]

Only place in my area that has them is Tweeter.....

 

[j_garcia]

Well, you didn't say it was Buckeye... He's the one who measured them to be 4 Ohms and confronted Polk about it I trust his Denon is doing well with them. If a receiver upgrade is also in your near future, the RTi10s with Buckeye's recommendation would probably be a good one because when you upgrade the receiver that can handle them, then you can just hook up the jumper and drive the whole speaker. Couldn't tell you about the 8s though, but if it saves you cash and will work with your existing setup, then it should be something you consider for sure. Me personally, I prefer the Infinitys, and if you like them too, I'd say go with them.

 

[bigbassdave]

Well I've certainly received great info from you all you audioholics
I think that although Buckeye's idea is a really good one it would kill me not to be able to enjoy the entire speaker. Like you said J, I know I like the Infinities and I just read somewhere in a review that the beta series sounds great and doesn't require as much juice as some of the other speakers in its class. This bodes well for me. So I think this is it for the front of the room. Now the only thing left to decide is what to do about the surrounds. Anyone have any opinion on the Beta 20's vs the Fxi3's? The betas would cost me $176 for a pair plus tax and shipping. The FXi3 would be $180 (pair) plus tax and free shipping. So really there isn't much of a difference in price. Thanks again

 

[mike c]

if you are getting beta fronts ... you should definitely get beta surrounds.

 

[CaliHwyPatrol]

The Infinities sound like ****e with Onkyo...

I've bolted them up to 3 different Onkyo's and every time the highs wouldn't come through at lower volumes... I even bi-amped them with a 701 and they still sounded crappy... When you pump it up, they sound good, but like I said, at lower volumes they really didn't come through.

I can vouch for the RTi8's, as I have a pair. Yes they are power hungry, but they still sound awesome! I run them on the small setting so they sound just fine. I plan on tacking an Onkyo M282 amp on there just to get that little extra punch.

Here's what I have:

Marantz SR6400
Polk Audio RTi 8
Polk Audio CSi 3
Polk Audio RTi 4
Polk Audio PSW505

~Chuck

 

[j_garcia]

I've bolted them up to 3 different Onkyo's and every time the highs wouldn't come through at lower volumes... I even bi-amped them with a 701 and they still sounded crappy... When you pump it up, they sound good, but like I said, at lower volumes they really didn't come through.

This is an opinion, and it may be related to the fact that you own Polk and are used to their fairly bright highs compared to the Infinitys. I spent many years as a Paradigm owner and I felt the brightness was normal until I started my search for an upgrade and found that this wasn't the sound that I really liked. When I got my new speakers the detail was evident, but it took me a while to really fully grasp that there was nothing missing from the highs and that they actually sounded better, it was just that I was used to hearing the 'digms.

You need to increase your power by 2x to get an appreciable difference in output, so I don't see how M282s are going to help you.

 

[CaliHwyPatrol]

I should have elaborated more!

The Infinities didn't just sound warm, they sounded bad, IMO.

I currently have them on an HK 635 and they sound much better!
I also think the primus series doesn't sound good on the Onkyo's either, and neither do most of my customers.

~Chuck

 

[Sheep]

must be an API thing

SheepStar

 

[bigbassdave]

Just out of curiosity,
Anyone know, or have a guess, as to what the most expensive speaker brand offering products for home theater might be? I've realized, without much supprise, that the stuff I considered to be "high end" before may not be that after all. So, I thought it might be fun to look up speakers that would be freakishly expensive on line to kill some time. You know, dream of the day Bill Gates dies and leaves me his fortune. Thanks

 

[j_garcia]

I think there was a thread on this not too long ago. So far the most expensive stuff I've actually sat and listened to were Aerial 20Ts at $25K a pair (Wow would be an understatement for how they sounded). I didn't bother listening to the Wilson Audio Maxx Series 2 when I saw them in the store... Might want to start a separate thread for that one though...

 

[mulester7]

I think there was a thread on this not too long ago. So far the most expensive stuff I've actually sat and listened to were Aerial 20Ts at $25K a pair (Wow would be an understatement for how they sounded). I didn't bother listening to the Wilson Audio Maxx Series 2 when I saw them in the store... Might want to start a separate thread for that one though...

.....JGarcia, this hobby really is about speakers....from a manufacturer's standpoint, speakers have their own signature far exceeding, and unlike, passing-through signaling, processing, or powering components....concerning your main's regiment, if you don't listen first to what you buy, you belong in the drooling academy.....

 

[bigbassdave]

Where did you see the Ariel 20T's? I would love a chance to listen to those in a store

 

[jaxvon]

The most expensive speakers I've come across (though never listened to) were some CAT speakers. They're customized completely for you and can run up to ~$1.5 million. After that, there are the Wisdom Audio Infinite Grande Speakers at $600k, then the German Physiks Gaudi at $350k. I'm not sure about price after that. The Wilson Alexandrias come in around $150k or so (just kinda guessing, but I know they're over $100k). Wanna talk about amps now?

 

[bigbassdave]

seriously, I mean if you owned speakers of that caliber what the heck kind of amp would you need to run them???? It would be nice to be an oil tycoon

 

[Thunder18]

I hope this isn't too out of place

Regarding the deceptive current rating of the RTi10's...I was wondering if anyone knew what kind of load the present when they are bi-amped. I was considering a pair of RTi10's or 12's with a Pioneer VSX-56TXi and an Onkyo M-282 bi-amping them(Pioneer driving the smaller drivers and the Onkyo amp driving the woofers).