Polk RTI 12 / CSI 5 upgrade to ERT 8.3 / ERM 6.3

[njrookie]

I have a set of RTI 12 front and CSI 5 center driven by XPA-2 and XPA-5. I am wondering what I can expect if I upgrade to emotiva tower speakers, 8.3 for front 6.3 for center, especially for music.

My listening area is over 5000 cubic feet, and I am using 2 pairs of Polk R50s for surround and back speakers. Dual sub of av123 MFM 15.

Is this a worthy upgrade? Can I keep the RTI12 for surround after the upgrade? Will there will be a mismatch problem? What should I expect to hear?

While the Polk speakers do just fine for theater, I find the twitter is rather harsh for highs. Will ERT 8.3 do better for that?

I have no plan to upgrade amps in the near future. A processor upgrade is in sight once UMC or XMC is out.

My best,
njrookie

[roadrunner]

Oct 13, 2009 19:33:34 GMT -5 njrookie said:

I have a set of RTI 12 front and CSI 5 center driven by XPA-2 and XPA-5. I am wondering what I can expect if I upgrade to emotiva tower speakers, 8.3 for front 6.3 for center, especially for music.

My listening area is over 5000 cubic feet, and I am using 2 pairs of Polk R50s for surround and back speakers. Dual sub of av123 MFM 15.

Is this a worthy upgrade? Can I keep the RTI12 for surround after the upgrade? Will there will be a mismatch problem? What should I expect to hear?

While the Polk speakers do just fine for theater, I find the twitter is rather harsh for highs. Will ERT 8.3 do better for that?

I have no plan to upgrade amps in the near future. A processor upgrade is in sight once UMC or XMC is out.

My best,
njrookie

I think that upgrading to the Emotiva ERT-8.3 will prove to be the right way to go. It has a very smooth high-end driver and are at home filling large rooms with beautiful sound up to and beyond the limits of human hearing. The ERT-8.3 speakers are flat, with no more deviation than 2 db at all frequencies up thru 22 KHz. Its soft dome silk tweeter never approaches sounding harsh, no matter what volume level they are played at.

My only concern with keeping the RTI112 for surround duty is that they may not blend very well with the sonic signature of the ERT-8.3s. Of course, you can try it and see how it sounds. I would like to bring to your attention that one of the best surround speakers on the market happens to be the Emotiva ERD-1 -- which happens to be on sale right now, as are the ERT-8.3 speakers. You might want to check them out as they will perfectly match the sonic signature of the ERTs. ;D ;D ;D

[butchgo]

Oct 13, 2009 19:33:34 GMT -5 njrookie said:

I have a set of RTI 12 front and CSI 5 center driven by XPA-2 and XPA-5. I am wondering what I can expect if I upgrade to emotiva tower speakers, 8.3 for front 6.3 for center, especially for music.

My listening area is over 5000 cubic feet, and I am using 2 pairs of Polk R50s for surround and back speakers. Dual sub of av123 MFM 15.

Is this a worthy upgrade? Can I keep the RTI12 for surround after the upgrade? Will there will be a mismatch problem? What should I expect to hear?

While the Polk speakers do just fine for theater, I find the twitter is rather harsh for highs. Will ERT 8.3 do better for that?

I have no plan to upgrade amps in the near future. A processor upgrade is in sight once UMC or XMC is out.

My best,
njrookie

I cannot speak from experience on the 8.3s but I can tell you the the difference between the CSi5 and the 6.3 is night and day.
I had a CSi5 for a couple of years before upgrading to my first 6.3.
The 6.3 is so much more accurate than the Polk in my opinion.
I always felt that with the Polk voices had a somewhat "muddy" sound to them.
With the 6.3 voices sound so much more "lifelike".
I cannot wait to add a 3rd 6.3 to my system so I can have one back in center channel duty. ;D

[Deleted]

Oct 13, 2009 19:33:34 GMT -5 njrookie said:

I have a set of RTI 12 front and CSI 5 center driven by XPA-2 and XPA-5. I am wondering what I can expect if I upgrade to emotiva tower speakers, 8.3 for front 6.3 for center, especially for music.

My listening area is over 5000 cubic feet, and I am using 2 pairs of Polk R50s for surround and back speakers. Dual sub of av123 MFM 15.

Is this a worthy upgrade? Can I keep the RTI12 for surround after the upgrade? Will there will be a mismatch problem? What should I expect to hear?

While the Polk speakers do just fine for theater, I find the twitter is rather harsh for highs. Will ERT 8.3 do better for that?

I have no plan to upgrade amps in the near future. A processor upgrade is in sight once UMC or XMC is out.

My best,
njrookie

here's a weird one: I had a pair of old Polk's, nowhere near the quality of yours, and I always impressed with its ability to deliver very crisp and clean highs for music. Enter the 8.3 towers. The Polk's were crushed. Not even close.

There was more power, if you can really apply that to tweeters, in the ERTs but all the while retaining clarity and definition. (the mid and bass was not even a fair comparision).

The ERTs do well with movies - no doubt - but I found them most fun for music. They like to be played loud and that makes then fund at parties. Which is great because I'm not . .

[RadTech]

The RTi 12s are great with the mids and highs sealed in the upper cabinet. I have the 10s which are good but, I do find the highs piercing. I have a pair of SDA 2s from back in 84' and , they can be harsh at times with certain music. Neither sets of Polk's have very good low end either. I've actually been looking at the 6.2s for my 2 channel w/ a subs of course or the 8.3s and, relegating the Rti 10's to HT duty. I also like the fact that all the Emotiva speakers are sealed. IMO sealed sounds better, tighter with more pop. I like classic rock/metal and to be realistic it needs a good heavy low end. ;D

[njrookie]

Thanks everyone for contributing to the thread. This is getting very tempting.

The RTI 12 has 3 subwoofers, and is ported. Will 8.3 go lower with the sealed configuration?

I am not as bothered by the lows of the RTI 12 since I set crossover to a relatively high 80, and let my dual MFW subs to pick up that duty. I totally agree that the high of 12 is "piercing", in Radtech's word. Will 8.3 be milder?

8.3 costs quite a bit more than 6.3. I however think 8.3 will be better for dual channel stereo mode, right?

Thanx again. I am learning day by day. I have to say this is a rather expensive hobby, but the pursuit of best sound is an never ending process, and very very very addictive.

njrookie

[njrookie]

I forgot one thing.

What about Emotive 8.3 versus AV123 Rocket speakers? Both are supposed to be very neutral. Has anyone tried both? Rocket is significantly less costly (going on sale for $1K).

njrookie

[RadTech]

Another nice thing about the Emotiva speakers is that the tweeters can be attenuated by 2 db. Highs to harsh tone them down a little and, they are 4 ohm.