Receiver for Rti8

[bpgunning]

I've been looking around at speakers for a while now, and I've more or less settled on the Rti8. They seem to be the best choice for my price range, and I've heard nothing but great reviews about them, not to mention the Polk quality. The one thing I am not sure about is a receiver. I've been looking at the mid-entry level Denon and Onkyo receivers, and I heard Yamaha was a bad choice for Polk speakers. Any advice as to what receivers I should look at? I will almost certainly be bi-amping until I get rear surrounds and separate amps to power the Rti8's. The Rti8 pair will be the starting speakers for my HT system. I am just starting it now, so they will be playing solo until about christmas until I can start getting the other pieces (sub, center, etc), so just keep that mind. I'm looking to keep my receiver budget under $500. Thanks in advance.

Brendan

[daboyz]

#1 - Welcome to the club!:D
#2 - If you haven't already got them, watch Fry's, they've had them for under $400/pr.
#3 - Denon is a good choice but I really enjoy my Harman Kardon AVR335 w/an HK amp. Excellent SQ and has outs for future expansion.
#4 - If a refurb doesn't bother you, I got my 335 for $225 shipped on the Bay from HK direct.

That's my 2 cents. Good luck and enjoy, I love mine and they are an an excellent starting point.

Dave

[auto_pilot]

I love my Cambridge Audio 640R...It sounds sweet musically, and HT. The power ratings are off the charts when you see some the lab tests done in the reviews. S&V has a really good write up on it. They say it is one the best for both HT and Audio listening...You just can't biamp it though.

(I didn't realize the budget...this AVR is $1300)

[bpgunning]

I have no problem with refurbs as long as the warranty doesn't suck. I looked at Onkyo's refurb warranty and it was only 90 days as opposed to most that are either one or two years. As for the HK, will it have enough oomph to power the Rti8 pair by itself while maintaining good sound quality? I obviously don't expect it to be perfect without the extra amps, but I can't afford them right away and I certainly don't want to skimp too much on the receiver. Alot of people swear by their HK receivers, but is 55 Wpc (70 in stereo mode) not a little low for these big suckers?

[Lowell_M]

I have no problem with refurbs as long as the warranty doesn't suck. I looked at Onkyo's refurb warranty and it was only 90 days as opposed to most that are either one or two years. As for the HK, will it have enough oomph to power the Rti8 pair by itself while maintaining good sound quality? I obviously don't expect it to be perfect without the extra amps, but I can't afford them right away and I certainly don't want to skimp too much on the receiver. Alot of people swear by their HK receivers, but is 55 Wpc (70 in stereo mode) not a little low for these big suckers?

The power rating on the HK's is a very honest power rating. I bought my AVR 635 refurbished and love it. The warrenty is the same as a new unit also.

You can always do better with an external amp, but the amp secions in the H/K's are very stong. I ran my Rti70's for a time on the HK and never had any issues. The step up to my ADCOM GFA-555 amp made a big difference, but I'm still impressed with the sonic abilities of the H/K. The Rti8's aren't that difficult to drive either. The AVR-345 would be a great place to start and also function as a decent pre-amp if you decide to add an external amp down the road.


Edit... also... I don't know what the H/K's are going for now, but if you watch the harman direct auctions closely you can eventualy jump on a good deal. At the time I bought my 635, they were normally going for $550 to $625 from harman direct and I snagged one on an off day for $505.

[bpgunning]

how about the pioneer elite vsx-80txv or the or the pioneer tsx-1016txv? there are some great deals on the eBay stores on both of those.

edit: you can also find the Marantz sr5600 and zr6001, any word on those?

[ivansfo]

In the past I have played with RTi8, Onkyo 701, and a few Denon receivers. If you don't mind used and don't need HDMI, the Denon 3805 is what I would get for under $500. Used 3805s go for about $450-$550 on the used market.

[tcrossma]

I have a Yamaha RX-V2500 receiver hooked up to my Polk's and have no complaints.

[mantis]

At 500.00 there are not many receivers that are going to do your speakers justice. I suggest you up your budget to enjoy those nice speakers you got.
Pioneer Elite vsx80TX is a great choice. Denon avr's are also very good.

Dan

[daboyz]

You can get a refurb and a good amp here or on the bay and stay near the $500 mark. When I was watching earlier this year the AVR635 Aaron was talking about was closer to $425 shipped. I would do the 335 and get a good used amp. Best of both worlds,IMHO.

[bpgunning]

what kind of amp should be i on the lookout for? will 2-channel 120wpc @8ohm be good enough or do i need closer to 200wpc?

[Lowell_M]

what kind of amp should be i on the lookout for? will 2-channel 120wpc @8ohm be good enough or do i need closer to 200wpc?

