Need 2Ch-Setup Advice

[brooksbp]

Hello Club Polk,

First time posting in the forums. Seems like there are pretty knowledgeable people here. I am looking for some general advice on my setup.

Current Setup:

Yamaha RX-797
Polk RTi4 Bookshelf (pair)
Infinity PS 12 Subwoofer

I mainly listen to music -- 95% of the time.. so movies are cool, but the setup works fine for cinema. And I don't care about surround sound. I listen to a LOT of house/trance and hip-hop/rap as well as jazz/classical/rock. Money isn't too much of an issue; I'm not going to splurge, but I do respect "what you pay for is what you get"...

The Situation:

So I LOVE my receiver. It's an amazing 2.1 receiver... amazing sound... plain and simple I love my receiver. I like my subwoofer, but I feel it's not quite punchy enough; not exactly looking for subwoofer advice here though; it does the RTi4s justice though...

I like to listen to my music quite loud... and I've blown my woofers once and a tweeter once. So I feel like the RTi4s don't do justice. I feel like I should replace my bookshelfs with floorstanding speakers -- something that can go louder without stressing them too much.

But I've also done research on amps. I currently only have the 100w amp within my Yamaha preamp. So I was wondering if I wouldn't have blown the RTi4s if I had a decent amp pushing something around ~125-150w /ch (read up on clipping etc...)

So... given my current setup, my music listening habbits... would you recommend getting an amp and a pair of floorstanding speakers? Or go for beefier bookshelfs and an amp? I really like Polk's sound. About a week after I hooked up my Yamaha with the RTi4s I fell in love with the sound... amazing... so I definitely am going to keep my receiver and stick with Polk, but am thinking about replacing the RTi4s and possibly the sub down the line...

Anybody have relevant advice?

THANKS!

[brooksbp]

I have this all hooked up to a 42" LCD tv setup... so I do use the audio setup to watch TV and movies... but it sounds great. I'm more interested in tuning my setup towards being a ballin 2.1 setup for music.

[treitz3]

If you are pleased with the sound of the RTi4's, then a combo of a Carver M1.5t and Polk RTi10's or 12's would be right up the alley of what you are looking for. I've had the RTi10 and M1.5t combo and it will flat out give you the bass output that you are looking for.

Oh my manners, welcome to the forum.

[Early B.]

If you like to really crank your music up to the point where you're blowing woofers and tweeters, then consider getting rid of your receiver and upgrading to a separate amp. Yeah, I know you love your Yamaha, but if it's not up to the task, then it's gotta find another home. Same with your speakers. Take treitz3's advice and get a pair of Rti10's or 12's, and kick the subwoofer to the curb.

You can get a nice 150 - 200 wpc used amp for under $500.

[F1nut]

What Early said. The problem is not the speakers.

[brooksbp]

So I see that you guys recommend going with floorstanding type speakers and a heafty amp for them?

Is there anywhere I can learn about preamp - amp setups? Popular manufacturers? Etc?

Cause right now I can plug in a lot of different audio sources into my receiver... and it's builtin amp seems to be lacking... would it be plausible to run my yamaha receiver into another amp and then to my speakers? How does this setup work? Thanks.

[F1nut]

You can learn it all right here, just start reading. :)

You could use your receiver as a pre amp, but only if it has pre outs.

[Face]

It does have pre outs.

[F1nut]

Thanks Mike.

[engtaz]

Welcome brooksbp. treitz3 advice is really good. Your correct in the fact the over drivering under powering (current limited) amps can blow a speaker very easily.

engtaz

[Keiko]

Welcome brooksbp. I have the same receiver EQ'd with a Yamaha EQ-630 thru the pre-out/main. Paired with the RTi6's and a pair of Yamaha NS10M's, absolutely love the sound quality. Curious, at what volume level have you been driving those RTi4's at? I've had the volume knob up to around 10 Oclock on my 797 and found that to be plenty loud enough. IMO, I think 100wpc is a modest rating for this receiver.

[skipf]

I couldn't keep drivers in a speaker using a 90wpc Yamaha reciever. As soon as I would reach about half volumn, the reciever would start to clip and cook the drivers. What is it about the Yamaha you find so appealing? I've switched to seperates and will never go back. For speakers that will still be the same approx size as your current bookshelves, I highly recommend the LSi9's. Pair them with a 200-250 wpc amp and you'll be in heaven. They won't need the sub unless you like really heavy bass. I power my LSi's with a Carver M-500t and that combo is excellent. Powerful, smooth bass, outstanding mids, and sweet tweets.

