Sprout 100 & Polk Audio RTI-A7

[Yohansen]

Hell yeah! lol

IF I were in your shoes @Yohansen that's what I'd do before anything else. Even if you only get the monoblocks right now and sit on them until you can swing the cash for a receiver. In the meantime use your sprout while also advertising it somewhere. When it sells you unclench those butt cheeks and kick in the rest of what you need for a receiver.

Once you do that you're set for amplification and can power most any speakers you want to try. Those monos will handle your RTIs no problem with 300 wpc @4 ohms.

Thank you Pogre

 

[Yohansen]

#Boom!

This.
A good AVR, proper amplification. Your Polks will sound the best they can.

When ready to grow beyond, replace the speakers with a quality upgrade.

Throw a good quality Sub into the mix...

...and...

#Pow!

LOL ok my friend I’ll check them out

 

[PENG]

Penguin, NAD are expensive. I chose Sprout 100 to save money and try it out. I’m thinking of Emotiva BasX TA-100 Stereo preamp/DAC/Tuner with Integrated Amplifier instead of the Sprout. What do you think?

My suggestion is, stay away from integrated amp with build in DAC. They typically use a low to lower mid grade DAC chip. People say it is implementation that matters most... True, but I would go with one that is well implemented but based on a chip that is no more than 2 steps from a flag ship DAC chip.

If you don't mind used, you should be able to get the excellent NAD C356Bee that has been discontinued, or even the C275BEE for under $1,000. There are plenty of external DACs in the $200 price point that are far superior than those build in ones, albeit one can argue that the difference in specs and measurements may not result in audible difference.

If you are serious about saving money though, then bite the bullet and grab a $500-$600 AV receiver such as the AVR-X3500H. You would have to pretend it is a two channel stereo receiver. It will outperform the Sprout for sure.

The Elac will likely have more accurate/balanced sound quality, but the RTiA7 can play much louder so it should be an easy decision for you, if based on your need.

 

[Yohansen]

My suggestion is, stay away from integrated amp with build in DAC. They typically use a low to lower mid grade DAC chip. People say it is implementation that matters most... True, but I would go with one that is well implemented but based on a chip that is no more than 2 steps from a flag ship DAC chip.

If you don't mind used, you should be able to get the excellent NAD C356Bee that has been discontinued, or even the C275BEE for under $1,000. There are plenty of external DACs in the $200 price point that are far superior than those build in ones, albeit one can argue that the difference in specs and measurements may not result in audible difference.

If you are serious about saving money though, then bite the bullet and grab a $500-$600 AV receiver such as the AVR-X3500H. You would have to pretend it is a two channel stereo receiver. It will outperform the Sprout for sure.

The Elac will likely have more accurate/balanced sound quality, but the RTiA7 can play much louder so it should be an easy decision for you, if based on your need.

Thank you Peng

 

[lovinthehd]

What about the Emotiva BasX TA-100 Stereo preamp/DAC/Tuner with Integrated Amplifier?

You think will do the trick together with my ELAC?

It would work fine, altho have not been impressed by their inability to service Audioholics' president's (i.e. Gene) flagship amps....but would be somewhat a lateral move from what you've got. Still pretty expensive for what you get, but if small and limited use is important....

 

[Yohansen]

Yes, but it is about do it right the first time. The Sprout would be fine if you sit close enough and don't listen at anywhere near ref level. Ref level is 85 dB average, C weighting.

Yes Penn, you are right. I listen from a close distance about 7 feet with 7 feet the speakers apart.

Regarding my try out of the ELAC Unify F50 I got disappointed. I send them back. It was a very natural nice balanced sound but they were lifeless. I wasn’t feeling that the instruments were close to me.

Thank you and all of you for your advices. You helped me a lot and I think I’ll stick around but with different subjects. I have already been everywhere and I would like to apologize from my friend that suggested me two nice links.
Again,
Thank you

 

[everettT]

Yes Penn, you are right. I listen from a close distance about 7 feet with 7 feet the speakers apart.

Regarding my try out of the ELAC Unify F50 I got disappointed. I send them back. It was a very natural nice balanced sound but they were lifeless. I wasn’t feeling that the instruments were close to me.

Thank you and all of you for your advices. You helped me a lot and I think I’ll stick around but with different subjects. I have already been everywhere and I would like to apologize from my friend that suggested me two nice links.
Again,
Thank you

Definitely stick around, it's fun and we all learn something new all the time.

 

[ryanosaur]

Definitely stick around, it's fun and we all learn something new all the time.

#Pow!
This * 150,000-million!

 

[Yohansen]

Thank you Pogre

Hello Pogre
Hello team
I officially returned the Sprout 100 with no problem.
You were all right Luckily I couldn’t sell on eBay the receiver, so I still have it.
I went back to my Yamaha RX-V485BL
and still the Polk RTI-A7 Speakers.

 

[ryanosaur]

I officially returned the Sprout 100 with no problem.

Yay! And there was much rejoicing.

The question to whether you need an amp may well still be valid. If you play with the SPL Calculator, and/or feel that something isn't right with the Yamaha driving your speakers to satisfaction, yet are satisfied with the Yamaha in all other aspects, then YES: Look for a quality Amp to power your speakers. However, the caveat is that speakers don't magically bloom into something better than their design allows, simply because you give them more power or current.
Though I am not a fan of Polk, the RTiA lineup did get some decent praise, but shopping around a bit shows that better speakers can be had. Any entry level speakers can easily be improved upon. To what extent one wishes to chase those improvements becomes a function of cost and experience.
As has been discussed so many times: Sound Quality is really a function of the Speakers, first, then how the Speakers and your Room interact.

This is by no means a sales pitch. Just want to share back the common experience so many here have shared with me. Proper planning and educating yourself a little about the gear goes so much further than most people seem to give credit.

 

[Pogre]

Hello Pogre
Hello team
I officially returned the Sprout 100 with no problem.
You were all right Luckily I couldn’t sell on eBay the receiver, so I still have it.
I went back to my Yamaha RX-V485BL
and still the Polk RTI-A7 Speakers.

That's great! At least you were open enough to learn something. Some folks just get mad and leave. Hope you stick around. This was a lively thread and I learned some stuff too.

Now is the time to slow down a little bit, maximize what you have and do some more homework before spending any more money. Once you learn where it can make the most difference you can upgrade with confidence. Welcome to the club!

 

[Pogre]

speakers don't magically bloom into something better than their design allows, simply because you give them more power or current.

That is very well (and simply) put. I may use it in the future.

 

[Yohansen]

LOL ok my friend I’ll check them out

Thank you

 

[Pogre]

Thank you

You're welcome..?

 

[John Parks]

You're welcome..?

Um, thank me?

 

[Yohansen]

Um, thank me?

Sorry about that.
Blame my brain fart LOL