help questions

Jasonloose

does anyone know where to sell speakers and receivers and get good prices for them. The speakers are the floorstanding tsi 400 which are 4 months old and a denon 1912 receiver which is about 2 months old. I like them but i just want to upgrade those two main things.

I would like to get the rti a9 or a7 and a more powerful receiver that has amp outputs
i have a 7.1 setup
have the csi a6 center speaker which was a great upgrade
I have the rti a1 bookshelves as my rear surrounds and the fxi a6 for my mid surrounds and the psw 505 sub
It all sounds amazing now especially with video games and movies so i was just wondering a few things.

1) want the rti a7 at least very soon if no the rti a9's. that is definitely worth the upgrade right? i think it is just to keep the speakers generally all in the same class. or should i just keep the tsi 400?


2) also if i did get those rti 7 or 9's would my current receiver (denon 1912) be good enough for that 7.1 surround sound or is it not even close to to pushing the speakers to anywhere near there potential.

3 also if i should get a better receiver what would be perfect to get for that set up?

4) finally if i should upgrade those front speakers and receiver where is a great place to sell these two to get the max value out of the denon 1912 and the tsi 400. or is there a place that does trades because id get polk stuff for polk stuff?

lots of stuff here just really wondering what to do before i commit more money to make this sound amazing
thanks for the help

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B Run

1) It would be a huge upgrade over the Tsi's
2) Not even close to enough power, especially for 7.1
3) Depends, you'd want to have a very high end avr or add an amp. Lots of info on here about it.
4)Craigslist.org, ebay, or audiogon are your best bets.

Welcome to the forum, there's tons of info on here if you do a search, and i'm sure others will chime in as well.

dhart86

Craigslist.org, ebay, or audiogon are your best bets.

I agree

packetjones

B Run wrote: »

1) It would be a huge upgrade over the Tsi's
2) Not even close to enough power, especially for 7.1
3) Depends, you'd want to have a very high end avr or add an amp. Lots of info on here about it.
4)Craigslist.org, ebay, or audiogon are your best bets.

Welcome to the forum, there's tons of info on here if you do a search, and i'm sure others will chime in as well.

Couldn't have said it better myself. RTI will be a great upgrade. An amp would be recommended over an AVR.

Jasonloose

what does an amp over an avr mean. ? kinda confused with that ?

B Run

An AVR is a Receiver (Audio Video Receiver) sorry for the confusion. You have two options to get the best results from those speakers. You can buy a high end receiver which actually has enough juice to drive those speakers, or you can buy any receiver with pre-outs on the back and add an external amplifier.

The most bang for your buck would be buying a mid level receiver that has all the bells and whistles you need and has pre outs, and buy a new or used external amplifier. I have done both, and they both have their advantages and disadvantages. It really comes down to budget, what features you want/need, and what you are wanting to get out of your system.

Another approach would be to pick up a nicer receiver like the Pioneer elite sc and let it handle everything. It might not be quite as powerful as running an external amp, but it would be easier. It would also use better processors and parts than an entry level receiver. There's many different routes you can take and a lot of different opinions on what the best one is.

Jasonloose

thanks for the Information.

SO what would be a good mid level receiver to got that has the pre outs. And then what are some good amps to get ? Do i have to get an amp for each speaker? are amps expensive and are there a bunch of varieties of them with like power ?

thanks for the help

B Run

I personally would buy a Pioneer vsx1120/1121, an Onkyo 708/709, Yamaha RXA-800/810, or maybe Denon 3310/3311. If you don't need 3d or some certain features you can go with a model from last year for a better price. As far as amps i'd check out: Adcom, Parasound, Rotel, Nad, Emotiva, Outlaw as well as many others. You can buy anything from a Monoblock (1channel) to a 7 channel, depending on your needs. Typically if you're going to go 7.1, i'd either get a 3 channel for your center and towers and let the receiver do the surrounds. You can also do a 5 or 7 channel to use it for the surrounds as well.

drummer86

Depends on what you consider expensive. I know that what I considered to be "mid-level" a year ago is HUGELY different from what I now consider to be "mid-level." Might be a good idea to toss around some budget numbers to clue everyone in on your price range. You'll get much more applicable feedback that way. Most would probably agree that you're going to get the most out of that setup with a decent AVR (Denon, Marantz, Pioneer) and an external amplifier. 7.1 setups can be very hard on the average receiver. Denon 33xx, Pioneer 11xx, and Onkyo 70x/80x would be good starting points.

Jasonloose

yah good idea. i would spend in the range of a 1000 -2000 for a receiver. whatever would best power my 7.1 sound set up with the upgrade front towers to rti a7 or 9's

pyrocyborg

Well, I would keep the receiver... and put 1000$+ in an external amp to power your A7 or A9 front. Sure, the pre-amp part of an entry to mid-level receiver isn't on par with a 1000$ one, but you would at least power your speakers properly. Or you can sell your brand new receiver and get another one, but I do not know if it's a great idea.

A receiver alone, even a 2000$, will not properly power a pair of A9 at high volume (and probably not a the A7 either). You need an external amp to get the best of them: I've heard a pair of tower driven by a 700ish $ receiver and a 750$ NAD external amp (150w) and it was a little bit better than the same pair driven by a Pioneer Elite SC-55. Not to say that the Pioneer was a slacker, it was really impressive for a receiver, but... the cheaper alternative was nicer to my ears and could play as loud, if not a little bit higher without distorsion.

