Polk RTI A9 or RTI A7? Need help deciding. Please advise.

brasil

Hello to all. I have not posted here for quite some time. I have researched this, but am having a hard time deciding. I am replacing several speakers in my home theater. Right now I have Polk RTI 70's as mains, CSI 40 as center, RTI 38 as side surrounds, and FXI 30 (i believe) for the rear surrounds with a SVS PB PLUS 12 subwoofer. The speakers are powered by a Denon 3806 receiver with 120 watts x 7 channels. Right now the system is in a 12 x 12 or so sized den, but it may move to a larger room later. I am looking to get either the RTI A9's OR RTI A7's as the front mains, CSI A6 center, RTI A3 side surrounds, and keep my current SVS sub and FXI 30 rear surrounds. I do not plan to upgrade the receiver or get an external amp as of yet, but will do so within a few years. Will my current receiver be adequate (although I know not ideal) to power the RTI 9's? With this power level, will I notice any sonic differences between the 7 and 9? I do like a lot of mid-bass/mid-range. Please advise. Thank you.

OOsemka

@Brasil - I am an owner of RTiA7's that are theoretically easier to drive and there was a significant difference in the music dynamics and amount of bass after I added power amp. So I assume RTiA9 will be even harder to drive with just a receiver.
On the other hand it probably make sense to go to the best speaker in the line (RTiA9), but I would suggest to get an amp at the same time.

brasil

OOsemka wrote: »

@Brasil - I am an owner of RTiA7's that are theoretically easier to drive and there was a significant difference in the music dynamics and amount of bass after I added power amp. So I assume RTiA9 will be even harder to drive with just a receiver.
On the other hand it probably make sense to go to the best speaker in the line (RTiA9), but I would suggest to get an amp at the same time.

Thanks for the note. Eventually I will be getting an amp, but it may be a few years. Will the sound quality and midrange be any better with the 9 over the 7, assuming that they are both powered by my current Denon 3806 receiver?

nhhiep

I have the same AVR and speakers that you have. (Rti12).
The AVR is a good one, but you won't likely getting much bass out of the 7" woofers. if you push the vol, it just gets louder(from tweeters/mid woofers), not fuller sound. Below 200hz or so, it is not that good.

I fixed it by buying a cheap($350 shipped) but powerful HK Citation 5.1 300WPC to drive the Rti12 full range, then let the AVR does the center/rears.

ravaneli

A9 may be better choice, given ample power, but with your particular restrictions...A FEW YEARS driving A9 just with receiver? You may get better sound with A5 + powered subwoofer, because the A5s will be easier to drive, and people say do the midrange better than A7.

brasil

ravaneli wrote: »

A9 may be better choice, given ample power, but with your particular restrictions...A FEW YEARS driving A9 just with receiver? You may get better sound with A5 + powered subwoofer, because the A5s will be easier to drive, and people say do the midrange better than A7.

Well, how much is a nice decent amp cost to drive the A9's? How do you combine an amp with a receiver? I am new to this. Would it be worth to upgrade my received to a new more powerfull Denon, but they only go up to around 140 watts or so. Can an amp be used with no receiver? With the 3806, should I just keep the two side surround speakers, disconnect the rears FXI 30/bipole/dipole, and use the two extra channels to bi-amp the A9's? Would that work? I would only have the 5 speakers plus the sub, instead of 7 speakers plus the sub.

bansheesho

I don't own an amp, nor have ever owned one nor do I own either of those speakers (though I really want the rti a9s)... so everything I say I would take with a large grain of salt because I am completely unqualified to answer your question in any way other than what I have read here.

I have heard that the emotiva xpa-3 ($700) and xpa-5 ($900) are pretty decent amps for the money if you are looking for new ones.

http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/amplifiers/products/xpa5
http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/amplifiers/products/xpa3

From my breif research of that reciever it looks like it has preouts which is good. It does look like it does not have dts hd master or dolby true hd decoders though, dont know how important that is for you. You could get a 3 channel amp and run the rest off the reciever... or just see how it sounds first and get an amp later on down the road..

