Upgrade from Polk RTi?

[zachwhite0]

Hey guys. I currently have a setup with...

Polk RTi8
Polk Fxi5
Polk Rti6
Polk CSi5

I was wondering the Ascend would be a decent upgrade from this. As long as a speaker is not too laid back i can take almost any tnal characteristics a speaker has. As far as clarity, imaging, soundstage etc do you think Ascend would be a more thna marginal upgrade.

Usage - 70% HT / 30% Music

[curtis]

you might want to read this thread:
http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?t=1115&highlight=rti

[tamuct]

I recently tried out a set of Polk speakers from Fry's: CSi3, RTi8s & RTi4s

I was really impressed with the build quality, appearance, and sound of this set. They were clearly superior to my 20+ year old pioneer speakers. I received my Ascends a couple of weeks ago (340s & 170s) and I am also very impressed with them.

I won't claim to have audiophile ears, but here are my observations: As far as sound went I don't have an A/B box, so all I could really do is listen for a while to one set and switch them all over to the other. A few times of that and I coulnd't tell which was which, both sounded great.

The Polks were prettier and definitely got the higher WAF score, but I was impressed with the quality of the Ascend speakers for the money. I liked the real phase plug vs dust cap and matching midrange drivers all the way around. The Polks used different drivers for the various speakers (same tweeter) and the mids didn't have a phase plug.

So based on the fact that I couldn't really make out a significant difference audibly, I went with the better construction and quality more than the looks. I kept my Ascends (and really pissed of the folks at Fry's when I returned $1300 worth of speakers!)

[BGHD]

So based on the fact that I couldn't really make out a significant difference audibly, I went with the better construction and quality more than the looks. I kept my Ascends (and really pissed of the folks at Fry's when I returned $1300 worth of speakers!)
Screw them. They always give me a hard time/attitude when I return items to Frys (and the lines are always long), so they should learn to live with their own policies.

[Tripper]

I owned the Polk RTi6s for about 18 months and I really liked them for a while. The Polks are well built, have a nice oak veneer finish and I enjoyed their sound. Over time though, listening to more and more music, I became irritated by what I believed to be coloration on the high end. I guess some may call it bright but best way I can describe it is having a thin sound; instruments like acoustic guitar, piano and vocals (especially male) just didn't seem to be reproduced with the right sense of weight to them.

Stereophile magazine reviewed the RTi4s (the RTi line all use the same tweeter) and stated "I did notice, however, a slight prominence in the lower highs with all recordings". I found the same to be true of the RTi6. Ultimately I started shopping for new speakers and decided to try the Ascend CBM-170s.

IMO the biggest difference and what impresses me the most with the Ascends is how they have more detail & depth compared to the Polks yet they don't emphasize one frequency over another. The Ascends have a tonal balance and refinement within the soundstage that the Polks just lack.

One last thing, I use my system for roughly 70% music / 30% HT. The Polks thinness and my annoyance was less evident in home theater usage than music playback.