Amp confusion

King J
King J Posts: 22
edited November 2010 in Electronics
my setup consists of -rti10's, csi5, fxi3, & psw 505. onkyo 905 as my avr. now im looking into seperate amps & ran into a problem. im looking at an Emotiva xpa5 & xpa3. is this going to be too much power??? i want to use the xpa5 for the low input on the 10's & center & surrounds, then use the xpa3 on the high input on the 10's & center. now is this too much or should i just power everything with just the xpa5 & be happy. comments and input are greatly appreciated. thanx
Post edited by King J on
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Comments

  • mdaudioguy
    mdaudioguy Posts: 5,165
    edited November 2010
    Power everything with a 5-channel amp and let that sound settle in on you for a while. Read up on bi-amping, so you can make a well-informed decision on it later. Personally, I think it's unnecessary, and in your case (gear very similar to mine), the difference/improvement will be negligible. Enjoy! :smile:
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  • reeltrouble1
    reeltrouble1 Posts: 9,312
    edited November 2010
    I would recommend you begin with an Odyssey or NAD two channel amplifier and let your receiver power the rest of your speakers.

    The Emotiva are bright your treble will sound as if it is simply on top of what ever you are listening to not a part of it. Those particular Polk speakers rti10 are already forward sounding enough.

    RT1
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  • dcmartinpc
    dcmartinpc Posts: 844
    edited November 2010
    I think in that setup, running the XPA-5 will be plenty. No reason to BIAMP those IMHO. The XPA-5 is a good budget amp and it is at a decent price right now. Have you considered used amplification at all? There are many good deals on used amps that I think would outperform the XPA-5...

    The other thing you have to remember is that RTi's are inherently bright, and Emotiva amps tend to be bright, so it can be a rough combo...

    Ooops.... Beat me to it RT1!

    Don
    Living Room: Adcom GFP-750 (Upgraded), Squeezebox Touch, Oppo BDP-83, Pioneer DV-79AVi, Parasound HCA-3500 (Upgraded), SDA SRS 2 P/B (Gimpod, Sonicaps, & Mills)

    Theater: Denon 4311ci, Oppo BDP-93, Parasound HCA-2205+HCA-2200II, Polk LSi9, LSiC, LSiFX, LSi7, Custom 18" TC Sounds sub with 2 18" PR, Sharp XV-Z12000, Pioneer Kuro KRP-500M (isf Enabled)

    Bedroom: HK AVR354, Pioneer DV-47a, Parasound HCA-1500a, Polk LSi9
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  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited November 2010
    dcmartinpc wrote: »
    I think in that setup, running the XPA-5 will be plenty. No reason to BIAMP those IMHO. The XPA-5 is a good budget amp and it is at a decent price right now. Have you considered used amplification at all? There are many good deals on used amps that I think would outperform the XPA-5...

    The other thing you have to remember is that RTi's are inherently bright, and Emotiva amps tend to be bright, so it can be a rough combo...

    Ooops.... Beat me to it RT1!

    Don

    RTi's are not bright....they have sparkle! :biggrin::wink:

    H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 33,067
    edited November 2010
    Even an older B&K would work nicely.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    edited November 2010
    There is no such thing as too much power. Your ears will give out before the speakers do. So amp up and enjoy. Welcome to Club Polk.
    Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,408
    edited November 2010
    RTi's and Emotiva can be a very forward and bright sounding presentation. Perhaps good for HT but definitely not for music if you are looking to get the best possible enjoyment for extended listening sessions.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | Roon Nucleus 1 w/LPS - Tubes add soul!
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  • King J
    King J Posts: 22
    edited November 2010
    thanks for all of the input. its 90% ht & 10% music. one last question/option though, would an xpa2 on the towers & the xpa3 on the centers & surrounds be cool or should i just stick with the xpa3 for the fronts and call it a day?
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  • Jetmaker737
    Jetmaker737 Posts: 1,105
    edited November 2010
    I'd get either the 2 channel or the 3 channel. You don't need both with that setup. Personally I'd pass on the Emo (I have owned one), but I do understand the price is right on those things plus you get a warranty, etc.

    If you intend to upgrade your speakers in the future then maybe the 2+3 or the 5 channel amps make sense.
    SystemLuxman L-590AXII Integrated Amplifier|KEF Reference 1 Loudspeakers|PS Audio Directream Jr|Sansui TU-9900 Tuner|TEAC A-6100 RtR|REL T/9X SE Sub
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  • dpowell
    dpowell Posts: 3,081
    edited November 2010
    tonyb wrote: »
    Even an older B&K would work nicely.

    That or a Parasound will tame the highs somewhat.
    ____________________________________________________________

    polkaudio Fully Modded SDA SRS 1.2TLs + Dreadnaught, LSiM706c, 4 X Polk Surrounds + 4 X ATMOS, SVS PB13 Ultra X 2, McIntosh C2300, Marantz AV7704, Bob Carver Crimson Beauty 350 Tube Mono Blocks, Carver Sunfire Signature Cinema Grande 400x5, ADCOM GFA 7807, Panasonic UB420, Sim Audio Moon 380D DAC, EPSON Pro Cinema 6050
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  • mdaudioguy
    mdaudioguy Posts: 5,165
    edited November 2010
    King J wrote: »
    thanks for all of the input. its 90% ht & 10% music. one last question/option though, would an xpa2 on the towers & the xpa3 on the centers & surrounds be cool or should i just stick with the xpa3 for the fronts and call it a day?

    That's exactly what I had. It was not worth the money. A 5-channel will do the same for far less. I scaled back to what I have now without diminishing performance, and had some extra cash to spend on other toys. :smile:
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  • jinjuku
    jinjuku Posts: 1,523
    edited November 2010
    Still don't get why a person would use an amp to correct a few $$ in parts problem when it comes to the RTi line up (for music listening).

    Pad down the tweeter with a different resistor to tame the high's. As I understand the Polk line up the RTi's are Polks top speaker really meant for HT so they would understandably be designed with an aggressive top end. The LSi's are more the musical.

    When I built my ZDT3.5's I made sure to have 2 extra resistors for the tweeter circuit that were above and below the median value. This allowed me to tweak if I found the top end either to aggressive or rolled off too much.
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  • rdb2001
    rdb2001 Posts: 791
    edited November 2010
    I would go with a 2 channel amp and a 3 channel amp. But I also listen to alot of music. I personally went with a seperate 2 channel amp for my fronts and a 5 channel amp for everything else. For my system there was a noticeble difference when I added a 2 channel amp to the 5 channel. The 2 channel amp has more omph, more kick, more detail, more everything. Both of these amps are from the same B & K reference line with just about the same watts per channel. So I would do a 2 and a 3 or 5 channel amp. To me there is a difference. YMMV
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  • veerapaneni
    veerapaneni Posts: 112
    edited November 2010
    b&k 200.5 or 200.7 is my choice. you get them for decent price in Used market.
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