RTi A9 Lacking Bass

Knowing that these tower speakers require power, I went ahead and connected them to a Behringer NX6000D. Assuming over 1KW per speaker. I currently have the gains set on the amp to full. My receiver is set to full as well.

The reviews that I've read from other owners is that they've contemplated deleting their subs from their systems, and others have stated that the bass output from these towers comes with authority. I seem to be disagreeing with said statements.

I was also told that the port should be producing ample amount of air movement. I currently have a 12" sub in a tube with a 2" round port, feeding 200W, there is ample amount of air movement coming out of that port. While the RTi A9s produce enough air movement to barely notice.

I have also been told that these 3x7" woofers will take quite a bit of power. Its hard to fathom that even when bi-amping, and running a full single channel from the NX6000D; just to the woofers, that they manage to consume all that is offered. Meanwhile, bass is lacking, and port air is weak.

Any advice and opinions are greatly welcome.

Comments

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,711
    Go into your AVR settings, set the speakers to large.
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  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 7,952
    F1nut wrote: »
    Go into your AVR settings, set the speakers to large.

    Yea, sounds like something is wrong...this would be my first step...
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  • Geoff4rfc
    Geoff4rfc Posts: 2,116

    Any advice and opinions are greatly welcome.

    I have no experience with your amp. I have my A9's powered with an Emotiva XPA-DR3 450wpc. Just watched Spectre/James Bond, the desert complex explosion scene and experienced impressive bass.

    Source: BRP Panasonic UB9000, CDP Emotiva ERC3 - Display: LG OLED EVO 83 C3 - Pre/Pro: Marantz 8802A - Amplification: Emotiva XPA-DR3, XPA-2 x 2, XPA-6, Speakers, Mains/2ch-Focal Kanta No2's, C-LSiM706, S-702F/X, RS-RTiA9's, WS-RTiA9's, FH-RTiA3's, Subs - Epik Empire x 2

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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,032
    The above advise is good, make sure they are set to large IF you want full range out of them. Also room placement plays a HUGE roll on the amount of bass they can produce. Usually acoustically the placement of the main channel speakers in a surround setup or 2 channel are fighting the room. The Room can make or break your overall bass performance. If you are in large full range and still don't have good bass response, go learn about speaker placement and this might be the reason you don't have good low end response.
    Dan
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  • F1nut wrote: »
    Go into your AVR settings, set the speakers to large.
    My receiver is set to full as well.

    Yes, AVR set to Large (full).
  • mantis wrote: »
    The above advise is good, make sure they are set to large IF you want full range out of them. Also room placement plays a HUGE roll on the amount of bass they can produce. Usually acoustically the placement of the main channel speakers in a surround setup or 2 channel are fighting the room. The Room can make or break your overall bass performance. If you are in large full range and still don't have good bass response, go learn about speaker placement and this might be the reason you don't have good low end response.

    This. I currently have them in a 20'x14'x8.5'. What i will admit, is that I do not have them up against the wall. They are currently 3' from the wall. Yet, shouldn't I still feel large amounts of air movement coming from the ports?

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,711
    edited June 2019
    Yet, shouldn't I still feel large amounts of air movement coming from the ports?

    No, you should hear and feel bass coming from the speakers, forget the ports. 3 feet into the room isn't the problem. Pro amps with massive wattage ratings are definitely not the answer, far from it.

    What is your source?

    Are the speakers brand new? Regardless, it's entirely possible they are defective.....could be crossover issues, could be damaged drivers, could be disconnected wires.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • F1nut wrote: »
    Yet, shouldn't I still feel large amounts of air movement coming from the ports?

    No, you should hear and feel bass coming from the speakers, forget the ports. 3 feet into the room isn't the problem. Pro amps with massive wattage ratings are definitely not the answer, far from it.

    What is your source?

    Are the speakers brand new? Regardless, it's entirely possible they are defective.....could be crossover issues, could be damaged drivers, could be disconnected wires.

    Source: AVR; Spotify. TV; Plex, Youtube
    Speakers are new, roughly 30 hours on them.

    These are my second set. Acquired a set before, arrived damaged. The sound output from the damage set was much, much worse. Lacking in all aspects except highs. The bass output from them was 1/8 of what I am experiencing now. It is that other reviewers experienced greater results using only their AVR, while others raved when adding amplification. I on the other hand expected the towers to fill the room without the need for a separate subwoofer.

    To add, I am currently using a Bose AccuBass module and it surpasses the bass output of the A9s 3 fold.
  • FestYboy
    FestYboy Posts: 3,861
    Which AVR are you using? Did you run the calibration if it's available? Can you disable sub output?
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,902
    edited June 2019
    Couple things....

    Make sure everything is hooked up properly. Use a good 12 gauge speaker cable too. Make sure if your using bare wire ends on the speaker cables, none of the plastic coating is caught inside the binding posts on the receiver end or speaker end.

    Make sure the straps are in place on the back of the speakers connecting the top and bottom posts.

    Make sure the front channel levels are set to 0 in the receivers speaker set up menu and set to large also.

    Is the amp hooked up correctly ? Good quality RCA cables from the receivers front left and right pre out to the amps inputs ? Speakers connected to the amp , right ?

