Calling all Polkies:Official Polk thread - Page 451

True, but your comparing the Integra 80.3 with XT32 against ARC. I am comparing XT to ARC.

Considering he said he couldnt tell the difference between the ARC and XT32 models, it makes the MRX-300 even more enticing since I will be using it as a processor so the wattage differences between them dont matter....

The XT model is more than likely what I will go with as I just cant pony up the 1k for the MRX300 model as easy as the NR709's cost of 500.....



So XT only EQ's the mains down to 80hz? That sucks as my fronts can go quite a bit lower than 80hz..... Normally 2EQ sets them to full range and I run them as such. The Center I am running at 60 hz right now.

Just got the LSi F/X mounted and havent re-run 2EQ at all since we moved here, so hopefully I will do that tomorrow or next Sunday....

I'm not sure how well that would work. I considered doing so back when I was trying to get decent performance out of the CS1 center (actually I hoped to overcome the CS1's shortcomings by running two M40's as a center channel).

If you wire them in parallel, that drops the overall impedance to 4 ohms and could overload the amp. You would need an amp designed specifically for a 4 ohm load, and most are not. OTOH if wiring them in series I suspect it's possible that the crossover circuits in each speaker might cause some sort of interactive interference.

In the end I never actually tried it and instead just went with a larger center... something that just kept escalating until I eventually ended up with the RTi5, which is comparable to the A6 and has plenty of output.

EDIT: Sorry, late hour post. That should be a CSi5, which is comparable to the A6... though at one time I did use a third M60 as a center.

You mean to use an Rti A5 floorstand speaker as a center channel?

The OP in that thread wanted a Pre-Pro. And there is a difference in ARC on the Receiver and Pre-pro models.

But if you can save I would say get the entry level Anthem and feed your amp with it. That is unless by that time you can land a Denon or Onkyo with XT32 for the same price.



No. XT will EQ what ever you have. Even with floor standers that are good to low 40's after I run the Audyssey correction routine it set's them to small. I don't know if this is Denon's doing or Audyssey. But it is aggravating.

A lot of amps are rated 4 ohm. Scratches head over that one. Even a handful of receivers are 4 ohm rated.

A lot are.

Most are not.

Regardless, trying to wire in two speakers to a single amp terminal is a recipe for disaster. There is pretty much no situation where, even if the amp could handle it, it would improve the sound. The filtering and interference in the sound waves would be awful.

I would have to disagree:

Emotiva, Rotel, ATI, AB International, Parasound, Outlaw, Pass Labs, Adcom, Carver, Odyssey, Monarchy, Brytson, Classe, Lexicon, Krell, Conrad Johnson, NAD.

All have a majority, it not almost 100% 4 ohm stable ratings.

On combining two separate speakers for a center channel, yes horrible comb filtering could ensue.

Add up how many amplifiers they sell and compare that number to how many Pioneer, Denon, Onkyo, Sony, and Yamaha sell. (Yes, receivers have amplifiers in them.)

Obviously, the vast majority of amplifiers in home theaters are in the form of receivers, and those receivers outnumber separates by an enormous margin.

By far, most amplifiers are not designed to handle 4-ohm loads.

Thanks - it's always good to have at least one person in my corner

Ahh, I just skimmed to the parts about the installer and what he ended up getting.

Regarding ARC implementation I am aware of the differences. The pre-pro models have more processing power and can eq in smaller increments (5hz I believe) than the recievers (10 hz). The pre-pro also can EQ higher up than the reciever.


Yeah, its pretty close at that price range. 1200 for a refurb Onkyo 3009 (which has XT32 if I remember correctly) or 1k for a NEW MRX300.



Interesting. My 2EQ sets my LSi 15's to Large as well as my LSiC center. Wonder if XT just sets all speakers to "Small" by default now

Audyssey does not decide whether to make speakers large or small. It passes FR response data onto the receiver's software which then makes the decision.

Different receiver manufacturers will have different software and algorithms to determine whether to set the speakers to large or small and where to place the crossover.

Don't be coy. You know full well that two distinctions are being made:

External stand-alone amplifiers and receivers.

One would hope with the LSi 15's You should come down sometime. Could put together a dual opposed Infinity Reference 860 in 1.5-2.25 cubic foot sealed box and feed it 500 watts. The 860's are $47 per and would have an F3 ~22hz with x-max to spare. Do this with a Sonotube and veneer. It would be a quick build, small and out of the way and if the modeling is correct, rock.

