RTi8 with External Amp

cowboydude99

Hi all,
I recently upgraded my Monitor 50s to RTi8s and am wondering about using a separate amp.

My receiver specs show 175w x 9 @ 6ohms. My speakers at 8ohms, so I'm not sure about how many wpc it really is.

I'm only running 5.1:
RTi8 fronts
CSi5 center
Monitor 30 rear/side
PSW505 Sub

The system sounds pretty good to me, but listening to other smaller Polk branded speakers, I notice a big difference in the mid range.

I was listening to an old pair of RT55 (or 55i) and the mids/low end was much deeper. The subwoofers are the same, so it could have just been implemented better than I had mine, but it seemed to be overall much lower.

That got me thinking about power. I believe the 1523k is supplying enough power, but not 100% sure.

I tried turning the crossover for the fronts down to 50hz and raising the volume of the sub. Since the fronts will handle lower freq to 50hz, I figured raising the sub volume for the lower frequencies would help.

Any thoughts on the external amp? Do you think more power would help, or does it seem like there is already enough power.

If you think an amp would help, what brand/models?

Sorry for the long post!

cfrizz

An amp will absolutely help your speakers perform to their full potential. Get a 2-5 channel amp of at least 200wpc @ 8ohms and watch them come alive. The favorite choice around here is Parasound.

I had a Parasound 1500A for a while which showed me what my old RTA-8Ts could really sound like. It now resides with my brother driving his LSI 7s.

cowboydude99

Thanks cfrizz, but those amps cost more than my speakers!

Is any amp going to be better than the stock Pioneer D3 amp?

D_M

Cowboydude99,

You could always look on your local craig's list or e-bay. If you find an amp within your price range, just ask the forum if anyone has used the particular amp in the past.

cowboydude99

Thanks, but I don't want to spend $ and find out there was no improvement.

I was testing out some settings last night. I had the "Re-Equalization" and "Loudness Plus" turned on in the THX settings. I disabled them and turned the sub up. Can't localize it, but has much more impact.

The sub isn't very good, but already sounding much better.

I also tried the 8s in stereo mode. They did sound pretty good that way. Good impact.

cowboydude99

One more thing. I do want to try an amp to see if there is any difference... Do I really need 200wpc for these? I don't see anything under $500 for a stereo amp.

cowboydude99

So I looked into my receiver a bit more. Looks like the Class D3 amp will get me around 135wpc. Could the 8s really need more power to reach their full potential?

tonyb

Quality power is always beneficial to any speaker. Personally I think the receiver is up to the task with those speaks. You may want to turn your attention to the quality of your source gear and/or cables.

cowboydude99

Source gear = HD blu ray rips. Full DTSHD MA tracks, no conversion. Output from Windows Media Player over HDMI, bitstream.

Cables = BlueJeans Cable - 12awg.
Using BlueJeans banana plugs.

I could always connect my SONY BDP and compare it with my BD rips, but I believe they're exactly the same in terms of audio and video.

Nightfall

No music, we're just talking about movies here? Spend the money on the biggest baddest sub you can afford. SVS.

cowboydude99

Yes, just movies. Music isn't played too often.

Biggest baddest sub sounds great.... Possible SVS PC-2000 or Rythmik LV12R.

The SVS is a bit more expensive, and harder to justify... but it will do a better job I think for my area.

Rich502

cowboydude99 wrote: »

Yes, just movies. Music isn't played too often.

Biggest baddest sub sounds great.... Possible SVS PC-2000 or Rythmik LV12R.

The SVS is a bit more expensive, and harder to justify... but it will do a better job I think for my area.

OP, I thought your original concern was the mid-range performance?

cowboydude99

I played with the placement of the speakers, towing them in toward the listening position. I also raised the volume of the sub a few dB. Really helped overall.

I've been wanting a new sub for the low end and should get delivery of the SVS PB1000 and PSA XS15se next week.

mrloren

cowboydude99 wrote: »

Yes, just movies. Music isn't played too often.

Biggest baddest sub sounds great.... Possible SVS PC-2000 or Rythmik LV12R.

The SVS is a bit more expensive, and harder to justify... but it will do a better job I think for my area.

Don't forget HSU is a very good sub as well. Get the VTF3MK5 or a VTF2. I know for a fact the VTF 2 is a lot better than a 505