RTi series with Otlaw 7500 or Earthquake amp

dixlon

I'm looking for the last piece of the puzzle for HT / 2 channel system. I have the RTi's 8 for the fronts, CSi5 center, RTi's 6 for the surrounds and the SVS PB12-Plus sub. The processor will be the Anthem AVM 30 and for the amp I can't decide to get the Outlaw 7500 amp or the Earthquake Grand 5 amp. Will I see a big difference in sound at not reference volume?

Schwingding

Very similar speaker/sub setup to mine. Only diff is I've got i10 mains and i8 surrounds. I'm running 5 outlaw 2200 monoblocks. I decided I liked the idea of 5 amps better than 1, knowing full well the plus and minus arguments in each column. FWIW, I think you can get 5 monoblocks a little more cheaply (shipped, too), than you can get the 7500. Finding power sources for them might be a little tougher. I'm running 3 separate circuits for my AV stuff. Video will be on one, amps and sub will be split on the other two.

I'm sorry but I have no info on the Earthquake.

dixlon

Schwingding wrote:

Very similar speaker/sub setup to mine. Only diff is I've got i10 mains and i8 surrounds. I'm running 5 outlaw 2200 monoblocks. I decided I liked the idea of 5 amps better than 1, knowing full well the plus and minus arguments in each column. FWIW, I think you can get 5 monoblocks a little more cheaply (shipped, too), than you can get the 7500. Finding power sources for them might be a little tougher. I'm running 3 separate circuits for my AV stuff. Video will be on one, amps and sub will be split on the other two.

I'm sorry but I have no info on the Earthquake.

Thanks for the quick reply. So you think the monoblocks will do a better job than the 7500? The mono's are balanced as well right? I guess if I go with the monos I run a power conditioner for the blocks.

Holydoc

dixlon wrote:

I'm looking for the last piece of the puzzle for HT / 2 channel system. I have the RTi's 8 for the fronts, CSi5 center, RTi's 6 for the surrounds and the SVS PB12-Plus sub. The processor will be the Anthem AVM 30 and for the amp I can't decide to get the Outlaw 7500 amp or the Earthquake Grand 5 amp. Will I see a big difference in sound at not reference volume?

Isn't the larger Outlaw 7700 amp still cheaper than the Earthquake? You may want to consider that amp in your comparison just so that you can have the 7 channel expansion available if you decide in the future.

I currently have the RTi12's running off the Outlaw 770 amp (same as the 7700 but no balanced inputs). It is my first and only amp so I cannot tell you how it compares. However it drives my system very well and gave my system a very full soundstage.

Wingnutt owns an Earthquake so you may want to ask her about her experiences.

Good luck!

Schwingding

Will 5 monoblocks perform better than one multichannel amp with basically the same specs? That is a topic of hot debate on some forums. If current draw is a concern, the single chassis will draw less power than the 5 separate power supplies. As I can run my own circuits in whatever flavor desired, I was more concerned about the output quality, and figured a dedicated amp with a dedicated power supply should, in theory, do a better job than 5 amps sharing a power supply.

Like I said, its a hot topic, and I don't have any real world experience to back it up either way. But one thing is for sure, no 2 things; one - my system KICKS **** with those 5 monoblocks, and two - they look sweet!

cfrizz

There is no definitive proof one way or the other if mono's are better than one large amp. If you want to deal with all those connections be my guest.

One of our members went from a Outlaw 7channel to an Earthquake & says it made a huge difference. I think you will do fine with either one!

dixlon wrote:

Thanks for the quick reply. So you think the monoblocks will do a better job than the 7500? The mono's are balanced as well right? I guess if I go with the monos I run a power conditioner for the blocks.

Holydoc

cfrizz wrote:

There is no definitive proof one way or the other if mono's are better than one large amp. If you want to deal with all those connections be my guest.

The advantages of monos is that you have less chance of electrical interference and if one goes out, it does not take down your entire system. But I do agree with Cathy with the fact that sonically there are no conclusions whether one is better than the other.

cfrizz wrote:

One of our members went from a Outlaw 7channel to an Earthquake & says it made a huge difference. I think you will do fine with either one!

