Amp for RTI A9

[Gmoneywp15]

Had another thread going about loudspeakers. But I think it really belongs in the amp section now. So I have polk RTI. A9. They are being powered emotiva a300. Wondering if the amp is underpowered for these speakers? I was looking at getting possibly a different amp. my mid range speakers are blown in both of the Polks. I purchased replacement OEM speakers for the towers. But want to figure out why they got blown since the emotiva is well below the RMS power of the towers. Could it be underpowering? I guess that’s the first question. After that, I wanna figure out what amp I need to purchase not looking to spend a ridiculous amount of money, but I’ll spend what I need to.
Marantz 1607
Emotiva A300
2 x RTI A9
2 x Hsu VTF3 mk5

considering amps
ATI AT6002
Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 3
Rotel RB 1590

 

[j_garcia]

Since you are listening loud per the other thread, likely they are underpowered. With 2 subs, do you have them set to small or filter them in any way? The A300 is probably sufficient for average listening but not loud listening. ~200+ wpc and a beefy power supply should do the trick, so maybe any of those amps. I have an A500 I picked up used and I run only my Atmos speakers off it. It was being used by my son in law with my old 4 Ohm speakers and it couldn't handle them.

350-400W is probably overkill, but certainly won't hurt if SPL is what you are after.

And there's this:

Monolith by Monoprice 2x200 Watts Per Channel Two Channel Home Theater Stereo Power Amplifier with XLR Inputs - Monoprice.com

The Monolith™ 2X is a state‑of‑the‑art, high‑performance, audiophile‑grade multichannel home theater amplifier. Rated at a full 200 watts per channel into 8 ohms an

www.monoprice.com

 

[Tankini]

Since you are listening loud per the other thread, likely they are underpowered. With 2 subs, do you have them set to small or filter them in any way? The A300 is probably sufficient for average listening but not loud listening. ~200+ wpc and a beefy power supply should do the trick, so maybe any of those amps. I have an A500 I picked up used and I run only my Atmos speakers off it. It was being used by my son in law with my old 4 Ohm speakers and it couldn't handle them.

350-400W is probably overkill, but certainly won't hurt if SPL is what you are after.

And there's this:

Monolith by Monoprice 2x200 Watts Per Channel Two Channel Home Theater Stereo Power Amplifier with XLR Inputs - Monoprice.com

The Monolith™ 2X is a state‑of‑the‑art, high‑performance, audiophile‑grade multichannel home theater amplifier. Rated at a full 200 watts per channel into 8 ohms an

www.monoprice.com

Forgot about those monoprice amps, yeah OP those are also solid choice. Just a note, many on AH like those Buckeye amps solid also. They are class D. Very good spec's gobs of power plus weigh a lot less. But cost is about the same as class A/B amps..

 

[Gmoneywp15]

Since you are listening loud per the other thread, likely they are underpowered. With 2 subs, do you have them set to small or filter them in any way? The A300 is probably sufficient for average listening but not loud listening. ~200+ wpc and a beefy power supply should do the trick, so maybe any of those amps. I have an A500 I picked up used and I run only my Atmos speakers off it. It was being used by my son in law with my old 4 Ohm speakers and it couldn't handle them.

350-400W is probably overkill, but certainly won't hurt if SPL is what you are after.

And there's this:

Monolith by Monoprice 2x200 Watts Per Channel Two Channel Home Theater Stereo Power Amplifier with XLR Inputs - Monoprice.com

The Monolith™ 2X is a state‑of‑the‑art, high‑performance, audiophile‑grade multichannel home theater amplifier. Rated at a full 200 watts per channel into 8 ohms an

www.monoprice.com

Yes. I have them set to small.

 

[Gmoneywp15]

Since you are listening loud per the other thread, likely they are underpowered. With 2 subs, do you have them set to small or filter them in any way? The A300 is probably sufficient for average listening but not loud listening. ~200+ wpc and a beefy power supply should do the trick, so maybe any of those amps. I have an A500 I picked up used and I run only my Atmos speakers off it. It was being used by my son in law with my old 4 Ohm speakers and it couldn't handle them.

350-400W is probably overkill, but certainly won't hurt if SPL is what you are after.

And there's this:

Monolith by Monoprice 2x200 Watts Per Channel Two Channel Home Theater Stereo Power Amplifier with XLR Inputs - Monoprice.com

The Monolith™ 2X is a state‑of‑the‑art, high‑performance, audiophile‑grade multichannel home theater amplifier. Rated at a full 200 watts per channel into 8 ohms an

www.monoprice.com

I have my amp plugged into a surge protector. But not a power supply. Will any UPS work? Or is there a particular ones I need to be looking at?

 

[lovinthehd]

What distance are you from speakers and what spl level goals do you have? Try using this to help perhaps http://www.hometheaterengineering.com/splcalculator.html

While the A300 isn't the most powerful amp, it's reasonable for most uses.

 

[PENG]

In you decision making process, be reminded of the following facts:

- Going from a 150 to 300 W amp, you will gain 3 dB increase, and will sound louder just like turning the volume up by 3 dB, or 6 clicks if the volume increase is the typically 0.5 dB per step on Marantz AVRs.

- Doubling seating distance will result in 6 dB loss assuming no room gain, so if you sit 4 meters instead of 2, you will lose 6 dB SPL, like turning the volume down by 12 steps (again assuming 0.5 dB/step).

