lSI15, RTI12 OR RTIA9 FOR 24 X 24 THEATER ROOM ONLY

[DAVE HOFFER]

I have a 24 x 24 theater room. I have a onkyo 709. 110 watts 8 ohm per channel or it will do 4 ohm. I want very clear highs and very good rocking smooth bass. Watch a lot of action movies and some tv on a 120" screen with a jvc projector. I will be buying the set fronts, center, rears. Cant get the lsims. I have the rt55i fronts, cs front, fx rears and psw650 ?? I want something that i will really hear a difference. I will consider all options. Thanks dave

[jbooker82]

I would go RTi A9's and plan on adding an external amplifier.

[B Run]

+1 I'd go Rtia9's or Rti12's if you can get a good deal, but definitely add an external amp for any of the speakers you mentioned. The Onkyo will work great as a pre, and with a good amp that will be a nice setup.

[nhhiep]

get rti12 or A9, then 3 channel amp to power the front. Let the AVR handles the rest.

[Irrenhaus]

I have the RTI12 and the Onkyo 709 you will need a external amp to get the clear highs and smooth bass you are looking for.

Cheers

[DAVE HOFFER]

So far it sounds like the 9s or 12s. Will i have to play it real loud to get good sound or to get the speaker to work right? Im not clear on a amp. What brand? What model? How much? How many watts? How many channels? 2,3,5,7. How do you hook up the amp wires. Has this got something to do with the biamp? The speakers have 4 post on the back with a jumper. Do i diconnect the jumper on back of the speaker? How do the wires hook up at reciever and amp?

[B Run]

I'd get a 3 or 5 channel amp for home theater. You'll get the best bang for your buck buying used, check out brands like Adcom, Parasound, Outlaw, Nad, B&K, Emotiva, Carver etc. You'll use you're preouts on the back of your avr, and an interconnect cable to connect the amp. Don't worry about biwiring or any of that. It's very easy don't let it intimidate you, and there's tons of helpful info on here if you take some time to search.

[DAVE HOFFER]

Lots of good information. Anybody know where to get the best prices? On these speakers? For a used amp look on ebay,craigslist ? Whats the range of cost should i pay. It makes sence to me to buy a 5 channel amp. Yes or no

[nhhiep]

If you want new amp, Emotive is the best bang for buck. For used, you have so many options to list. I went this route and currently have 3 HK Citation 7.1, just because I like HK sound. Bought them all on Audiogon.com

[snake1]

So far it sounds like the 9s or 12s. Will i have to play it real loud to get good sound or to get the speaker to work right? Im not clear on a amp. What brand? What model? How much? How many watts? How many channels? 2,3,5,7. How do you hook up the amp wires. Has this got something to do with the biamp? The speakers have 4 post on the back with a jumper. Do i diconnect the jumper on back of the speaker? How do the wires hook up at reciever and amp?

Well, to help you out, it'd be best to start googling stuff so you'll have an understanding of whats going on. Also, I just went through researching and buying a 2ch. parasound amp for my 12s. Go to my profile and see if you can check out my threads regarding amps. Lots of great guys gave some good info to help me out!

I agree with B Run though, a good 3 ch would do fine and let the Onk handle surround duty. I'm letting my Onk handle surround and center duty when the time comes. If $$ isn't a concern then a 5 ch. would be awesome but not needed I'd say.

[DAVE HOFFER]

I LOOKED ON EMOTIVE WEB SITE XPA-5 769.00 XPA-3 599.00 BOTH 200 WATTS. i SEE PARASOUND CAN GET A LITTLE PRICEY. DO THEY NEED TO BE THX?

[snake1]

Not necessarily. I've heard some good things about Emo when used for HT. For music the consensus is less desirable.

[B Run]

Keep looking on craigslist and ebay, you'll find a good deal on what you want. Save a little bit of $ for some decent interconnect cables as well, i'd check out blue jeans or signal cable when the time comes.

[DAVE HOFFER]

I see adcom is very expensive. I would want a 3 or 5 channel. How many watts per channel do i need?

[B Run]

That opinion varies around here, but I had an Adcom gfa7000, it was 135wpc and I found it used for around $300. It was older but sounded good and was built like a tank. I'd say any high current amp over about 125wpc should do the job, but a lot of people feel like 200wpc is what it takes to really drive the 12's or A9's. It's really just a matter of opinion but there's a lot of helpful people on here that can chime in.

[F1nut]

You get what you pay for.....just saying.

[sagasa]

I have Rti12 matched with emotiva xpa2 and 3, I like it a lot for home theater. and for the price that will be hard to beat (rti12).

[DAVE HOFFER]

Dont know anything about amps. You have the xpa2 and xpa3. Did you buy them at different times. Or is there another reason you have 2 amps instead of 1 xpa5 or the xpr5?

[Emlyn]

Have you considered just getting a more powerful subwoofer to start and wait to get new speakers? Reason I say this is I don't see getting a whole new RTi setup as a big step up in sound quality from the speakers you already have. And you'd need to get a good amplifier to drive the RTiA9's to better fill the room with low frequencies. You still wouldn't get full bass impact like you would from a better subwoofer. Getting a new subwoofer like something from a company like SVSound would be a very noticeable step up in bass output from the subwoofer you have now. The PSW650 was a decent subwoofer in its day, but doesn't compare that well to the subwoofer output from a ported SVS subwoofer in a 24 by 24 room. If you have the bass output for LFE in movies taken care of first with a better subwoofer you could run any RTiA setup with just your receiver crossed over at 60 to 80Hz.

[Geoff4rfc]

Dave, welcome to the club!

With a room that size, and if you've got a good size budget, you can run 4 A9's across the front. The wide channel will at times double the sound in your front stage (Left/Center/Right). The Onk 709 is a 7.2 with pre-outs so you can do this.