I think that had a lot to do with the quality of her existing components and speakers. Though I am not saying it won't, I do doubt very seriously if you will be able to hear a difference between the Outlaw and an Earthquake on an all RTi system. If the plans are to upgrade in the future with some high end goodies, then the extra money for the Earthquake may be a better option. However if you are planning on setting up a HT now and sticking with your setup for the next couple years, I would recommend the Outlaw just for the price difference.

Again, just my opinion and YOU know what that is worth!

MillerLiteScott

I was all psyched to get some outlaw 2200's but I only ran a single 20 amp dedicated circuit to my HT location. 5 outlaw 2200's maximum usage is 3000 watts divided by 120 volts = 25 amps. I know I would never be able to use all at the maximum but you still have to add a TV, AVR, Cable box, DVD Player and hopefully a SVS sub. That's a lot on one circuit.

dixlon

cfrizz wrote:

There is no definitive proof one way or the other if mono's are better than one large amp. If you want to deal with all those connections be my guest.

One of our members went from a Outlaw 7channel to an Earthquake & says it made a huge difference. I think you will do fine with either one!

If I'm using my system for 2 channel music like jazz would I still be okay with the Outlaw 7500? Is this a good musical amp as well?

cfrizz

Powerful amps help bring speakers to life. Instruments will be clearer, bass will be more pronounced. vocals will be more life like. Everything will simply be more defined, whether you are utilizing it for 2 channel or 5/7 channel.

So yes you will be fine with the Outlaw 7500.

dixlon

cfrizz wrote:

Powerful amps help bring speakers to life. Instruments will be clearer, bass will be more pronounced. vocals will be more life like. Everything will simply be more defined, whether you are utilizing it for 2 channel or 5/7 channel.

So yes you will be fine with the Outlaw 7500.

Thanks for the feed back. So I would not hear much of a difference in sound with the Eartquake amp. Thanks for your help.

cfrizz

Again this is one of those debatable subjective topics. All I can tell you about is my experience.

I went from a 50 wpc Rotel 2 chnl amp to a 110 wpc receiver, to a 205 wpc Parasound 2 chnl amp driving my main Polk speakers. It made a huge difference! I added a 200 wpc Outlaw monoblock for my ctr speaker & again a huge difference.

A couple of months ago I switched out my 2 amps for a 405 wpc 5 channel Sunfire amp. The only difference that I can easily distinguish is that now my rear speakers kick just as much butt as my front speakers!

This is why I always recommend getting an amp starting at 200 wpc. I didn't notice a difference going from a 50 wpc amp to a 110 wpc receiver. I noticed a huge difference when I put 200 wpc on my speakers!

Now if I ever go back to a separate pre I may again notice a big difference. But I think so long as you get a high current amp from a well known maker you should be fine.

Willow

Cfrizz, did you ever sell that outlaw mono ?

wingnut4772

I used to have an Outlaw 770 powering my old LSi set up. I switched from that to an Earthquake Cinenova amp and immediately fell in love. The Outlaws are terrific amps but the Earthquake is far superior.The Cinenova never clips no matter how loud I play. The sound is powerful, clear and effortless.

I run my Von Schweikerts now on the Earthquake and unless it explodes, I will keep the Cinenova indefinitely.

cfrizz

Nope I still got it. It's sitting in its box in my livingroom looking abandoned!:D

Willow wrote:

Cfrizz, did you ever sell that outlaw mono ?

dixlon

wingnut4772 wrote:

I used to have an Outlaw 770 powering my old LSi set up. I switched from that to an Earthquake Cinenova amp and immediately fell in love. The Outlaws are terrific amps but the Earthquake is far superior.The Cinenova never clips no matter how loud I play. The sound is powerful, clear and effortless.

I run my Von Schweikerts now on the Earthquake and unless it explodes, I will keep the Cinenova indefinitely.

Do you think the Earthquake amp is overkill for my Rti 8 (Mains) and RTi 6 (surrounds) Polks?

cfrizz

If my 405 wpc Sunfire isn't overkill for my setup the Cinenova won't be overkill for yours.

dixlon

cfrizz wrote:

If my 405 wpc Sunfire isn't overkill for my setup the Cinenova won't be overkill for yours.

So back to my original question. Will I be missing anything if get Outlaw 7500 instead of the EarthQuake amp?

venomclan

dixlon wrote:

So back to my original question. Will I be missing anything if get Outlaw 7500 instead of the EarthQuake amp?

For home theater use only, probably not. For 2 channel the Earthquake will make a difference. The Earthquake will double its power as its impedence halfs, the Outlaw will not do this. After owning amps that do this and do not, I hear a difference.

For an RTi system the Outlaw will be fine, but since you have the Anthem, I think that investing in the Earthquake would be best. The Outlaws are nice, but they do have thier limits. One alternative is to get a really good 2 channel amp (like the Earthquake) and use smaller amps for your center and surround. It is more economical and may yield the same results.
Venom

cfrizz

I cannot notice any difference between the Sunfire & Outlaw except now my rear speakers are just as dynamic as the fronts.

I didn't get the Sunfire for the extra power, I got it because its weight was something I could handle in a 5 channel amp! The extra 200 wpc was just a bonus & like I said it didn't improve my system to any great degree.

dixlon wrote:

So back to my original question. Will I be missing anything if get Outlaw 7500 instead of the EarthQuake amp?

venomclan

cfrizz wrote:

I cannot notice any difference between the Sunfire & Outlaw except now my rear speakers are just as dynamic as the fronts.

I didn't get the Sunfire for the extra power, I got it because its weight was something I could handle in a 5 channel amp! The extra 200 wpc was just a bonus & like I said it didn't improve my system to any great degree.

Cfrizz,
I am really suprised that you cannot hear a difference between your Sunfire and the Outlaw. When I added my 250 watt Krell, it destroyed my 200 watt Outlaw monoblocks. No comparison. Does your Sunfire double its watts in 4 ohms?
Venom

cfrizz

Well I only had the Outlaw on my Center channel. I had my Parasound on my main speakers. which goes to 315 wpc @ 4 ohms. The Sunfire goes to 810 from 405 wpc.

All of my speakers are 8 ohms so maybe that is the diffence.

ohskigod

outlaw and cinnenova on the rti's probably wont be much of a difference. the RTi's are 8 ohm and not very power hungry. Given wingnuts experience, I am going to go out on a limb that as you climb higher on the speaker chain, the difference will be more apparent.

Outlaw is still great equipment though, so you have to ask yourself, will you be able to utilize the cinnenova down the road? in all honesty, you wont go wrong either way. Outlaw with the RTi's will be a sweet set up

Holydoc

ohskigod wrote:

outlaw and cinnenova on the rti's probably wont be much of a difference. the RTi's are 8 ohm and not very power hungry. Given wingnuts experience, I am going to go out on a limb that as you climb higher on the speaker chain, the difference will be more apparent.

Outlaw is still great equipment though, so you have to ask yourself, will you be able to utilize the cinnenova down the road? in all honesty, you wont go wrong either way. Outlaw with the RTi's will be a sweet set up

My point exactly but of course said more eloquently by Ohskigod and Cfrizz.

dixlon

ohskigod wrote:

outlaw and cinnenova on the rti's probably wont be much of a difference. the RTi's are 8 ohm and not very power hungry. Given wingnuts experience, I am going to go out on a limb that as you climb higher on the speaker chain, the difference will be more apparent.

Outlaw is still great equipment though, so you have to ask yourself, will you be able to utilize the cinnenova down the road? in all honesty, you wont go wrong either way. Outlaw with the RTi's will be a sweet set up

You guys are probably right. My HT/music room is 14x14x35 leading into the kitchen. I can only play so loud. I am looking for clarity in the amp. I believe the Anthem AVN 30 Processor will make the amp sound sweet as well.