RTi A7 or Image T6

[taranfx]

I have NAD 356BEE amp. I narrowed down my options for speakers to:
- Polk Rti A7 (Rs. 55k) or A9 (Rs.70k)
OR
- PSB Image T6 (Rs. 70k)
OR
- TSI 500 + woofer

My main listening is for Stereo music, and occasional movies in stereo only. I mostly listen to Pop, Rock, House music and Trance and occasionally metal, jazz and dubstep

My experience with them was very confusing:
I auditioned A7, T6, TSI 500. A7 piece was out-of-the-box with no run in and sounded totally crap. Recessed mids, no bass but had decent soundstage. TSI 500 had been running in showroom for 2 weeks (6-7 hours running time) and they okay. Vocals and mids were great.
At another place I auditioned PSB Image T6. These blew my mind, from vocals to bass, everything was accurate. But I'm not sure how much they were run-in.

What Speaker would you recommend for great sounding Stereo music and occasional Movies?

 

[mpw]

whats the room size ? please consider this before you buy speakers of your choice.

apart from this aspect.. you have answered the question you posed yourself.

if you have a smaller room.... you may like to look at say the T5 from PSB stable or equivalent from others or good bookshelves for that matter.

At 70k .. many fine bookshelves are available.

thing is.. for movies you will need a sub woofer ( despite the dealer telling you about the bigger front speaker drivers. The movies aspect is largely due to the centers and sub )

Maybe you may want to look at high quality fronts first and add a sub later on..

i dont know if you have plans for an AVR or rears.

YMMV..

rgds
mpw

 

[denom]

If you liked the PSB T6's, then stick to them, as they played well in your mind & do have a LF extension(Bass) that you are looking for.

BTW, what was the amp paired to the T6's when you heard them? Your own amp or some other one?

 

[nshankar]

PSB is more musical than Polk and pair well with NAD.

 

[taranfx]

whats the room size ? please consider this before you buy speakers of your choice.

apart from this aspect.. you have answered the question you posed yourself.

if you have a smaller room.... you may like to look at say the T5 from PSB stable or equivalent from others or good bookshelves for that matter.

At 70k .. many fine bookshelves are available.

thing is.. for movies you will need a sub woofer ( despite the dealer telling you about the bigger front speaker drivers. The movies aspect is largely due to the centers and sub )

Maybe you may want to look at high quality fronts first and add a sub later on..

i dont know if you have plans for an AVR or rears.

YMMV..

rgds
mpw

My room right now is 10x11 but seriously im not staying in this room forever. I keep on moving so I'm buying something that is good for almost any size within my budget (upto 70k for speakers).

 

[taranfx]

If you liked the PSB T6's, then stick to them, as they played well in your mind & do have a LF extension(Bass) that you are looking for.

BTW, what was the amp paired to the T6's when you heard them? Your own amp or some other one?

Yes I paired My NAD 356BEE with T6 and thats the combo i liked.
I still have to try A7 with the same amp. Going to do that today.

What I want to know is which speaker (when burned-in for 50hours+) will sound better in Mids, Highs. Lows I can always get later with additional woofer.

 

[taranfx]

whats the room size ? please consider this before you buy speakers of your choice.

apart from this aspect.. you have answered the question you posed yourself.

if you have a smaller room.... you may like to look at say the T5 from PSB stable or equivalent from others or good bookshelves for that matter.

At 70k .. many fine bookshelves are available.

thing is.. for movies you will need a sub woofer ( despite the dealer telling you about the bigger front speaker drivers. The movies aspect is largely due to the centers and sub )

Maybe you may want to look at high quality fronts first and add a sub later on..

i dont know if you have plans for an AVR or rears.

YMMV..

rgds
mpw

My room size is 10x11 but I will have much bigger room one day. I'm not buying for this room.
For Bass, I'm happy with what it produces. I do have another active Woofer that i can put to this system in case I ever find it in-adequate.

 

[denom]

Yes I paired My NAD 356BEE with T6 and thats the combo i liked.
I still have to try A7 with the same amp. Going to do that today.

Having conducted similar exercise a while back with FM mpw, I already know the answer to the experiment that you will carry out today

I think you will have the answer by today itself w r t what speakers to buy

Congrats in advance

 

[soulforged]

PSB...nuff said!

 

[taranfx]

Having conducted similar exercise a while back with FM mpw, I already know the answer to the experiment that you will carry out today

I think you will have the answer by today itself w r t what speakers to buy

Congrats in advance

You can always give the spoiler. What was your conclusion. I dont want to go wrong.

 

[taranfx]

Okay, I auditioned Rti A7 on my NAD, it did seem powerful but still lacks mids. Great for techno and hard rock but Pop would be average.