- "Power", while it is mainly a product of V (voltage) and I (current) can be misleading in many cases, it is better to pay attention to power amp's voltage and current capabilities instead of just focussing on their advertised "power" specs in watts. A power amp's output of say 150 W into 8 ohms, may be okay outputting 200 W into 4 ohms, but if there are lots of contents that require the amp to drive long enough into 4 ohms and below, it will not be able to sustain at that output level.

That said, I would never use those bass X series amp with large not too easy to drive speakers like the A9 unless for near field and required SPL is not particular loud. Polk spec them as 8 ohm nominal, but the actual impedance/phase angle curve would likely tell a less optimistic picture, do you have those curves, if do please post so we can something more definitive of their "power" needs.

 

[Tankini]

@Gmoneywp15 I'm out, PENG has chimed in. He is an retired EE, you lucked out!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

@Gmoneywp15 I'm out, PENG has chimed in. He is an retired EE, you lucked out!

First thing I do is get rid of that Emo. Probably blew his speakers in first place.

Not just about quantity, but also about quality.

For ATI, just need the AT1822 200W x 2Ch into 8 ohms (300W x 2Ch into 4 ohms).

 

[Tankini]

First thing I do is get rid of that Emo. Probably blew his speakers in first place.

Not just about quantity, but also about quality.

For ATI, just need the AT1822 200W x 2Ch into 8 ohms (300W x 2Ch into 4 ohms).

OP did state he could up his budget to 6k. Give me a budget of 6k and those RBH tower's you posted would be ordered already with the matching center plus 3 channel ATi amp. Yeah sell off that EMO amp or rededicate to surround speaker use

Now that's a serious upgrade. His RTi-A9's are good, but let's be realistic, they are Not RBH tower speakers are they.

Them RTi-A9's, I mean that's like getting a supermodel without the good putnami. RBH tower's those you posted up, be like having a Cobra under the hood.

 

[Gmoneywp15]

First thing I do is get rid of that Emo. Probably blew his speakers in first place.

Not just about quantity, but also about quality.

For ATI, just need the AT1822 200W x 2Ch into 8 ohms (300W x 2Ch into 4 ohms).

Funny, the only reason I bought the Emo was it was recommended by several people on here when I bought it in 2019.

 

[Tankini]

Funny, the only reason I bought the Emo was it was recommended by several people on here when I bought it in 2019.

Would one or two of those here on AH that recommended EMO be, @AcuDefTechGuy or @PENG lol. You really want an upgrade? I mentioned ATi amps, never owned any from ATi but many on AH do use them. Speaker LCR is where you funds would be better spent..

 

[Tankini]

Had another thread going about loudspeakers. But I think it really belongs in the amp section now. So I have polk RTI. A9. They are being powered emotiva a300. Wondering if the amp is underpowered for these speakers? I was looking at getting possibly a different amp. my mid range speakers are blown in both of the Polks. I purchased replacement OEM speakers for the towers. But want to figure out why they got blown since the emotiva is well below the RMS power of the towers. Could it be underpowering? I guess that’s the first question. After that, I wanna figure out what amp I need to purchase not looking to spend a ridiculous amount of money, but I’ll spend what I need to.
Marantz 1607
Emotiva A300
2 x RTI A9
2 x Hsu VTF3 mk5

considering amps
ATI AT6002
Emotiva XPA-2 Gen 3
Rotel RB 1590

So, after rereading your post, All 4, 5"1/4 driver's are blown? OMG! Ouch! That's like blowing two 10" driver's kind of. You did that? Or someone left the volume really high and you came behind them not knowing the volume was at reference level, and Pow!! Just curious how 4 driver's get knocked out at the same time.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Would one or two of those here on AH that recommended EMO be, @AcuDefTechGuy or @PENG lol.

I can guarantee that it was not PENG, TLS Guy, or AcuDefTechGuy who recommended Emo.

 

[DigitalDawn]

I agree with everyone else. Emotiva isn't a good choice. ATI, OTOH, is great.

 

[Trell]

I agree with everyone else. Emotiva isn't a good choice. ATI, OTOH, is great.

@gene loves Emotiva amplifiers for their serviceability when something breaks down!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

@gene loves Emotiva amplifiers for their serviceability when something breaks down!

Hey, don’t kid around like that or some newbies might believe it!

To newbies: Emo will NOT touch their amps after the warranty expires.

 

[Tankini]

@gene loves Emotiva amplifiers for their serviceability when something breaks down!

lol, I still wonder if he chunk those in the garbage bin. Those were at the time EMO flagship amps.

 

[Tankini]

I can guarantee that it was not PENG, TLS Guy, or AcuDefTechGuy who recommended Emo.

Lol, I wouldn't bet on those recommending EMO either. I was kidding around some, kicking the hornets nest.

 

[j_garcia]

Hey, don’t kid around like that or some newbies might believe it!

To newbies: Emo will NOT touch their amps after the warranty expires.

Back in the day, I think that was different. They replaced my amp when I had an issue no questions asked, repaired my pre/pro free even out of warranty also (when they were doing all manufacturing in-house). Then a few years later, when the same thing happened to the pre, there was a meager trade in or cost involved because they didn't have a replacement unit anymore. The new model was about 3-4 months out and I decided to go back to Marantz instead.