The A9's need space and power to really open up, you've got the space! I see you've seen the Emotiva, clearly not the best amp BUT, really affordable and IMO does a really good job of power delivery.

You could, go with XPA-5 to feed your front 5 and let your AVR power the surrounds, or get the mighty XPR-5 and do the same thing. I'm currently powering my four A9's and CSiA6 center with an XPA-3 and 2. Saving my coin to acquire the XPR-5.

Hooking an amp to the AVR is quite simple, I had the same questions as you just less than two years ago.

I first purchased my XPA-3, at the time I was running the monitor line and just wanted to power my front stage of three speakers. When I upgraded to the RTiA line, I wanted more power so I got the XPA-2 and implemented wides to my front stage. I also have an onkyo, the older 807 but still does a great job at powering my FXiA6's.

There's a member here with a pair of A9's and a pair A7's for wides. Here's a photo of what my front stage looks like with 4 A9's.

[slester99]

If you can get a good deal on the Lsi 15's (or find them) I would take a look at them, they are a much sharper sounding speaker than the rti series which will give you a very warm sound. I have a full Lsi setup, including the Lsi 15's, with the xpa-5 amp and they sound amazing. If you get a chance I would say sit down and lessen to both and you will here the difference.


Onkyo TX-NR906
Emotiva XPA-5
Lsi15
Lsi7
LsiC
Dsw600

[DAVE HOFFER]

I like all the feed back. Keep it coming. We have someone that likes the lsi 15s. Im trying to find somewhere in dallas that has a good line up of polk speakers. Frys have no real sound rooms. Going to star power today to check it out. I would like to just run out and buy something but dont what to make a mistake. I may want to start with a good power amp. Im thinking my speaker will sound better with a good amp. Need more feed back on what to buy and not buy. What do you have? I would like to stay under 1200.00 for a amp.

[chumlie]

Look like a good deal on ebay now for a new Parasound 5125. Buy it now $900.

[gp4jesus]

get rti12s or A9s, then a 3 channel amp to power the front. Let the AVR handle the rest.

+1 on A9s, +3 on LS series if you can $wing it. Add Rotel to B run's amp suggestions in post 7.

Merry Christmas, Tony

[gp4jesus]

DO THEY NEED TO BE THX?

IMHO no. IMHO non-certified leess edgy, warmer, more neutral top end.

[Inspector 24]

That opinion varies around here, but I had an Adcom gfa7000, it was 135wpc and I found it used for around $300. It was older but sounded good and was built like a tank. I'd say any high current amp over about 125wpc should do the job, but a lot of people feel like 200wpc is what it takes to really drive the 12's or A9's. It's really just a matter of opinion but there's a lot of helpful people on here that can chime in.

Running them with a Parasound HCA-1206 @ 135wpc the A9's sounded much better than running straight off the AVR. Bumping up to the Parasound HCA-2003 220wpc opened them up a bit but really filled out the bottom end and gave them an overall bigger sound which was apparent at all volume levels.

OP, I've been extremely happy with my 2003, fills my 900sq ft basement with a LOT of sound, drives the A9's louder and cleaner than I care to listen to them. Here's a couple on Ebay now:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271109082480...84.m1423.l2649
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121029048492...84.m1423.l2649

[B Run]

Add Rotel to B run's amp suggestions in post 7.

Good catch, I thought I typed Rotel first. Great amps.

[DAVE HOFFER]

Been looking at speakers and amps all day yesterday. Think i want to buy a good amp first. Iv been told its going to help the speaker i have now. I cant get my head straight on how many channels and amps. My receiver says 110 watts per channel so if i buy a 125 watt per channel amp it doesnt seem like i gained any thing. Yes or no. Buy a 200 watt amp for the front 3 or a 7 channel 200 watt amp for all the channels. I dont want the sound to be out of balance. I kinda like the outlaw 7200 200 watts per channel 7 channels driven. I also like the parasounds but more money with only 5 channels. Im running 7.2 channels now. The epa-5 sounds to good to be true and its only 5 channels. Or do you buy a 3 channel now the 6 months later buy 2 channels more? I have no where to go to hear the differance between amps. I must here from you. Especially the ones that have had many differant amps. I could buy what i think i like and get it home and think its the best because its better than what i had. But then again with out being able to hear these differant amps side by side how do you or i know whats really the best for the money. Do you just go by the higher the price the better the amp sounds or works. Im new here i dont think im the only one with some of these question. I see a lot of you on here. I want you answers and question.thanks dave

[DAVE HOFFER]

Also what confuses me is when the spec of the amp may say 200 watts all channels driven and some say 200 watts 2 channels driven both on a 5 channel amp.

[Geoff4rfc]

I dont want the sound to be out of balance.

Okay Dave, let's see it this will help. I have a 7.2 AVR and two different amps. The AVR is rated @ 135wpc with only 2ch driven. My amps are rated @ 200wpc and 300wpc all channels driven. My 300w feeds 2 speakers, the 200w feeds 3 speakers and the AVR feeds 2 speakers. I have a speaker set up mic with my AVR and it does room correction and calibrates the speakers so even though different speakers are getting different power ratings, everything is blended and sounds great together.

Also what confuses me is when the spec of the amp may say 200 watts all channels driven and some say 200 watts 2 channels driven both on a 5 channel amp.

Almost all AVR's are rated with two channels driven, once you add more channels, the power drops. Like mentioned before, mine is rated @ 135wpc 2 ch driven. 105wpc with 5 ch driven, and when I use all 7 channels, I'm pushing a lowly 29.9wpc.

This is why there's a need for power amps. Most AVR's do not sustain max power through all channels.