get a bigger amp or get a sub ?

Neale13
Neale13 Posts: 88
edited January 2010 in Speakers
I have a pair of polk rtia9's powerd by a rotel rb-1080. I want more bass.Should I upgrade my amp to a rb-1092 or get a subwoofer ?? I only listen to music.
Post edited by Neale13 on
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • sandworms
    sandworms Posts: 1,043
    edited January 2010
    sub vote here
    Samsung pn64f8500
    Sonus faber venere 2.5
    Sf venere center
    Oppo 105d
    Squeezebox touch
    Parasound hca1500a
    Apc power filter
    Audioquest cables asst
    Polk rtia3 SB
    Polk fxia6 sl,sr
    Dual hsu vtf3 mk3

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • dekuda
    dekuda Posts: 756
    edited January 2010
    If you listen to more movies I would get the sub. If you listen to more music like me get the amp:D How do those A9's sound? I have the Rti12's which are the older towers. A good amp would definately make those A9's come alive!
    HT System
    Parasound Halo A51 Amp, Marantz AV 8003 Pre, Arcam FMJ CD36 cd player, Marantz 7007 BD/SACD player,Acoustic Zen Matrix IC's, Analysis Plus Crystal Copper Oval IC's, Acoustic Zen Satori speaker cables, B&W 703's Fronts, Center Martin Logan Motif hybrid, Surrounds DefTech BPX, 2 X DefTech Supercube Reference Subs, DSpeaker Antimode 8033 EQ.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • danz1906
    danz1906 Posts: 5,144
    edited January 2010
    Music+ Amp.........Movies+Sub
    Linn AV5140 fronts
    Linn AV5120 Center
    Linn AV5140 Rears
    M&K MX-70 Sub for Music
    Odyssey Mono-Blocs
    SVS Ultra-13 Gloss Black:D
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Neale13
    Neale13 Posts: 88
    edited January 2010
    dekuda wrote: »
    If you listen to more movies I would get the sub. If you listen to more music like me get the amp:D How do those A9's sound? I have the Rti12's which are the older towers. A good amp would definately make those A9's come alive!

    The a 9s sound great.i blew the 1080's fuses once and rotel said the speakers were under powerd ?? Im not so sure what the issue is ive heard differnt reasons.So the bigger amp will make a noticeable change ?
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • concealer404
    concealer404 Posts: 7,440
    edited January 2010
    Another vote for amp.
    I don't read the newsssspaperssss because dey aaaallllllllll...... have ugly print.

    Living Room: B&K Reference 5 S2 / Parasound HCA-1000A / Emotiva XDA-2 / Pioneer BDP-51FD / Paradigm 11se MKiii

    Desk: Schiit Magni 2 Uber / Schiit Modi 2 Uber / ISK HD9999

    Office: Schiit Magni 2 Uber / Schiit Modi 2 Uber / Dynaco SCA-80Q / Paradigm Legend V.3

    HT: Denon AVR-X3400H / Sony UBP-X700 / RT16 / CS350LS / RT7 / SVS PB1000
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • dekuda
    dekuda Posts: 756
    edited January 2010
    Neale13 wrote: »
    The a 9s sound great.i blew the 1080's fuses once and rotel said the speakers were under powerd ?? Im not so sure what the issue is ive heard differnt reasons.So the bigger amp will make a noticeable change ?

    They did for me on my my Rti12's which are similar to yours. Your's are better and if you have those great speakers they are begging to be driven properly. I have a Carver TFM35x driving my Rti's and the Carver will continue to drive them unless I get a bigger Carver:D
    HT System
    Parasound Halo A51 Amp, Marantz AV 8003 Pre, Arcam FMJ CD36 cd player, Marantz 7007 BD/SACD player,Acoustic Zen Matrix IC's, Analysis Plus Crystal Copper Oval IC's, Acoustic Zen Satori speaker cables, B&W 703's Fronts, Center Martin Logan Motif hybrid, Surrounds DefTech BPX, 2 X DefTech Supercube Reference Subs, DSpeaker Antimode 8033 EQ.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Neale13
    Neale13 Posts: 88
    edited January 2010
    dekuda wrote: »
    They did for me on my my Rti12's which are similar to yours. Your's are better and if you have those great speakers they are begging to be driven properly. I have a Carver TFM35x driving my Rti's and the Carver will continue to drive them unless I get a bigger Carver:D

    So do you think I should get the rotel rb-1092 ? :confused:
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • dekuda
    dekuda Posts: 756
    edited January 2010
    Neale13 wrote: »
    So do you think I should get the rotel rb-1092 ? :confused:

    Well,the 1080 is a decent amp and I believe it is around 200w/ch.That should handle those A9's okay and you said in your op that you just want more bass so if that is all you want then get the sub.The 1092 I believe is more than twice as powerful and it would be interesting how much better it would make your A9's sound. Like I said earlier, if you listen to music my first concern with good speakers would be the amp. If you do get a sub,get one that is tight and fast for music.This would depend on your budget.
    HT System
    Parasound Halo A51 Amp, Marantz AV 8003 Pre, Arcam FMJ CD36 cd player, Marantz 7007 BD/SACD player,Acoustic Zen Matrix IC's, Analysis Plus Crystal Copper Oval IC's, Acoustic Zen Satori speaker cables, B&W 703's Fronts, Center Martin Logan Motif hybrid, Surrounds DefTech BPX, 2 X DefTech Supercube Reference Subs, DSpeaker Antimode 8033 EQ.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • MANSKITO
    MANSKITO Posts: 295
    edited January 2010
    A Sub will get you much more bass per dollar then an amp will, on that note make sure it is NOT the psw10, aka get a good sub.
    Monitor 60s, CS10 front
    Monitor 40s, back
    PSW10:(

