From AR-1 to RTi A7. Amp recommendations

Shadow_asp

Hi all,
I'm new here and looking for advice on a receiver.
My current setup:
Acoustic Research AR-1 (front), AR2C (center) and AR-15 (rear).
The receiver is a Marantz SR8200 (6*120w @ 6ohm I think).
I'm looking to upgrade from 5.1 to 7.1, but since Acoustic Research is no more (the current company has nothing in common with the company that made the Hi-Res series speakers except in name).

What I got my eyes on is:
RTi A7 (front), RTi A6 (center) and either RTi A3 or FXi A6 (rear & back). Velodyne DD12+ will be the sub.
I dont know if I should use RTi A3 or FXi A6 or a combination of both as rear and back speakers. Can someone tell me which is better and why?
My ARs are cherry woodgrain and would like to have the lighter wood colour as much as possible with Polk speakers as well. IMO black has always been the generic boring colour.

Now to the receiver part. I've always been very fond of my Marantz SR8200 but it lacks DTS HD MA etc so it has to be replaced if I'm going the 7.1 route. Unless I'm mistaken the newer modell SR7005 could be a sufficiently powered receiver for the RTi A7, but its very expensive over here in Norway. I've heard good things about the Onkyo TX-NR809 but I've only talked with stores that sell them. I have no experience with Onkyo products.
What is the general opinion regarding amplifier wattage towards the RTi A7?
I know the more the better but I'm trying to find a middleground here without risking blowing the tweeters. There's also the question of price. The TX-NR809 cost 2/3 of what the SR7005 costs in Norway.
The primary use is hometheater via PC (using XBMC) and Xbox 360 for gaming. Music might be played every now and then in the form of MP3 or OGG. My old Marantz CDR6000 KI cd-player might also be used at some point but main interest is movies and some gaming in surround.

mdaudioguy

I use RTi for back and FXi for surround. I tried it the other way around and didn't care for the effect. Ymmv. A stout receiver like you mentioned will be adequate at reasonable volumes. Better yet would be some external amplification. I suggest browsing a few threads here to learn about it. You could buy a lower priced AVR (with pre-outs) and an amp for not much more than some of the more expensive AVRs.

Good luck and welcome to Club Polk!

mdaudioguy

P.S. FXi speakers are designed to provide an ambient, immersive surround experience. Bookshelf speakers will provide a more localized effect, which is fine for back speakers, IMO.

Shadow_asp

mdaudioguy wrote: »

P.S. FXi speakers are designed to provide an ambient, immersive surround experience. Bookshelf speakers will provide a more localized effect, which is fine for back speakers, IMO.

That is what I thought when I saw them. Considering the area the surround and back speakers covers (pretty much the same size area), would you recommend using RTi for both surround and back speakers?

I searched around on these forums. It seems to me that 130w per channel is sufficient for "normal use" and should be more than enough when using them as small speakers. I'm thinking the hi-pass will be set around 70-80Hz in my case. Depends on what I feel is right when using them together with the Velodyne DD12. I dont know yet if I want one or two DD12's considering the amount of air the two 15" in the AR-1 can move.
It looks like Polk doesnt have anything that can match the Sunfire powered 15" of the AR-1.

Shadow_asp

Shameless bump :redface:

jbooker82

I would use FXI's for the sides and RTI A1's or A3's for the rears. Your rears should be placed fairly close to each other in the center back of the rum. True 7.1 is just now starting to come around. Most 7.1 systems have the rear surrounds paired together acting as a single speaker (6.1).

KYFHO

I have a system close to what you are considering. I use a Parasound A23 on my A7's and it pushes the hell out of them! Really clean power with a little bit of warmth to it. I have FXi A4's on the sides and RTi A3's in the rear. Everything meshes together really nice. I passed on the CSi A6 for the front and went with the CSi A4 - sounds perfect to me.

Shadow_asp

Thanks for the response
My better half didnt like the finish or the design of the FXi speakers. I must admit I have to agree that the bright cherry colour of the RTIs are much nicer. The ARs are cherry woodgrain. I've never really liked the "generic" black.
So it looks like it will have to be 2 pairs of RTI A3 for surround and back speakers.

jbooker82

You will have to run the RTI A3's directly beside you or angle them twards you if you put them slightly behind. I would still do the FXI's on the side. You can get them in white as well.

Shadow_asp

jbooker82 wrote: »

You will have to run the RTI A3's directly beside you or angle them twards you if you put them slightly behind.

This is how my current speakers are positioned (Surround speakers at 90deg):


This is how I intend to have the new setup:

The sub will most likely be positioned outside the left front speaker because of a corner to the right or next to the surround right speaker depending on how I will be able to set it up (Velo DD12+).