New Setup

ninefall
ninefall Posts: 9
edited November 2011 in Basic Hookup/Wiring Questions
Wanted to get some advice from some of you. Seems to be quite a few knowledgeable people in here. I recently purchased the Polk RTI A9s for my 2 mains, the CSI A6 for my center and the FXI A6s for my surronds. They are being shipped so I have not received any of them yet. I will be running a HK AVR 435 on them. HK is about 4 years old and Ive barely used it. It puts out 65W per channel on surround. These will be in a 14 x 10 room(yes, too small).

Here are my questions. I dont think the HK receiver is going to even touch what the A9s can handle. Should i go with an amp for the 2 mains and the center or upgrade my receiver? Im not too big on investing into a $2000 receiver is the only thing. Would rather keep the one i got. I was planning on running the surrounds with my HK and running a 3 channel 300 watt amp to power the fronts and center.

As far as the surrounds, I am unable to mount them on the walls due to a window being in the way. Does anyone know of any stands that would be good for them? Polk doesnt carry them and i dont know which ones are compatible with the A6s.

What gauge of speaker wire would you guys recommend? I was thinking 14/16.

A lot of novice questions here but Ive always bought the home theatres in the box from best buy and they are cheap, cheap products.

Last thing, I do plan on using a Sub, not sure which one yet, definitely wanna stay with Polk on that. Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance for the help!
Post edited by ninefall on
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  • deronb1
    deronb1 Posts: 5,021
    edited November 2011
    Hello and welcome! I have a pair of RTi12s that need a lot of power. The A9s do as well. Does your AVR have preouts? If so, I would highly recommend an external amp.

    Many would recommend a three channel amp, but I don't know what your money sit is. The surrounds should be ok with the AVR for now.

    My Pioneer is 110wpc and I am currently powering my 12s with a 220wpc Kenwood M2 Basic and letting the AVR do the center and surrounds. Sounds pretty good, but I am selling my 12s soon and going back with my RTA8ts.

    In a nutshell, your system needs a lot of power. Matched power is recommended, but can get expensive.
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  • ninefall
    ninefall Posts: 9
    edited November 2011
    Yes my AVR does have preouts. I dont mind spending 600 or 700 on an amp. I just dont wanna reinvest in a whole new receiver. They get very pricey. Matched power?? Sorry im a newb to say the least. Just know the basics.
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  • deronb1
    deronb1 Posts: 5,021
    edited November 2011
    Matched power is having the same amp power everything. Like a 3 or 5 channel amp. Another way is to go with mono blocks, but that can get pricey. The sound signiture is the same as opposed to having say a two channel amp power the fronts and the AVR power everything else.

    I have the latter and I think it sounds ok, but if you have that much to spend, you might be able to find an Emotiva XPA 3 or 5 (200wpc) to power your speakers. Will make all the difference as opposed to 65wpc.

    If sounds weird, but too little power is far worse for your speakers than too much power. Distortion will add up far quicker at louder volumes. You have great speakers, feed them a lot of clean power.
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  • jbooker82
    jbooker82 Posts: 1,627
    edited November 2011
    I would deffinatly get at least a 3 channel external amplifier if not a 5 channel. It is a world of difference as you will soon see. I run a Carver A-753x. It is a 250 watt x 3 channel.
    AVR: Onkyo Tx-NR808
    Amplifier: Carver A-753x 250 watts x 3
    Fronts: Polk RTI A7 (modded by Trey VR3)
    Center: CSI A4 (modded by Trey VR3)
    Rear: FXI A4
    Sub: Polk DSW Pro 660wi
    TV: LG Infinia 50PX950 3D
    Speaker Cable: AudioQuest Type 8
    IC: AudioQuest Black Mamba II
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  • ninefall
    ninefall Posts: 9
    edited November 2011
    The Emotiva XPA 3 was exactly what i was looking at
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  • djperez81
    djperez81 Posts: 388
    edited November 2011
    Good recommendations from the other members. For speakers wire go with 12 or 14 gauge. For a sub check out the polk dsw line newegg has some geat prices on them and the sound awesome.
    Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.
    -Jimi Hendrix
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  • ninefall
    ninefall Posts: 9
    edited November 2011
    Appreciate the advice from everyone so far, good info. Ran into a problem that i over looked. My HK receiver is 4 years old and does not have hdmi inputs. This creates a problem for all my components. Any advice or anyway to convert the hdmi to an analog source such as rca??
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  • nguyendot
    nguyendot Posts: 3,594
    edited November 2011
    Use analog out instead.
    Main Surround -
    Epson 8350 Projector/ Elite Screens 120" / Pioneer Elite SC-35 / Sunfire Signature / Focal Chorus 716s / Focal Chorus CC / Polk MC80 / Polk PSW150 sub

    Bedroom - Sharp Aquos 70" 650 / Pioneer SC-1222k / Polk RT-55 / Polk CS-250

    Den - Rotel RSP-1068 / Threshold CAS-2 / Boston VR-M60 / BDP-05FD
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  • jbooker82
    jbooker82 Posts: 1,627
    edited November 2011
    You can use analog and fiber optic for the sound but your going to be missing out on sound quality. Fiber optic cannont pass true DTS HD or Dolby Digital HD audio. It will be stripped down verion.

    You could always get a new mid level avr that had pre outs, and HDMI.

