Good evening everyone,
This is a long read, so;
TLDR; go to the end of the post to see the differences in point form.
Otherwise, sit back, grab a cup of coffee, put on your favourite tunes and (hopefully) enjoy the read.
I won?t really call this a review, I don?t have [member=2475]Agaton Sax[/member] 's ability to turn a simple review into a literary masterpiece, so I?ll rather do a comparison of two similarly spec?d speakers that have recently come into my possession.
First off, I?ve always considered the Polk RTi10s to be my endgame speakers (well, within my budgetary constraints). If I won the lotto, then that would obviously change! :rubhands: I first encountered them in the early 2000s when a client of mine had a set connected to a NAD power amp (I can?t remember the model now) and they sounded glorious. At the time, I had a NAD 304, Technics MASH CD player and JBL MR38 speakers. It was a reasonably good setup, however when I heard the Polks on my client?s setup, I realised my system was definitely on the entry level side. I fell in love with the Polks that day and have admired them ever since.
Fast forward to February this year, I had finally managed to get some spare cash to go out and buy a pair of RTi10s. I was running Mission MV8 fronts at the time on my Onkyo TX-NR575E AVR, I had scored a Polk CSi-A6 centre sometime before that, so I had one piece of the puzzle towards my Polk nirvana. I was scouring the AVForums classifieds, Gumtree, Facebook etc for a pair of RTi10s and also read every review that I could about them. While this was happening, there was a name that kept popping up in the ads and on AVForums, that being Bentley Acoustics.
I was still firmly set on getting the RTi10s when [member=2808]BiZKiT[/member] invited me over to audition the Bentleys in his demo rooms. He demoed the FS-150s and FS-250s and to say I was gobsmacked is an understatement. They were just in another league compared to my Missions, so much so that I bought a pair of FS-150s instead of the RTi10s. I hooked them up to my Onkyo and man-o-man, what a difference! The bass was immediately apparent, I no longer needed the subs running when listening to music. The mids and highs were so much more relaxed and warm compared to the Missions which could be fatiguing after a while. The one problem with big dual woofer speakers like the FS-150s is that they need power to really shine.
As soon as the volume was upped or during high dynamic passages in movies, you could hear that the meagre power supply in the Onkyo was taking strain. At more social listening levels, the Onkyo delivered the goods pretty well, the FS-150s are actually easy to drive. I picked up a Rotel RB-985 100W 5 channel amp from [member=815]agies[/member] and that certainly transformed the FS-150s. I?m now convinced that a power amp is an essential piece of equipment in anyone?s system, especially in HT. The bass tightened up, played deeper and was always in control, the mids and highs showed no signs of breakup. I could up the volume and the FS-150s simply got louder. Even at uncomfortable levels, they remained composed and detailed. These speakers can take a beating!
The FS-150s are a warm sounding speaker, not especially detailed, but have a big presence and gobs of bass. Certainly don?t need a sub for music unless you?re a huge bass-head. The RB-985 is also not an overly detailed amp, it delivers a strong low end punch and slightly subdued highs. For music, I?d say get a more detailed amp to pair with the FS-150s to get a nice balance of highs and lows. I?ve since come into possession of a Harman Kardon Citation 7.1 power amp from [member=13876]Mushroom[/member] . This thing is a 4 channel bridgeable, 34KG monster with a 2.2KVA toroidal transformer. Current is the name of the game with this amp and I have to say, it?s a match made in heaven with the FS-150s. It?s more detailed than the RB-985 and has ample current to drive the woofers to perfection. This is now my stereo setup, having moved the FS-150s and HK amp to another room.
There is one serious flaw with the FS-150s, this may or may not be an issue, depending on how you use them. The grills are unfortunately not up to scratch. They?re made of 6mm MDF and break very easily, I?ve had to replace one already. If you take the grills off and don?t have kids that?ll stick their fingers through the silk dome tweeters, then you?re fine. If however you do have kids and you keep the grills on to protect the speakers and/or to hide the copper coloured drivers from the wife, the grills cause problems at moderately high volume levels. The two 8? woofers move a lot of air and the grill fabric at the reflex port vibrates a lot, slapping the MDF board and creating an audible noise. If you really crank it up, the surrounds on the woofers end up hitting the fabric and making even more noise. My suggestion to Bentley Acoustics is to make the grills out of 16mm MDF and shorten the grills so that they don?t cover the reflex port. This will ensure that the grills are stronger and prevent any noise coming from the port and drivers.
