How should I hook up this list of gear? Bryston Power Amp and RTi150's plus more

greyking · October 2003

I am still shopping for a good pre amp/power amp for my RTi 150' s/ home theater set up. Just for now I pulled some stuff together out of the other rooms in my recording studio just to give them a whirl while I look for a more permanent HT pre amp/power amp. So here is the list of stuff and now I need some good advice on how to hook it all up and run it:

Bryston 4B ST power amp (250 watts per channel at 8 ohms)

Kenwood VR-7070 receiver

Polk Audio RTi150 front speakers

Polk Audio FXi30 surrounds

JBL SC305 center channel speaker

Cambridge soundworks model TEN A rear speakers

I plan on buying a sub soon and was wondering which SVS was the one to get. ???
I am also going to replace the JBL center with the Polk CSi40, and the Cambridge rears with the Polk RTi38's or another set of FXi30's.
Unless of course you guys have a better suggestion. Please let me know what you think.
I am kind of new to all this home theater stuff, but I learn fast. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ANY GOOD SUGGESTIONS!

Also here is a good review of the Bryston 4B-ST that I took out of my recording studio control room:
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/bryston_4b_st.htm

F1nut · October 2003

It's deja vu......all over again.

greyking · October 2003

Yes, but I am only using my Bryston 4B-ST TEMPORARILY until I figure out what I am going to buy as a permanent fixture in my home theater. I took the Bryston out of my recording studio control room where it powers my Dynaudio speakers that I use to track on. I listen to $50,000 worth of Neve preamps through those speakers to record all my basic tracks on. The Bryston and Dynaudio are a good combination to get good tracks that translate well over to "normal" systems when my end users end up with my finished product CD's.

Now.......can anyone help me hook all this gear up properly?
I am a PRO at recording studio gear and a beginner at Home Theater.

greyking · October 2003

I was able to pick up a set of RTi38's today, so on the list above replace the Cambridge TEN A's with the RTi38's. I guess I could use the FXi30's as rears and the RTi38's as surrounds. Or vice versa. What do you guys think? How should I run all this stuff?

Tour2ma · October 2003

Don't know the Kenwood, but if it has pre-outs I'd give the Bryston a shot at the 150's solo and Kenwood the rest.

Need room info and more to make an SVS rec...

The fx's should go on the sides and the 38's behind you.

EDIT: In bold above... I don't think the 150's should be rears as I originally posted... :rolleyes:

Frank Z · October 2003

I think the best option would be to use the Bryston to power the 150's up front. The Fxi's should be placed approx. 2-3' above the listeners ear level. Obviously the JBL should be used for the center. The Cambridge speakers could be used for rear suround duties until you pick up a pair of 38's or 28's. As for the SVS sub, lots of people around here like 'em, but don't be in a rush to get one until you have everything else set up and calibrated. You may find that the 150's don't need any help with the bottom end. You can always add one later if you really need it.

Make sure that you set all of your suround speakers and the center channel to small via the set up options on your receiver, and don't forget to use an SPL meter to properly calibrate your new setup.

If you need more info on proper placement, try www.dolby.com .

greyking · October 2003

Thanks for your input. The room that I have is 16 feet by 14 feet 4 inches. It's not really big but I might move everything into a larger room when all of the construction is finished.

So far as I can understand what I need to do is as follows: Come out the pre outs of my Kenwood VR-7070 receiver into the in's on the Bryston 4B-ST power amp. Connect the RTi 150's (without removing the little bar on the back of the speakers) to the Bryston power amp. Running the 150's all as one instead of making them seperated into tops and bottoms. Then put the RTi38's on the back wall (as rears) 3 feet or so above ear level. Put the FXi30's on the sides 3 feet or so above ear level. I will hook up the rears(RTi38's), surrounds (FXi30's), and the center (JBL for now until I get the CSi40) to the Kenwood VR-7070. Should I place the FXi30's as the "L" and "R" on the back direct me to? Or should I reverse them? Then, I could get a SVS sub and do all of the calibrating and refinements. Am I on the right path ?

Frank Z · October 2003

Originally posted by greyking
Should I place the FXi30's as the "L" and "R" on the back direct me to? Or should I reverse them? Then, I could get a SVS sub and do all of the calibrating and refinements. Am I on the right path ?

I don't want to sound like a smartass, but, when in doubt read the instructions. Seriously, put them up as indicated by the manual, they'll sound great!

How should I hook up this list of gear? Bryston Power Amp and RTi150's plus more

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