Need advice on Best Center speaker to pair with RTI-A5's

Cobragt88

Room Size 14x14

Currently I have the RM6750 as my surround speakers don't have a problem with them.

Rti-A5s 10.5" away from main seating area
Center same. The Center channel is the RM6750 currently & is way under powered..

There is a Sub in the Mix as well. It's the RM6750 8" Sub not the best i know but at the price I got the 5.1 system "dirt cheep".

Don't care on price I just want it to sound correct. I've read through the forums CSiA4/6, had one person say the S35?

There is no External AMP currently, I do want a 3 channel AMP to power the front stage.

F1nut

You want a CSi A6.

rpf65

Agree, if you have room for it. Pretty big speaker.

The other choice is the CSI A4, much smaller, less dynamic.

mrloren

CSI-A6

Cobragt88

Thanks for the advise. Next problem What AMP to power the center stage...... 250 is alot to fully drive those Rti-A5 and the CSI-A6 is power hungry as well.

mrloren

What AVR are you using? Does it have pre-out to hook up an amp? What is the main use of the system? Movies or music?

I had a set or RTi8's with a CSI-5, same as your speakers just one model back. I was driving them with a Sony ES AVR and it did do a nice job. A friend was selling an Emotiva amp and let me try it for a few days. of yes it was nice, gave my system a more open sound. My system didn't need an amp but it sure sounded better with one.

Depending on your AVR I would look at getting a better sub, either HSU or SVS before an amp.

For Amp's it all about budget, new or used. For the low end Emotiva on the mid grade Parasound.

F1nut

Cobragt88 wrote: »

Thanks for the advise. Next problem What AMP to power the center stage...... 250 is alot to fully drive those Rti-A5 and the CSI-A6 is power hungry as well.

Set all your speakers to small, cross over to the sub at 80Hz. You won't need an amp, especially in a 14' x 14' room.

Cobragt88

mrloren: I have a Denon AVR-X4400H it does have front center/Left Pre out plus pre out for SUB. F1nut all my speakers are set to small, do I set the crossover in the AVR or the back of the sub to 80HZ? Or both? ATM it is set to 120 LFE in AVR and same on back of SUB.

F1nut

Set the crossover in the AVR.

rooftop59

I wouldn't even use the sub. Sorry man but my buddy had that package for years and the sub is more like a Bose bass module than a sub, it gives you almost nothing below 50 hz. I wouldn't use it personally, but if I did I would only use it for the surrounds and the .1 LFE channel.

You have a really nice receiver that can put out about 100 WPC 5 channels driven, and those A5s aren't THAT power hungry. I would set the front three to large, unless you are going to seriously crank it. Which you shouldn't without an amp. But you can still listen at a very healthy volume running your front three full range without an amp. Check the review of the avr-x4200w, just a couple years old:

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/denon-avr-x4200w-av-receiver-review-test-bench

mrloren

Yes you have a very nice AVR. Set the crossover on the AVR to 80HZ and get a good sub.

HSU or SVS.
An HSU VTF2 would work nice with that setup
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-2mk5.html

rooftop59

mrloren wrote: »

Yes you have a very nice AVR. Set the crossover on the AVR to 80HZ and get a good sub.

HSU or SVS.
An HSU VTF2 would work nice with that setup
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-2mk5.html

I agree that if your main goal is HT, then skip the amp for now and get a good sub. But a nice warm amp like a Parasound or B&K would make those speakers sing.

Cobragt88

thanks all for the info. That AVR was on sale when i got it. rooftop59 so that's why it sounds like it bottoms out alot. LOL, i knew it wasn't the best SUB but I will replace it when I can just payed all this stuff off.. SVS 12 or 15" are alot in CAD like 1500 to 2K got alot to save up for a nice SUB.

tonyb

You can get a brand new SVS Sub for around 500 down here, can't believe there is that much difference. The Looney must be worth less than the Peso.

Cobragt88

Follow up. Having the Csi A6 Center now is an unreal upgrade "bought on sale". Living in Canada HSU will not ship to me. SVS Will. What is a better Sub to have for movie watching, more than music. Ported or non Ported. Also what is your thoughts on Bi-Amping speakers?

ken brydson

For movies I'd go ported but sealed will be fine as well. Some nice Memorial Day deals this weekend in the SVS outlet store.

https://www.svsound.com/collections/outlet-specials/type_subwoofers

F1nut

Cobragt88 wrote: »

Follow up. Having the Csi A6 Center now is an unreal upgrade "bought on sale". Living in Canada HSU will not ship to me. SVS Will. What is a better Sub to have for movie watching, more than music. Ported or non Ported. Also what is your thoughts on Bi-Amping speakers?

Ported is generally the choice for movies, but a good sealed sub is my choice. The key word being good. Sealed subs also tend to be smaller, so easier to place. The SVS SB4000 would be an excellent choice.

You cannot bi-amp with an AVR, period. True bi-amping is complicated and costly, forget you ever thought about it.

mlistens03

F1nut wrote: »

Cobragt88 wrote: »

Follow up. Having the Csi A6 Center now is an unreal upgrade "bought on sale". Living in Canada HSU will not ship to me. SVS Will. What is a better Sub to have for movie watching, more than music. Ported or non Ported. Also what is your thoughts on Bi-Amping speakers?

You cannot bi-amp with an AVR, period. True bi-amping is complicated and costly, forget you ever thought about it.

The manufacturers call it bi amping but it really isn’t. It does *technically* use different amp chips but everything else is the same, including the power supply which is the thing that makes it not bi amping.

mrloren

Nice glad you like the center speaker. DO NOT BI-AMP PLEASE.

For sealed or ported sub all depends on the user. I have an HSU VTF which can be sealed or ported. I found the best is one port open. Sealed on movies sounded good but the dishes were not shaking. Sealed did sound a tad better on music.

SVS are great subs, either ported or sealed will do you just fine.

Cobragt88

great thanks for the input. Ho long will it take to break in the CSI A6 normally? Days weeks...

gp4jesus

Cobragt88 wrote: »

...what are your thoughts on Bi-Amping speakers?

By and large and by my example I agree w/the consensus. True bi-amping or tri-amping correctly while challenging, has great payoffs in performance.

However OTOH, if you have the wire, try it. It’s quick, easy, & free to experiment. If not don’t persue it. (Here come the tomatoes!)

Cobragt88

So Final update on setup just finally got the SVS SB 2000 sub added & setup to my system. What a difference in Bass. Got the SVS soundpath RCA Interconnect to the LFE

cfrizz

Congratulations, enjoy your system!