How much power for Polk RTI A9's???

Ron Temple

I think you're fine for HT and depending on your music choices and loudness likeness ok for music. What I found when running SDAs in 2 channel off of a Carver TFM35...250w @ 8ohm...550 @ 4ohm, that a really dynamic recording played at 90dbs average ...on the meters would average about 30w. When dynamic peaks would hit...not talking about the music getting perceptably louder...maybe a little...the needles would peg. Kick drums and bass would ask for mega current. When it's there, there's no distortion even though the recording is asking for 100 times the power. No AVR can do that.

On cheaper speakers, turn up the volume to close to reference and you burn tweeters. With an amp, you'll get there...course your ears will hurt.

aicardi

im bak with more questions!!!

i need help im looking for an amp for my a9s n nees 400 watts per ch but cant find any

the only 1 is emotiva xpr-5
id like to c other options but its as if this never existed b4 emotiva unless there a lingo issue n im not looking in the proper places

i remember some 1 telling me about sunfire grand cinema or something but it too seems non existant:s

n my sound system is far from loud compared to my new standars so id like to find the right amp n not over spendi

thanks

jeremymarcinko

I use a pair of Emotiva XPA-1 Gen2's with my RTi12's (essentially same as a9's) with great success. They are 600 watt per channel @ 8 ohm with a 60 watt class A if critical listening is your thing. Emotiva's summer sale ends at the end of the month, and XPA1 Gen2's are currently 10% off at $989 each. I was seriously considering the XPR-2 OR XPR-5 but read that they tend to run on the warm side, which is okay for some, but not for me, as my basement HT heats up in a hurry from warm equipment. The monoblocks run extremely cool in class ab mode but do get warm in class a, which is to be expected for its inefficiency.

aicardi

i need to power 4 a9s

jeremymarcinko

Then you will need for Monoblocks Seriously though having a9's as surrounds is overkill. If it were my decision I would sell two and replace them with fxi's. Otherwise set the surrounds as small and let the sub do the work. Having 400 plus watts for the surround channels just isn't needed. However, if you still want to use the a9's as surrounds at full range then consider one of these amps.
http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/7900.html

rooftop59

Dude I realize that you are probably typing all these posts on your phone, but seriously, your posts are hurting my brain. STOP THE MADNESS!!!

aicardi

Sorry about the phone thin. Thats a $3500 amp ! I was hoping to spend $1500 . Especially since i have to ship to Canada. Unless I buy it in Canada but... cant find any.:(

rooftop59

You don't have to find a single amp to power them all unless space is a concern (which I can't imagine is the case with four A9s!!!).

Buy two of these and you will likely be happy for many years. There are 3-4 available on canuck audio mart right now: http://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649211234-adcom-gfa-5800-mosfet-power-amplifier/

jeremymarcinko

aicardi wrote: »

Sorry about the phone thin. Thats a $3500 amp ! I was hoping to spend $1500 . Especially since i have to ship to Canada. Unless I buy it in Canada but... cant find any.:(

Your asking for a lot of power Amp the front two, set the surrounds to small and be done with it. In my HT I have external amps on the fronts and surrounds and the AVR is powering the center and its set to small, letting the sub do its thing. There was little to no audible difference in performance of the surrounds, from letting the avr power the center and surrounds vs the center alone. The surrounds just are not near as relevant, as they are usually behind the listener and just add ambiance as well as some surround effects. The front stage however needs to be as good as it can be for dialog clarity and seamless transitions across the stage. The center, however, improved when the load of the surrounds were removed. I am certain that 4 properly powered a9's would sound better, but new amps are relatively expensive, especially when you need/want that kind of power to four speakers.

Another option would be to look for two used stereo amps, such as those from parasound.

Inspector 24

Here's one. I'm more than happy to ship to Canada for another A9 lover.

http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/165663/fs-parasound-hca-3500-1400/p1

aicardi

space is not an issue.:) If i amp just the fron 2 ,when i play movies or music at loud volumes cant i damage the back speakers?

rooftop59

As already stated, if you don't amp the surrounds them make sure that they are crossed over at I would say 50hz minimum, ideally 80hz. But one you do that, you may as well have saved your coin and purchased RTi A3s for surrounds ;-)

jeremymarcinko

I may be wrong but I believe that the majority of members here, wouldn't use the surrounds when listening to music, unless you are using multi channel sacd or bluray concerts. If you set your surrounds to small then you will be asking less of the avr and lessen the chance of damage. You will be able to safely listen at a relatively loud level of 90+ db, no problem.

tonyb

Buy one 5 channel amp and be done. Something with around 200 watts per channel. You can find used amps from B&k-Parrasound for under 1000 smackers....even in Canada. Add to that Carver/Sunfire/Adcom

vmaxer

tonyb wrote: »

Buy one 5 channel amp and be done. Something with around 200 watts per channel. You can find used amps from B&k-Parrasound for under 1000 smackers....even in Canada.

