Need advice on Best Center speaker to pair with RTI-A5's

Room Size 14x14

Currently I have the RM6750 as my surround speakers don't have a problem with them.

Rti-A5s 10.5" away from main seating area
Center same. The Center channel is the RM6750 currently & is way under powered..

There is a Sub in the Mix as well. It's the RM6750 8" Sub not the best i know but at the price I got the 5.1 system "dirt cheep".

Don't care on price I just want it to sound correct. I've read through the forums CSiA4/6, had one person say the S35?

There is no External AMP currently, I do want a 3 channel AMP to power the front stage.

Comments

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    You want a CSi A6.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

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    President of Club Polk

  • rpf65
    rpf65 Posts: 2,127
    Agree, if you have room for it. Pretty big speaker.

    The other choice is the CSI A4, much smaller, less dynamic.
  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    CSI-A6
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
  • Thanks for the advise. Next problem What AMP to power the center stage...... 250 is alot to fully drive those Rti-A5 and the CSI-A6 is power hungry as well.
  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    What AVR are you using? Does it have pre-out to hook up an amp? What is the main use of the system? Movies or music?

    I had a set or RTi8's with a CSI-5, same as your speakers just one model back. I was driving them with a Sony ES AVR and it did do a nice job. A friend was selling an Emotiva amp and let me try it for a few days. of yes it was nice, gave my system a more open sound. My system didn't need an amp but it sure sounded better with one.

    Depending on your AVR I would look at getting a better sub, either HSU or SVS before an amp.

    For Amp's it all about budget, new or used. For the low end Emotiva on the mid grade Parasound.
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    Cobragt88 wrote: »
    Thanks for the advise. Next problem What AMP to power the center stage...... 250 is alot to fully drive those Rti-A5 and the CSI-A6 is power hungry as well.

    Set all your speakers to small, cross over to the sub at 80Hz. You won't need an amp, especially in a 14' x 14' room.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • mrloren: I have a Denon AVR-X4400H it does have front center/Left Pre out plus pre out for SUB. F1nut all my speakers are set to small, do I set the crossover in the AVR or the back of the sub to 80HZ? Or both? ATM it is set to 120 LFE in AVR and same on back of SUB.
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    Set the crossover in the AVR.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 7,952
    I wouldn't even use the sub. Sorry man but my buddy had that package for years and the sub is more like a Bose bass module than a sub, it gives you almost nothing below 50 hz. I wouldn't use it personally, but if I did I would only use it for the surrounds and the .1 LFE channel.

    You have a really nice receiver that can put out about 100 WPC 5 channels driven, and those A5s aren't THAT power hungry. I would set the front three to large, unless you are going to seriously crank it. Which you shouldn't without an amp. But you can still listen at a very healthy volume running your front three full range without an amp. Check the review of the avr-x4200w, just a couple years old:

    https://www.soundandvision.com/content/denon-avr-x4200w-av-receiver-review-test-bench
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es; Squeezebox Touch with Bolder Power Supply
    Game Room 5.1.4:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra

    Bedroom 2.1
    Cambridge Azur 551r; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    Yes you have a very nice AVR. Set the crossover on the AVR to 80HZ and get a good sub.

    HSU or SVS.
    An HSU VTF2 would work nice with that setup
    http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-2mk5.html
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
  • rooftop59
    rooftop59 Posts: 7,952
    mrloren wrote: »
    Yes you have a very nice AVR. Set the crossover on the AVR to 80HZ and get a good sub.

    HSU or SVS.
    An HSU VTF2 would work nice with that setup
    http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-2mk5.html

    I agree that if your main goal is HT, then skip the amp for now and get a good sub. But a nice warm amp like a Parasound or B&K would make those speakers sing.
    Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es; Squeezebox Touch with Bolder Power Supply
    Game Room 5.1.4:
    Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra

