Equipment to run Polk L800s

[TerryYawkee]

Hello,

I'm a newb, so please be nice

I just got a pair of L800 speakers and am so excited, but I don't have an amp or other equipment yet.

I only want to run the 2 channel system, and I'm greedy and would like to get closer to giving them the 300 watts RMS at 4ohms they're rated for, with only the two channels driven, but I don't understand a lot. I love loud sounds, but I don't want to roast them.

To get the full SDA effect, Polk mentions you'll want a "single-ended" amplifier as opposed to push pull.

I've seen someone post about pairing their L800s with an Onkyo TX-RZ50 amp and they say it sounds amazing. Is that a single ended amp? If I went the Onkyo route, I may want to get the RZ70. I also have a full Klipsch RP ii set in the boxes still, but getting these Polk speakers prime is my first and main concern. If I need to get separate amps and setups for both, I will.

I've been looking at a couple options, but I'm a newb and I have questions.

I've been looking at Crown products, particularly these two models - 2|300 and 2|600 . Would it be better to run the 600 model so they have headroom? Or would the 300 model work great?

These amps shows when signal is clipping via front panel LED, so in order to protect the speakers, I'd need to listen for distortion, correct? The signal wouldn't be clipping with enough headroom and I can monitor on the amp, but in order to make sure the speaker isn't distorting, I'd use my ears? Is there a better way to protect them from distortion without using my ears?

I've also been looking at the emotiva xpa-2 gen3. The problem I'm having with these two brands of amps compared to the Onkyo is that, I believe the Onkyo is integrated, and has lots of features. I'm mostly concerned with Bluetooth, if I need a preamp, and if I need a DAC? How would I add those if using a Crown or Emotiva? What about other audio connections that these amps lack? Is that what a preamp would give me? More connections like an audio optical connection?

Really dumb question here, but can I use banana plugs with the L800s and maintain their full SDA?

I'm looking for good options of equipment to pair these speakers with, and I have found those Crown amps on eBay for great prices. Emotiva I would possibly have to buy new. If the Onkyo would work well, I'd prolly buy used or refurbished. Any and all advice here would be greatly appreciated. I want to try and push these speakers closer to the 300watt 4ohm load Polk says they are for, but when I reached out to them for help, they would only suggest me in house amps, like Marantz, and some of those are crazy expensive. Looking to understand my options.

I understand that I wouldn't be pushing the L800s to the max all the time, and that I want to be careful, as source material greatly affects listening. I'm a drummer and have loud sound preferences, so I want to push these speakers to sound clean, amazing, and very loud when I want.

Thank you thank you for any and all help! <3

 

[Eppie]

If new to the hobby, I would recommend reading over this review of the L800 on Audioholics:
https://www.audioholics.com/tower-speaker-reviews/polk-legend-l800

As to amps, why are you looking at 9 channel AVRs if you plan for a 2 channel only setup? The AVR makes sense if you plan to add surrounds and a center later, otherwise you're paying for amps that will never get used. Do you plan to add more speakers later? What will your sources be (streaming, discs, vinyl, media player..)? Do you need a TV connected to setup the amp and sources?

 

[TLS Guy]

Hello,

I'm a newb, so please be nice

I just got a pair of L800 speakers and am so excited, but I don't have an amp or other equipment yet.

I only want to run the 2 channel system, and I'm greedy and would like to get closer to giving them the 300 watts RMS at 4ohms they're rated for, with only the two channels driven, but I don't understand a lot. I love loud sounds, but I don't want to roast them.

To get the full SDA effect, Polk mentions you'll want a "single-ended" amplifier as opposed to push pull.

I've seen someone post about pairing their L800s with an Onkyo TX-RZ50 amp and they say it sounds amazing. Is that a single ended amp? If I went the Onkyo route, I may want to get the RZ70. I also have a full Klipsch RP ii set in the boxes still, but getting these Polk speakers prime is my first and main concern. If I need to get separate amps and setups for both, I will.

I've been looking at a couple options, but I'm a newb and I have questions.

I've been looking at Crown products, particularly these two models - 2|300 and 2|600 . Would it be better to run the 600 model so they have headroom? Or would the 300 model work great?

These amps shows when signal is clipping via front panel LED, so in order to protect the speakers, I'd need to listen for distortion, correct? The signal wouldn't be clipping with enough headroom and I can monitor on the amp, but in order to make sure the speaker isn't distorting, I'd use my ears? Is there a better way to protect them from distortion without using my ears?

I've also been looking at the emotiva xpa-2 gen3. The problem I'm having with these two brands of amps compared to the Onkyo is that, I believe the Onkyo is integrated, and has lots of features. I'm mostly concerned with Bluetooth, if I need a preamp, and if I need a DAC? How would I add those if using a Crown or Emotiva? What about other audio connections that these amps lack? Is that what a preamp would give me? More connections like an audio optical connection?

Really dumb question here, but can I use banana plugs with the L800s and maintain their full SDA?

I'm looking for good options of equipment to pair these speakers with, and I have found those Crown amps on eBay for great prices. Emotiva I would possibly have to buy new. If the Onkyo would work well, I'd prolly buy used or refurbished. Any and all advice here would be greatly appreciated. I want to try and push these speakers closer to the 300watt 4ohm load Polk says they are for, but when I reached out to them for help, they would only suggest me in house amps, like Marantz, and some of those are crazy expensive. Looking to understand my options.

I understand that I wouldn't be pushing the L800s to the max all the time, and that I want to be careful, as source material greatly affects listening. I'm a drummer and have loud sound preferences, so I want to push these speakers to sound clean, amazing, and very loud when I want.

Thank you thank you for any and all help! <3

That review is misleading. Those speakers do not require what I would call a single ended amp. Those are poor very low power amps and usually single ended tubes.

What is required is an amp that on the positive terminal has the full 360 degree phase. The best and easiest way to test that is to prove with a multimeter that the negative speaker terminal is connected to ground, and that will be the case. Now a lot of recent class D amp will not be suitable, but most class A/B amps will be, as well as Quad current dumping amp technology.

Having said all that, I personally think the whole concept of that speaker is largely spurious and actually would not be my choice at all. They really are based on a theory pushed by Polk founder Matthew Polk. I personally see little validity in his concept and execution and that is why you never saw a rush of imitators and most, including myself ran in the other direction.