Listen to this guy - knows his stuff and that id good advise!!

aicardi

If i amp my 4 a9s does my csia6 need to be amped as well?

jeremymarcinko

Doesn't hurt, but your Avr will do just fine.

tonyb

aicardi wrote: »

If i amp my 4 a9s does my csia6 need to be amped as well?

If your going to use all 5 speakers for music, then I'd say yeah.....especially if you like it loud.

You can also get 2- 2 channel amps from the same companies I mentioned and let the receiver handle the center alone. That way all the receivers power is focused on the center and should power it well enough.

voltz

But I wouldn't think the center channel would be as power hungry as the A9's are, and if they AVR is only powering 1 speaker and that being the center channel, wouldn't that be enough power for it?

but I do understand how the center gets the most workout in multi-channel.

But if you have a center channel like Daves DIY center channel, I'd say feed the puppy anything it wants!

Inspector 24

DSkip wrote: »

My three options would be this:

2 channel just for the front A9's
3 channel for the front three
5 channel for all five

I wouldn't do four channels of amplification as it makes no sense to amplify your surrounds and not your center. The center speaker is a heavy hitter in multi-channel.

Agreed. My 3500 drives the A9's, and a 2003a drives the center and l/r surrounds. Only thing the avr drives is the rear center.

jeremymarcinko

DSkip wrote: »

My three options would be this:

2 channel just for the front A9's
3 channel for the front three
5 channel for all five

I wouldn't do four channels of amplification as it makes no sense to amplify your surrounds and not your center. The center speaker is a heavy hitter in multi-channel.

Then how does using a 2 channel for the fronts make any sense, leaving the center and surrounds on the avr? I agree 3 channel for the fronts is a good option, but using ext. amplification on the mains and surrounds certainly doesn't hurt if you have two stereo amps. His Yamaha RX-a10xx, will for a fact, power his center to potential if that is all it has to do. Certainly better amps are better, but his upper end Aventage is quite capable. And as far as muti channel amps go, there is some compromise as well going from a mono amp, to two channel, three, five and so on. A quality stereo amp will outperform its three channel counterpart, as the three channel does the five.

Inspector 24

Completely agree Dskip.

petek54321

I'm considering buying a pair of A9's and a receiver. I will use them to listen to music and watch movies in a 16'x30' room. My friend works at Best Buy and can get me a discount. He recommended the pioneer sx-n30 receiver. It's only 80wpc but has pre-outs. In reading this thread that seems like it will be woefully inadequate without a seperate amp. I'm pretty much tapped out budget wise with the speakers and receiver. Can I run the speakers with this receiver for the time being and add an amp later?

Nightfall

Yes. BUT. Take it easy on the volume, don't try turning it up to theater or rock concert volumes, you'll damage the tweeters. Secondly, even at lower volumes, it won't sounds as good as it could.

txcoastal1

Yes keep it tame or you will torch the tweeters or the xovers.

No rockin out like it's 1999. Play it like back ground music

You need 135watts min, but if you can get around 200 you'll bring the up to full potential

You can then use the receiver for your the rest of a 5.1 HT system

If you are already trying to run a 5.1 especially without a sub, I would stop until you get the amp

You'll see a huge improvement with an amp so don't be discouraged....patience will be rewarded

Welcome to Polk

petek54321

how much more money would I need to spend to get into an amp? I saw another forum where people were recommending getting a $1000 amp which seems like quite a lot. What would be something reasonable? Also, as I haven't bought anything yet, can I just buy a receiver with more wpc (how much)?

Nightfall

I paid $200 for my B&K. To be fair though it's a ~$350 used amp, I got a steal. What Craigslist is local to you?

Nightfall

txcoastal1 wrote: »

Yes keep it tame or you will torch the tweeters or the xovers.

No rockin out like it's 1999. Play it like back ground music

You need 135watts min, but if you can get around 200 you'll bring the up to full potential

You can then use the receiver for your the rest of a 5.1 HT system

If you are already trying to run a 5.1 especially without a sub, I would stop until you get the amp

You'll see a huge improvement with an amp so don't be discouraged....patience will be rewarded

Welcome to Polk

The Pioneer he's looking at is 2 channel.

petek54321

Indianapolis. My buddy could probably get me a discount from anything from Best Buy if you can find something on there. So, what you're saying is that if this 2 ch pioneer receiver puts out 80 wpc then I should try to find a 2 channel amp at 120 wpc, give or take (80 + 120 = 200 wpc is that how it works?)?

txcoastal1

No sir

You would use your preouts to an actual amp via RCA cables