Have Rti10's - Now I need some opinions on a receiver

cindy100

Hi again! I first want to say thank you to everyone who posted to the other messages I left a few days ago. After reading through them and other posts on the forum, I understand a litttle more than I did; not much but a little! The reason for the new post is this: I returned the Monitor 50's and got the RTi10's yesterday. Brought them home, hooked them up to my sad little Yamaha receiver and am SO disappointed! I do feel (after getting help from everyone here) that it is because of the receiver and not the speakers. Thing is, I do not have $1,000 to spend on a new one right now. A friend (who got me the discount on the speakers) can also get me one for a new receiver but I want to check here and get your opinions. With the discount, I can get it for just a little over $500. The guy at the store recommended this one saying I would be able to add on to this one later if I wanted:

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/HTIB/HTR5990.htm

This is the one I currently have.
http://www.yamaha.com/cgi-win/webcgi.exe/Specs/?gAVR00010RX-V690

I am pretty much on my own as far as hooking everything up so I was hoping that getting a better receiver will work so as not to have to deal with also hooking up additional pieces. If the above receiver won't work, any suggestions? I am on a pretty tight budget right now as far as my electronic purchases go. I may have to wait a bit before getting a new receiver depending on what you guys say. If that's the case; I'll just put the new speakers aside until I can get what I need for them to sound the way they should. Like I said in my other posts, I have an older set of Polk S10's that I would also like to use as the rear speakers. Again, I may not even need them, please give your opinions on that also. I guess I should also say I will be listening to just music and not doing home theater. We did have it hooked up at one time and I never used it.

Since I'm going to be doing this on my own, the less I have to hook up, the better, one reason being I have no patience! If you think I will get better performance out of the RTi10's by adding amps to the current receiver, please tell me. Like I said, I have read a lot of the posts here trying to get as much info as possible and a lot of it I just do not understand. I do appreciate you all taking your time and putting up with my questions. I look forward to your help, opinions, suggestions, etc... Thank you so much in advance!

Sincerely,

Cindy

Dennis Gardner

That new Yamaha receiver will put out more clean power into your new RTis than your old DPL model. I would suggest a demo though before you plunk down $$$ for it. Try to find a way to bring it home and try it on your new speakers.

It does have the needed preamp outputs to add amps later if you find the need.

MADGSF

Cindy, since your current receiver has pre-outs for hooking up an external amp in my opinion you should spend your money on a good used 2 channel amp. There isn't a receiver at your price point that will do what an external amp will.

For example here is a nice Parasound amp:

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1149805403

Demiurge

Just a question, but do you have a Subwoofer in your system anywhere? Are you using this for HT or 2 channel? In any event, you need a sub if you don't have one.

cindy100

Dennis - I will see if they will let me try it at home. Since my friend works there, it may be a possibility.

MADGSF - A 2 channel amp means I can hook up only 2 speakers to it, correct? Like I said, I don't know a whole lot about electronics but am trying to learn before I go out to the stores so I don't walk in totally stupid.

Demiurge - I do have a subwoofer. I went with intentions of buying a Polk; the sales guy talked me into buying this one:

http://www.tweeter.com/sm-sapphire-audio-ps3b-100-watt-powered-subwoofer--pi-2073768.html

I can return it if need be and also have the option to upgrade within a year. If HT means home theater, I don't plan to go that route. I love my music; as for television, I don't like it loud. Sorry but I do not know what 2 channel means.

Cindy

MADGSF

Cindy, you are correct a 2 channel amp will power 2 speakers. The term 2-channel generally means listening to music, as in stereo.

Since you are only interested in music and while I have no experience with external amps I do know that the RTi-10s can be bright, which sounds like too much treble. Couple that with Yamaha's reputation for brightness and you get a painful listening experience. From what I have read the Parasound amps help tame this brightness a little. I also have read that the RTi-10s sound much better with a lot of power. Not sure what selection of amps your contact has but I would research this choice carefully and would not be afraid of used equipment.

As for a sub I am admittedly biased towards SVS Sound and while I have not heard either sub have no doubt their $429.00 PB-10 ISD would blow the Sapphire away in theater. In music I just don’t know how they would compare and am not even sure it’s needed. I don’t think the Sapphire even goes as low as the RTi-10 which has a -3dB roll off at 35Hz. I guess it would depend on the type of music you listen to.

Willow

FWIW, I would have gone with the rti8s an ext amp with a decent receiver. Leaving more money for the amp and sub.

Midnite Mick

I agree with MADGSF that your best bang for the buck is to just get a used 2 channel amp. I know your receiver is underpowered but those speakers are brand new as well aren't they. Even given your current setup they will sound better as the speakers break-in. Don't be dissappointed yet as even great speakers can be dissappointing at first. Good luck Cindy.

Mike

MrNightly

I'm not a speaker expert, and I'm sure others will join in, but your selection of the RTi line isn't the best for Music. It doesn't seem you are interested in expanding into a 5.1 Home Theater, and as you stated yourself, don't enjoy the volume that loud.

I know they LSi line is more suited for music, and I'm sure others could chime in on some nice 2 channel speakers. I own the RTi8's and I would not say they are musical in the least! But then again, I'm 95% HT and LOVE them for that.

Just my $.02. Maybe somebody with a little better speaker experience could recommend some nice listening choices!

Welcome aboard

drew spelts

My man question cindy is if you plan on having a home theater setup with surround sound. Like a 5.1 setup. Because if you are planning on this then you need to invest i a better receiver not a 2-channel amp. But if all you are going to do is just use the 2 speakers then do like the other guys are saying.