so if i was to get an amp

[Snarl]

You may even find a 60Hz Crossover is okay give it a whirl and compare with 80Hz. The Polk's look like great speakers however one mans "great" speaker is another man's "poor" speaker, lot's of good advise in this thread.

 

[PENG]

I listened to the RTi8 many times. Unlike the RTi10, they don't need much power to sound good. Anything like a HKAVR240, Pioneer 1015, Yamaha RX-V657 receiver should suffice. If you email Polk, I bet you they will tell you something similar. I also read about people measured the impedance of some RTi speakers to be more like 4 ohms instead of the specified 8ohm nominal, but I thought it was for the RTi10, not the 8. I also have my doubt about how it was measured.

If you use an ordinary ohmmeter to measured the impedance across the terminals you are in fact measuring the speaker's d.c. resistance because the ohmeter's output is d.c. That may be the reason why the measured value is lower. The impedance of a typical speaker is complex, i.e. not totally resistive, and will vary quite a bit with frequency. You can't use an ohmmeter to measure impedance. Impedance is usually made up of resistance, inductive and capacitive reactance. Mathematically it is a complex number and the symbol is Z, not R.

You question about the effect of 4 ohms: To deliver the same power to a 4 ohm speaker, the amp will have to push square root of 2 or 1.414 times of current that it would need to push, into an 8 ohm speaker. It does not mean 4 ohm speakers need more power (all else being equal), but it does mean 4 ohm speakers need relatively more current for the same power. For simpicity, consider a pure resistive load, the power forumla is:

Power=CurrentXCurrentXResistance, so if you half the resistance, for the same Power, Current must increase by a factor of square root 2. If you double the current, the power will double.

Bottom line, more power is definitely better especailly if you have speakers with nominal impedance much lower than 8ohms. On the other hand, as others mentioned, you may get more for your money if you invest on speakers, room acoustics etc., instead of on a $2,000 amp. For $2,000 you can probably get a nice pair of Paradigm Studio S2.

 

[bryantm3]

what i mean about the speakers sounding better when i raise the crossover, i mean i think that the RTi8s sound clearer on the high and middle end when i raise the crossover. when i raise the crossover, the subwoofer does an awful job of reproducing bass frequencies that high, but my speakers are reproducing the frequencies above 120 Hz better.

 

[bryantm3]

if you think it may be my speakers, what speakers would you recommend in conjunction with these? like if i used the RTi8s for rears, what should i use for fronts?

 

[PENG]

if you think it may be my speakers, what speakers would you recommend in conjunction with these? like if i used the RTi8s for rears, what should i use for fronts?

http://www.axiomaudio.com/distortion.html#

mtrycrafts posted the above link in another thread. It talks about how difficult it is to hear bass distortion.

Without knowing what kind of receiver you have, I would not rule it out as one of your problem. That said, if it weighs close to 30 lbs or more, rated for 100W X 6,7 into 8 ohms at <0.1% from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz and set you back more than say $350, it will likely do fine with the RTi8 without causing audible bass distortion at moderately loud level. I am really surprise that you heard bass distortion instead of mid and high range distortion.

The RTi8 are nice speakers for H.T. and are reasonable for 2 channel music. In the $2K per pair range, you may find some of the Axiom, Energy and Paradigm models better sounding for music.

 

[bryantm3]

so RTi8s are the best in their price range? cos i don't think i can go much higher. for the most part, they sound great- it's just the really highs and mid-lows that bother me. and they're not really distorted, just not strong. i'll need to get another amplifier anyway, if i do get surround sound, i'm going to get two more RTi8s, and a Yamaha RXV-757 won't power those well at all.

 

[mtrycrafts]

my 100W setup is giving me a decent midrange, but pretty weak highs + lows. it's not how loud they can get. they can get pretty loud, just they don't get very good highs and lows. .

What makes you so sure that this is an amp problem and not something else, like room acoustics, speakers, recording?

Do you have a sub? That will help with the lows for sure.

Not having enough highs is not a power issue at all.
I think you are looking in the wrong direction.

 

[bryantm3]

what speakers can i get for the same price range (below $1000 per pair) that sound better and will work in conjunction with RTi8s?

