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Post by clusion on Oct 23, 2019 10:19:06 GMT -5
Hello all. Thinking about an upgrade, maybe an XPA3-gen3.
I am running a Onkyo 818 (135w per channel x 2 driven), and a 3.1 system currently, with Polk RTI a9 Floorstanding speakers, and a Polk CSI a6, and a SVS pb12-nsd subwoofer. I mostly watch movies and TV using this setup, 90% movies, 10% music. No dvd/blu-ray/4k external usage, all TV, and netflix (I know compressed and probably shitty). We sit about 8' from a 60" TV.
My volume on the Onkyo is usually between -35 to -30 (comfortably), and on occasion it may go to -25 if the source material is really low or hard to hear. When I go lower than -25 it is just too loud its really only to boost dialogue, but that quickly gets drowned out by special effects/other sounds. My better half complains sometimes it is hard to hear the dialogue on the center channel, although I suspect this is more due to the TV/movie source material through xfinity/netflix.
The family room opens into a kitchen and dining room, so I have been unable to figure out where to place the additional 2 rear bookshelf speakers, and thus I am just running a 3.1 setup for simplicity purposes. No dedicated HT room, although thats the goal in next 5 years (in our next home).
Question--do you think I would benefit from this amp? I have heard more headroom, cleaner sound, speakers will come to life etc. I was thinking of upgrading speakers, but perhaps simply adding an amp would bring them to life. Appreciate the feedback!
-Neil
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Post by 405x5 on Oct 23, 2019 10:40:57 GMT -5
My volume on the Onkyo is usually between -35 to -30 (comfortably), and on occasion it may go to -25 if the source material is really low or hard to hear. When I go lower than -25 it is just too loud its really only to boost dialogue, but that quickly gets drowned out by special effects/other sounds. My better half complains sometimes it is hard to hear the dialogue on the center channel, although I suspect this is more due to the TV/movie source material through xfinity/netflix. -Neil At the moment something is amiss with your setup. When I stream Netflix films, audio and video are as good as watching a disc. You need to figure out what’s up before making the problems louder with a bigger amp. Bill |
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Post by clusion on Oct 23, 2019 10:46:38 GMT -5
My volume on the Onkyo is usually between -35 to -30 (comfortably), and on occasion it may go to -25 if the source material is really low or hard to hear. When I go lower than -25 it is just too loud its really only to boost dialogue, but that quickly gets drowned out by special effects/other sounds. My better half complains sometimes it is hard to hear the dialogue on the center channel, although I suspect this is more due to the TV/movie source material through xfinity/netflix. -Neil At the moment something is amiss with your setup. When I stream Netflix films, audio and video are as good as watching a disc. You need to figure out what’s up before making the problems louder with a bigger amp. Bill I should probably clarify. The older 80's movies on netflix sometimes gives us low dialogue audio issues. The newer stuff is usually great. |
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Post by rbk123 on Oct 23, 2019 10:49:01 GMT -5
You'll get better clarity/separation with a better processor/pre. The amp will improve things but not as much as a pre/pro.
Can you bump up the center channel volume only? ie. +3 or +5 db? That is very common to do.
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Post by davidl81 on Oct 23, 2019 10:51:29 GMT -5
Hello all. Thinking about an upgrade, maybe an XPA3-gen3. I am running a Onkyo 818 (135w per channel x 2 driven), and a 3.1 system currently, with Polk RTI a9 Floorstanding speakers, and a Polk CSI a6, and a SVS pb12-nsd subwoofer. I mostly watch movies and TV using this setup, 90% movies, 10% music. No dvd/blu-ray/4k external usage, all TV, and netflix (I know compressed and probably shitty). We sit about 8' from a 60" TV. My volume on the Onkyo is usually between -35 to -30 (comfortably), and on occasion it may go to -25 if the source material is really low or hard to hear. When I go lower than -25 it is just too loud its really only to boost dialogue, but that quickly gets drowned out by special effects/other sounds. My better half complains sometimes it is hard to hear the dialogue on the center channel, although I suspect this is more due to the TV/movie source material through xfinity/netflix. The family room opens into a kitchen and dining room, so I have been unable to figure out where to place the additional 2 rear bookshelf speakers, and thus I am just running a 3.1 setup for simplicity purposes. No dedicated HT room, although thats the goal in next 5 years (in our next home). Question--do you think I would benefit from this amp? I have heard more headroom, cleaner sound, speakers will come to life etc. I was thinking of upgrading speakers, but perhaps simply adding an amp would bring them to life. Appreciate the feedback! -Neil Yes it will be better, but will it be $1200 better? That's a tougher question. Since you are only running three channels the onkyo amp is pretty solid for your setup. Once again the Emotiva will be better, but i don't think you will plug in the amp and hear this magical difference. I would first just look at adjusting the gain on your center channel and maybe increase it 3 dB or so over where it is now and see if that helps with the dialog. |
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Post by frenchyfranky on Oct 23, 2019 10:56:40 GMT -5
I don't think an amp will really help about your concern. It is more a source and decoding problem, TV station are notorious for this type of bad digital signal processing, don't expect too much about television signals and streaming services. I suspect that you don't have this concern when you're listening a BluRay. For sure a better amp could articulate and ameliorate the sound of the system but will not regulated a bad digital encoding-decoding process.
