Joel McIntosh
January 18th, 2004, 11:27 AM
This is long. Please bear with me. My situation is a little complicated. Right now I've got a 6.1 set-up using Polk RTi series speakers (fronts RTi8s, center CSi5, surrounds Rti38s, back CSi3). My subwoofer is a Hsu VTF-2. My trouble is that I just got an open-box deal on a Marantz 8300 universal DVD/SACD/ETC player that I love, but it has one big weakness -- it only let's me set my speakers to "Large" when playing SACD and DVD-A. I just don't feel like I'm getting the full advantage of the SACD/DVD-A bass without the RTi8s plus subwoofer combination. For various reasons, I can't use the speaker-level inputs on the VTF-2 and just use it's internal crossover because the VTF-2's speaker lever inputs are too small for 12 gauge speaker wire and too close together for the Monster plugs I've tried to use (yes, I imagine I could rig something with the Monster plugs and electrical tape ... but really ...). So, it seems to me that I need to do one of two things, and I would like to know what you guys think. (1) Buy a Hsu VTF-3 subwoofer ($799) which has inputs that can accommodate the banana plugs and/or 12 gauge wire -- I could then just run the fronts through the VTF-3's speaker level inputs and use the sub's internal crossover (the advantage here is that I would be getting a better subwoofer and would retain the advantage of the RTi8s more expansive mid-range drivers). (2) Trade up my Polk RTi8s for RTi10s (Circuit City trade up = $250). The RTi8s have two 6.5" mid-bass drivers and one tweeter; the RTi10s have one 7" woofer, one 6.5" mid-bass driver, and 1 tweeter. The Rti8 has a -3dB lower limit of 40Hz and the RTi10s have a -3 lower limit of 35Hz. So this latter option would give me a bit more bass and be cheaper than option 1. What do you guys think would be the best way to go with this.