how to power my RTi12s

kbm
kbm Posts: 16
edited January 2009 in Speakers
Hi everyone, Im a very new Polk owner and new to the forum. Im sorry to say Im pretty much an audio novice so Im looking for all the help I can get.

I just got my hands on a pair of RTi12s and have heard these babies need some serious power in order to sing. These speakers are strictly for music and no home theatre. I want to get a receiver dedicated to these speakers and I plan on biamping the speakers but I had a few questions.

Can I biamp these speakers with a 2-channel receiver? how would I do that?

Also any recommendations as to what receiver or amps I should be looking at?

Basically Im hoping someone with alot more knowledge than me can point me in the right direction so I can get these puppies humming and really start to piss of the neighbors:eek:. Thanks for your help:)
Post edited by kbm on
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Comments

  • leroyjr1
    leroyjr1 Posts: 8,785
    edited January 2009
    If it's just for 2 channel music skip the reciever and get yourself a nice but affordable pre amp along with that you will need a external amp.

    Do you have a budget in mind?
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  • kbm
    kbm Posts: 16
    edited January 2009
    haha cheaper the better as always but I figured around 2-3 hundred per amp and 500 or so for a receiver.

    so I can biamp from a 2 channel receiver or preamp?

    thanks for your help leroy!
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  • leroyjr1
    leroyjr1 Posts: 8,785
    edited January 2009
    kbm wrote: »
    haha cheaper the better as always but I figured around 2-3 hundred per amp and 500 or so for a receiver.

    so I can biamp from a 2 channel receiver or preamp?

    thanks for your help leroy!

    So do you want a pre-amp/amp combo or receiver/amp combo?
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  • kbm
    kbm Posts: 16
    edited January 2009
    I was considering the Harman Kardon 3490 as a receiver as an example of price point.
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  • leroyjr1
    leroyjr1 Posts: 8,785
    edited January 2009
    kbm wrote: »
    I was considering the Harman Kardon 3490 as a receiver as an example of price point.


    If your doing strictly 2 channel nothing else I would say skip getting a receiver and get a preamp and external amp.

    A pre-amp and reciever are two different things.
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  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited January 2009
    I'll second the pre-amp idea. For the money you'd probably be able to get a lot more going with a pre-amp/power amp combo, rather than an all in one receiver. The sound quality is going to be far better with seperates as well...
    The nirvana inducer-
    APC H10 Power Conditioner
    Marantz UD5005 universal player
    Parasound Halo P5 preamp
    Parasound HCA-1200II power amp
    PolkAudio LSi9's/PolkAudio SDA 2A's/PolkAudio Monitor 7A's
    Audioquest Speaker Cables and IC's
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 33,020
    edited January 2009
    If it's strictly 2 channel music only,dump the receiver idea and go seperates,you won't be sorry.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • reeltrouble1
    reeltrouble1 Posts: 9,312
    edited January 2009
    They are giving you good advice, receivers are a compromise to musical sound quality, they are full of devices by their design nature which degrade the signal to unacceptable levels.

    Yes you can bi-amp, but many find using a quality stereo amp to their liking, or use mono-blocks to send the speaker level signal to the speaker posts.

    RT1
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  • Mike Reeter
    Mike Reeter Posts: 4,315
    edited January 2009
    Owning a pair of 12's myself,I can tell you for sure...they need a lota power to make them sing.

    A separate dedicated amp. is what it takes to drive all those drivers properly.

    You can find some very good entry level pre-amps. and power amps. worth the money in the Flea Market or places like Audiogon.com
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  • kbm
    kbm Posts: 16
    edited January 2009
    sounds like preamp is the way to go, thanks for you help guys! I really dont know to much about preamps, any recommendations as to a good preamp, or any features I should be looking for?

    Any thoughts on the audiosource pre one/A as a preamp?

    Using amps such as monoblocks would I be able to biamp these speakers? I was under the impression you couldnt do that with a single channel amp such as the m-block.

    thanks again!
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  • kbm
    kbm Posts: 16
    edited January 2009
    leroyjr1 wrote: »
    If it's just for 2 channel music skip the reciever and get yourself a nice but affordable pre amp along with that you will need a external amp.

    Do you have a budget in mind?

    Hey Leroy, thanks again for your help, and everyone else as well.