The NAD wasn't able to power it at really high volume (it was too loud IMO, so we didn't try for long), but it gave it a lot of punch even at low volumes. If you had some high sensitivity (93-94 dB) towers, it wouldn't be a problem to drive them with a receiver, but as the Polk are rated at 89-90dB, it's kinda harder to drive.

B Run

Keeping his receiver isn't an option, it doesn't have preouts.

tonyb

Jason,
Your receiver, while nice, is not really powerfull enough to run bigger floorstanders in 7 channel surround. Also you have no preouts to add an amplifier. Alot of this depends on budget and the speakers you wish to drive, otherwise all we will accomplish here is to confuse you more. If your going to budget 1-2 grand for a receiver, and don't want to buy an additional amp, the Pioneer elites with their built in ice amps hold their power better in 7 channel surround than alot of the competition and could easily drive the RTI's. Just a thought....trying to keep it simple for you as I know when your new to this stuff it can make your head spin. I would also suggest as a good place to start for cables is Signal cable, reasonable and good quality and if you tell Frank over there your a member here he will most likely toss you a discount too. Hope this helps you, good luck.

jbooker82

$500 AVR and a $1500 used amplifer.

Jasonloose

what specific pioneer receiver would be the best to power all of this and use the speakers to the full potential ? is pioneer the best and most powerful brand

I would like to get the rti a9 or a7 and a more powerful receiver that has amp outputs
i have a 7.1 setup
have the csi a6 center speaker which was a great upgrade
I have the rti a1 bookshelves as my rear surrounds and the fxi a6 for my mid surrounds and the psw 505 sub

tommyt21

Jasonloose wrote: »

what specific pioneer receiver would be the best to power all of this and use the speakers to the full potential ? is pioneer the best and most powerful brand

I would like to get the rti a9 or a7 and a more powerful receiver that has amp outputs
i have a 7.1 setup
have the csi a6 center speaker which was a great upgrade
I have the rti a1 bookshelves as my rear surrounds and the fxi a6 for my mid surrounds and the psw 505 sub

No offence, while your in your upgrade mode kick that PSW505 to the curb and get an ID sub.

Jasonloose

what specific pioneer receiver would be the best to power all of this and use the speakers to the full potential ? is pioneer the best and most powerful brand

I would like to get the rti a9 or a7 and a more powerful receiver that has amp outputs
i have a 7.1 setup
have the csi a6 center speaker which was a great upgrade
I have the rti a1 bookshelves as my rear surrounds and the fxi a6 for my mid surrounds and the psw 505 sub

tommyt21

I use a Pio SC-35 and it does agreat job pushing my A7's

Jasonloose

so no amps are needed for those elite series
so how would be the sc-57 or 55
or a differnet brand the yamaha Yamaha RX-A3010BL 11.2-Channel Network AV Receiver
0r Yamaha RX-A2010BL 9.2-Channel Network AV Receiver

Jasonloose

or the denon avr 4311cl

B Run

I'd go with the Pioneer elite SC-55, Yamaha Rxa-3010, Denon 4311, Marantz sr7005, or Onkyo 5009 if you're wanting to keep it simple with a powerful receiver that can push those speakers. If you're going to run an amp, i'd look at the exact same brands and just step down a model or two to save some $, and use that towards an amp. I also agree you'd be way better off ditching that PSW505 and upgrading, but we'll worry about one thing at a time.

Jasonloose

alright awesome thank you very much
unbelievably helpful
and really thats not a good sub? it sounds really good

and its not a bad idea to get a 9.1? does that work the same as a 7.1 works for the 5.1 system by bi-amping the front speakers with more power for my 7.1 set up

Jasonloose

or the Yamaha 11.2 to much to run for 7.1.

and what does the .1 to .2 mean? does that just mean that it has to sub capability

tommyt21

Jasonloose wrote: »

or the Yamaha 11.2 to much to run for 7.1.

and what does the .1 to .2 mean? does that just mean that it has to sub capability

The .1 and .2 are your LFE channels or in laymans terms your subwoofer RCA line.

Before you go nuts on the 9.@#$% and 11.#$% look at getting quality equipment first and research the hell out of what your purchasing. I'll take a high quality 5.1 over a crappy 11.2 any day of the week.

Jasonloose

alright so if you guys could pick your top 3 receivers in that price range which would they be.
and what brands do you rate the highest? and do you think that because thats what you have or have tried or do you know by your research?
thanks again to you guys this is very helpful

B Run

I've tried a LOT of different receivers this year, and finally settled on Pioneer. I'd personally pick up a SC-55 which would leave some extra room in your budget for a better sub or an amp later if you decide to go that route. I had a 505 for a while and liked it as well, but as soon as I heard an SVS I could never go back. I agree to keep it 5.1, maybe 7.1 if you really have the room for it but i wouldnt run more than that.

Jasonloose

alright i think i am between the Yamaha RX-A3010BL 11.2-Channel Network AV Receiver and the
pioneer sc-555 or 57
or the denon avr -4311CI
im willing to spend more for something really amazing now so i don't have to upgrade again for a long time and would like something that might even have to much power for what i have would be nice so everything runs at full potential

KYFHO

If you plan on running separate amplifiers you may want to save some coin and get a lower price receiver with pre-outs. Otherwise your just wasting $ for power on the AVR that won't be utilized.

tommyt21

I love my Sc-35 picked up new on a deal from Costco online for $700. You can find some great deals