Thoughts Before a Purchase

Hello Everyone,

I'm thinking of buying Polk RTi150 speakers to upgrade my current bookshelf front speakers. At present, I have a HK-AVR120 reciever which I'll be upgrading shortly. The speakers cost $815 (including shipping, tax, etc) and also come with a $200 credit toward any other Polk speaker that I buy at the same time. Any thoughts on these speakers versus other speakers in the same price range?

Also...I have a sub and center, and will use my current front speakers as surrounds. Since I also have a $200 credit for more speakers, any thoughts and what I should upgrade next (center/sub/surround)?

Regards,

Kaumil

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Originally Posted by kaumil

Hello Everyone,

I'm thinking of buying Polk RTi150 speakers to upgrade my current bookshelf front speakers. At present, I have a HK-AVR120 reciever which I'll be upgrading shortly. The speakers cost $815 (including shipping, tax, etc) and also come with a $200 credit toward any other Polk speaker that I buy at the same time. Any thoughts on these speakers versus other speakers in the same price range?

Also...I have a sub and center, and will use my current front speakers as surrounds. Since I also have a $200 credit for more speakers, any thoughts and what I should upgrade next (center/sub/surround)?

Regards,

Kaumil

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While I can't speak for these speaker cause i haven't heard them, if they sound good to your ears, you cannot go wrong, but do try to listen to competitors if possible.
Since you didn't mention the brand/model of your current speakers i'll say this...if the center is Polk, you may want to email them and ask if they are timbre matched to the RTi series. If they are not Polks or do not timbre match then definitely use the $200 credit for the matching RTi center channel. In HT, its very important all 3 fronts match so you have an even flow (panning) across these speakers....very important.
Surrounds SHOULD match, but are much less important because they are rarely used with no dialog.
As a former Polk owner I will guarantee Polk responds to your email. Their customer service is wonderful!

Do ya love 'em enough to live with them? Figure in your shipping costs and any restocking fees to return your purchase if you suddenly come down with a case of buyer's remorse which seems to be a possibility from the questions you're asking.

I see we both live in New Jersey. We're both lucky in that we have a plethora of audio dealers of all shapes and sizes available to us. We don't live "in the boonies" and HAVE to rely on ordering by mail. That's fine for toasters and various commodities but speakers sorta require a bit of listening and a commitment from both the purchaser and the dealer if one can have peace of mind.

As far as big box stores we have Best Buy, Circuit City, 6th Avenue (my favorite) and other local chains like PC Richards and perhaps others. They sell various brands and product lines.

Likewise, we have quite a few mid/high end stores. Some (but certainly not all) would be Audio Connection in Verona, Nexus in Summit, Stuart's Audio in Westfield, Woodbridge Stereo, Freehold Stereo, etc...

All will allow you to purchase your product, take them home and, I'm pretty sure, allow you to return them within a reasonable time as long as they are in good condition with all packing materials.

My advice.. .listen local, buy local. Unless the opinions of others will satisfy you that youi've made a good purchase.

P.S.. You say you already have the center? Interesting. I guess I don't really understand your buying criteria after all.

Generally, the mains are selected first. Most manufacturers nowadays offer a timbre matched center to go with their main speakers so the choice (at least to me) would be obvious.

Thanks for the replies guys. I guess I should have been more clear in my earlier post. I already have all 5 speakers that I need, these new speakers will upgrade my current fronts, which means I'll have an extra set of speakers that I'll have to figure out what to do with. Since I also have the $200 credit, I have to decide what else I should be replacing. Which based on the replies I think will be an upgraded center channel.
Thanks again guys,
-k

Since you indicated that you are going to upgrade you receiver then here is what could do. You could use the old receiver to power the 2 unused speakers in another room--perhaps your bedroom. You could start a second HT in there. Or you could use the preouts of the new receiver to feed your old receiver and have a multi-room system. Perhaps in the kitchen. Another option would be to sell the receiver and speakers on e-bay or audiogon and use that money to offset the cost of the new receiver and speakers. So here are there very valid options that you could do.