[Best Buy] Polk RTI a9 Floorstanding Speakers - $399.99 each

Not much of a deal really.... They are always "on sale" for this price. I bought a pair in December for the same price. Not saying they aren't good speaker's. I quite like them. Make sure you are giving them enough power to get the best sound out of them.

I own a pair in cherry finish.

This is the honest price for them (always discounted to $449 or $399), but they are still a great deal.
Nothing else of comparable build (75lbs), finish (real wood veneer), and performance (with enough amp they really fly) at this price.

dinkeye wrote: ↑Not much of a deal really.... They are always "on sale" for this price. I bought a pair in December for the same price. Not saying they aren't good speaker's. I quite like them. Make sure you are giving them enough power to get the best sound out of them.

bergerac8280 wrote: ↑ I own a pair in cherry finish.

This is the honest price for them (always discounted to $449 or $399), but they are still a great deal.
Nothing else of comparable build (75lbs), finish (real wood veneer), and performance (with enough amp they really fly) at this price.

What 2ch amp would you recommend to drive them at a reasonable price?
I recently bought Denon x4300h for 5.1.4 setup, but considering adding 2 more channels for 7.1.4 in the future as x4300h supports 11 ch processing.

seafish wrote: ↑ What 2ch amp would you recommend to drive them at a reasonable price?
I recently bought Denon x4300h for 5.1.4 setup, but considering adding 2 more channels for 7.1.4 in the future as x4300h supports 11 ch processing.

I have a bunch of legacy gear with which I'm bi-amping them (actual bi-amping) so I've little insight into what you could buy now, but I'd recommend at least 250wpc to get decent results.
I'm running a total of 400wpc into them and I'm impressed for the money.

bergerac8280 wrote: ↑ I have a bunch of legacy gear with which I'm bi-amping them (actual bi-amping) so I've little insight into what you could buy now, but I'd recommend at least 250wpc to get decent results.
I'm running a total of 400wpc into them and I'm impressed for the money.

Did you get a chance to test them in-store before buying? I have no idea what they sound like, be nice to test before buying.
Are they good enough for music? Do you use them for surround sound?

seafish wrote: ↑ What 2ch amp would you recommend to drive them at a reasonable price?
I recently bought Denon x4300h for 5.1.4 setup, but considering adding 2 more channels for 7.1.4 in the future as x4300h supports 11 ch processing.

So, is the Atmos worth it?
What kind of setup do you have, 4 in-ceiling speakers? elevation speakers? reflection speakers? and what models of speakers

I'm planning my home theater right now.

Would like to know a reasonable amp as well.

If you have pre-outs on your receiver put it to a crown XLS amp. The XLS1502 has a decent amount of power for them and isn't terribly expensive. (comparatively)

RAINMAN0 wrote: ↑ If you have pre-outs on your receiver put it to a crown XLS amp. The XLS1502 has a decent amount of power for them and isn't terribly expensive. (comparatively)

this is what I did as well. preouts on a yamaha rx-v1079, initially to a behringer a500. I found that it wasn't enough, the rtia9's wanted more to really perform. ended up getting an older crown xls2500 and running in stereo. eventually, if I can find a matching older gen xls1500 (if I can wrap my head around the bi-amping thing) .. bridge to the subs in mono off the 2500 and the mids/highs in stereo off the 1500. not sure how to do this exactly though. they are great sounding speakers when they have the power. they are clean but very unimpressive with low power.

seafish wrote: ↑ What 2ch amp would you recommend to drive them at a reasonable price?
I recently bought Denon x4300h for 5.1.4 setup, but considering adding 2 more channels for 7.1.4 in the future as x4300h supports 11 ch processing.

I bought a set of Polk RTI a9's during Boxing Week and also purchased an Emotiva XPA-2 Gen3 Power Amplifier to drive them. Very satisfied with the results and highly recommend.

I have an Onkyo TX-RZ810 7.2 Channel receiver that has pre-outs. I use the Emotiva amp to power the RTI a9's (Front L + R) while the Onkyo powers the center and surround channels.

reggyDeal wrote: ↑ Did you get a chance to test them in-store before buying? I have no idea what they sound like, be nice to test before buying.
Are they good enough for music? Do you use them for surround sound?

No, but I'd already heard them in somebody else's setup.
I use them exclusively for music, have Def-Tech stuff for multi-channel.

They can be quite bright (can be toned down with placement and the right amp/wire choices), and are most balanced at pretty high SPLs (IMHO). They are pretty in your face, if you enjoy the restrained UK style (think Wharfedale) sound they are not for you.
I still don't think there's much that can touch them at this price point.

These have been on "sale" for that price point for the last 4 years. Picked them up in 2014 for $789 /pair on boxing day. Have them running on a separate amp from my denon x4400. 5.2.4 atoms set up. Great speakers if you use Polk all around.

RAINMAN0 wrote: ↑ If you have pre-outs on your receiver put it to a crown XLS amp. The XLS1502 has a decent amount of power for them and isn't terribly expensive. (comparatively)

Would CROWN AUDIO CTs-600 be good enough? I found a used one for just $150
They also sell CTs-2000 for $450, but I'm thinking it would be overkill, no?

seafish wrote: ↑ Would CROWN AUDIO CTs-600 be good enough? I found a used one for just $150
They also sell CTs-2000 for $450, but I'm thinking it would be overkill, no?

I don't see why it wouldn't work. The only thing is the input sensitivity is 1.4v which should be ok but depends on what your receiver outputs. Thats a pretty good price anyway. Can he hook us all up with one haha.

RAINMAN0 wrote: ↑ I don't see why it wouldn't work. The only thing is the input sensitivity is 1.4v which should be ok but depends on what your receiver outputs. Thats a pretty good price anyway. Can he hook us all up with one haha.

I have a Denon x4300. From spec page: Rated output: 1.2 V
Is that a problem? Sorry, if that's a silly question, I'm total newbie in A/V.
He also sells Crest Audio 6001 for $400 which has input sensitivity 1.2v. Seems like a good price for 400 WPC @ 8Ω amp
He is located in Ottawa, so not sure how I can hook everyone up

I'm running 2 pair of them with an Anthem STR integrated amp rated at 200w @8 ohms, 400 at 4 ohms and 600 at 2 ohms. As there are only 2 channel outs, I have 2 on each channel effectively lowering the impedance to somewhere between 8 and 4ohms, these things sound great! I've tried other speakers and these sound great once they're broken in. I tried running a pair of them with a Pioneer Elite SC-37 (150W at 8 ohms) but had no "Umph" so I decided to splurge on the amp. You need lots of good clean power and an amp that can handle the impedance changes.