[tonyb]

Better speakers,an amp,better sub,and a shock collar for you and your sticky fingers on that volume dial.:)

LSI 9's with a decent 2 channel amp and sub should grant you a huge improvement.

[brooksbp]

Welcome brooksbp. I have the same receiver EQ'd with a Yamaha EQ-630 thru the pre-out/main. Paired with the RTi6's and a pair of Yamaha NS10M's, absolutely love the sound quality. Curious, at what volume level have you been driving those RTi4's at? I've had the volume knob up to around 10 Oclock on my 797 and found that to be plenty loud enough. IMO, I think 100wpc is a modest rating for this receiver.

Keiko: I have been listening to them at roughly that level. Although, the sound quality is lower and i feel like it's clipping at that level. Powering 100w RMS speakers with 100wpc preamp/amp seems underpowered though... and thus resulting in me blowing the woofers/tweeter at loud, but not ridiculous volume levels. Am I right?

I couldn't keep drivers in a speaker using a 90wpc Yamaha reciever. As soon as I would reach about half volumn, the reciever would start to clip and cook the drivers. What is it about the Yamaha you find so appealing? I've switched to seperates and will never go back. For speakers that will still be the same approx size as your current bookshelves, I highly recommend the LSi9's. Pair them with a 200-250 wpc amp and you'll be in heaven. They won't need the sub unless you like really heavy bass. I power my LSi's with a Carver M-500t and that combo is excellent. Powerful, smooth bass, outstanding mids, and sweet tweets.

I like my receiver simply because it's of quality build (for what equipment I've experienced). The sound coming out of the receiver is true. Also, I really like the preamp features, diff channels, zones, sub management, etc...

I don't have any experience with popular companies. I.e. I don't know anything really about "separates". It makes sense to sell the receiver and go with a good preamp (with remote) and an amp, but I haven't found any good setups. And every time I ask someone, I get a new list of manufacturers I haven't even heard of. Aren't there a few companies that are like the Intel or AMD of "separates"? The most popular I've hear of is Carver. I've also heard of Crown and QSC, but those seem to be geared more towards pro audio (staging, etc... not home audio)...?

Any advice?

[skipf]

You did say your Yamaha had pre-out didn't you? You could keep that as a pre and still have all of the controls you like and just buy a power amp to add to it. I'm a Carver nut myself and love just about all of their amps. The biggest problem with Carver is they made their last amp 20 years ago. You can still get them serviced by one of the original Carver techs that bought all of the spare parts when Carver closed it's doors, so for anything except some of the power transformers repairs are not a problem. Most of them are still working fine today with no problems including the 13 Carver componants that I have. Other new amps that are well regarded and in the price range of the Carver's for sale on the used market include Adcom, NAD and Rotel. There are lots of high dollar amps like Krell and Mark Levinson out there, but for the system you have in mind they are way above what you would want to spend. Some other quality used amps were made by Marantz, Phase Linear, Soundcraftsman and Crown. Hope this helps.

[Sami]

Most certainly a candidate for a pair of LSi9's (or 7's or 15's). 15's work well for music w/o a sub but one wouldn't hurt for those either. Nice 2ch amp plus a pair of LSi's of your choice and music takes a whole new dimension...

[Keiko]

Keiko: I have been listening to them at roughly that level. Although, the sound quality is lower and i feel like it's clipping at that level. Powering 100w RMS speakers with 100wpc preamp/amp seems underpowered though... and thus resulting in me blowing the woofers/tweeter at loud, but not ridiculous volume levels. Am I right?

hmmm? The 4's are rated at 20/125RMS, same as my RTi6. Listening at that sound level (10 Oclock on the dial) I wouldn't think to be an issue. Never has been for me anyway. Even at a low volume mine sounds really good. And you feel like the receiver is clipping at this level??? I'm not the technical guru like some of the other polkies here but to me it sounds like somethings not quite right. How long are your speaker wire runs and what gauge wire are you using? Double check all your interconnect cables. (Reaching here) The 797, like most receivers has a protection circuit, has that ever kicked in? Sorry, I'm just not sure why you'd be having an issue like this. Doesn't sound to me like your pushing it that hard and that receiver isn't underpowered for those speakers. Maybe some of the other guys can chime in.