Rti150s driven by Pioneer Elite VSX-53tx okay?

madoka

I just got off the phone with Crutchfield. They are clearancing the 150s for $800 a pair. So I ordered a pair to go with my RM7600. I plan on using the 150s as my mains, the RM7600s as surrounds, and the PSW650 as my sub. All of this is driven by a Pioneer Elite VSX-53tx which is rated at 100 watts continuous. Is this enough to drive all these speakers, or am I going to run into the clipping problems others have described with the 150s?

Thanks in advance!

Frank Z

I really feel that the PE won't be up to the task. The 150's are beasts and will demand a whole lot more than the 53tx will be able to deliver. A seperate amp with more power is strongly recommended.

Drewsmith

I second that, the PE will struggle

F1nut

If you get into clipping and the volume isn't high enough for you, then you'll know the Pioneer doesn't have what you need. Everybody will run into clipping problems if they turn the volume up high enough.

VR3

I ditto the first 2 replies.......

The 100 watts of the 53 will be screaming to breath. The 150 are power houses.

madoka

Thanks for the quick replies guys!

Just curious, I plan on using this setup for HT, mostly watching TV and DVDs. So can I expect a clipping only at high stress moments (e.g. explosions, take-offs, etc.) or all the time even at normal listening levels?

Thanks again!

Frank Z

Let's break it down this way, The Polk web site states:

Three 6.5" woofers combine the large surface area benefit of a single large woofer (100 sq. inches) with that of small woofers - a high force to mass ratio - for tighter, punchier, more accurate bass response.

100Sq In is a lot of surface area to move in order to get the kind of bass response you'll hear from this speaker. Inorder to do it, you're going to need power, and plenty of it, even at moderate listening levels. Even with a 91db efficiency, these speakers are going to suck the life out of the PE before you know what happened to it.

Spend a little time searching this foum and you'll findma number of members that figured out the way to get the best performance out of their 150's was to add a seperate 2 channel amp for the them, or make the jump to a high output multichannel amp.

To be brutally honest, your going to end up with more bass response than the average person needs. A pair of RT150's and a PSW650 seems like overkill to me. Have you considered the RTi10 or even the Rti70 instead of the 150's? Either of these speakers coupled with a PSW650 will provide more than adequate bass response, lush midrange sound, sweet highs and enough volume to make your ears bleed. Not only that, but the -53tx will be up to the task of handling the 10's or the 70's a lot better than it would with the 150's.

Others may diagree, but that's my $.02

Good luck with your upgrade.

Drewsmith

I agree with Frank about the RTI70 being a better choice especially being able to run them with the PE. Cructchfield has some still available for sale in there scratch and dent deparment $450.00 for the pair. Some CC may still have the 70's on clearence though now hard to find. I just found my set for $159.00 each.

I enjoy my new RTI70's very much and for the price, I feel like I stole something.

Dr. Spec

Ditto - deep six the RTi150 order unless you've got some serious amp. Not only does it take a lot of power to run 6 woofers, the impedance of the RTi150 drops below 4 ohms, IIRC - making life very tough on the average AVR. It has a deserved reputation of sending most AVRs into protect mode.

If you were willing to spend $800 on the RTi150, buy the RTi70 at CC for $300/pr. Sell the PSW650, and buy an even better powered subwoofer with the difference/proceeds.

You'll have at least equal or better mids and highs, life will be easy for the PE, and you'll have better bass to boot.

madoka

Originally posted by Frank Z

To be brutally honest, your going to end up with more bass response than the average person needs.

Thank you very much Frank. I guess I thought it was okay to have that much bass since Polk lists the PSW650 as a recommended subwoofer on their site:

http://www.polkaudio.com/home/products.php?category=3&speaker=315

I did think it sounded like overkill to me as well though.

Thanks again!

nico

:cool: I own a pair of the 150's and I used to power them with just the SONY 4ES receiver it sounded good but the I upgraded to EARTHQUAKE 5 channel amp 300x5 and it really opened them up.