    Bedroom 2.1
    Cambridge Azur 551r; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer
  • thanks all for the info. That AVR was on sale when i got it. rooftop59 so that's why it sounds like it bottoms out alot. LOL, i knew it wasn't the best SUB but I will replace it when I can just payed all this stuff off.. SVS 12 or 15" are alot in CAD like 1500 to 2K got alot to save up for a nice SUB.
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,902
    You can get a brand new SVS Sub for around 500 down here, can't believe there is that much difference. The Looney must be worth less than the Peso. :)
    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
  • Cobragt88
    Cobragt88 Posts: 7
    Follow up. Having the Csi A6 Center now is an unreal upgrade "bought on sale". Living in Canada HSU will not ship to me. SVS Will. What is a better Sub to have for movie watching, more than music. Ported or non Ported. Also what is your thoughts on Bi-Amping speakers?
  • ken brydson
    ken brydson Posts: 8,638
    For movies I'd go ported but sealed will be fine as well. Some nice Memorial Day deals this weekend in the SVS outlet store.

    https://www.svsound.com/collections/outlet-specials/type_subwoofers
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    Cobragt88 wrote: »
    Follow up. Having the Csi A6 Center now is an unreal upgrade "bought on sale". Living in Canada HSU will not ship to me. SVS Will. What is a better Sub to have for movie watching, more than music. Ported or non Ported. Also what is your thoughts on Bi-Amping speakers?

    Ported is generally the choice for movies, but a good sealed sub is my choice. The key word being good. Sealed subs also tend to be smaller, so easier to place. The SVS SB4000 would be an excellent choice.

    You cannot bi-amp with an AVR, period. True bi-amping is complicated and costly, forget you ever thought about it.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    F1nut wrote: »
    Cobragt88 wrote: »
    Follow up. Having the Csi A6 Center now is an unreal upgrade "bought on sale". Living in Canada HSU will not ship to me. SVS Will. What is a better Sub to have for movie watching, more than music. Ported or non Ported. Also what is your thoughts on Bi-Amping speakers?

    You cannot bi-amp with an AVR, period. True bi-amping is complicated and costly, forget you ever thought about it.

    The manufacturers call it bi amping but it really isn’t. It does *technically* use different amp chips but everything else is the same, including the power supply which is the thing that makes it not bi amping.
  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    Nice glad you like the center speaker. DO NOT BI-AMP PLEASE.

    For sealed or ported sub all depends on the user. I have an HSU VTF which can be sealed or ported. I found the best is one port open. Sealed on movies sounded good but the dishes were not shaking. Sealed did sound a tad better on music.

    SVS are great subs, either ported or sealed will do you just fine.
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
    Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
    Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
    Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music
  • Cobragt88
    Cobragt88 Posts: 7
    great thanks for the input. Ho long will it take to break in the CSI A6 normally? Days weeks...
  • gp4jesus
    gp4jesus Posts: 1,969
    edited May 2018
    Cobragt88 wrote: »
    ...what are your thoughts on Bi-Amping speakers?
    By and large and by my example I agree w/the consensus. True bi-amping or tri-amping correctly while challenging, has great payoffs in performance.

    However OTOH, if you have the wire, try it. It’s quick, easy, & free to experiment. If not don’t persue it. (Here come the tomatoes!)
    Samsung 60" UN60ES6100 LED Outlaw Audio 976 Pre/Pro Samsung BDP, Amazon Firestick, Phillips CD Changer Canare 14 ga - LCR tweeters inside*; Ctr Ch outside BJC 10 ga - LCR mids, inside* & out 8 ga Powerline: LR woofers, inside* & out *soldered LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & “Plugged*” Mids - 981, connected w/MP Premiere ICs Ctr Ch: Rotel RB981 -> Bi-amped CSi A6 Surrounds: Premiere ICs ->Rotel 981 -> AR 12 ga -> RTi A3. 5 Subs: Sunfire True SW Signature -> LFE & Ctr Ch; 4 Audio Pro Evidence @ the “Corners”. Power Conditioning & Distribution: 4 dedicated 20A feeds; APC H15; 5 Furman Miniport 20s *Xschop's handy work
  • Cobragt88
    Cobragt88 Posts: 7
    So Final update on setup just finally got the SVS SB 2000 sub added & setup to my system. What a difference in Bass. Got the SVS soundpath RCA Interconnect to the LFE
  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    Congratulations, enjoy your system!
    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