Rookie w/questions

[Burnz]

Couple of questions here, I'm new to this so please bare with me.

Equipment: Yamaha RX-A2020
Polk Audio RTI 12's
Dynaudio BX30

I plan on adding a surround system but currently this is what I have.

When I purchased the speakers I decided to bi-amp them since my reciever offered the option. I personally think the speakers sound great but they seem to need quite a bit of power to move those woofers. I listen to all kinds of music but mainly rock and I like to crank it up. Seems like right now that around 20 db or lower is really where I hear a difference.

One question I have is, would an external amp help these things out?

If so, what is a good brand?

Also, if I connect an external amp, how would I wire it?

I am currently bi-amped, so would I need to go back to one channel per speaker and put the jumpers back across the speaker lugs, or would I leave it bi-amped and leave one channel hooked to the mids and tweets and then run one channel through the external amp and then to the woofers?

Any help is greatly appreciated. I just want it to be done right.

 

[ImcLoud]

the 2020 has preouts, so you would run rca's from your preouts to your external amplifiers inputs, then plug your speaekrs into the speaekr terminals on your amplifier....

you have a decent avr so I would just get an amp for your front 2 and let the avr power the center and surrounds when you go to a theater setup....

this amp is on sale rite now, I just bought another one, I already own one....
XPA-2 300W x 2 | Emotiva Audio | High-end audio components for audiophiles and videophiles, spanning 2-channel music systems, as well as 5.1 and 7.1 home theaters. Products include multichannel amplifiers, stereo amplifiers, and monoblock amplifiers,

If you like loud music, this will feed your polks to near deffening levels, lol If I remeber correctly the rti12's were good to 500 watts and 90db sens so they will scream with 300watts of a/b class amplifier behind them...

I own a few Emo amps and they are great, the xpa2 is the best of the bunch weighs the same as the 5 channel xpa5 and has a great sound for music....

Good luck {PS- I have never seen the XPA2 that cheap}

 

[Burnz]

Thanks for the info and the link. The polks are good to 500w. Im definetaly gonna check in to one of these amps.

 

[Burnz]

When it says 300w (8 ohms) with both channels driven, does that mean 300w a channel or 150w a channel?

My reciever says it puts out 140 a channel. Being I am only running 4 channels, would my power output be close to the 140 it claims or a lot lower?

Just curious about all these power ratings.

 

[ImcLoud]

When it says 300w (8 ohms) with both channels driven, does that mean 300w a channel or 150w a channel?

My reciever says it puts out 140 a channel. Being I am only running 4 channels, would my power output be close to the 140 it claims or a lot lower?

Just curious about all these power ratings.

That is 300w per channel so 600 watts total... I run my EVO2 40's with that exact amp and at my listening position which is about 12 feet from the speaker, I listen to some music at 95db.. The amps lights that show its output dont go 1/4 of the way up I get about 5 dots on each side.... I have hooked up many speakers to this amp and they run them all with out breaking a sweat...

That amp is amazing for that price, no doubt about it, you will NOT find a new or used class a/b 600w amp for under $1000 anywhere...

Another positive is your avr has a trigger so when you plug the amp into it {with its included trigger wire} the amp will automatically turn on when you power up your avr...

 

[fuzz092888]

When it says 300w (8 ohms) with both channels driven, does that mean 300w a channel or 150w a channel?

My reciever says it puts out 140 a channel. Being I am only running 4 channels, would my power output be close to the 140 it claims or a lot lower?

Just curious about all these power ratings.

To answer your other question, no you receiver cannot drive 4 channels to 140 watts 4 channels driven. However, you're probably only using about 5-15 watts max at any given time except for big peaks in music or explosion. Unless of course you're one of those people who likes to play at +6.0 and then you're probably using about 50 watts per channel

 

[monkish54]

Hello, Rookie w/questions!

I personally think the speakers sound great but they seem to need quite a bit of power to move those woofers.

They are rated as 90db/watt into 8ohms. They shouldn't need too much power.

I listen to all kinds of music but mainly rock and I like to crank it up. Seems like right now that around 20 db or lower is really where I hear a difference.

What exactly is the problem? You have to turn the volume knob too high (-20db) for it to get loud enough? The speakers sound strained at -20db?

One question I have is, would an external amp help these things out?

I'm not sure. It depends on your answer to the above question.

 

[ahblaza]

When it says 300w (8 ohms) with both channels driven, does that mean 300w a channel or 150w a channel?

My reciever says it puts out 140 a channel. Being I am only running 4 channels, would my power output be close to the 140 it claims or a lot lower?

Just curious about all these power ratings.

You should have close to a 140 watts a side driving your front two speakers (mains) only. I personally (with your Polks) don't think with their sensitivity it warrants an external amp, you need to answer Monkfish's last question first. , external amps are nice to have if you need them. I can see Imcloud's take on this also.........

 

[Burnz]

To answer Monkish question, yes I feel like I really have to crank the volume to around
-25 to -20 dB to really make the bass side sound decent. Just doesnt sound like much bass to me. I dont listen to rap music but a lot of the rock I listen to still has some decent bass. Especially if playing music through the cable box, but even on cd.

