what is your recommended receiver for a RTI a9/ CSi a6 and Fxi A6 speaker system ??

artyomkk

Dear Friends

I am constructing a system with the RTI a9/ CSi a6 and Fxi A6 speaker system and would like to know from personal experience what would be a suitable receiver in 700-1500$ range that will work best with this system to achieve good sound quality on multiple music styles as well as home theater use.

also would you recommend connecting all speakers using banana plugs? if so what brand is good in terms of price/quality.


Looking forward for your replies

A.

B Run

Most people will tell you no AVR will power them, Pioneer elite SC series will do a decent job but if I had $1500 and could do it over again i'd definitely go with this:

http://www.spearitsound.com/Surround_Receivers-NAD_T775HD_Refurbished.html

Rampittman

i recommend at least 200 watts per channel, a9s love power and don't sound nearly as good without it. since receivers don't have this much power the best route is a separate amp and processor. i power mine with an emotiva xpr-5 400 watt per channel amp, but my emotiva 200 watt per channel xpa-5 or xpa-3 also make them sing. for a processor i use the budget but highly rated emotiva umc-200 or the outlaw 975. the ability to fine tune with an equalizer helps with the a9s. they are big and bold but not forgiving of a bad room or placement. umc-200 has a good built in equalizer. 975 doesn't but you can adjust bass and treble. you could put together a package of an xpa amp and either umc-200 or outlaw 975 within your budget. emotiva's holiday sale ends jan 5 so i would quickly check this out. some people bad mouth emotiva but they get rave reviews for audiophile products at budget prices and they work great for me. i also highly recommend that you include now or later an external dac (digital to audio converter) to your system. makes streamed music or cds sound much better. you can get a decent one for $150 to $250. emotiva sells two good ones for $250 and $500. a 5 channel amp would power your whole system. i recommend at least a 3 channel one to power your front 3 speakers. if you have a sub (highly recommended for home theater or music) try adjusting the phase for best performance - it can make a big difference. congratulations on selecting a great system and enjoy. the a9s properly adjusted and powered are an awesome experience. otherwise they can be frustrating. i recommend banana plugs that have two small screws to secure the wire. with others the wires come loose in my experience.

jbooker82

Get a current model year receiver that has analog pre outs. I wouldn't get an old model because your buying dated technology. Sure it might be cheaper and you can get a few more watts for your dollar but your also buying dated surround sound de coders, and dated automatic setup software.

rpf65

You'll probably want to add an amp later on, but in the mean time look at the Pioneer SC series, or maybe something from Anthem. The MRX 510 has pre-outs and MSRP is slightly above your price range, but may be able to make those speakers sound decent.

Geoff4rfc

A receiver alone is okay but you'll benefit more with a separate amp as mentioned in earlier posts.

The upper Pio's are preferred for stable power (ICE amp section).

Someone mentioned the A9 will not sound nearly as good without an amp, I don't know what is wrong with that members set up, but my A9's sound just as good with or without an amp.

One thing I did notice, is that you can tame the high frequency with 300wpc or more. Other than that, the fullness, clarity and depth are there regardless of power.

Those are great speakers you have. I have the same plus two more A9's. My AVR 135wpc w/2ch driven, drives my FXiA6's. An amp with 200wpc drives my CSiA6 and rear A9's. A pair of monoblocks with 860wpc drives the main A9's.

YMMV

tommyt21

Yo Geoff, my man clear your pm box..lol

Geoff4rfc

tommyt21 wrote: »

Yo Geoff, my man clear your pm box..lol

Done!!

Paulitixx

Geoff4rfc wrote: »

A receiver alone is okay but you'll benefit more with a separate amp as mentioned in earlier posts.

The upper Pio's are preferred for stable power (ICE amp section).

Someone mentioned the A9 will not sound nearly as good without an amp, I don't know what is wrong with that members set up, but my A9's sound just as good with or without an amp.

One thing I did notice, is that you can tame the high frequency with 300wpc or more. Other than that, the fullness, clarity and depth are there regardless of power.

Those are great speakers you have. I have the same plus two more A9's. My AVR 135wpc w/2ch driven, drives my FXiA6's. An amp with 200wpc drives my CSiA6 and rear A9's. A pair of monoblocks with 860wpc drives the main A9's.

YMMV

Hey Geoff, tried to PM you but can't with no posts. Can you elaborate on the A9s amped vs un-amped? I currently have A9s and I'm considering getting an amp (200wpc), but since I live in a condo, high volume is not an option, so I'm looking for other pros.

4xoddic

Geoff IMHO is the record holder w/860 wpc on his A9s. I believe I'm in 2nd place, with only 700 wpc, using a Yamaha P7000S pro power amp, via the preouts on my Pioneer SC-07 (140 wpc ICE amps). Prior to using pro amps, I trimmed back the upper frequencies to tame the tweeters. Not necessary w/separate amp. The tweeters were unpleasant to listen with 2 channel music with only the receiver. Just the SC-07 for 7.1 movies was great.

The >= 300 wpc "suggestion" for A9s is not for "high volume;" but rather makes the A9s more "musical" IMHO. I sometimes will play music @ 84 dB in my 19'X12' living room while I'm elsewhere in the house. 76 dB is usually loud enough in the sweet spot. These measurements are taken w/Radio Shack digital SPL meter set at "C" weighting and SLOW response.

FYI: AFAIK, I'm the only Polkie to come out of the closet in a fire proximity suit for using a pro power amp. I proudly wear the tonyb "musicality meter" seal of disapproval. /sarchasm

Geoff4rfc

Paulitixx wrote: »

Hey Geoff, tried to PM you but can't with no posts. Can you elaborate on the A9s amped vs un-amped? I currently have A9s and I'm considering getting an amp (200wpc), but since I live in a condo, high volume is not an option, so I'm looking for other pros.

4xoddic wrote: »

The >= 300 wpc "suggestion" for A9s is not for "high volume;" but rather makes the A9s more "musical" IMHO.

This ^^^^^^

As I mentioned before, 300w or more did the trick on mellowing out the tweeters on my A9's. And as 4x states, it's not the quantity that the extra power provides, but the quality.

leftwinger57

Like you've heard it here so many times since you want both h/t and music no avr will power those A9s as they were meant to be heard. I also knew nothing of pre-outs,by chance the Yamaha avr I got had them and I needed them.When put to music it would clip and go into protection mode shut down and lucky for me came back.Lesson learned, I bought a used amp an Adcom gfa555 200wpc sight and sound unseen from Audio Classics and I never had a problem w/ clipping again. Once you have the amp then you can go 2chl like I did or not.Cables if budget is blown I suggest no higher than 14 gu speaker wire any brand to start and better interconnects that one would normally get such as ordering from Signal Cable or Blue Jeans Cable and you will have a cleaner signal path.No matter how hefty and shinny that avr will look you will still need an amp.

voltz

I don't have the A9's just the A7's and I just bought a Adcom 5503 from glenndog! its 200wpc x3 and that will leave my AVR's 110 wpc 2 driven to power my FXiA4's. the AVR and the used amp came in at about $1500 making Glenndog my new favorite person

Enjoy your setup