Some other amps to look into (maybe used) would be parasound, outlaw, carver... and there are others, but someone else can fill you in on those.

I think most people say that bi-amping is a waste of time and it does not really do anything or may even cause a performance reduction. Others say that they like the way it sounds.. something you would have to try for yourself and see if you like it.

brasil

I do not think that my received has dts hd master or dolby true hd decoders. I purchased it new in 2005, right when HD, HDMI, and the revolution in technology and such. So in order to achieve the best sound quality, I would need to upgrade the received AND get an amp? If so, should I ugrade the received first and then get an amp, or vice versa?

bansheesho

I might as well ask this here since I was wondering it myself... With the rti a9s and lets say a csi a6 center would it make more sense to get a 200 wpc 3 channel amp to power the front 3 channels or would it be better to get a more powerful 300 wpc stero amp to power just the front towers? What would sound better for a combo of HT and Music?

http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/amplifiers/products/xpa2

brasil

Or should I get a nice amp like the Emotiva XPA-5, and get a lesser expensive receiver with less wattage, but newer technology? I still do not have a Blu-Ray Player, and run on component cable out of a Denon DVD player. Still have a Sony 36-inch XBR Tube TV from 2002, LOL, so no 1080P for me as of yet.

zane77

I have both the A7's and the A9's. You would be able to keep the receiver you have and get a 2 channel amp to power the two fronts or get a 3 channel amp and power the center also. The A9's have a nicer midrange than the A7's IMO, but to make the A9's really sing you need to be able to drive them with something with a little more power than the receiver you have. Thay would play but just not perform up to what they are capable of. Good luck with your search.

MADGSF

Have you thought about keeping you current speakers and spending that money on the TV and AVR? What don't you like about the speakers you have now? If you take a long term view then you could get the A9s and work slowly into a full blown system. You don't want to buy what you really wanted later, basically buying twice.

I do agree those speakers will need more power than that AVR can provide but if you keep the volume resonable you won't harm them. I think the front three speakers should have the same amplification. After all the center channel is one of the most important speakers in HT and I think my center channel improved when I added my B&K. Since your current AVR has pre-outs you could keep it and add an amp now and wait to upgrade to another AVR. You will probably keep the amp and change out the AVR as technology changes which is what I did when I upgraded to an HDMI capable AVR.


I feel you pain, I had the same TV and vintage AVR and I upgraded to support Blue Ray.

brasil

OK, I decided to get the A9's, A6, FXI A6 for the rear surrounds and keep my FXI 30's for the back surrounds. Does anyone know if my Denon 3806 receiver has all of the technologies to work with HDMI for when I get a 1080P TV and Blue Ray? Furthermore, this receiver puts out 120 watts x 7 channels. If I get an external amp, should I only get one with 3 chaneels to power the A9's and A6, and let the receiver power the four other surround speakers? If this is the case, I would use four channels from the receiver to power the surrounds, what happens in this case with the other unused three channels from the receiver, in which case the external amp will be powering?

tonyb

It leaves your receiver with more power to power those 4 channels since it's a shared power supply. Amp up the front 3 channels and you should be a happy camper.

brasil

OK, I am new to the AMP world. Everyone here seems to have Emotiva amps. Is that the best way to go? The XPA-5 puts out the same wattage per channel as the XPA-3, but is only a few hundred more, so that seems to be the best bang for the buck? Can anyone confirm for certain that I can continue to use my Denon 3806 receiver, please?

brasil

Anyone?:)

brasil wrote: »

OK, I am new to the AMP world. Everyone here seems to have Emotiva amps. Is that the best way to go? The XPA-5 puts out the same wattage per channel as the XPA-3, but is only a few hundred more, so that seems to be the best bang for the buck? Can anyone confirm for certain that I can continue to use my Denon 3806 receiver, please?

chumlie

Yes. I looked it up at Crutchfield. Denon says it has preouts, so you should be fine.

brasil

chumlie wrote: »

Yes. I looked it up at Crutchfield. Denon says it has preouts, so you should be fine.

Thanks.

chumlie

brasil wrote: »

Thanks.

Your welcome.