    If your running a subwoofer with them, disconnect it for the moment and tell the receiver no sub in the set up menu.
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  • polrbehr
    polrbehr Posts: 2,825
    edited June 2019
    Something is definitely amiss. I have a pair of RTi10 (similar to the RTiA7, one model below yours), and they produce ample bass on their own, even just using the AVR to power them. Not room-shaking bass, but respectable enough that I can leave my sub off without thinking it's missing low end.
    If you have access to a decent VOM, maybe take readings across the binding posts and at least see if the drivers are connected? FWIW, I get 3.4 across the upper posts and 3.9~4.1 across the lower posts.
    So, are you willing to put forth a little effort or are you happy sitting in your skeptical poo pile?


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  • FestYboy wrote: »
    Which AVR are you using? Did you run the calibration if it's available? Can you disable sub output?

    Onkyo RZ830
    L/R running in full, sub output off, unplugged, even took off the binding posts to run all amp wattage just to the subs. Still same deal.
  • tonyb wrote: »
    Couple things....

    Make sure everything is hooked up properly. Use a good 12 gauge speaker cable too. Make sure if your using bare wire ends on the speaker cables, none of the plastic coating is caught inside the binding posts on the receiver end or speaker end.

    Make sure the straps are in place on the back of the speakers connecting the top and bottom posts.

    Make sure the front channel levels are set to 0 in the receivers speaker set up menu and set to large also.

    Is the amp hooked up correctly ? Good quality RCA cables from the receivers front left and right pre out to the amps inputs ? Speakers connected to the amp , right ?

    If your running a subwoofer with them, disconnect it for the moment and tell the receiver no sub in the set up menu.

    Currently running 12ga speaker wire.

    Ran both, with and without the binding posts.

    L/C/R are all set to 0.1ft (won't go to 0) and Full Band.

    I honestly do believe that the speakers are setup and installed correctly with the appropriate quality cables and wiring. Cranked up, the highs are very loud, meanwhile the mid/bass area is lacking.

    I have tested with and without the subs. With the subs, no real complaints about bass output, they handle that area well. It is when the sub are disconnected, it almost feels like there is no bass at all.

    To reiterate, my Bose AccuBass module is completely dominating the bass department alone.

  • polrbehr wrote: »
    Something is definitely amiss. I have a pair of RTi10 (similar to the RTiA7, one model below yours), and they produce ample bass on their own, even just using the AVR to power them. Not room-shaking bass, but respectable enough that I can leave my sub off without thinking it's missing low end.
    If you have access to a decent VOM, maybe take readings across the binding posts and at least see if the drivers are connected? FWIW, I get 3.4 across the upper posts and 3.9~4.1 across the lower posts.

    Thank you, that is a good idea, and will do. I should be seeing 3.4Ohms; upper, and 3.9-4.1Ohms; bottom?

    EDIT: The woofers are connected, they do move. At one point I was able to find a track on Spotify, and had the woofers really using their XMax. Even with the woofers moving a respectable amount, the bass output was ok, and port velocity was very weak. I was able to take a video of the action. Will post up as soon as I'm able.

  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    Maybe there is a leak in the cabinet?
  • FestYboy
    FestYboy Posts: 3,861
    mlistens03 wrote: »
    Maybe there is a leak in the cabinet?

    Doesn't matter with a ported enclosure, Micha.

    @HomeAudioNoob , time to check woofer polarity... If one of the woofers is out of phase, there will be very little bass output.
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    FestYboy wrote: »
    mlistens03 wrote: »
    Maybe there is a leak in the cabinet?

    Doesn't matter with a ported enclosure, Micha.

    True that... although I imagine it could cause an issue if it was big enough but true that. :)
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,902
    tonyb wrote: »
    Couple things....

    Make sure everything is hooked up properly. Use a good 12 gauge speaker cable too. Make sure if your using bare wire ends on the speaker cables, none of the plastic coating is caught inside the binding posts on the receiver end or speaker end.

    Make sure the straps are in place on the back of the speakers connecting the top and bottom posts.

    Make sure the front channel levels are set to 0 in the receivers speaker set up menu and set to large also.

    Is the amp hooked up correctly ? Good quality RCA cables from the receivers front left and right pre out to the amps inputs ? Speakers connected to the amp , right ?

    If your running a subwoofer with them, disconnect it for the moment and tell the receiver no sub in the set up menu.

    Currently running 12ga speaker wire.

    Ran both, with and without the binding posts.

    L/C/R are all set to 0.1ft (won't go to 0) and Full Band.

    I honestly do believe that the speakers are setup and installed correctly with the appropriate quality cables and wiring. Cranked up, the highs are very loud, meanwhile the mid/bass area is lacking.

    I have tested with and without the subs. With the subs, no real complaints about bass output, they handle that area well. It is when the sub are disconnected, it almost feels like there is no bass at all.

    To reiterate, my Bose AccuBass module is completely dominating the bass department alone.

    That's distance, not decibels. Channel levels is what you want. Stop the bi-amping idea, and put the brass brackets back in in the back of the speaker connecting the top and bottom posts.

    Matter of fact, take the amps out of the equation and just connect the speakers to the receiver for the time being.

    If you can't get any bass out of them, they may be defective.
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  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    If you see the speakers moving and getting a thin hollow in the bass area your speakers might be out of phase. Your calibration on the AVR may have set it like that. It's an easy check just swap the + & - on the speaker or amp.

    I found Audyssey was setting my system out of phase. I would add 4-6db to get good bass. One day I flipped the switch on my sub and holy mother of all bass.
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
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  • gp4jesus
    gp4jesus Posts: 1,969
    Where do you live? If you’re kinda local to Athens, GA after Jul 19th...
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