TSi500 with Onkyo HT-R538

sdkleu

Hi everyone.

Please would you assist. I'm an audio newbie and I'm looking to purchase Polk speakers for the first time.

I currently have an entry level onkyo receiver (HT-R538) and I'm thinking of getting a set of polk speakers consisting of:
TSi-500
CS-10
TSi-100

They are offering this bundle at a reasonable price in my area.

My question is would my receiver be ok to power these speakers? (100 Watts/Channel @ 6 ohms) or should I rather save up for a more powerful receiver?

Thank you for the help

chumlie

Start saving.

Clipdat

Yep, what chumlie said. Basically the problem is that the receiver's "100 Watts/Channel" rating is only with two channels driven. Manufacturers typically won't provide full power ratings on purpose, they want the consumer to see "Oh, 100wpc, that's a lot!". Obviously since it's a full surround sound setup you are going to want to have ample power on tap for the other channels as well. The HT-R538 physically has the speaker connections to provide a signal to the rest of the speakers. However as the action heats up and all channels need power, your wattage will decrease and your distortion will increase in a hurry.

Best advice is to purchase a higher end receiver that has audio pre-outs so that you can run the signal to a dedicated amplifier. That way you get the convenience of having one central unit for all of your input options, nice OSD, network streaming, etc. - but get to send the audio to an external amplifier that is going to push way more power than a built in amp will.