Amp Advice

Wardo

This topic kind of started when I did a post in new RTi 12's.

Wanted to break it out on its own.

I have two options here and need to pull the trigger pretty quick.

I am primarily looking to drive the RTi 12s and RTiA6 center leaving some room to play between avr (Denon x4000) and amp for other surround channels.

Here's my options:

New Sunfire TGA 7201 (7x200)
Pre owned Grand Cinema Signature Series II (5 x 425)

Lets assume they will cost me the same after I have the Grand Cinema "refurb'd", what would you do?

Anyone with experience with the 7201? Can I really bi-amp it and drive 4 channels of 200wpc into the RTi12's? I guess that's really my question here, as the remaining three channels left over would give me everything I need. I'm bi-amping two Carver M1's right now into the RTi's, and they sound sweet, and eat every bit of it. The Carver manual says I can do it on the 7201s. But I'm seeing conflicting opinions online as to whether it's really bi-amping with all the channels in the same amp, and a tech from Sunfire says it's really not bi-amping and sending all four channels of 200 each to the speakers.

I do not want to get into a new amp and not have the horsepower I'm throwing at the RTis today with two 20 year old M1.0's.

Would love some feedback on this one, because I'm confused.

Thanks in advance!

ZLTFUL

Well, if you plan on bi-amping...true bi-amping and not the placebo passive bi-amping, then what active crossover will you be running? That is where the argument lies and the Sunfire tech comes from. Frankly, having a single channel with good quality, high current power is going to trump a half-assed bi-amp every time.

I would go with the Cinema Grand, have it freshened up and call it a day.

cfrizz

Pre owned Grand Cinema Signature Series II (5 x 425)

This^

Wardo

cfrizz wrote: »

Pre owned Grand Cinema Signature Series II (5 x 425)

This^

Hoping you might chime in on this one - thanks!

cfrizz

This gear is built to last for years, and so long as you do your homework and buy from people that have good selling ratings/reputations you can save a ton of money and get years of service out of it.

Wardo

ZLTFUL wrote: »

Well, if you plan on bi-amping...true bi-amping and not the placebo passive bi-amping, then what active crossover will you be running? That is where the argument lies and the Sunfire tech comes from. Frankly, having a single channel with good quality, high current power is going to trump a half-assed bi-amp every time.

I would go with the Cinema Grand, have it freshened up and call it a day.

Thanks for the feedback. To your point, I would prefer not to do the bi-amping deal with one amp and just get the power out of single channels. Just looking for some validation from folks out here that know a lot more about this stuff than I do. Validation that I'm not crazy dropping that kind of coin on an amp when i could get a new one, albeit with different specs for about the same price.

Bottom line, if I can't do a clean, unadulterated 400 per channel to the RTi12's, the 7201 really isn't in the running, regardless of price or condition. While I would love to pick up a 7401, unless some crazy deal comes around, the 7401 isn't in the budget.

Thanks

ZLTFUL

That's sort of where bi-amping gets foggy. While you may have 2 channels running to one speaker *CAPABLE* of 200 watts, there is no realm of existence in reality where the high pass side of the speaker will ever use the full 200 watts. And frankly, not all watts are created equal.

Wardo

ZLTFUL wrote: »

That's sort of where bi-amping gets foggy. While you may have 2 channels running to one speaker *CAPABLE* of 200 watts, there is no realm of existence in reality where the high pass side of the speaker will ever use the full 200 watts. And frankly, not all watts are created equal.

Thanks, makes sense. just want to ensure whatever I do, that all of the drivers have plenty of power. There is a significant difference between the RTi12's being driven by one Carver M1.0 (200wpc), vs. bi-amped to two M-1's. They go from being "loud" to a strong "presence". And while that presence can be heard and felt, they really don't sound loud when pushed. While that may not be true "bi-amping" due to the fact that I am not utilizing any external crossovers, they sound great, and eat it up. For the hell of it, before I pull them M1's and ship them off, I am going to bridge them to see if I notice any differences.

Pulled the trigger on the Sunfire 5 x 400 (or 425, whatever it is) last night, got a fair price from original owner. Having him ship it direct to Flannerys for him to replace the light in the meter window, diagnose any potential issues, replace caps and test it out. I am really interested to hear how it sounds vs. what I have right now. If there's an improvement on what I am currently running, God Bless!

Appreciate everyone's feedback - Thanks!

cfrizz

Congrats! Let us know how you like it once you get it hooked up and tuned in.