Yamaha or Denon with Polk Speakers?

[PENG]

Every time I listened to the RTi10 in the past, it was powered by either the HKAVR430 or the 630. It was only with the 630 that I found its low and mid range acceptable for a speaker at its price point. For no apparent reason, this speaker seem to need a lot of power to make it sound good.

 

[20to20K]

Every time I listened to the RTi10 in the past, it was powered by either the HKAVR430 or the 630. It was only with the 630 that I found its low and mid range acceptable for a speaker at its price point. For no apparent reason, this speaker seem to need a lot of power to make it sound good.

I found this to be true with the even higher costing RTi12 as well. I only heard it with a midrange Yammie AVR and it was quite unspectacular in bass and midbass. For the $1400 asking price I thought they were a joke.
The LSi15 at only $100 more were far more forward sounding in the bass/midbass range. I must admit...the LSi's were playing on a Denon 3805
instead of the 80 watt Yammie that the RTi's were using. The shouldn't make that dramatic enough of a difference. Tweeter had them in different listening rooms so I could do a side by side...

 

[Johnny Canuck]

20to20k

I agree the bass is not as good as i expected for $1400 in the RTI12's.

I have never heard the LSi15's but from what I read on the Polk Forums, they aren't much better in the bass department...some even say the RTi's are better for rock. And they aren't $100 more where I live, they are $500-$600 more.

What would you recommend in that price range that has better bass? i would be interested to hear your thoughts.

 

[PENG]

I bet you will be impressed with the Energy Connoisseur C-9, for less than C$1,300. Its bass can be described as authoritative without much exaggeration.

 

[20to20K]

20to20k

I agree the bass is not as good as i expected for $1400 in the RTI12's.

I have never heard the LSi15's but from what I read on the Polk Forums, they aren't much better in the bass department...some even say the RTi's are better for rock. And they aren't $100 more where I live, they are $500-$600 more.

What would you recommend in that price range that has better bass? i would be interested to hear your thoughts.

Have to disagree on the 15's...the bass is significantly better than the RTi's IMO. At Tweeter the RTi12's were $1399, the LSi15's were $1499. Don't know if their prices are changed or if they differ at other shops, but that's what there were in Tweeter last summer.

I recently went to a few audio shops to see if I was interested in upgrading (got a decent tax return check coming). I auditioned several speakers and the following I found had significantly more bass than my Polks:

Paradigm Studio 100 ($2200)
B&W 703 ($3000)
B&W 804 ($3200)
Sonus Faber Grand Piano ($3500)

But the pair that shocked me were the Quad 2.2L at only $1600! They actually sounded better to me than the Paradigms and 703's, similiar to(but not quite as good as) the Fabers, but couldn't touch the 804's.

I also listened to Infinitys, Thiels, and Def techs and none of them sounded as good as the Polks I've already got.

I'm still shopping...can't find anywhere to audition NHT, RBH, Axioms, or other slightly more obsure brands that get great reveiws.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Interesting Buckeye Fan you would think the RTI12's were not as good with the highs as your 10s. I found my comparison to be quite the opposite. If anything, the 12's and 8's are TOO Bright. The 10's sounded like there was a big hole in the soundstage in the midrange. And with any of them, the 8's 10's or 12's, you need a sub. bass is weak on all of them IMO. It's just that the 12's fill the room up better... But like you said it all comes down to the listener's ears.

When I auditioned the 8-10-12's at Tweeter I used 4 cd's I was familiar with to test them. I had the rep use a Denon 3805 and a Yamaha 2500 to drive them. I hadn't bought the Denon 3805 until afterwards. I thought the 10's were a little smoother for my taste. Plus I didn't need those huge 12's in my room. Don't know if any of you have Sting's "Fields of Gold" cd, but play "If I ever loose myself in you", #8, on "pure direct" at a volume setting of -2 to 0. The sound with my 3805 and RTi10's is jaw dropping. It sounds even better if you select stereo and bump the bass and treble to +3, just dont fry your tweeters! What's remarkable about the Denon/Polk set up is playing cd's at low volume. The separation is unreal. Great for dinner music. We have two kids and our motto is "no tv" during dinner, so what better time to put in some tunes?

 

[PhillyDan1969]

CD's for auditioning...

When I auditioned the 8-10-12's at Tweeter I used 4 cd's I was familiar with to test them. I had the rep use a Denon 3805 and a Yamaha 2500 to drive them. I hadn't bought the Denon 3805 until afterwards. I thought the 10's were a little smoother for my taste. Plus I didn't need those huge 12's in my room. Don't know if any of you have Sting's "Fields of Gold" cd, but play "If I ever loose myself in you", #8, on "pure direct" at a volume setting of -2 to 0. The sound with my 3805 and RTi10's is jaw dropping. It sounds even better if you select stereo and bump the bass and treble to +3, just dont fry your tweeters! What's remarkable about the Denon/Polk set up is playing cd's at low volume. The separation is unreal. Great for dinner music. We have two kids and our motto is "no tv" during dinner, so what better time to put in some tunes?

At Tweeter when I auditioned both the Yamaha RX-V2500 and the Denon AVR3805 I used 2 songs:

"Two Step" of Dave mathews Band "Crash" album
and
"New York Minute" off Eagles "Hell Freezes Over" album

These are just 2 songs that I love to audition so I can hear the subtle nuances.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

At Tweeter when I auditioned both the Yamaha RX-V2500 and the Denon AVR3805 I used 2 songs:

"Two Step" of Dave mathews Band "Crash" album
and
"New York Minute" off Eagles "Hell Freezes Over" album

These are just 2 songs that I love to audition so I can hear the subtle nuances.

PD,

Here's a great link to some invaluable info on audio. Check out the audio cable link if you haven't already. www.audioholics.com/techtips/audioprinciples/index.php

 

[20to20K]

Great choice for testing...

At Tweeter when I auditioned both the Yamaha RX-V2500 and the Denon AVR3805 I used 2 songs:

"Two Step" of Dave mathews Band "Crash" album
and
"New York Minute" off Eagles "Hell Freezes Over" album

These are just 2 songs that I love to audition so I can hear the subtle nuances.

I too used "Crash" for auditioning in the rock category. That segue from #41 to Say Goodbye is priceless for testing speakers. Carter Beuford is da' man!

 

[stringman57]

Advice

I am planning on getting the Yamaha 2500 and the Polk RTi 10's and I'm going to add a Martin Logan Dynamo sub. I've read here that the RT's are weak on bass, so does this combination sound workable?

Stringman57

 

[stringman57]

Another question

With the Martin Logan Dynamo sub, wouldn't I be ok with the Polk RTi 8's instead of the RTi 10's. It seems like the difference in these speakers is in the low end only, and the sub should compensate for that, shouldn't it?

Stringman57

 

[shokhead]

Your going to want a sub nomatter what main speaker your running. I'm more interested in the high's and mids in a speaker.

 

[PENG]

You should be ok with the RTi 8. I once wrote to Polk Audio and asked similar questions. Their reply kind of suggest that the RTi8 would give you fuller mid bass than the RTi10 because the mid bass driver of the 10 is in a smaller enclosure.

 

[stringman57]

Thanks, guys. I think I'll go with the RTi8's instead of the 10's and theMartin Logan Dynamo sub to start. I'm buying from the local Tweeter retail store, and I can return or trade them in the first 30 days. That's the main reason I stick with local retailers rather than internet sales. Sure you pay more, but I like the peace of mind on something like this.

Stringman57