I would like everyone's input (home theater speakers related)

[whitecamaross]

Good evening,

I have recently purchased a rotel rmb 1095 from a fellow forum member. That being said, i currently have the following set up:

1. Onkyo txnr 1009
2. panamax power conditioner
3. ps3
4. POLK AUDIO lsic (center), lsi9 (fronts), polk psw 1000 subwoofer, polk audio FXI A6 surrounds, LSI7'S as front heights ( i dont have space for front width channels)
5. EPSON thx 8700ub projector with 106 inch elite motorized screen.

Anyhow, my dilemma is that i have been using the onkyo 1009 unit pushing 7 channels. The rotel amp is a 5 channel amp so i am highly considering just taking down the lsi7s and use them as surrounds instead and eliminating the fxia6 surrounds completely.
Another possible scenario is to just power my main 5 speakers with the rotel and have the onkyo power up my front heights?
My concern with that last idea is that the rotel will crank up pretty loud making the front heights almost vanish because the onkyo won't be capable of keeping up with it.

What would you guys recommend i do? which set up do you think would sound better? i have attached a a picture of my set up so you can have an idea of my space and what i am working with. Please, any advice is appreciated :)

[tommyt21]

Negative, run the second scenario people do it all the time everything will level out fine. i run a xpa 3 for my front 3 and let my pio take care of the other 4

[rpf65]

Agree. You shouldn't have a problem balancing the sound. Adding amps isn't necessarily for increasing volumn.

[tonyb]

Also agree, let the receiver handle the heights, those require the least amount of power.

[whitecamaross]

That is what i was thinking. Do you think the lsi7s used as surrounds would make the sound much better over the fxia6s that are currently in place?

[tonyb]

No, the FX's will throw a wider soundfield than the 7's and give a more enveloping sound.

[mufsoman]

I have a RMB-1095 also with a 7.1 set up. The Rotel powers the front three speakers and one pair of side surrounds. I have a second pair of side surreounds and the back surrounds powered by the Pioneer SC07. Just make sure you recalibrate after installing the amp and tweak as necessary if you want to run the heighs a little hotter.

[PSOVLSK]

That is what i was thinking. Do you think the lsi7s used as surrounds would make the sound much better over the fxia6s that are currently in place?

I found that to be true in my setup, especially with multi-channel music. I'm much happier with the 7's as my surrounds.

[DSkip]

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but shouldn't your FX's be switched (midwoofers facing towards listening position)?

Paul, the magic number is 3. I'm going to try and have most of it done before you come get them so you can hear how it sounds.

[whitecamaross]

[QUOTE=DSkip;1870393]Perhaps I'm mistaken, but shouldn't your FX's be switched (midwoofers facing towards listening position)?

To my knowledge, that is how the fxia6 are meant to be positioned. I read the instructions and i also made sure the switch was set to the correct position.

[whitecamaross]

I found that to be true in my setup, especially with multi-channel music. I'm much happier with the 7's as my surrounds.

what other speakers did you use as rears?

[whitecamaross]

I have a RMB-1095 also with a 7.1 set up. The Rotel powers the front three speakers and one pair of side surrounds. I have a second pair of side surreounds and the back surrounds powered by the Pioneer SC07. Just make sure you recalibrate after installing the amp and tweak as necessary if you want to run the heighs a little hotter.



did you have to bump up the speaker level on the speakers that are being powered by your receiver? i was thinking that at some point the volume would be louder on your 5 speakers connected the amp?

[mufsoman]

I really didn't get an increase of volume from adding the amp as much as a cleaner/punchier/higher quality sound. I like to run my side and back surrounds a bit hotter than the Pioneer MCACC sets to, just because my preference to make them stand out more, so never paid attention to any volume difference between amped vs. unamped channels. Bottom line, I don't think the volume is that much different and if so, then just adjust your channel levels appropriately.

[PSOVLSK]

what other speakers did you use as rears?

FxiA6 prior to the 7's.

[Goldenboy72206]

Nice set up

[Anthony Hinton]

Very nice, love the projector!