I have a dynaudio bx30 subwoofer hooked up too. I didnt really expect to hear much out of it when it comes to music, but it does sound nice when watching movies. I hooked up my sons gaming system one night and had him play for a while and that really brought the bx30 to life.

 

[monkish54]

To answer Monkish question, yes I feel like I really have to crank the volume to around
-25 to -20 dB to really make the bass side sound decent.

Does the bass sound too quiet, like it's disproportional to the mid/highs, Or do you want to feel the bass but can't?

 

[ahblaza]

Spelling

You should have close to a 140 watts a side driving your front two speakers (mains) only. I personally (with your Polks) don't think with their sensitivity it warrants an external amp, you need to answer Monkfish's last question first. , external amps are nice to have if you need them. I can see Imcloud's take on this also.........

Hey Monk, sorry about the Monkfish ( typing not one of my best attributes)

 

[monkish54]

Hey Monk, sorry about the Monkfish ( typing not one of my best attributes)

LOOL No worries, it happens. Monkish54 is also my XBOX live gamertag; people used to call me monkfish all the time.

 

[ahblaza]

To answer Monkish question, yes I feel like I really have to crank the volume to around
-25 to -20 dB to really make the bass side sound decent. Just doesnt sound like much bass to me. I dont listen to rap music but a lot of the rock I listen to still has some decent bass. Especially if playing music through the cable box, but even on cd.

I have a dynaudio bx30 subwoofer hooked up too. I didnt really expect to hear much out of it when it comes to music, but it does sound nice when watching movies. I hooked up my sons gaming system one night and had him play for a while and that really brought the bx30 to life.

Don't expect much from the cable box, at the higher dB levels you say that the bass is there and lower it is lacking? Is it just with music or does it also apply to watching movies. Where are your mains crossed over (80Hz)? If the bass is more prevelent with movies, could be that you sub isn't handling the higher FR and does better with the LFE of movies. Depending on the Xover of mains you should be hearing some decent bass from them.

 

[macddmac]

What are the dimensions of your room? Including height.
Also, what are you using as a subwoofer crossover freq. for movies? And 2 channel music?

 

[Burnz]

Does the bass sound too quiet, like it's disproportional to the mid/highs, Or do you want to feel the bass but can't?

It sounds very disproportional. Just doesnt seem like much bass comes out of the woofers. I figured it would be pretty decent with 3 - 7" woofers in each. Thats why I was wondering about an external amp. I'm not sure if those ports are supposed to move a lot of air either, but if so it doesnt seem like they do.

 

[monkish54]

It sounds very disproportional. Just doesnt seem like much bass comes out of the woofers. I figured it would be pretty decent with 3 - 7" woofers in each. Thats why I was wondering about an external amp. I'm not sure if those ports are supposed to move a lot of air either, but if so it doesnt seem like they do.

An external amp isn't gonna do anything for you. Your receiver is perfectly fine for your speakers and should provide more than enough power.

Go into your receiver settings (we can help) and shut off the subwoofer. Once you do that, play a song through your towers. Does it sound any better?

 

[zieglj01]

It sounds very disproportional. Just doesnt seem like much bass comes out of the woofers. I figured it would be pretty decent with 3 - 7" woofers in each. Thats why I was wondering about an external amp. I'm not sure if those ports are supposed to move a lot of air either, but if so it doesnt seem like they do.

If would be nice if you can give more info - from questions
in posts #13 and #14

 

[Burnz]

Don't expect much from the cable box, at the higher dB levels you say that the bass is there and lower it is lacking? Is it just with music or does it also apply to watching movies. Where are your mains crossed over (80Hz)? If the bass is more prevelent with movies, could be that you sub isn't handling the higher FR and does better with the LFE of movies. Depending on the Xover of mains you should be hearing some decent bass from them.

Seems like mostly with music, when I watch movies I get a lot of bass out of the bx30, but I realize it does handle more of the LFE's. I'm talking about getting bass out of the woofers in the polks though. Not sure about the mains. Here is the specs on the speakers if that helps.

Sorry, I'm new to this, but really interested in learning.

Total Frequency Response 18Hz-27kHz
Upper -3dB Limit 26kHz
Lower -3dB Limit 30Hz
Nominal Impedance 8 ohm
Efficiency 90 dB
Crossover
Subwoofer Crossover 120Hz, 12dB/octave low pass
Mid-High Array Crossover 1.8kHz, 12dB/octave low and high pass. 120Hz 12dB/octave high pass
Recommended Amplifier Power 50-500 watts per channel
Inputs Dual (bi-amp) gold plated 5-way binding posts

 

[ImcLoud]

There arent many towers that satisfy my need for bass, Opus 2-3's are one but thats 4-10" and I would still want a sub....

 

[monkish54]

Seems like mostly with music, when I watch movies I get a lot of bass out of the bx30, but I realize it does handle more of the LFE's. I'm talking about getting bass out of the woofers in the polks though.

When you listen to music, do you get a decent amount of bass from the subwoofer?