Do I need amp?

mauro_ferrante

Gentlemen, I have recently bought a pair of rti a7, one csi4, one dsw 550 and a pair of rti a3. I have also bought a sr5014 marantz avr. Will this be enough to move the whole set? Do I need amp for the a7s?

rooftop59

Do not get a pro amp, get an amp designed for home use. I always buy used. Parasound, B&K, rotel are good options. If you want to buy new here’s about the best deal you’ll find: https://www.audioadvisor.com/mobile/prodinfo.asp?number=PAC2125V2. Outlaw has a great 5 channel amp you might look at: https://outlawaudio.com/shop/index.php?id_product=27&rewrite=model-5000&controller=product
Avoid emotiva, they’re too bright for the RTiA series.

To hook up you’ll need a pair of rca cables to connect to the marantz’s r/l preouts. Those will go to the inputs are on the amp. The speaker cable for the mains will connect to the amp.

Kex

Those are for cases where you might not be using a receiver to manage the crossover.

• Using an AVR (receiver), you would use the LFE line in so that you could benefit from the low frequency effects (explosions etc.) that speakers cannot fully reproduce. The standard crossover frequency is about 80Hz, but if your speakers are small, you might set that as high as 120Hz. If your speakers are larger - and can play lower frequencies, this might be set as low as 40Hz. You can play with these settings to see what you prefer. In this scenario, the speaker binding posts would not be used. The subwoofer crossover dial would not be used.
• Using an old school stereo integrated, or anything that doesn’t have a subwoofer pre-out connection, or some form of crossover management, then you would use speaker wires to connect from the source L/R binding posts to the binding posts labeled “speaker in” on the subwoofer. The speakers would then be connected to the L/R “speaker out” binding posts. In this scenario, you would be using the subwoofer crossover dial to chose an appropriate crossover setting.

So, when using the speaker binding posts, instead of the LFE (coaxial) connection, there is still NO amplification of the speakers from the subwoofer. All that is being managed is the crossover.

This setup is not ideal for Home Theater because the LFE channel is a dedicated channel - the “dot one” in a 5.1 or 7.1 system. The special effects are not as dramatic when the subwoofer crossover is used, instead of a crossover in an AVR. Using the AVR ensures that the LFE channel is reproduced as intended.

rooftop59

mauro_ferrante wrote: »

Ok but then, what are those connections for? I mean the "speaker in" & "speaker out" that you can see in the picture.

In a pure two channel system, you want the subwoofer closely integrated with speakers, having the same tonal signature. The best way to insure this tonal match is to take speaker cable from your amplifier and run into your subwoofers speaker level inputs, and then out of the speaker level Outputs to your speakers. Your amplifier is powering the speakers, the sub is just passing that signal on.

VR3

If you listen to music you will always need an Amp

rooftop59

How big is your room? Is this mainly for music or movies? Your mains will sound better with an amp, no doubt, but depending on room size and crossover point you might be ok without one.

But I agree with Trey that if music is important to you, you will notice a significant improvement with an amp...

mauro_ferrante

Thanks a lot both of you. Which kind of amp should I add? And how should I connect the avr, the additional amp and the a7s?

mauro_ferrante

Thanks a lot rooftop59!

mauro_ferrante

Would it be possible to use the subwoofer to amplifie the floorstanding speakers? The dsw 550 has a 200 w amp. What do you think?

F1nut

NO!!!

The sub amp drives the sub, nothing else.

rooftop59

mauro_ferrante wrote: »

Would it be possible to use the subwoofer to amplifie the floorstanding speakers? The dsw 550 has a 200 w amp. What do you think?

That amp can pass the signal on to your amplifier, but it will not power any other speakers.

mauro_ferrante

Ok but then, what are those connections for? I mean the "speaker in" & "speaker out" that you can see in the picture.

[Deleted User]

Those are for speaker level connections as opposed to line level type connections.

mauro_ferrante

Thank you very much Ken and Kex!

[Deleted User]

You're welcome, enjoy!

gp4jesus

Welcome to Club Polk.

mauro_ferrante wrote: »

Do I need amp for the a7s?

yup. Unless Marantz stacks up well in the power department, after you get what you have set up, connected, sounding OK, those ‘A7s would be much happier w/a separate amp.

I agree w/...

rooftop59 wrote: »

Do not get a pro amp, get an amp designed for home use. Parasound, B&K, rotel are good [used] options. If you want to buy new here’s about the best deal you’ll find: https://www.audioadvisor.com/mobile/prodinfo.asp?number=PAC2125V2. Outlaw* has a great 5 channel amp you might look at: https://outlawaudio.com/shop/index.php?id_product=27&rewrite=model-5000&controller=product
Avoid emotiva, they’re too bright for the RTiA series.

lots of good advice above. Also Outlaw sells good mono amps at a good price.

https://www.outlawaudio.com/products/amps.html

You should find some* used eBay, etc

A side note: the last couple of weeks I’ve been listening to a pair of outdoor speakers, Polk Atrium 55 powered by either a Rotel, Parasound, or Belles. Today I connected them to a Denon AVR 2802 only to realize it will “do” for my backyard system but I miss the above 😟

Enjoy! Tony

Psst: I have Parasounds & a Belles for sale either of which your ‘A7s would love

F1nut

mauro_ferrante wrote: »

Gentlemen, I have recently bought a pair of rti a7, one csi4, one dsw 550 and a pair of rti a3. I have also bought a sr5014 marantz avr. Will this be enough to move the whole set? Do I need amp for the a7s?

That Marantz is a nice AVR. IMO, you do NOT need a separate amp.