    H/k AVR 325
    Sansui Tape Deck
    Pioneer PD-5010 CD player

    Sennheiser HD 650s :D
    Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1 DAC

    AMD Phenom II 940 @ 3.8 prime stabel
    4 gigs 1066, cas 5
    XFX 4890 1gig
    Seagate 1tb 7200.12
    Creative X-fI Titanium Fatal1ty
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • royalty
    royalty Posts: 246
    edited January 2010
    Depends how low of bass are you looking for. Rap bass which is really low will need a sub. However, if you were to get a nice amp like say a Carver tfm 45 those rti12 would be loud as %$^&* in the 40-50-60hz department. DONT underestimate those little 7 inch drivers. They will pound with enough power
    HOME AUDIO:
    Electronics:
    HK 354
    Front Power: CARVER TFM-35
    Center Power: Audiosource Amp One
    Speakers:
    Center: CSi5
    Fronts: rti10s
    Rears: monitor 50s
    psw 125 + psw 505 = BOOM

    CAR AUDIO
    Infinity 6032CF's all around
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • cnh
    cnh Posts: 13,284
    edited January 2010
    MANSKITO wrote: »
    A Sub will get you much more bass per dollar then an amp will, on that note make sure it is NOT the psw10, aka get a good sub.

    lol,

    +1,

    Get yourself a nice SVS and you'll have BIG BASS!!

    I also agree that for music you might just want a better 2 channel amp..

    But the sub would be easiier and cheaper.

    cnh
    Currently orbiting Bowie's Blackstar.!

    Polk Lsi-7s, Def Tech 8" sub, HK 3490, HK HD 990 (CDP/DAC), AKG Q701s
    [sig. changed on a monthly basis as I rotate in and out of my stash]
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,205
    edited January 2010
    You absolutely do not need a better amp. The Rotel RB1080 is more then enough power for your speakers and then some.
    Get yourself a good sub.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • dorourke07
    dorourke07 Posts: 298
    edited January 2010
    Another sub vote. You said you want bass and subs make bass.
    Mains - LSi9's
    Center - LSiC
    Surround - pair of TL3's
    Amplification - Parasound 2125
    AVR - Onkyo 706
    CD/SACD - Onkyo DV-SP506
    SUB - MartinLogan Abyss
    55" Panasonic Viera TC-P55GT30 3D
    Bluray - DMP-BDT310 Panasonic
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • lynx
    lynx Posts: 43
    edited January 2010
    If you blew the fuses on the 1080, I'd say try a amp from a different manufacturer
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • sTiLlLeArNiNg
    sTiLlLeArNiNg Posts: 805
    edited January 2010
    When the a9's get enough juice they produce quite a bit of bass, a sub is probably the easier route though....
    Media Room 7.1
    Sharp lc37d64u | Sanus vmsab-03 | Sonax ZX8680 | Yamaha htr-6290b | Emotiva xpa1 x 2 & xpa5 | RTiA 9 & 7 | CSiA 6 | FXiA 6 | Sanus NF30B-03 | Velodyne dls-3750r | Dual 505-3 m97xe | Monster avs2000/hts5100

    HTPC
    Intel e5300 | Asus p5q DLX | LG ch08 BD | OCZ 4g reaper2 | WD 1TB | Sapphire 4890 VaporX 1g | Asus Xonar HDAV 1.3 | OCZ modXtreme 700w | Antec Fusion remote MAX

    A fool and his money are easily parted
    I don't drink Koolaid

    Need some cable's? Just ask :)
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • lynx
    lynx Posts: 43
    edited January 2010
    sTiLlLeArNiNg wrote: »
    When the a9's get enough juice they produce quite a bit of bass, a sub is probably the easier route though....
    I agree it would be an easier route although an Emotiva XPA-2 would probably wake these puppies up for the price of a decent sub .
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • unc2701
    unc2701 Posts: 3,587
    edited January 2010
    Tell us about your pre-amp... are you sure that you don't have any kind of crossover engaged?
    Gallo Ref 3.1 : Bryston 4b SST : Musical fidelity CD Pre : VPI HW-19
    Gallo Ref AV, Frankengallo Ref 3, LC60i : Bryston 9b SST : Meridian 565
    Jordan JX92s : MF X-T100 : Xray v8
    Backburner:Krell KAV-300i
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • nguyendot
    nguyendot Posts: 3,594
    edited January 2010
    Buy a bigger amp and send me the RB-1080. I've been wanting one forever ;)
    Main Surround -
    Epson 8350 Projector/ Elite Screens 120" / Pioneer Elite SC-35 / Sunfire Signature / Focal Chorus 716s / Focal Chorus CC / Polk MC80 / Polk PSW150 sub

    Bedroom - Sharp Aquos 70" 650 / Pioneer SC-1222k / Polk RT-55 / Polk CS-250

    Den - Rotel RSP-1068 / Threshold CAS-2 / Boston VR-M60 / BDP-05FD
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • lynx
    lynx Posts: 43
    edited January 2010
    unc2701 wrote: »
    Tell us about your pre-amp... are you sure that you don't have any kind of crossover engaged?

    Good point !
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Neale13
    Neale13 Posts: 88
    edited January 2010
    unc2701 wrote: »
    Tell us about your pre-amp... are you sure that you don't have any kind of crossover engaged?

    rotel rc-1070
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Neale13
    Neale13 Posts: 88
    edited January 2010
    The 1080 seems not to be enough power .When I turn the volume past 35 % the sound starts to not sound so great any more.(starts to distort) I think I want the bigger amp.rb-1092. George from rotel told me I was underpowering my 500w rtia9's. Im pushing them with a newer rb-1080. The fuses blew once on one channel.He said it would keep happening unless i kept the volume low.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter