Polk Newbie looking on powering TSi 500's in a 2 channel set up

maneduk997

I am looking for advice on how to power my TSi 500 speakers that are in the mail from Polk ebay. I already have an onkyo 605 powering a Yammy 7.1 in the basement so was thinking of just moving that upstairs for the 2 channel set up i am planning. But if i didn't want to do that - Should I start out with a used AVR with pre outs so that I can add on 2 amps for bi-amping in the future or just get right into the bi-amping from the start and bypass the AVR? My budget is pretty tight (below $300) to begin with so am thinking of just starting out with the used AVR and than add on as the income flows in...Thanks for any advice!

chumlie

I don't understand the onkyo powering the yammy 7.1. $300 is a tight budget, maybe look for a used 2 chanel reciever. In any case, i wouldn't bother bi-amping. Get a quality set of jumpers and toss the stock jumpers.

tonyb

There really is no need to bi-amp the TSI's, they are very easy to drive with even the most entry level receiver.

cnh

Welcome to Club Polk!

Good questions above. Is this going to be an only two channel system or do you plan to eventually go surround with this? If two channel, there was an HK 3490 that EndersShadow was selling that would do the job for you fine. It's only two channel but it does have pre-outs and two sub-outs as well. A nice starter receiver in your price range!

I'll see if I can dig up the link or even if it's still available.

Here's the thread:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?132166-Harman-Kardon-3490/page3

cnh

Geoff4rfc

Welcome aboard!

I know you said you are on a budget, but keep in mind, the more power you feed those, the better they sound.

I never came to realize that statement until I sold my Monitor70's, equivalent to your TSi's. The speakers are rated at 275w, I was powering them with 300w during the demo, I had never heard them sound that good.

My amp made my sale an easy one.

ravaneli

what is your source? you may not even need a receiver. Just get a decent amp. I can recommend this, as I am testing it at home right now - behringer a500 - sounds pretty damn good to me.

maneduk997

Thanks for the welcome and advice everyone! I am looking to have the TSi's be the sound for not just music listening but also TV/dvd/video game play as well. They are basically going to be the speaker foundation for a future HT setup however for the near term (i.e. next year or so) i plan on just having a 2 channel set up where i will mostly use them to watch movies through my ps3 and listen to music through the tv/ipad/ipod. As Geoff4rfc mentioned, I want them to get a decent amount of power (at least 100w/ch). I was hoping to get a 2 channel amp right now that could be used later as extra power when i get a high end receiver with pre amps. However, most of the 2 channel receivers/integrated amps i have seen don't have HDMI inputs and that is a must for what I plan on using these speakers for...The HK3490's power output would be great if only it had HDMI input :rolleyes:

Is it even possible for me to have a set up as follows (if there are amps with HDMI inputs)?: HDMI from tv into amp for tv listening. HDMI from PS3 into TV for gameplay/movies with the tv passing the sound on to the amp/speakers.

Sorry if I am just talking gibberish - this is my first foray in floor standers/amplifiers. For the past few years I have been using a Yammy HTIB 5.1 speaker system powered by an onkyo 605 and been very satisfied (i think mostly due to the onkyo). Before that I was just plain ignorant/deprived to the bliss of HT :cheesygrin:

cnh

The HK may not have HDMI inputs, but most two channel equipment won't! What the HK does have are digital inputs and the PS3 has a toslink optical out that can be plugged right into one of those for now. It also has a Virtual surround circuit so that it tries to simulate the surround movie experience from 2.1 channels, and IMHO, it has DACs that are quite good for its low price! So those are all features that would serve you till you upgrade.

What this means is that you can decode 2.1 digital sound by sending it to the HK via the PS3 toslink and still send the picture to the TV through the HDMI (I believe!). And right now, I believe ES is down to 225 shipped, it's going to be hard to match that?

There are other paths though, if you're going the HT root.

Good Luck!

cnh

maneduk997

Hmmm...the toslink option is very intriging! Think I may have to get in touch with ES...thanks for the link above!

ps - what do you mean by DACs?

cnh

Digital to Audio Converters--what takes the bit-rate info from a CD or DVD audio track and renders it analog so that it can play through an amp powering speakers. The better the DAC and its supporting architecture the cleaner, more musical its sound!

Some people buy external DAC units that are upwards of 1000 dollars and put them in the path between their CD player and receiver to improve the sound of their player. In this case a player becomes a mere transport device that outputs a digital bit-stream to the DAC unit which does the decoding, rendering it an analog signal and then one connects the DAC to the receiver through analog R/L connections. This improves the sound considerably.

In most AVRs like your Onkyo, and some two channel receivers like the HK, the bit-stream is converted by the INTERNAL DACs inside the receiver. It is rare to find a stereo receiver that can do that?

cnh

EndersShadow

cnh wrote: »

And right now, I believe ES is down to 225 shipped, it's going to be hard to match that?

Unfortunately for the OP, that particular unit is currently pending to steveducie till Friday of this week. If things change I will let folks know.

maneduk997

Hope Ducie gets the deal done ES! Spent all morning "working" and see that you got a great deal up for the HK! I think I am going to have to go with a used AV Receiver for what I am looking for however! Thanks again to all for the insight! (ESP cnh!)