RTi10's & HK6100

Crispy3M

Been out of the Stereo game for some time now.

I've just found what I believe to be a killer deal on a new pair of Polk RTi10's ($600.00cdn)

My question is this:

All I have for an Amp is an old HK6100. Is this Amp much too small for the RTi10's?

If so, what Amp would be a perfect match for the Polks?

Thanks in advance.

Chris

MADGSF

First welcome to the club Crispy.

I am not familiar with that HK and their site is down for maintenance. What are the specs on it? The RTi-10 are pretty efficient but like most speakers do respond well to more power. The HK and RTi mix very well together.

Crispy3M

Hey,

Thank you for getting back to me.

The HK6100 is an old 80's 30 Watts per channel receiver. The last time it was used it was driving a pair of Paradigm 3SE's and it did a beautiful job of that.

I just saw the Polks for sale and thought they looked like a good deal. After reading here, it seems that they are a good mid-range speaker. I was just wondering if I purchased them, would I need to go out and pick up a new receiver? If so, who makes the best stuff under a $1000.00 these days?

Thanks again,

Chris

Ern Dog

I had some Rti10's- Great speaker! Pairing them up with the right gear was important because I always thought they sounded a tad bright for my taste. I used an HK635 which is a 75wpc and a B&K separate amp with 220wpc. They sounded better on the B&K amp. My guess is that your HK will be a temporary solution. Although HK is conservative with their watt ratings. Once you hear how awesome they sound you are gonna want to give them the love they deserve and a 30watt HK reciever is the bare bones for these speakers.

cnh

HK 3490 120 real watts/channel stereo receiver...can drive lower loads. Has two channel pre-outs for power amp if you want to go that route.

If you want to do just STEREO with RTI-12s this would do a pretty good job short of a power amp. And it looks like you like H/K can get them for less than 300 new. There was also a slightly older model on sale on this SITE for 175-an absolute steal..see if you can find that thread--

cnh

Crispy3M

Well, I bought the RTi10's and I blame it all on finding this site!

Now I have to find something to drive them.

Like I said, I've been out of the game so long that everything has changed. Once was, you bought an Amp, wired up a couple of speakers, plugged in your trusty tape deck and away you went. Even when I bought my old Denon AVR, I just bought the unit, connected all the speakers and away I went. Now it seems like you buy multiple amps, with reference this and trigger that?

LOL!

In any event, I'm looking for options and appreciate what I been told so far. From my cursory reading so far, I think I'm a fan of the B&K line or Harman Kardon. I'm sure it will be a little hard to find up here, but I'd like to try.

My goal is to use the RTi's as a start to a new HT setup. What that in mind, I’m interested to hear what you all think...

Cheers,

Chris

cnh

Are you thinking receiver and power-amps? Or something else? And what is your budget because there's quite a price range here. Then there's the used market and sites like audiogon.com A favorite here. I've used it myself. And there are some things available right here if you keep your eye open.

cnh

Crispy3M

Cnh,

Thank you for getting back to me.

To be honest, I really don't know. I've been reading each night for hours and I've yet to stumble on exactly how things work now. I'd like to focus on quality stereo sound but would like to put together a very nice Home Theatre System as well.

I'm guessing I'll need a receiver to interrogate the Dolby Digital 5.1 or 7.1 signal and then maybe power amps to drive different speakers in the system. I’ve yet to figure out what a Sound Processor is. Perhaps there is a new sound standard that I should be looking at and not worrying about Dolby Digital? I'm happy to go with just a Receiver that does it all, but it seems like separate power amps are the way to truly nice sound.

I haven't figured out how the Power Amps get their signal to know when to drive the speakers that are attached to them. Can you assign a certain job to a set of pre-outs? Ie. Can I set the per-outs on a Receiver to run fronts and a center channel or two rear channels?

I'm far from rich and somewhat deaf as well, so it doesn't have to be a million dollar system. From what I can tell, the RTi10's are not a real high end speaker, they are just a nice speaker, but they do fit my budget. I'm thinking in the $300 - $500 dollar range for a power amp and slightly less for a Receiver. I can spend more if a few hundred dollars makes a large difference in sound/build quality. I plan to pick up pieces for the HT as they become available.

I've been thinking about the HK you recommended, but figure by the time it gets here, I'd have more in it than it's worth. (Northern Canada) The newer HK3490 can be had here in Canada at FS for $599.00 plus tax and I'm guessing they go on sale some times. Again, I'm not sure how this would work as part of a Home Theatre setup. I see that it has no Dolby anything.

Anyway, once again, I certainly appreciate you taking the time to get back to me and I'll keep reading.

Chris

KrazyMofo24

The Rti10's are great for home theater they have a good bass response. I think you'll be satisfied with them for home theater. For music I agree with Ern dog that the tweeter has a bright sound. So I would go for a warm receiver, and amp to tame it down a bit assuming you do not like the bright sound. Also some room treatment should help it out even more which I know I need.

cnh

Krazy is right,

In order to warm up the sound of what are very nice HT fronts, the Rti-10s, you might go with an H/K AVR 254 (less than 500 U.S. new-shop around)--you will need a multi-channel receiver to get into surround formats). This has 8 pre-outs. When you hook a power-amp to it you DO NOT connect any speaker wire to those channels on the H/K but run RCAs out to the Amp and wire THOSE speaker directly to the power amp--the receiver will raise and lower the volume and you can equalize the sound through it as well. In this way whenever the Harman Kardon is on those channels are ALWAYS being amplified by the external amp.

I would then check out this site for whatever sales are being offered on power amps--usually good prices, good gear and also go look at www.audiogon.com for a power amp of at least 200W/channel for 2 or 3 channels. You can use the H/K to power the surrounds at least! Look in your price range 300-500...there's usually some 'good' stuff in that range. I bought my two channel amp for around 300 there--a new version would be well over 1000 dollars?

cnh

Crispy3M

Thanks guys.

After reading the reviews, I think I'll start looking for the HK AVR254. It will probably take a while as they go for $799.00 before taxes up here. I like the fact that it comes with 8 Pre-Out jacks.

Being a good match for the RTi's is also a great tip and much appreciated.

Great site.

Cheers,

Chris

cnh

Forgot.

You're Canadian right? So we need to factor the exchange rates in here! Too bad those Canadian dollars are no longer worth MORE than a U.S. When I crossed the border a couple of years ago for a vacation in Quebec City...the Canadian dollar was worth just a bit more than 1 U.S. Lots of Canadians were crossing our border to shop in the U.S.

cnh

Crispy3M

Exchange does have its disadvantages at times

If I can find a good price with free shipping in the US, I can always have the unit sent to Rydens store in MN. Just a 20 min drive from Thunder Bay Ontario.

If anyone has noticed any sales, feel free to let me know.

Chris

Crispy3M

Hello again...

Well I have the RTi10's connected and the HK6100 is doing the best it can, but alas, it just doesn't have the jam! LOL!

I just picked up an AVR254 on EBay and am now awaiting shipping.

Time to look for a Power Amp.

I'm looking at the Carver M-500t MKII series Amp. Seems like good bang for the buck and I'll know I have a freshly serviced Amp.

My question is this:

The Carver M-500t MKII is capable of 395 Watts while the RTi10's owners manual specs a max of 300 Watts. Should I look for a regular M-500t (i.e. match the owners manual specs) or will a little extra power not hurt the new RTi10's as long as I don't shake the house down?

I know this question is probably asked and answered a hundred times, but I’ve been searching for the past few hours and have yet to find a relevant answer.

Cheers,

Chris

Crispy3M

Anyone?