    I was thinking about going with the audiosource pre one/A as a (2 channel) preamp as well as an external amp.

    In order to set this up for biamping would I need 2 external amps or could I get away with just one somehow? Would these external amps need to both be 2 channel amps (so I could convert each L or R signal into 2 signals) or could I get away with single channel amps? How would I setup one channel coming in and 2 channels coming out of a single channel amp?:confused:

    thanks again for your help everyone!
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  • MADGSF
    MADGSF Posts: 603
    edited January 2009
    I'll throw my .02 in on bi-amping. If you must have it you will bascially need four amps since there are four pairs of binding posts. That can be two stereo amps or four monoblocks. However IMO you should just get one good stereo amp or two good monoblocks and not worry about bi-amping.

    Also I am not clear on your total budget, is that 500 for the pre/receiver and 300 each for two amps giving a total of ~1100.00? Or 500 plus 300 giving a total of 800.00?
    AVR: Elite VSX-21TXH
    Amplifier: B&K 7250 Series ii
    Misc: Velodyne SMS-1
    Mains: RTi-10
    Center: CSi-5
    Rear: Boston DSi460
    Sub: SVS PC-Ultra
    TV: Panasonic TC-P58V10
    DVD: Panasonic DMP-BD60K
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  • kbm
    kbm Posts: 16
    edited January 2009
    Hi MADGSF, thanks for your input. I was thinking somewhere around $1000. thanks again!
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  • curved
    curved Posts: 664
    edited January 2009
    You may want to look at the Rotel RC-1070/1082 for pre and a Rotel RB1080. Look for a good deal on used.
    Living Room:....................[HTML] [/HTML] Zone 2 (Workout Room):
    AVR - Yamaha RX-V757......JBL 4312 Pro Monitors
    Pre - Nak CA-5
    AMP - Adcom 555 (Main)
    Main - Polk RTI8**/RTiA5
    AMP - Adcom 545II (Center)
    Center - Polk CSiA4**
    Sub - Snell Basis 300:p......Zone 3 (Outside)
    CD - Yamaha CDC-555.......Def Tech AW5500
    TV - Pani TH-42PZ80U
    BR - LG BD390
    Monster HTS1600 Power Center
    Dedicated Circuit - (2) 20amp, (1) 15amp
    Ben's IC, Canare 4S11
    **Dayton and Sonicap Caps with Mills Resistors**
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  • leroyjr1
    leroyjr1 Posts: 8,785
    edited January 2009
    curved wrote: »
    You may want to look at the Rotel RC-1070/1082 for pre and a Rotel RB1080. Look for a good deal on used.

    Exact setup I'm currently running. Great package for about $800. Forget bi- amping and get yourself a nice beefy amp.

    Soon to come Rotel RB- 1092 digital amp. 500 watts x 2 @ 8 ohms.
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  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    edited January 2009
    Welcome +1 with what these guys are recommending. Get a preamp/amp combo If you get both on Audiogon you will get more bang for your buck.

    Brands to look at, Outlaw Audio, Rotel, Parasound, Sunfire, Nad, Adcom.
    Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
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  • kbm
    kbm Posts: 16
    edited January 2009
    thanks a bunch guys, I'll keep my eyes peeled for some rotels and do some research into some of the other brands.

    thanks again!
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  • curved
    curved Posts: 664
    edited January 2009
    leroyjr1 wrote: »
    Exact setup I'm currently running. Great package for about $800.

    It's hard to beat for the price. Plus it looks BA!!
    Living Room:....................[HTML] [/HTML] Zone 2 (Workout Room):
    AVR - Yamaha RX-V757......JBL 4312 Pro Monitors
    Pre - Nak CA-5
    AMP - Adcom 555 (Main)
    Main - Polk RTI8**/RTiA5
    AMP - Adcom 545II (Center)
    Center - Polk CSiA4**
    Sub - Snell Basis 300:p......Zone 3 (Outside)
    CD - Yamaha CDC-555.......Def Tech AW5500
    TV - Pani TH-42PZ80U
    BR - LG BD390
    Monster HTS1600 Power Center
    Dedicated Circuit - (2) 20amp, (1) 15amp
    Ben's IC, Canare 4S11
    **Dayton and Sonicap Caps with Mills Resistors**
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