Now onto the Polk Audio RTi10s. I couldn?t be happier with the FS-150s, but there?s always been that itch, from way back in 2004/5 when I first heard the RTi10s at my client?s house. I wasn?t specifically looking to buy them, perhaps one day if I had cash to spare, however a deal came up that I just couldn?t refuse, close to half the price of what they normally go for in the classifieds. The seller asked that I bring along my AVR, but that was all set up the way I wanted and didn?t want pull it apart and take it with. I decided to take my NAD C320 instead as it was much easier to take apart and far more portable. It was close to a very bad decision, I almost didn?t buy the RTi10s as a result. I hooked up the RTi10s to the NAD and played some Queen to start off with. My word, it sounded terrible! Thin, anaemic bass and bright, shouty highs. I couldn?t believe these were the same speakers I had heard all those years ago.
I then played some heavy bass tracks, Marilyn Manson?s Killing Strangers and The Crystal Method?s The Name of the Game. It didn?t improve matters at all, the bass was still lacking and the mids and highs still hurt my ears. I thought I?d rather spend my money on a Mgongo, it was that bad. I was hugely disappointed, but the price and the fact that many reviews I had read said that the RTi10s needed proper amplification and were notoriously difficult to drive made me push on. I had the Rotel and HK power amps at home, so I really, really hoped that one of them would be a good match for the RTi10s. I bit the bullet and bought them.
When I got home, I disconnected the FS-150s and rigged the RTi10s up to the HK amp. The first track I played was Killing Strangers. F%^k me!!!! What the hell just happened?? The bass was shaking the windows, the mids and highs were suddenly much cleaner and detailed. I honestly couldn?t believe I was listening to the same speakers. And just to be sure, the AVR was in ?Direct Mode? with the PC bit-streaming in WASAPI mode, so there was no Audyssey or other filtering from either the PC or AVR to enhance the bass and mids/highs. I tried a few other tracks and the difference was night and day. These are definitely Jekyll and Hyde speakers, I?ve never come across speakers that are so amp fussy. After that initial shock, I sat down and listened more carefully to a bunch of tracks. It?s Jekyll and Hyde character revealed itself again. They?re definitely a lot brighter and revealing than the Bentleys, sometimes beautifully so, sometimes not so, they were sometimes fatiguing after only a short while. They produced the best rendition of Dire Straits? Private Investigations I?ve ever heard.
I switched over to the Rotel RB-985 power amp to see what difference it made to the RTi10s. The bass was still tight and strong, however the bright mids and highs were definitely toned down. I really like this combination with the RTi10s. The Jekyll and Hyde character was now subdued and sounded a lot more consistent. I?ve now set up the RTi10s as my front HT speakers, with the CSi-A6 as the centre. It?s a magical HT setup, the more detailed nature of the Polks makes speech easier to hear, especially when it pans between the fronts and centre. I?ve also had the RTi10s at silly levels but they don?t seem to be as composed as the FS-150s when near the limit, the mids and highs start to break up and sound somewhat harsh. It?s not really a problem as I pretty much never listen at those levels. Now after having listened to them for a while, I?m very glad I did eventually buy them. It was touch and go when I initially auditioned them with the NAD C320. That 15 year itch is now well and truly scratched and it feels wonderful!
So, to summarise, the Bentley FS-150s are very, very good speakers, the best I?ve had. They?re like an M3, you can drive them every day and be very content, they?re consistent, warm and easy to drive, yet grab them by the scruff of the neck and they really surprise you. You can play them at ridiculous levels and they keep delivering.
High points:
? Easy to drive, from amps with small power supplies to massive power amps, although they do thrive on lots of power.
? Deep, powerful bass, certainly no need for a subwoofer with music, unless of course you?re an extreme bass-head.
? Warm, clear mids and highs, that don?t get fatiguing after long listening sessions. (This can also be seen as a negative if you like bright, detailed mids/highs).
