Do I need a fancy amplifier for a two speaker RTi10 computer setup?

tseryan

I plan on adding a pair of RTi10 speakers in the bedroom to play FLAC files from my computer in the same room. Would I need an expensive amplifier to get the most out of these speakers? I was only looking to spend about $100-150 on the amplifier, but if I can't get the most out of these speakers, then I would downgrade to RTi8 speakers.

cfrizz

Welcome to Club Polk.

All speakers benefit from lots of amplification, that will make them sound much better. However, So long as you have enough power to run them at decent volume without risk of sending the receiver into protect mode or damaging the speakers, they will do just fine.

Will you be getting them to sound to their full potential? Probably not, but they will still sound good.

ben62670

Welcome to Club Polk. Really any of the Polk RTi, or LSI series really could use an amp for the best sound quaility. You don't need big numbers pertaining the watts. There is an Adcom GFA-545 up for sale here. for $200 that would do wonders for your speakers.
Ben

tseryan

Thanks for the welcome, guys!

ben62670 wrote: »

Welcome to Club Polk. Really any of the Polk RTi, or LSI series really could use an amp for the best sound quaility.

Don't I need an amp to run these speakers? I need to connect one of these from the computer to the amp. Will there be any significant loss of quality from this type of connection?

Also, if I'm not going to be getting the most of out of my speakers, would I be better off purchasing an amp similar to the one recommended by ben62670 and RTi8s instead of RTi10s. From what I've read, the RTi10s are significantly better when used only for music, but if I won't use the RTi10 to its full potential, could I get away with RTi8s and save money? I could buy a subwoofer with the saved money. Would that be a better course (I'm not sure how much a subwoofer would benefit the sound)?

Just another thought as well: how much will the sound source affect my sound? The audio will be coming from an iMac. Could that limit the audio even more to the point where it may not be worth spending the money on these speakers?

Face

I'm not familiar with Mac's, but I use a XP based music server.

I would suggest using some sort of preamp or dac with a volume control between your computer and amp.

tseryan

Face wrote: »

I'm not familiar with Mac's, but I use a XP based music server.

I would suggest using some sort of preamp or dac with a volume control between your computer and amp.

Why is that? I've just discovered that my iMac's headphone jack also is an optical audio out port. Is there a significant advantage from using a optical cable vs a headphone jack to RCA cable? I have not seen any low priced amps with an optical input.

Face

Using the optical cable, you're bypassing the computer's sound processing. You would need to hook the optical cable up to a external DAC or some sort of preamp, pre-pro, or receiver that has DAC's built in.

If you want to keep it simple or are on a budget, you can use the analog out(1/8" jack) and directly connect it to a amp. Just be very careful with the volume control on your Mac.

treitz3

Good suggestion on the TFM-15CB Lasareath. That amp is designed to handle a 4-8 ohm load and will do those RTi10's justice. Just don't crank it too gawd awful much! Should be a good match with your computer rig tseryan.

phxrider

Another vote for the TFM-15 suggestion - those Carvers were pretty good amps, and you can get 'em cheap on eBay.

tseryan

Between the Carver TFM-15CB and the Adcom GFA-545, which would be most preferable?

ben62670

I haven't had my ears on any real nice carver stuff. I have had many Adcom's. They have great fast bass slam, and are very detailed. In stock for the 545, and 5400 are very nice amps. Don't let the watt rating fool you. I have driven speakers that dip down to less than 2 ohms with the 5400 with no problems.

tseryan

Thanks for directing me into the Carver direction, guys. I managed to find a used TFM-35 the other day, which I'm hoping will match my RTi8s well.

tseryan

Lasareath wrote: »

is it a TFM-35X or a TFM-35?

I did not notice a volume knob on the TFM-35X, so I went for the TFM-35. I assumed that meant I would need a preamp to use it with my record player (and be able to control the volume). Is that right? I asked on the Carveraudio.com forums and they informed me that both models were essentially the same minus the THX certification, which was not necessary for me anyways.