Polk RTI A7 and Onkyo receiver

pkdowning

I am new to the forums as well as Polk audio and am very excited to announce that I just picked up a pair of RTI A7s. I have never owned a "decent" speaker for music listening and am excited to see what the A7s have in store for me. I am currently using an Onkyo TX-SR606 receiver listed at 90 watts/channel hooked up to the A7s and am impressed by the sound I am hearing. However, I do wonder how much, if anything, I am missing by the receiver I am using. Would I benefit greatly from picking up an amplifier like some of the Adcoms or other brands I see in the classified section? Or should I just enjoy what I have, ignorance is bliss.
To complicate things a little bit, I was in a local hi-fi audio store and they were telling me that wattage should actually be the last thing to worry about and that "total wattage doesn't mean anything." Is there any truth to that?

Thanks a lot in advance. I am excited to be apart of Polk audio and these forums.

As for some technical information, my listening room where the speakers are placed is roughly 15' x 12'

jbooker82

An amplifer really wakes them up. You might want to search for a known warm sounding amplifier. The RTi's are on the bright side and when you match that with a bright amp you can get a real bright setup.

Something like a carver, or parasound amp are really good matches for the RTi's. I am sure other guys will recomend some wamer soundings amps as well.

B Run

I'm pretty sure your Onkyo does not have pre outs for an amplifier.

tonyb

pkdowning wrote: »

To complicate things a little bit, I was in a local hi-fi audio store and they were telling me that wattage should actually be the last thing to worry about and that "total wattage doesn't mean anything." Is there any truth to that?

Plenty of truth to that.

Current is what drives speakers and is a better indication of a well built power supply. Here's the bottomline. Your AVR is somewhat on the entry level side and doesn't have pre-outs to add an amp even if you wanted to. Given your room size and given the 7's are an 8 ohm speaker and fairly easy to drive, you should have no problem as is filling that room with good sound. Will an amp make them sound better ? Yep, but now your talking a new receiver and an amp, so the cost may not be up your wallets alley....yet.

Welcome to the club btw, this audio hobby will/can suck you down a rabbit hole but once you experience good sound most of us gladly jump down that hole head first.

pkdowning

Thanks for the warm welcome to the forums and advice. After looking at my receiver, you guys are right, I don't have any preouts on my receiver. Maybe what I will do is enjoy what I have and consider looking at some upgrades down the road if I start to desire a little more out of my speakers.
I am not doing the A7s a disservice in using my Onkyo receiver with the speakers am I?

pkdowning

I also have a Pioneer VSX-820 receiver. I can't tell if this receiver has pre-outs or not. Would this receiver work hooked up to the A7s and an amp?

gfong

pkdowning wrote: »

I also have a Pioneer VSX-820 receiver. I can't tell if this receiver has pre-outs or not. Would this receiver work hooked up to the A7s and an amp?

Both recievers would work with the A7's. the Pioneer does not have pre-outs either. You will be fine with the Onkyo and upgrade (if needed) once you get bored of the sound or just want to upgrade.

I have run the A7's with 2 different recievers and they worked fine. Good luck with your gear, have fun with it.

badchad

Not to thread jack, but I have some RTiA7's on the way, and I'm looking at receivers as well. I'll be using my setup almost exclusively for home theatre.

Am I better off putting money into the receiver? Or should I try and split it between a "cheaper" receiver with pre-outs and a separate amp?

I'm probably looking around $800, and am strongly considering the Denon 3313CI. Any thoughts on this? How do I enough when I have "enough" power when choosing a receiver?

jbooker82

I would go with a cheaper AVR, and external amp. Check out accessories 4 less .com for refurbished AVRs. You can save quite a bit going that route.

pkdowning

What if I went with a 2 channel integrated amp such as the NAD 356 or Cambridge 650/651? Would either of these sound better than my Onkyo?
Does the NAD and/or Cambridge have a warm sound signature?

snake1

PK, you should be fine as your are for now! I ran my 12's with a bottom rung yamaha reciever for a year til I could save up for the Onk. It'll still get loud and jam so you've got plenty of time to save and build up from there. I just found my speakers for a smokin' deal and had to have something to drive them for a while. Enjoy man!!

pkdowning

I wanted to report that I found a great deal on a NAD 356DAC and couldn't resist. The NAD should be delivered next week and will be used with my Polk RTI A7s. Can't wait to hear the difference between the NAD and my Onkyo.

jbooker82

So your just wanting to run a 2 channle stereo setup?

pkdowning

jbooker82 wrote: »

So your just wanting to run a 2 channle stereo setup?

Yes.

prashanth957

I am not sure if am posting it right, but as the last few replies are about a cheaper avr+stereo amp setup, I will go ahead and post it here.
I have a NAD C372 stero amp driving my RTiA7s for the last 4 years, i am getting an oppo bdp 103, and will watch movies most of the time. I don't want to sell my NAD, but use it with a 5 ch-setup. How do I go about this? If I buy a AVR, my NAD will be wasted. I don't need up scaling and other connectivity features as the Oppo will take care of most of that.