? Can take a beating, remain composed even at silly listening levels.
Low Points:
? The grills. They?re flimsy and break easily. They also introduce noise when played at moderately high levels.
? WAF is not great. They?re very large speakers with copper coloured drivers (I love them, but my wife isn?t overly impressed with them and insists that I keep the grills on)
? The feet are not the best, due to it being such a large speaker it?s easy to knock it over. A plinth with the feet further apart would make big difference.
Overall, I?d give the FS-150s a solid 9 out of 10
The Polk RTi10s are very decent speakers when paired with the right amp. I?d say the RTi10s are like an Italian supercar, when you get the combination right, they?ll have you smiling from ear to ear, when you get it wrong, they?ll wrap you around the nearest lamp post.
High points:
? Build quality, they?re made with 16mm MDF and a nice thick veneer, the feet stick out from the sides of the cabinet to keep it nice and sturdy
? Very good grills, they don?t interfere with the sound in any perceivable way and are stronger than the FS-150 grills.
? Decent bass, not as deep and powerful as the FS-150s, but still really decent when hooked up to a suitable power amp.
? WAF, although they?re still big speakers, they?re quite a bit smaller than the FS-150s and are rather handsome looking.
? Their unpredictable nature when I had them rigged up to the HK Citation amp. (I know most people would say this is a negative) They would surprise you with certain tracks, sounding brilliant with some tracks and not great with others. Dire Straits? Private Investigations and Tupac?s California Love being two tracks that sounded really amazing.
Low points:
? The Jekyll and Hyde side to them, whereby they sound really good with certain amps and really bad with other amps. Generally it appears that they?ll do well with any amp that can deliver a lot of current.
? Bright highs and mids, again the choice of amp here makes a big difference. Get it wrong and they sound terrible.
? Age. The RTi10s come from the early 2000s, so the surrounds and spiders have had quite a few years to degrade. The capacitors in the crossovers will also have been around for a while and may no longer be within specification.
I?ll give the RTi10s a healthy 8.5 out of 10.
I hope you?ve enjoyed the comparison, please feel free to critique and share your experiences with the FS-150s or RTi10s.
This is a long read, so;
TLDR; go to the end of the post to see the differences in point form.
Otherwise, sit back, grab a cup of coffee, put on your favourite tunes and (hopefully) enjoy the read.
I won?t really call this a review, I don?t have [member=2475]Agaton Sax[/member] 's ability to turn a simple review into a literary masterpiece, so I?ll rather do a comparison of two similarly spec?d speakers that have recently come into my possession.
First off, I?ve always considered the Polk RTi10s to be my endgame speakers (well, within my budgetary constraints). If I won the lotto, then that would obviously change! :rubhands: I first encountered them in the early 2000s when a client of mine had a set connected to a NAD power amp (I can?t remember the model now) and they sounded glorious. At the time, I had a NAD 304, Technics MASH CD player and JBL MR38 speakers. It was a reasonably good setup, however when I heard the Polks on my client?s setup, I realised my system was definitely on the entry level side. I fell in love with the Polks that day and have admired them ever since.
Fast forward to February this year, I had finally managed to get some spare cash to go out and buy a pair of RTi10s. I was running Mission MV8 fronts at the time on my Onkyo TX-NR575E AVR, I had scored a Polk CSi-A6 centre sometime before that, so I had one piece of the puzzle towards my Polk nirvana. I was scouring the AVForums classifieds, Gumtree, Facebook etc for a pair of RTi10s and also read every review that I could about them. While this was happening, there was a name that kept popping up in the ads and on AVForums, that being Bentley Acoustics.
I was still firmly set on getting the RTi10s when [member=2808]BiZKiT[/member] invited me over to audition the Bentleys in his demo rooms. He demoed the FS-150s and FS-250s and to say I was gobsmacked is an understatement. They were just in another league compared to my Missions, so much so that I bought a pair of FS-150s instead of the RTi10s. I hooked them up to my Onkyo and man-o-man, what a difference! The bass was immediately apparent, I no longer needed the subs running when listening to music. The mids and highs were so much more relaxed and warm compared to the Missions which could be fatiguing after a while. The one problem with big dual woofer speakers like the FS-150s is that they need power to really shine.