Another one I found was KEF 700 (direct out of the box). The mids were clear, crisp and highs were warm. Bass was not deep (sounded 60-80hz types) but was tight due to sealed cabinet. Imaging was good.

So as per my current rating: (Imagine T6 was auditioned totally in a different smaller room)
Movies: Rti A7 > KEF Q700 > Image T6 > Tsi 500
Music (Hard Rock, Techno, Trance): Rti A7 > KEF Q700 ~ Image T6 > TSi 500
Music (Jazz, Pop, Rock) : KEF Q700 ~ Image T6 > Tsi 500 ~ Rti A7

Also KEF Q700 seemed to be hitting peek bass around 60% volume of my NAD. Does the bass sound better over time?

Problem is, I listen to all genre of music. Pop and Rock most of the time.

I'm more confused than I was before hyeah:

 

[edge111hussain]

Look at the Q900 and R700 of kef. Im not sure about the pricing but the Q900 will tick all your requirements. R700 lacks bass but its an awesome buy if you intend to add a sub later. Alternatively look at the Paradigm monitor series towers. I have heard the monitor 9 and they r really good. Havent heard the psb so cant do a comparison here.
Then you also have the Dali, wharfedale 10.6, 10.7 and monitor audio(dont rem the model exactly). HaHa, love this confusion.

From your choices mentioned above, i would buy a Q700/900. But then again, i heard all the above mentioned speakers using a yamaha amp.. so so

 

[alphacentury100]

KEF R 700 sells for Rs.204k,"http://www.profx.com/kef_r_series.asp" but they are wonderful speakers

 

[olly42]

Have you auditioned RTi A9?

 

[mpw]

taran

polk audio LSi9 is now discontinued and can be had for 45k a pair..

The LSi series is higher than the RTi.

Please look thru google baba for specs and details and since yo are also looking at Polk.. that can be a good consideration.

It is available for 45k at Avenue Sound in Mumbai ( dont have the contacts )..

try to audition in Delhi if possible..

Besides.. you can always add a sub later if you need even more bass..

personally.. i like the configuration.. of 2 nos 5.25 midbass + 1 tweeter and a heavy cabinet.

rgds,
mpw

 

[jai1611]

My room right now is 10x11 but seriously im not staying in this room forever. I keep on moving so I'm buying something that is good for almost any size within my budget (upto 70k for speakers).

The bit in red is pretty much not possible unless you plan to treat your room. Even then, it will be challenging.

Do listen to the PSB Imagine Mini + sub combo. Will work well in a room up to 250-300 sft and can be integrated into your current room as well. Not for very large rooms though

 

[rajadeep]

taran

polk audio LSi9 is now discontinued and can be had for 45k a pair..

The LSi series is higher than the RTi.

Please look thru google baba for specs and details and since yo are also looking at Polk.. that can be a good consideration.

It is available for 45k at Avenue Sound in Mumbai ( dont have the contacts )..

try to audition in Delhi if possible..

Besides.. you can always add a sub later if you need even more bass..

personally.. i like the configuration.. of 2 nos 5.25 midbass + 1 tweeter and a heavy cabinet.

rgds,
mpw

+1 to what MPW said... Lsi9 is one hell of a speaker... I auditioned it last year at the avenue sound meet & it blew me away... The 1st 3 mins of "money for nothing" by DS that i heard on it, remained my reference audio for all my auditions that I took for the past year to select a 5.1 set... Do see if u can audition it in Delhi... BTW I think Santy too has bought the LSi9... He too might be able to give some feedback...

 

[sivakuru]

Very true to the LSi9 recommendations. From what I have read, the LSi series are supposed to be very different from the RTi, TSi series. Generally Polks are known to be harsh/bright, but the LSi is supposed to warm and non-fatiguing.

At 45k I think it is a very very good option.

 

[Flash]

Had an extended listening session (2-3 hours) with the Lsi9 paired with Luxman integrated and Beresford DAC

Conclusion
One hell of a speaker and sounds nothing like the Rti / TSI.
If I had room for another rig. The Lsi9 @45k would be at home

 

[gramaphone]

I own LSI 9 and am using it with AVR (onkyo nr 905 220W@ 6 ohms) for home theater. Though AVR cannot justify the stereo capability of these speakers my observations are
Pros
Warm - Non fatigue - excellent female voice - very detail mids - decent sound stage - laid back and smooth - very musical
Cons
Need good power amplifier to bring their best - narrow sweet spot - Some times i wish them to be little more airy, more dynamic and more deeper.

Though i am hit by the upgrade bug this year, I will not change these speakers but buy a decent stereo amplifier.