RTi A9 vs Onkyo HT-R960

combile

I have Onkyo HT-S9100THX with receiver HT-R960. Now in Christmas, I got a good deal on RTi A9. I know it will not be powered at best performance if I connect HT-R960 with RTi A9. But I have no plan to upgrade receiver/amp for now. My question are:
1. Does HT-R960 work for RTi A9 whatever the performance?
2. Will each of them be damaged? How to prevent those potential damages?
3. Usually, I set volumn under -20 dB. Is this enough to protect both HT-R960 and RTi A9?

Thanks in advance.

tonyb

If you have no plan to upgrade the receiver,or add an amp, why get big floorstanders that need power, in the first place ? Your htib receiver will not power those well imho. Look for something easier to drive like the monitor line. Seems silly to want big speakers then say your not worried about performance.

combile

I mean I will upgrade receiver/amp later. As a interim solution, do RTi A9 and HT-R960 work?

nguyendot

In the basic sense of "work" - yes your receiver will make those speakers have sound.
Will it power it well? No. I'd just stick the speakers in the closet for now and use your current THX certified speakers that are made to work with that receiver. It will probably sound better than the A9s underpowered.

tonyb

If you put go cart tires on your Corvette, will it work ? Sure it will, for how long ?
It's your coin my man, I just can't see spending it and risking doing damage to it. Most anything "will work" together. Ask yourself what the level of risk is your willing to take.

combile

Thanks everybody for your reply and xcapri79 for your recommendation.

I got these two RTi A9 at a good price for Christmas sale, Canadian $799.99/pair. There is no time for me now to do more research for good receiver/amp, but want to get the speakers first. It looks like I need speed up to find good receiver/amp, any suggestions on mid-range? And how about get a 2-channel stereo recevier plus an external amp if I mainly use RTi A9 for music?

Thanks again.

mystik610

combile wrote: »

Thanks everybody for your reply and xcapri79 for your recommendation.

I got these two RTi A9 at a good price for Christmas sale, Canadian $799.99/pair. There is no time for me now to do more research for good receiver/amp, but want to get the speakers first. It looks like I need speed up to find good receiver/amp, any suggestions on mid-range? And how about get a 2-channel stereo recevier plus an external amp if I mainly use RTi A9 for music?

Thanks again.

There's no risk of damaging either the speakers or your receiver in this configuration....just be smart about the volume knob. -20 reference is fine....I make a point to never go higher than -15 reference. Don't ever take it past 0.

The A9's are fairly efficient for a full-range speaker (8ohm load and all), and are designed to be safely driven off most receivers. Will they operate at their full potential? No, but they will work, and will still be an improvement over your HTiB speakers.

You'll want to add an amp in the future to really unlock the A9's potential, but definitely take the time to build up the funds to buy a good amp and receiver. You'd be amazed what you can find by taking your time and finding great deals (like the deal you got on your A9's)....and also by scouring the used market. Few of us have the luxury of buying all of the right components in one fell-swoop. Its most often an incremental process, and that process is what makes this into a hobby. My system has evolved quite a bit over the years, and I'm still not done!

kevhed72

Do yourself a favor yourself a nice, used Parasound 2200 or 2003 amp to power those speakers (when you can afford it). Also, when you can take the AVR out of the 2-channel equation, even better.