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Post by simpleman68 on Oct 23, 2019 11:37:29 GMT -5
Speaking from personal experience, yes your RTi speakers will sound much better with power beyond an integrated/AVR.
I used current model Denon and Yamaha AVRs at the time I upgraded to a separate 2 ch amp. That model Polk really opens up with more power. The bass was fuller with more punch and the mids were smoother and more life-like.
No need to break the bank with a high dollar amp. Shop out the used market and get a well built amp; they'll sound like you never thought they could. Scott
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Post by clusion on Oct 23, 2019 14:51:18 GMT -5
Thanks for the advice everyone. I will try bumping up the center channel +3db or so, and see if that makes a difference for now. If I am not satisfied I may take advantage of the 30 day return policy, and snag an amp and see if it really brings these speakers to life.
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Post by Ex_Vintage on Oct 23, 2019 21:52:44 GMT -5
A big difference is also if you are running optical from your TV or ARC. Optical is 2 channel PCM, with ARC you get the 5.1 that is broadcast. I find that the separation and definition is much better with ARC. Much better defined center dialog.
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Post by 405x5 on Oct 24, 2019 8:45:24 GMT -5
A big difference is also if you are running optical from your TV or ARC. Optical is 2 channel PCM, with ARC you get the 5.1 that is broadcast. I find that the separation and definition is much better with ARC. Much better defined center dialog. Not so in all cases. There are a number of sets out there that DO pass 5.1 thru their optical, but you need to research the individual make and model if you are planning to make such a connection. Some Sony and Vizo going back as far as 2013 could do this. Bill |
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Post by clusion on Oct 26, 2019 18:36:24 GMT -5
Speaking from personal experience, yes your RTi speakers will sound much better with power beyond an integrated/AVR.
I used current model Denon and Yamaha AVRs at the time I upgraded to a separate 2 ch amp. That model Polk really opens up with more power. The bass was fuller with more punch and the mids were smoother and more life-like.
No need to break the bank with a high dollar amp. Shop out the used market and get a well built amp; they'll sound like you never thought they could. Scott
Very curious about your post about how the speakers “really open up” . Would you say this is true for me listening at -35. Sounds like I have a lot of headroom and not in the -10 range. Just based on numbers I would think the speakers are getting enough power in a 3.1 environment with my avr. But obviously if night and day difference I would invest in an amp! |
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Post by simpleman68 on Oct 26, 2019 20:08:43 GMT -5
Speaking from personal experience, yes your RTi speakers will sound much better with power beyond an integrated/AVR.
I used current model Denon and Yamaha AVRs at the time I upgraded to a separate 2 ch amp. That model Polk really opens up with more power. The bass was fuller with more punch and the mids were smoother and more life-like.
No need to break the bank with a high dollar amp. Shop out the used market and get a well built amp; they'll sound like you never thought they could. Scott
Very curious about your post about how the speakers “really open up” . Would you say this is true for me listening at -35. Sounds like I have a lot of headroom and not in the -10 range. Just based on numbers I would think the speakers are getting enough power in a 3.1 environment with my avr. But obviously if night and day difference I would invest in an amp! By open up I mean that they were much more dynamic sounding. Bass was punchier and fuller, mid range was smoother and more dimensional etc. It wasn't a small difference; my jaw was on the floor as I had no idea they could sound so good. Scott
Bought these new back in 2008 and used them for years before putting in the theater and then finally selling. Great bang for the $ speaker at the time.
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Post by emofrmcgy on Oct 27, 2019 9:31:18 GMT -5
Speaking from personal experience, yes your RTi speakers will sound much better with power beyond an integrated/AVR.
I used current model Denon and Yamaha AVRs at the time I upgraded to a separate 2 ch amp. That model Polk really opens up with more power. The bass was fuller with more punch and the mids were smoother and more life-like.
No need to break the bank with a high dollar amp. Shop out the used market and get a well built amp; they'll sound like you never thought they could. Scott
Very curious about your post about how the speakers “really open up” . Would you say this is true for me listening at -35. Sounds like I have a lot of headroom and not in the -10 range. Just based on numbers I would think the speakers are getting enough power in a 3.1 environment with my avr. But obviously if night and day difference I would invest in an amp! When I had my a9's I used an emotiva xpr-2 to run them. They were very good at the -35 to -15 range, they would compress like crazy after that. I moved to some high sensitivity Jtr speakers and had the same dynamics all the way above reference level. YMMV. |
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