Which upgrade is more important?

[KrazyMofo24]

I just got a part time job at Fry's one of the reasons I wanted to work there was for their discount which is 10% off wholesale price.

Right now I have a pair Rti4's for mains and a csi3 center. The rest of the setup was from a cheap $220 Onkyo HTIB. So I need to upgrade my reciever, sub, and better speakers and use the rti4's for surrounds.

What would improve the sound quality the most? I am considering the H/k 235 for the reciever. I want to get the Rti8 or 10's, but that would come last since i'll save for that. I have a small room with a 32inch tv and a corner computer desk and a bed thats takes up most of the space. I can fit floor speakers, but they would have to be real close to the tv. I'm not satisfied with the Rti4's, but I don't know how much the cheap reciever is degrading the SQ or if its just being in a small room, or the speaker(I doubt because they sounded great at Fry's).

What would be the best upgrade reciever, sub, or rti8's and putting the rti4's for surrounds?

[Vr3MxStyler2k3]

Get a receiver with preouts, get a seperate amp... (for the mains)

Get a killer source

Then upgrade the speakers.

Make a base, then find something you like the sound of. Usually if you can find speakers you enjoy on the cheap stuff, it only gets better on the better stuff (obviously)...

Depends on what you want to make a base off of, do you want to make a base off the speakers or the components.

DO NOT FORGET WIRES!

[KrazyMofo24]

I'm using 14 guage Monster XP wire. This is a noob question, but are the pre outs for connecting speakers that are using a separate amp? I will buy a reciever first, then a sub from reading on the forums the polk subs haven't gotten any good reviews. Fry's sell JBL and Infinity would it better to buy a sub from those companies?

[gregure]

Preouts are the RCA terminals on the receiver that send a signal for a given channel to a separate amp. Thus, the information for Left Front, Center, Right Front, and so on are sent to another amp via the preout, so the receiver acts as only a preamp for those channels.
A separate amp should give you better sound quality due to more headroom, more power, and the separation of power sources.
Personally, I think a kickass receiver would be a good start, then upgrading speakers, then a separate amp if your mains are large enough to warrant one. You will notice the difference more prominently that way. A cheap receiver with a separate amp is still a cheap preamp, even if the amp is better. A good sub will make a huge difference in theater use as well.

[MacLeod]

I would say upgrade the receiver first. The RTi4's are awesome speakers and would probably perform more to your liking with proper power.

Something like this (http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Harman-Kardon-Surround-Sound-Receiver-AVR235-/sem/rpsm/oid/109002/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do) would be a great upgrade. It would not only offer much more power but it would make your speakers sound 10 times better than what youre getting now. Then if thats not enough grunt, use the preouts and get a seperate amplifier for even better performance.

[McLoki]

What would be the best upgrade reciever, sub, or rti8's and putting the rti4's for surrounds?

For your current setup - if you are looking for an immidiate Holy Crap type upgrade - get a good sub.

Michael

[cfrizz]

Start with the receiver first. make sure it has pre-outs for upgradebility.

[Parson]

get an H/k receiver, for you polks.(I used to work in audio sales at fry's also)

Sounds waayy better in the high/treble region than the Onkyo.

Onkyo has a very ruff/course sounding treble with the rti's. H/k sounds so much smoother. We always had an H/k in our demo room. Then we hooked up the Onkyo tx-nr901(was a year ago,so it just came out) in the room.. Removed it 2 days later b/c of poor sound qaulity.

I also liked the sound of the yamahas with the polks, but I needed alot of power since I went with the rti12's and csi5 so I ended up getting the h/k avr 7200

People say onkyo is good(I do like there HTIB which is great for under $500), but I think they sound terible with polks RTi line(havrn't heard the new rt line, quit before they came out).

[aaharvel]

H/K receivers, Adcom Amps, rti4's, and csi3's work great for me. Sounds better than anybody I know with "LARGE" speaker systems.