Need advice with upgrading to RTi from R series
Hello, I've been a long time lurker ever since I upgraded my HT system from a set of Energy satellites to a 5.2 Polk system. This is my first post. My rig is made up of the R50s front, CSi25 center, R150 surrounds, and Velodyne 8100X stacked on top of CHT-12 in the corner, powered by Onkyo TX-SR605. The listening room is 14' x 26' x 8.5' with two opening to the dining room and living room.
I had the couch moved 1' from the wall and the fronts spaced out 7' apart and the front LCR 7' from the listening position. All speakers are set to small and crossed over at 80 Hz. After 3 months of playing with different speaker and subwoofer placement scenarios, calibrating and recalibrating I've found that those are the best settings that produce the most satisfying sound out of my set up.
Now I'm pretty new at this and not an audiophile by any means but I do want to get the best sound possible out of a decent budget so the Fry's deal on the RTi8's seem too good to pass up. I find myself seriously considering moving up the food chain (RTi8, 6, and CSi5). I will still be running them as small, x'd over at 80Hz since I have the 2 subs to handle the lower end. But since they're big speakers, would my current receiver be able to sufficiently power all 5 of them? It doesn't have pre-outs so if an external amp is required then I'd have to upgrade the receiver too. And... if I do get a multichannel amp would I need to get a dedicated line for the whole HT set up? Currently I have 90wpc x 5 through the receiver, 275 watts RMS for the 2 subs, a 42" LCD HDTV, Oppo Digital DV981 DVD player, PS3, and a satellite receiver hooked up to a surge protector. I'm just concerned that the big jump in wattage squeezed out by the amplifier would cause problems with outtages or anything like that. I have zero experience with them so I have to make sure that everything is safe if I do decide to go that route.
My other question has to do with receivers. I liked the Onkyo so much in my first set up that when I upgraded I just moved up to Onkyo's new line. But I've been hearing nothing but praises for Denon and Harman Kardon, especially from RTi and LSi owners. Personally I haven't heard any of them so I don't have anything to compare to my Onkyo. If I do decide to upgrade the receiver somewhere down the line, would a higher end ($1K+) Denon or HK serve me better than a similarly priced Onkyo for the RTis? I do find that the highs are a bit too shrill at higher volumes in my current set up. I don't know if that's an issue with the receiver, the speaker, room acoustic, or some wild combination of those.
Btw, this set up will be used exclusively for HT. I didn't think that I'd catch the upgraditis so soon but it's just so much fun! Any help would be very much appreciated!
I had the couch moved 1' from the wall and the fronts spaced out 7' apart and the front LCR 7' from the listening position. All speakers are set to small and crossed over at 80 Hz. After 3 months of playing with different speaker and subwoofer placement scenarios, calibrating and recalibrating I've found that those are the best settings that produce the most satisfying sound out of my set up.
Now I'm pretty new at this and not an audiophile by any means but I do want to get the best sound possible out of a decent budget so the Fry's deal on the RTi8's seem too good to pass up. I find myself seriously considering moving up the food chain (RTi8, 6, and CSi5). I will still be running them as small, x'd over at 80Hz since I have the 2 subs to handle the lower end. But since they're big speakers, would my current receiver be able to sufficiently power all 5 of them? It doesn't have pre-outs so if an external amp is required then I'd have to upgrade the receiver too. And... if I do get a multichannel amp would I need to get a dedicated line for the whole HT set up? Currently I have 90wpc x 5 through the receiver, 275 watts RMS for the 2 subs, a 42" LCD HDTV, Oppo Digital DV981 DVD player, PS3, and a satellite receiver hooked up to a surge protector. I'm just concerned that the big jump in wattage squeezed out by the amplifier would cause problems with outtages or anything like that. I have zero experience with them so I have to make sure that everything is safe if I do decide to go that route.
My other question has to do with receivers. I liked the Onkyo so much in my first set up that when I upgraded I just moved up to Onkyo's new line. But I've been hearing nothing but praises for Denon and Harman Kardon, especially from RTi and LSi owners. Personally I haven't heard any of them so I don't have anything to compare to my Onkyo. If I do decide to upgrade the receiver somewhere down the line, would a higher end ($1K+) Denon or HK serve me better than a similarly priced Onkyo for the RTis? I do find that the highs are a bit too shrill at higher volumes in my current set up. I don't know if that's an issue with the receiver, the speaker, room acoustic, or some wild combination of those.
Btw, this set up will be used exclusively for HT. I didn't think that I'd catch the upgraditis so soon but it's just so much fun! Any help would be very much appreciated!
Post edited by iskandam on
Comments
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First and foremost, welcome to Club Polk! Glad you finally joined the club.;)iskandam wrote:I'm just concerned that the big jump in wattage squeezed out by the amplifier would cause problems with outtages or anything like that.
I can't help you with any HT situation because my preferences are geared toward 2 channel, but there are as you probably already know, many members that can assist you with that. I can, however answer the aforementioned concern. You can put your mind at ease, it doesn't matter IME whether you have 100 watts or 3000 watts, so long as everything is hooked up correctly you are good to go.~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
Welcome...you should be fine with an 8/5/3 or 6s combo with that Onkyo. It will be a tremendous improvement over the Rs for clarity, soundstage and detail. When you're ready to upgrade again, keep the speakers and try them with a different combo of AVR or pre/pro with separate amplification. They'll get better again...but, it's not as critical with the 8s and sub combo...you'll get quite a kick in the pants with your proposed setup.
Combo rig:
Onkyo NR1007 pre-pro, Carver TFM 45(fronts), Carver TFM 35 (surrounds)
SDA 1C, CS400i, SDA 2B
PB13Ultra RO
BW Silvers
Oppo BDP-83SE -
Just came back from Fry's and picked up the pair of RTi8's. They don't have the CSi5 nor the RTi6's in stock though. Now the hunt begins for the rest of the speakers
Btw, would the CSi40 be a good match for my proposed set up as opposed to the CSi5? How are they different SQ-wise? I may be able to get a good deal on the CSi40... -
I haven't heard the 40, but I assume it will be close...not a perfect match...which is worthwhile...though I only enjoyed it for a short time myselfBtw, would the CSi40 be a good match for my proposed set up as opposed to the CSi5? How are they different SQ-wise? I may be able to get a good deal on the CSi40....
Combo rig:
Onkyo NR1007 pre-pro, Carver TFM 45(fronts), Carver TFM 35 (surrounds)
SDA 1C, CS400i, SDA 2B
PB13Ultra RO
BW Silvers
Oppo BDP-83SE