From my experience with the RTi70's.... I have heard them powered with an ADCOM GFA-545 (100'ish wpc) and a GFA-555 (200 wpc) and have no complaints about either. Both are worlds better than the power of an AVR in dymanics, separation and imaging. The ADCOM GFA-545 was Heiney9's which convinced me to buy the 555. (I am power greedy I guess.) Now, I am slowly putting together a 2-channel system that will be in a different room than my HT. The 555 is going to move to 2-channel duty powering LSi's and I am going to find a multichannel amp around 100 wpc for the HT.

What I am trying to say is, for the 8's, 120wpc out of an external amp should be sufficient and you would notice a big difference over an AVR.

[daboyz]

+2 - My HK is rated at 100 watts and does the job nicely. I'll hear a_mattison's this weekend so I'll be able to see(hear) the difference.

[bpgunning]

hey all just figured i'd let you know i ended up getting a brand new HK 445 from vanns ($500 w/ free shipping). now just looking for the best deal on the rti8 pair :)

[ben62670]

Good deal. You have done well. I had an HK and it was great as a pre too.
Ben

[daboyz]

Kudos, great find!!

[bpgunning]

i need to up my post count so i can reply to a pm -.- count+=1

[bpgunning]

lalalala i r n00b count+=2

[PolkThug]

Get an Onkyo from onecall.com. They usually have great deals on the previous years' models.

[bpgunning]

too late now, already bought the HK :)

[Willow]

FWIW, before I bought 3 monos, I powered my 8s with my HK335 and it did a good job.

[BOBBYFRESCO]

:d Hey! Has Anyone Compared The Rti 12 Vs The Lsi's Wondering What Was The Difference Is, You Know Im Only Pushing Rti-12 With The Yamaha Rxv25oo 5 Surround Maybe At 140ch 25%, Also Guys I Had A Question I Want To Push My Rti's At Least With 100more Watts Plus My Sub Too.. Its Velodyne 10' 385watts, How?? And What?? Amp Should I Buy For 100watts, How Do I Install It, The Rti's Are Bi-amped And Im Not Really Sure What That Means..
Also My Sub Question? My Velodyne Dsp10 Sub Is 385watts Digital, Do I Add That Additional Wattage When I Add An Amp Or Reciever Totaled Or Does The 385w Power Onlycome From The Rms Amp From The Sub?? Not Sure How To Calculate The Power Wattage When Adding Power Or Recievers Confused!! Bobbyfresco Boys! Keep Rockking..thanks Guys Ill Be Online On And Off, So Holla At Me..

[tcrossma]

:d Hey! Has Anyone Compared The Rti 12 Vs The Lsi's Wondering What Was The Difference Is, You Know Im Only Pushing Rti-12 With The Yamaha Rxv25oo 5 Surround Maybe At 140ch 25%, Also Guys I Had A Question I Want To Push My Rti's At Least With 100more Watts Plus My Sub Too.. Its Velodyne 10' 385watts, How?? And What?? Amp Should I Buy For 100watts, How Do I Install It, The Rti's Are Bi-amped And Im Not Really Sure What That Means..
Also My Sub Question? My Velodyne Dsp10 Sub Is 385watts Digital, Do I Add That Additional Wattage When I Add An Amp Or Reciever Totaled Or Does The 385w Power Onlycome From The Rms Amp From The Sub?? Not Sure How To Calculate The Power Wattage When Adding Power Or Recievers Confused!! Bobbyfresco Boys! Keep Rockking..thanks Guys Ill Be Online On And Off, So Holla At Me..

I just wanted to say that reading this post made my head ache.

[DaveMuell]

I just wanted to say that reading this post made my head ache.

In his next post, he'll be wanting to know how to mount his subwoofer in a cardboard box and how big the port should be.

[daboyz]

tcrossma: Start a new thread and please make it legible.

[Bill Ayotte]

In his next post, he'll be wanting to know how to mount his subwoofer in a cardboard box and how big the port should be.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaa! Really similar.....Deja vu anyone?:D

[daboyz]

Similar to what? You ramble on pretty good yourself sometimes:D

[Bill Ayotte]

Yeah, my English skill have always been questionable...I forgot the guys name, but that thread was hilarious....He was serious too, I think I have the photo...eh, cant find it...He literally posted a "schematic" of a sub mounted in a cardboard box, with BOOM labeling the port.....Just thinking about makes me laugh until I cry.....

[daboyz]

Don't make fun of us cardboard box guys, we're people, too.:D

[tonyb]

Yeah, my English skill have always been questionable...I forgot the guys name, but that thread was hilarious....He was serious too, I think I have the photo...eh, cant find it...He literally posted a "schematic" of a sub mounted in a cardboard box, with BOOM labeling the port.....Just thinking about makes me laugh until I cry.....

I think that was good 'ol T-UNIT wasn't it ?


Receivers to match speakers.........
Speakers to match receivers..........

When will this madness end?