As soon as the volume was upped or during high dynamic passages in movies, you could hear that the meagre power supply in the Onkyo was taking strain. At more social listening levels, the Onkyo delivered the goods pretty well, the FS-150s are actually easy to drive. I picked up a Rotel RB-985 100W 5 channel amp from [member=815]agies[/member] and that certainly transformed the FS-150s. I?m now convinced that a power amp is an essential piece of equipment in anyone?s system, especially in HT. The bass tightened up, played deeper and was always in control, the mids and highs showed no signs of breakup. I could up the volume and the FS-150s simply got louder. Even at uncomfortable levels, they remained composed and detailed. These speakers can take a beating!
The FS-150s are a warm sounding speaker, not especially detailed, but have a big presence and gobs of bass. Certainly don?t need a sub for music unless you?re a huge bass-head. The RB-985 is also not an overly detailed amp, it delivers a strong low end punch and slightly subdued highs. For music, I?d say get a more detailed amp to pair with the FS-150s to get a nice balance of highs and lows. I?ve since come into possession of a Harman Kardon Citation 7.1 power amp from [member=13876]Mushroom[/member] . This thing is a 4 channel bridgeable, 34KG monster with a 2.2KVA toroidal transformer. Current is the name of the game with this amp and I have to say, it?s a match made in heaven with the FS-150s. It?s more detailed than the RB-985 and has ample current to drive the woofers to perfection. This is now my stereo setup, having moved the FS-150s and HK amp to another room.
There is one serious flaw with the FS-150s, this may or may not be an issue, depending on how you use them. The grills are unfortunately not up to scratch. They?re made of 6mm MDF and break very easily, I?ve had to replace one already. If you take the grills off and don?t have kids that?ll stick their fingers through the silk dome tweeters, then you?re fine. If however you do have kids and you keep the grills on to protect the speakers and/or to hide the copper coloured drivers from the wife, the grills cause problems at moderately high volume levels. The two 8? woofers move a lot of air and the grill fabric at the reflex port vibrates a lot, slapping the MDF board and creating an audible noise. If you really crank it up, the surrounds on the woofers end up hitting the fabric and making even more noise. My suggestion to Bentley Acoustics is to make the grills out of 16mm MDF and shorten the grills so that they don?t cover the reflex port. This will ensure that the grills are stronger and prevent any noise coming from the port and drivers.
Now onto the Polk Audio RTi10s. I couldn?t be happier with the FS-150s, but there?s always been that itch, from way back in 2004/5 when I first heard the RTi10s at my client?s house. I wasn?t specifically looking to buy them, perhaps one day if I had cash to spare, however a deal came up that I just couldn?t refuse, close to half the price of what they normally go for in the classifieds. The seller asked that I bring along my AVR, but that was all set up the way I wanted and didn?t want pull it apart and take it with. I decided to take my NAD C320 instead as it was much easier to take apart and far more portable. It was close to a very bad decision, I almost didn?t buy the RTi10s as a result. I hooked up the RTi10s to the NAD and played some Queen to start off with. My word, it sounded terrible! Thin, anaemic bass and bright, shouty highs. I couldn?t believe these were the same speakers I had heard all those years ago.
I then played some heavy bass tracks, Marilyn Manson?s Killing Strangers and The Crystal Method?s The Name of the Game. It didn?t improve matters at all, the bass was still lacking and the mids and highs still hurt my ears. I thought I?d rather spend my money on a Mgongo, it was that bad. I was hugely disappointed, but the price and the fact that many reviews I had read said that the RTi10s needed proper amplification and were notoriously difficult to drive made me push on. I had the Rotel and HK power amps at home, so I really, really hoped that one of them would be a good match for the RTi10s. I bit the bullet and bought them.
