Powering RTi A9's?

[Nikola]

I finally moved into a house so I can fully enjoy my system, which consists of-

RTi A9 - front (2)
CSi A4 - center (1)
FXi A4 - rear surround (2)
Denon AVR-4310CI

The sound is great and loud but I am not really "feeling" the lower frequencies. The high quality sound and loudness is more that sufficient but I'm lacking the bass, these things should shake the house. I can somewhat get things rocking if I really crank it up, but for watching movies and listening at lower levels it just seams to lack the low and mid bass feeling. I think the bass drivers should be doing a lot more throughout the volume range.

I have put the time in tweeking the Denon and dont think I have missed any significant settings. I got the A9's bi-amped, so about 130W to the 3 bass drivers on each unit. Is this enough?

Maybe I need a 2 channel amplifier. If so, any recommendations???

[Sherardp]

Do you have a sub? In any case, it is recommended that 200wpc should really get these things going. I run 525 wpc to mine with a D-Sonic Iceamp. I have the RTi12s and they do pretty well on their own in music and HT. In HT I run them as full range and still run dual subs. I would suggest seperate sub for the low LFE regardless and an amp also to power the A9s.

[xcapri79]

+1 The RTi12's definitely sound better with a good amp. As good as the Denon AVR-4310C is as an AVR, its amp just isn't up to giving the RTi12 the power for optimal performance.

That said, ensure that the AVR settings are set to full range for those speakers.

[Kex]

I would buy a subwoofer first, and then consider an external amplifier if required. The cheapest subwoofers for HT that are worth mentioning start around $250, but things don't really get interesting until you pass the $500 mark. With that nice system, it's probably worth paying extra IMO, but you'll have quite a bit of research to do to choose wisely!

Welcome to Club Polk!

[xcapri79]

+1 The RTi12's definitely sound better with a good amp. As good as the Denon AVR-4310C is as an AVR, its amp just isn't up to giving the RTi12 the power for optimal performance.

That said, ensure that the AVR settings are set to full range for those speakers.

Yes, welcome to Club Polk. I missed mentioning that the RTiA9's are the new model of RTi speakers that succeeded the RTi12's. We mention the RTi12's because we own them and they share very similar performance characteristics and requirements with the RtiA9's.

Now the RTi12 or RTiA9 speakers will not give you the really deep bass or any subsonic perfomance that a good subwoofer gives you. You still need to supplement the low end bass with a subwoofer.

[cnoat]

I am running a pair of 12's.I was having a problem with the lower end too.I purchased a parasound 1500 to solve the problem it didn't.I bi-amped the lower end with the parasound and used my reciever for the upper.Big difference.Give this a try it not only gave me more punch but it toned down the brightness.GL in your quest to achieve the best sound you can.It is fun.But frustrating at the same time.At the same time a good sub will compensate for the difference.The three 7's can only push so much air.

[Kex]

... The three 7's can only push so much air.

Three letters for you: LFE, for Low Frequency Effects. If you don't have a subwoofer with an RCA connection to the LFE subwoofer output on your receiver, you aren't listening to 5.1, or 7.1, or whatever. The 0.1 is the LFE channel, and it has nothing to do with your speakers, no matter how big or how good they are. JMO.

[dvran]

Sub!

[bklynNupe]

I finally moved into a house so I can fully enjoy my system, which consists of-

RTi A9 - front (2)
CSi A4 - center (1)
FXi A4 - rear surround (2)
Denon AVR-4310CI

The sound is great and loud but I am not really "feeling" the lower frequencies. The high quality sound and loudness is more that sufficient but I'm lacking the bass, these things should shake the house. I can somewhat get things rocking if I really crank it up, but for watching movies and listening at lower levels it just seams to lack the low and mid bass feeling. I think the bass drivers should be doing a lot more throughout the volume range.

I have put the time in tweeking the Denon and dont think I have missed any significant settings. I got the A9's bi-amped, so about 130W to the 3 bass drivers on each unit. Is this enough?

Maybe I need a 2 channel amplifier. If so, any recommendations???

A good sub like many have already mentioned and/or MORE POWER.:D
A nice 3 channel 200wpc will do the trick. Take your pick, adcom, emotiva, rotel, b&k etc.

[searay40dad]

+1 on sub & some quality external amplification. when I put seperate amps on each 12's LFs, it made a huge and very noticable difference in headroom, sound clarity, and LF presence.

[Nikola]

Thanks everyone for the help! It is much appreciated!