There's no reason to think that javygonx was specifically talking about a standalone amplifier. RobLee used the word "amplifier" but to me it was abundantly clear he meant "amplifier" in general - both external amplifiers as well as the ones built into receivers.

In any case, his statement is true. You're trying to nitpick by pointingo ut that many or even most external standalone amplifiers can handle 4 ohm loads. It hardly matters. Javygonx can figure out whether whatever he uses for amplification can handle 4 ohm loads.

If AVS isn't the place to put all options on the table and discuss the technical merits of those options, or what could reasonably be options, then i don't know where else.

I don't know if an external Amp would be an option for Javygonx or not. But not discussing it doesn't really help him, and discussing doesn't hurt him.

True - I used the term "amp" in the general sense. Bottom line, if the load is 6 ohms or greater, just about any amp will do, including most commonly available receivers. A 4 ohm load narrows the requirement down to specific models of amplifiers.

When the term amp is used, I think 'Amp'. When the term receiver is used, I think 'Receiver'.

It's just the way I read things. When you said amp I thought amp. Not a big deal either way. But if everyone can be fair: Amp ≠ Receiver.

"Amplifier" does not always mean "separate standalone amplifier." Receivers have amplifiers in them. Most of those amplifiers can't handle 4 ohm loads.

Done.

Audyssey MultEQ® XT32 set my Polk Audio RTi A9 speakers to 40Hz crossover as well on my Onkyo NR3009. Even though they are capable of hitting mid to high 30s. The setup even says to set them to full for full size floor standing speakers.

I just re-ran 2EQ and it set EVERYTHING to Full Range.... so I said WTH and left it that way .

Pics incoming here in a min or two...

Are you worried about running your speakers full range?

Well we moved... and I got new stuff, so here's the updated equipment list and some pics:

Equipment List:
TV: Panasonic 60" ST30 Plasma
Receiver/Pre-amp: Integra DTR 5.9
Amplifier: Carver AV-705x
Fronts: Polk LSi 15's modded with a db840 sub (crossover upgrade next)
Center: Polk LSi C
Surrounds: Polk LSi F/X (wall mounted)
Sub: Polk PSW125 (being replaced eventually and moved to the office)
Misc Gear: Xbox 360, Samsung BP-1600 blu ray player, Uverse DVR, Pioneer laserdisc player

Here are some pics of the cable management in the rack. I managed to keep ALL the power, HDMI, IC's and Speaker wire totally separate. Took a bunch of doing, but its done for a LONG LONG LONG TIME.







And here are the finished pics, including the LSi F/X's being mounted

Nice job on the cable management.

Yesterday I re-ran Audyssey for the first time since replacing my CS2 rears with RTi6's and it set everything to full range... first time ever. Previously I had always changed all to SMALL and changed the various xover frequencies to 60Hz, which I did again this time. After listening a while I lowered the front RTi10 mains down to 40Hz and I really like the sound better that way.

Folkieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Very, very nice looking. Awesome job on the cable management.

I hear ya there on the RTis. I set mine to full and the center and surrounds are set at 40Hz I think. I am probably going to set them higher. I don't see a 6.5" driver going below 80 Hz. Running 40Hz signals to the center and surrounds takes a lot of power out of the amplifier section of the AVR. With RTi A9s, power is at a premium... LOL

You can probably set your RTis at "FULL RANGE" as they can output lower than 40 Hz (18 Hz according to Polk). Letting a sub make up the difference will also work if you are trying to save some power on the rest of the signal.

Congrats.....it looks fantastic!!!

So, when are you swinging by at my place to do the same thing at my HT?

I have even running my speakers full range except the center channel. The CSi A6 has a -3db limit of 55hz. Therefore, a 80hz-70hz crossover should be fine with it.

I believe the RTi center is similar in build and specs. Therefore, they both should play well with a 80Hz crossover. 60hz might be pushing it.

Yeah, for some reason, the XT32 EQ set my center and surrounds to 40 Hz. I think they are good at 80 Hz. I was looking at the Polk site and you are right. The specs say 45 Hz - 27 KHz but the 45 Hz is a moot point with a -3dB at 55Hz. I'm going downstairs to set mine to 60 Hz now.

The FXi A6s are exactly the same. The RTi A9s, on the other hand, are a 30 Hz -3db so I'm going to leave them at "FULL"... Thank you for the pointers.