When I got home, I disconnected the FS-150s and rigged the RTi10s up to the HK amp. The first track I played was Killing Strangers. F%^k me!!!! What the hell just happened?? The bass was shaking the windows, the mids and highs were suddenly much cleaner and detailed. I honestly couldn?t believe I was listening to the same speakers. And just to be sure, the AVR was in ?Direct Mode? with the PC bit-streaming in WASAPI mode, so there was no Audyssey or other filtering from either the PC or AVR to enhance the bass and mids/highs. I tried a few other tracks and the difference was night and day. These are definitely Jekyll and Hyde speakers, I?ve never come across speakers that are so amp fussy. After that initial shock, I sat down and listened more carefully to a bunch of tracks. It?s Jekyll and Hyde character revealed itself again. They?re definitely a lot brighter and revealing than the Bentleys, sometimes beautifully so, sometimes not so, they were sometimes fatiguing after only a short while. They produced the best rendition of Dire Straits? Private Investigations I?ve ever heard.
I switched over to the Rotel RB-985 power amp to see what difference it made to the RTi10s. The bass was still tight and strong, however the bright mids and highs were definitely toned down. I really like this combination with the RTi10s. The Jekyll and Hyde character was now subdued and sounded a lot more consistent. I?ve now set up the RTi10s as my front HT speakers, with the CSi-A6 as the centre. It?s a magical HT setup, the more detailed nature of the Polks makes speech easier to hear, especially when it pans between the fronts and centre. I?ve also had the RTi10s at silly levels but they don?t seem to be as composed as the FS-150s when near the limit, the mids and highs start to break up and sound somewhat harsh. It?s not really a problem as I pretty much never listen at those levels. Now after having listened to them for a while, I?m very glad I did eventually buy them. It was touch and go when I initially auditioned them with the NAD C320. That 15 year itch is now well and truly scratched and it feels wonderful!
So, to summarise, the Bentley FS-150s are very, very good speakers, the best I?ve had. They?re like an M3, you can drive them every day and be very content, they?re consistent, warm and easy to drive, yet grab them by the scruff of the neck and they really surprise you. You can play them at ridiculous levels and they keep delivering.
High points:
? Easy to drive, from amps with small power supplies to massive power amps, although they do thrive on lots of power.
? Deep, powerful bass, certainly no need for a subwoofer with music, unless of course you?re an extreme bass-head.
? Warm, clear mids and highs, that don?t get fatiguing after long listening sessions. (This can also be seen as a negative if you like bright, detailed mids/highs).
? Can take a beating, remain composed even at silly listening levels.
Low Points:
? The grills. They?re flimsy and break easily. They also introduce noise when played at moderately high levels.
? WAF is not great. They?re very large speakers with copper coloured drivers (I love them, but my wife isn?t overly impressed with them and insists that I keep the grills on)
? The feet are not the best, due to it being such a large speaker it?s easy to knock it over. A plinth with the feet further apart would make big difference.
Overall, I?d give the FS-150s a solid 9 out of 10
The Polk RTi10s are very decent speakers when paired with the right amp. I?d say the RTi10s are like an Italian supercar, when you get the combination right, they?ll have you smiling from ear to ear, when you get it wrong, they?ll wrap you around the nearest lamp post.
High points:
? Build quality, they?re made with 16mm MDF and a nice thick veneer, the feet stick out from the sides of the cabinet to keep it nice and sturdy
? Very good grills, they don?t interfere with the sound in any perceivable way and are stronger than the FS-150 grills.
? Decent bass, not as deep and powerful as the FS-150s, but still really decent when hooked up to a suitable power amp.
? WAF, although they?re still big speakers, they?re quite a bit smaller than the FS-150s and are rather handsome looking.
? Their unpredictable nature when I had them rigged up to the HK Citation amp. (I know most people would say this is a negative) They would surprise you with certain tracks, sounding brilliant with some tracks and not great with others. Dire Straits? Private Investigations and Tupac?s California Love being two tracks that sounded really amazing.
Low points:
? The Jekyll and Hyde side to them, whereby they sound really good with certain amps and really bad with other amps. Generally it appears that they?ll do well with any amp that can deliver a lot of current.
? Bright highs and mids, again the choice of amp here makes a big difference. Get it wrong and they sound terrible.
? Age. The RTi10s come from the early 2000s, so the surrounds and spiders have had quite a few years to degrade. The capacitors in the crossovers will also have been around for a while and may no longer be within specification.
I?ll give the RTi10s a healthy 8.5 out of 10.
I hope you?ve enjoyed the comparison, please feel free to critique and share your experiences with the FS-150s or RTi10s.
