Need advice on powering RTi10s

[PTSki]

I have two RTi10s that I picked up cheaply on closeout. I've heard that these are power hungry speakers and am looking for some input from RTi10 owners. What works well for you?

I am currently leaning toward Denon 3808ci or Onky 876. Is this overkill? Thanks in advance

[cnh]

I don't own that model but I can tell you that they can handle a lot more power than either of those receivers. Both receivers are a good start though. I'd favor the 876 because I prefer the warmer sound the Onkyos have with Polk speakers.

It's NOT overkill.

cnh

[leroyjr1]

I would go with the Onkyo 876. I wouldn't consider the RTI 10's power hungry but they will benefit from more power. You might want to look into external power.

[treitz3]

If you do look for external power, consider a Carver amp such as the M1.5t or M-500t. They match well with that speaker and will be all the power that these speakers need with plenty of headroom for you. Just a thought I'll throw out at you.

Oh, my manners. Welcome to the forum.

[Retro152]

I have two RTi10s that I picked up cheaply on closeout. I've heard that these are power hungry speakers and am looking for some input from RTi10 owners. What works well for you?

I am currently leaning toward Denon 3808ci or Onky 876. Is this overkill? Thanks in advance

I own the Rti-a7's, which are really just a revamped version of the rti10. The Yamaha 663 i have is only doing a fair job of pushing them.( The Denon and Onkyo blow away the 663). So i ordered an Amp to get more out of them.

[ben62670]

and welcome to Club Polk.
Ben

[Retro152]

and welcome to Club Polk.
Ben

Forgot my manners too, Welcome to club polk!

[mdaudioguy]

They can be driven fairly well with standard, high current AVRs... just buy either, hook 'em up, and NEVER log into an audio forum again. You'll save lots of time and $$! ;)
I have no manners - ask my mom, my wife, my ex-wife...

[PTSki]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. The more I read, the more I realize that I have to learn! I guess I'll be deciding sometime this weekend.

[Dawgfish]

I own the RTi 10s and I am currently using them as my side surrounds. I was using them as my fromts at one time and was using an Onkyo 806 to push them. It sounded good, but the Onkyo just didn't have the muscle to drive them properly. The 806 is rated at 130 wpc, while the 876 is rated at 140 wpc. That 10 wpc difference will barely be noticable, if it all. My opinion is the 876 alone will not have the power to properly drive the RTi10s to their capabilities. This is also true of the Denon 3808. Both of these recievers will push the RTi10s ok, but you will eventually want to add an external amp and the difference with the amp will be major! I am currently using an Emotiva XPA-3 to power my RTi10s and they sound terrific. They woke up the 10s in a big way. I also used an Adcom GFA-555 to power the RTi10s and they sounded good also, just not as good as with the Emotiva IMHO.

My advice would be this. Audition both of these recievrs extensively if you can and see which one sounds best to you. Both of these are great recievers, so just see which one you like best. Interestingly enough I did have an Onkyo 806 that I was using as a preamp, but have replaced it with a Denon AVR-2809CI. I'm not disagreeing with what you said at all CNH, but to me the Denon sounds warmer and a little less processed or "digitized" than the 806. I guess what I'm trying to say is sound is a personal thing and things sound different to different people. That's why it's important for you to listen and see which reciever you like best if you can. Decide on the reciever and use it to push the RTi10s until you can add a good amp to power them. At this point, you're really going to like what you hear. Hope this helps.

Steve

[Willow]

External power is the only way to go. I have the 8s and the difference is night and day powered by AVR and powered by externals.

[Dawgfish]

One more thing, If you think you enventually end up using the recievers as preamps anyways, you might want to look at some of the lower priced recievers unless you just want the features the 876 and 3808 give you. The Onkyo 706 or 806 both have preouts and can be picked up for signifigantly cheaper than the 876. I've seen new 706s and 806s online for as little as $500 and $650 respectively. If you want to go with the Denon, the 2809 can be picked up for a little cheaper than the 3808, and the 2809 has some newer features like the Auddysey dynamic volume. The main advantage the 3808 has over the 2809 is it being able to play music off of your computer. If you don't need this capability, the 2809 and 3808 sound very close to each other, especially as preamps.

Yamaha, Harmon Kardon, and Pioneer all produce recievers with preouts that can be picked up in the $500 range. Just my dos pesos.

[Willow]

Not to mention I think there might be some very good used ones in the FM right now !

[NewHTguy]

With my Rti 10s there was a big improvement when I went from an Onk 605 to a Onk 875. Recently I added a Parasound 2250 (250 wpc). This caused a significant increase in detail and separation, even at reasonable volumes.

[cfrizz]

Welcome to Club Polk PTSki.

What the others have said. Get a receiver that has all the bells & whistles that you want it to have & then work on getting an amp to let the speakers show you what they are really capable of.

[MADGSF]

As others said my Pioneer did a good job pushing the RTi-10. But adding the B&K was a huge step forward to me. Everthing improved especially the bass.