NEW AMP FOR CENTER CHANNEL SPEAKER

Pinktulip7

Hi right now I am using Emotiva UPA-1 to power up Polk CSI-A6 but wondering if I upgrade to Parasound HALO A23,is it going to make any difference? Or other Emotiva Amp.?

Pinktulip7

I really can't tell the difference but it sounded better than HK 7300!

Emlyn

If it were me, I'd ditch the current amps and replace them with a single Halo A31 for consistency and to save rack space. I suspect little would be gained from putting an A23 in the mix. It's somewhat similar to an A21 in design, but not really the same thing.

Pinktulip7

Thx for all feedback

Pinktulip7

Is there any better Center Channel Speaker than CsiA6?

Pinktulip7

nbrowser wrote: »

Pinktulip7 wrote: »

Is there any better Center Channel Speaker than CsiA6?

For the RTiA line, nope, the CSiA6 is the best thing, that said there is the LSIM 706C that slides into the LSIM line...that things a beauty.

great thx

Pinktulip7

xcapri79 wrote: »

Most definitely a decent external amp will typically sound much better than an AVR amp. For example, this is true for me when I compared Emotiva against the highly touted Pioneer SC-07 ICE amps. Then you can go up the chain to McIntosh as I have.

Parasound amps have a great sound somewhere in between in my opinion. Depending on the speakers, source, and music. I'll take Emotiva over Parasound or Parasound over Emotiva - it all depends what they are connected to and the sound you prefer.
For example, Emotiva with Polk LSi's and Parasound with Polk RTiA's.
That said, I'll take McIntosh any time - it is just more costly.

Do you think Emotiva XPA-200 is better than UPA-1 for Center Channel?

dpowell

You are asking some questions that only your ears and wallet can decide. There aren't many around here that look to Emotiva to be the final destination of power amps (and I am being PC). If you want your system to sound better, get a Parasound or a Sunfire and be done with it but that is only if your ears can hear the difference. The A6 timbre matches your A9's. There are 'better' center channel speakers (my LSiM706 for example) but what is best for my system is not necessarily best for your system.

mantis

You seem to be on some kind of quest to improve your center channel sound quality and I get that.
I'm wondering if going with higher end speakers like the LSIM's would give you much more performance.
I don't think you will get what your after by keep upgrading power amps. Yes you can improve your sound quality for so many reasons and if you wish I could take the time to list all of them but If you have a nice preamp amps of equal power all the way around and of the same brand, high quality interconnects adding new and better sounding speakers will yield much better sound quality improvements then just changing out anything in the chain behind.
Now remember everything has to work together and finding that weak link is what will make what you own sound it's best.
The RTIA series speakers can only sound so good , I don't think going with super high end electronics in front of RTIA speakers yield better sound quality then going with higher end speakers. Thats my opinion and experience.

Good luck with what you do.

mantis

xcapri79 wrote: »

mantis wrote: »

You seem to be on some kind of quest to improve your center channel sound quality and I get that.
I'm wondering if going with higher end speakers like the LSIM's would give you much more performance.
I don't think you will get what your after by keep upgrading power amps. Yes you can improve your sound quality for so many reasons and if you wish I could take the time to list all of them but If you have a nice preamp amps of equal power all the way around and of the same brand, high quality interconnects adding new and better sounding speakers will yield much better sound quality improvements then just changing out anything in the chain behind.
Now remember everything has to work together and finding that weak link is what will make what you own sound it's best.
The RTIA series speakers can only sound so good , I don't think going with super high end electronics in front of RTIA speakers yield better sound quality then going with higher end speakers. Thats my opinion and experience.

Good luck with what you do.

Synergy is the key. The RTiA9's respond well to a good amp.
Moving to the LSiM would be quite expensive.

I was referring to the quest of making the center sound better. I think once you start questioning the sound quality of your speakers and find things about them that make you unhappy, then it's time to move on. At least that's the way I look at it.
For instance , I wouldn't go out and buy Krell power amps for my Mythos ST's, if there came a time that I started to question their ability to make me happy , I would start seeking out new speakers and then figuring out what electronics would work best with them.
When he said "Is there any better Center Channel Speaker than CsiA6?" That's when I figured maybe the RTIA's are not for him anymore and he is looking for a better solution.

dpowell

Dan is right. I spent a lot of time in the Polk RT series and finally realized that I was not going to be happy with the sound, regardless of which RT series speaker I owned (and I owned RT800's, 2000's, 3000's and SRT). No amp made enough of a difference to change the fact that I ultimately needed different speakers to have the sound I wanted to hear.

mrloren

If it was me and my money I would stay with the current speaker setup and look into a 3 channel power amp. Either the Parasound or Emo depending on how much you have to spend. Also, what are your inter connects and speaker wire?

Polkie2009

dpowell wrote: »

Dan is right. I spent a lot of time in the Polk RT series and finally realized that I was not going to be happy with the sound, regardless of which RT series speaker I owned (and I owned RT800's, 2000's, 3000's and SRT). No amp made enough of a difference to change the fact that I ultimately needed different speakers to have the sound I wanted to hear.

You are right, sometimes you just need to find different speakers that have the right sound for 'ya. As for a center channel, I was using my Yamaha 663 avr just to power my center channel speaker, a Polk CS400. Tried a used Outlaw Audio M2200 mono amp to run the CS400 and it sounds just fine. Seems to blend in fine with my Parasound 1200ii running the mains.