Does my AVR have enough power for fxi a6?

hookem12

I have a Denon 2112 (claims to be 90 watts rms) with rti a3's and csi a6 and a bic 12 sub.

I feel like the AVR doesn't power the speakers I have good enough and have to put the TV to -20 db to be able to understand what people say

But I don't want to buy a different one yet and now I am wanting some rears

I am considering the fxi a4 or a6. If I get the a6 will they be under powered? and is that a bad fit with only rti a3 fronts?

How would the fxi a4 work in my setup?

I have a small living room and probably sit 10' from the TV with the wall right behind me.

Thanks

F1nut

Rear surrounds don't require much as they don't do that much.

I have a small living room and probably sit 10' from the TV with the wall right behind me.

The FXi A4 or 6 would be ideal for your situation.

tonyb

Well, first off, lets work with what you have. Vocals you claim are hard to hear.....so thats the center channel. What does surround speakers have to do with that ?

Second, have you checked your settings in the AVR ? Speaker levels to be more exact. Bump up the center a tad to see if that helps, maybe to +2 or 3.

Third, do you have the same problem on all channel stereo music ? Are you hooked up by hdmi ? Is this problem just for tv viewing or dvd/bdp too ?

Sherardp

+1 more, run the speaker calibration software in the AVR and see what the results yield. From there you can bump up the center speaker a tad so you can hear things better. I tend to run my center a couple db's hot as well.

sponger

If you're watching movies in surround sound, then switch it to stereo and see if that helps with the vocals. If that solves the problem, then it's probably not a power issue. Also, if in surround sound mode the vocals are difficult to hear while everything else comes through nice and clear, then you are having the same problem I had after initially setting up my denon with audyssey. I had to switch the dynamic volume to "day." That helped a lot. But if that doesn't solve the problem then switch the ref offset to 10db. If still no worky then switch to "Audyssey Flat."

hookem12

Great info will try these ideas

27dnast

I have a different take... maybe not what you are going to want to hear. I think the issue - as I read in your OP - is that you have a wall right behind your couch.

I've been tinkering with home theater set-ups for the better part of 8 years now, every year learning more, adding and subtracting parts to my set-up... making changes... and, aside from installing a projector, one of the best upgrades I've ever made - hands-down - is acoustic treatments. With the help of a audio tech in Europe, I made this crazy looking modified binary slat diffuser/absorber (that goes behind the seating) because I was also dealing with all sorts of issues with my CSiA6 center (primarily: it sounded small, voices were nasally, and it was very directional). Now, granted, when I added in this slat diffuser I also added in treatments for first reflection points, bass trappings and treatments on the front walls... and reflective bass trapping on the rear wall corners. All DIY.

That being said, the slat diffuser had such an amazing effect on my center channel it was jaw dropping - I kid you not. If I could have performed a blind-folded audition, before and after, I guarantee anyone auditioning would say I had installed a much larger/more expensive center. The voices coming from it are no longer nasally but have tremendous depth and clarity. The directionality is gone... in fact the perceived location of the voices not only raised up (note, my center is mounted below the screen) onto the screen and have tremendous width.

I'm just an enthusiast that has spent countless hours trying to learn from and understand the knowledge of experts... but my first advice to anyone (before changing speakers, etc) is to look into room acoustics and acoustic treatments. It's almost to the point where I feel like it would be hard to take advice from others (online) on how certain speakers perform just because the physical room - itself - that a person has speakers in can have an astounding effect on how great or bad they sound. Of course people can generalize certain speakers/speaker brands as good or bad... but I'm telling you a great room can make mediocre speakers sound way better than they otherwise might be perceived.

Having that wall right behind your couch in a smaller room space must be giving you some trouble that you perceive with your ears.

Just my two cents.

Geoff4rfc

I only see a center and mains. Don't you have to have side surrounds before you can implement rears?

Forget the rears, use the Bi/Dipole as side surrounds. Yes, your AVR will power the A6's but just know that all of your speakers will be underpowered. Your center is rated at 200w max, giving it 90w isn't giving it it's best.