 

[PENG]

what speakers can i get for the same price range (below $1000 per pair) that sound better and will work in conjunction with RTi8s?

The RTi8 are definitely hard to beat at their price. If you are willing to pay closer to 1K though, I would say the Energy Connoisseur C9 (replaced by the new Ref Connoisseur this year, or last year?) should give you much better lows and a little better highs. If you are going to have RTi8 all around (i.e. 5 or 7 of them), you should get an amp. A two or three channel one hooked up to your receiver's pre-outs should do it, because the surround channels are not usually driven hard at all.

 

[bryantm3]

The RTi8 are definitely hard to beat at their price. If you are willing to pay closer to 1K though, I would say the Energy Connoisseur C9 (replaced by the new Ref Connoisseur this year, or last year?) should give you much better lows and a little better highs. If you are going to have RTi8 all around (i.e. 5 or 7 of them), you should get an amp. A two or three channel one hooked up to your receiver's pre-outs should do it, because the surround channels are not usually driven hard at all.

even in surround music?

just curious, do you know of any stereo amp that delivers 200 watts/channel?

 

[PENG]

even in surround music?

just curious, do you know of any stereo amp that delivers 200 watts/channel?

Yes, if you are talking about SACD and DVD-A multi-channel music. Not that much information in the surround channel, at least for jazz and classical music. I can't comment on rocks and others. If you are talking about 5/7Ch stereo then it is a different story. I don't use the 5/7 ch stereo mode, it doesn't make sense to me but obviously some people like it. There are many stereo amp that delivers 200WPC into 8 ohms and 300 to 350 into 4 ohms. Too many to list, but at the entry level, Adcom, Rotel, NAD just to name a few popular ones.

 

[jcPanny]

Budget stereo amp

The Behringer A500 will deliver 230 Watts into 4 ohms and they are only $180 each. It might be a reasonable alternative to a $2k multichannel amp for use with your current speakers.

 

[Nick250]

- it's just the really highs and mid-lows that bother me. and they're not really distorted, just not strong.

This sounds like a speaker or room acoustics issue to me. It does not take much power to play the highs and mid lows. I would rule out the receiver as having anything to do with your dissatisfaction with the sound. I would suggest auditioning more speakers.

Nick

 

[bryantm3]

you mean this?
http://www.music123.com/Behringer-A500-i156837.music

and this will not blow up my speakers and it's a stereo amp (2 channels)?


this is a great deal if that's true! also i've ordered from Music123 before, so this is really good!

 

[bryantm3]

bump- will this amp deliver 200 watts into my speakers?

 

[bryantm3]

sure, ignore me.

 

[PENG]

bump- will this amp deliver 200 watts into my speakers?

It depends, into 4 ohms yes, into 8 ohms, probably not. Your RTi8 are 8 ohm speakers, but 120 to 140W isn't bad. Follow the link for more information.

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17004

 

[bryantm3]

120-140 will make almost no difference in their performance- i'm already giving them a little less than 100 watts. so this will not provide 200 watts, yes?

*sigh*

and i was all excited.

how much will they do in bridged mono? it'll be comparable to the outlaw amp anyway.

 

[bryantm3]

i read this:

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-12464.html

and it seems as if the RTi8s are 4 ohm. maybe i'll do good with this amp?

 

[PENG]

i read this:

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-12464.html

and it seems as if the RTi8s are 4 ohm. maybe i'll do good with this amp?

Bryan, I suggest you email Polk Audio and ask them about the impedance of the RTi8. I bet you they are correctly specified as 8 ohms nominal, perhaps 4 ohms minimum at certain frequencies.

I think when people removed the straps for bi-wire and bi-amp applications but only connect to the top binding post, they were only powering the tweeter and one of the mid bass driver. The speakers will thus sound apparently sharper, more detailed and with less bass. The amp will also have easier time with one less (or two for the pair) bass driver to feed. Of course it will sound different, or better, to some people. I read about someone measured the impedance to be around 4 ohms on yet another thread but I thought he used an ohmmeter. An ohmmeter cannot measured an impedance that has reactive and capacitive reactance and varies with frequencies such as that of a loudspeaker. An ohmmeter measures resistance.

I owned RTi speakers before, everytime I email PolkAudio they answered my questions within 24 to 48 hours, very customer oriented.