    You can get an Onkyo TX-NR708 (2010 model) for $349 or a TX-NR709 (2011 model) for $489 from accessories for less. You cannot go below the TX-NR7xx line other wise the AVR wont have pre outs. They are referbished but an 5 year extended warrenty can be purchased for around $50 bucks. I would probably go with the newer TX-NR709 if it was me. A newer AVR could probably hold you off on the upgrade bug until you can find / save up for external amplification.
    http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/category/AVReceiver/Home-Audio/Home-Theater-Receivers/2.html
    AVR: Onkyo Tx-NR808
    Amplifier: Carver A-753x 250 watts x 3
    Fronts: Polk RTI A7 (modded by Trey VR3)
    Center: CSI A4 (modded by Trey VR3)
    Rear: FXI A4
    Sub: Polk DSW Pro 660wi
    TV: LG Infinia 50PX950 3D
    Speaker Cable: AudioQuest Type 8
    IC: AudioQuest Black Mamba II
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 33,064
    edited November 2011
    Also look for a used Pioneer SC version receiver, they all pretty much have preouts and HDMI, but also have the power you need. Without HDMI, you'll be missing out in alot of what Blu-ray has to offer, if you're going down that road. The elite SC receivers should power those 9's for now untill you can add an amp later.
    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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  • PSOVLSK
    PSOVLSK Posts: 5,314
    edited November 2011
    It looks like your AVR has 7.1 analog inputs. If you have a blu-ray player that has 7.1 output, you won't miss out on SQ since the BR player will decode the HD audio. Run the HDMI for video only.
    Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out.-John Wooden
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  • ninefall
    ninefall Posts: 9
    edited November 2011
    Appreciate all the help guys. Went with an Onkyo 909...should do the job. Next problem, center channel showed up today, Polk A6. Wiring diagram calls for bi-wiring to my front channels. This is confusing due to the fact I had to bi-wire my A9s. Should the center be bi-wired to the fronts which are already bi-wired for the A9s or do i bi-wire the center channel off of the receiver. Thanks again for all the help.
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  • Toolfan66
    Toolfan66 Posts: 17,589
    edited November 2011
    I have the A9's and A6 and I don't bi-wire any of them. You don't have to bi-wire them at all.
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  • ninefall
    ninefall Posts: 9
    edited November 2011
    are you saying i can have 2 unused terminals on the each speaker??
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  • ninefall
    ninefall Posts: 9
    edited November 2011
    do the jumper bars need to be removed for bi-wiring?
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  • WilliamM2
    WilliamM2 Posts: 4,796
    edited November 2011
    ninefall wrote: »
    Appreciate all the help guys. Went with an Onkyo 909...should do the job. Next problem, center channel showed up today, Polk A6. Wiring diagram calls for bi-wiring to my front channels. This is confusing due to the fact I had to bi-wire my A9s. Should the center be bi-wired to the fronts which are already bi-wired for the A9s or do i bi-wire the center channel off of the receiver. Thanks again for all the help.

    You don't hook the center to the fronts, you hook it to the center channel output on the reciever. Why did you have to bi-wire the A9's? It's not required.
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  • ninefall
    ninefall Posts: 9
    edited November 2011
    instructions in speaker manual said to bi-wire the a9s and a6s. i assume one is for high and the other is for low. sorry im retarded
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  • ninefall
    ninefall Posts: 9
    edited November 2011
    guess that would be the whole idea with the jumber bars, so you would not have to bi-wire, correct?
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  • PSOVLSK
    PSOVLSK Posts: 5,314
    edited November 2011
    ninefall wrote: »
    guess that would be the whole idea with the jumber bars, so you would not have to bi-wire, correct?

    Correct
    Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out.-John Wooden
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  • jbooker82
    jbooker82 Posts: 1,627
    edited November 2011
    PSOVLSK wrote: »
    It looks like your AVR has 7.1 analog inputs. If you have a blu-ray player that has 7.1 output, you won't miss out on SQ since the BR player will decode the HD audio. Run the HDMI for video only.
    I forgot about those.
    AVR: Onkyo Tx-NR808
    Amplifier: Carver A-753x 250 watts x 3
    Fronts: Polk RTI A7 (modded by Trey VR3)
    Center: CSI A4 (modded by Trey VR3)
    Rear: FXI A4
    Sub: Polk DSW Pro 660wi
    TV: LG Infinia 50PX950 3D
    Speaker Cable: AudioQuest Type 8
    IC: AudioQuest Black Mamba II
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  • jbooker82
    jbooker82 Posts: 1,627
    edited November 2011
    ninefall wrote: »
    Appreciate all the help guys. Went with an Onkyo 909...should do the job. Next problem, center channel showed up today, Polk A6. Wiring diagram calls for bi-wiring to my front channels. This is confusing due to the fact I had to bi-wire my A9s. Should the center be bi-wired to the fronts which are already bi-wired for the A9s or do i bi-wire the center channel off of the receiver. Thanks again for all the help.
    Are you sure about the model number. I don't think Onkyo made a TX-NR909.
    AVR: Onkyo Tx-NR808
    Amplifier: Carver A-753x 250 watts x 3
    Fronts: Polk RTI A7 (modded by Trey VR3)
    Center: CSI A4 (modded by Trey VR3)
    Rear: FXI A4
    Sub: Polk DSW Pro 660wi
    TV: LG Infinia 50PX950 3D
    Speaker Cable: AudioQuest Type 8
    IC: AudioQuest Black Mamba II
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