holtrp Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Hi, I am taking the plunge and buying a pair of RF-83's and a RC-64 to replace my old Paradigm monitors. These speakers sound absolutely fantastic at the store and I can hardly wait to get them back to the house. I currently have a Denon 3808CI & Velodyne SPL 1200R which I think sounds pretty darn good with the Paradigms (I have about 3500 cu/ft in the living room with an open floor plan to a kitchen that is about the same and a entry way & dining room that adds another 2000 cu/ft). I know these speakers will sound fantastic with the Denon alone, but what would be a good amp to give them that 'extra something'? Thanks, Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Welcome. I have a B&K Reference 4430 (200w) 3 channel amp with the Onkyo TX-SR705 as a preamp driving a pair of RF-63's The Onkyo by itself sounded good. Adding the B&K brought these speakers to a whole new dimension. Many on the forum are praising the Emotiva amps. Emotiva has a sale on the XPA-3 (200w 3 channel, 225w 2 channel) for $499.00. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holtrp Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 I can only imagine! Thanks for the heads up on the Emotiva, that is a screaming deal. I have never used an amp in a home system before, but I can imagine the difference in sound is stunning. Do you have any problems with the mains over-powering the surrounds with your amp? I suppose once you set it up and balance everything just right it wouldn't be a problem. The only thing I need surround for is SACD and blu-ray, so it might be a moot point anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arky Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I suppose once you set it up and balance everything just right it wouldn't be a problem. That's my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 No problem at all. Now the surrounds are not the ones that Klipsch recommends but with a little EQ'ing,proper crossover/LFE settings, and dB levels raised a bit they blend pretty well to me. If you are considering the Emotiva deal, you had better jump on it before they stock out. They had a similar deal on the XPA-5 and sold out quickly. Look on audiogon.com for used A/V equipment. There are great deals to be had. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vick's Pit Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I have the NAD M25 pushing my 83's and can't say enough good about this amp. It made a huge difference over the previous Onkyo 804 that was powering the speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 what would be a good amp to give them that 'extra something'? I am not sure what your budget is but take a look at this: http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampsmult&1233698064&/B-K-Components-Reference-200.5 Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holtrp Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 Hey Bill, That BK is nice but a little bit more than I want to spend. However, I got a pretty good deal on my RF-83's and RC-64 and had enough left over to get that XPA-3! It should be great to start out with. I am pretty excited, it is going to be a long two weeks waiting for my speakers. Thanks for the heads up! Now I need to decide if I want to add two more in ceiling surrounds for full 7.1 or add another Velo SPL-1200R up front. I am leaning towards the two extra surround because the RF-83's should pound with that amp. Thanks again! Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesV Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Congrats on the new setup. Also, Welcome to the forum. Now I need to decide if I want to add two more in ceiling surrounds for full 7.1 or add another Velo SPL-1200R up front. I am leaning towards the two extra surround because the RF-83's should pound with that amp. I would want to see how everything sounds with the new speakers dialed in then decide what you need. I think that everything will be fine as it is and you will not have to get anything else. That is until you hear the Heritage speakers, then the upgrade bug will bit and bit hard.... [] James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holtrp Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 Thanks! I will do a little review once I get everything set up and will probably ask you guys for some help. I think the boss would have me sleeping on the couch if I were to go out and buy more A/V equipment after the most recent visit from the upgrade bug. The Samsung, PS3, RF-83's, RC-64, Emotiva and Denon are all new, anything else for the theater now would be a very tough sell indeed. One of the local A/V shops has that other Velodyne on sale, that is my achilles heel and it will be tough to stay away. I should be plenty busy hooking up and playing with everything once it comes in, the AV closet is going to need to be re-arranged to make room for that amp and I will also need to move all the old living room stuff to the office for the backroom system. Thanks again, Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNRabbit Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Did you mean PUSHING R-83s or PUNISHING them?~?!? [H] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holtrp Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 Hopefully they will be punishing my eardrums. I can hardly wait to have those RF-83's hooked up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 As you can see from my sig what I have, I use the crown xti 1000 amp which is a pro amp that I adapted to home audio. It works fine and has a much higher than most home audio Minimum Guaranteed Power, 1 kHz XTi 1000 XTi 2000 XTi 4000 Per channel, both channels drivenStereo, 2 ohms (per ch.) Stereo, 4 ohms (per ch.) Stereo, 8 ohms (per ch.) Bridge-Mono, 4 ohms Bridge-Mono, 8 ohms 700W* 500W 275W 1400W* 1000W 1000W* 800W 475W 2000W* 1600W 1600W* 1200W 650W 3200W* 2400W I have the denon 3805 so its 2 series down as there was no 3807, but relatively it has the same power and probably the same power source. I found it lacking when the bass came out, compared to a 120 watt harman kardon 3480 stereo receiver. The reason with the pro audio was a. its cheaper than most home though emotiva was not around when I was looking or at that clearance price, and b. it is 2 ohms stable. One thing that the rf-83 is really not is 8 ohms, its 8 ohms compliant but if you push the speakers at I believe around the 40 hertz area the ohms dips to 2.8 ohms which basically kills most home audio equipment as it is effectively 4 times the demand load of an 8 ohm speaker. Once I put that on to the denon it works great, bass is back. There is a little bit of hiss but hardly noticeable. And one thing to prove the demand of the speaker, if I go -20 on the denon which is not that that loud, and play a song it turns the fans on at full blast (the fans are heat variable and off when it does not need it on) while I remember DrWho using one and he said he never got the fan to turn on turning some intense playing with heritage speakers I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eskimo1 Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I would not recommend the Crown Xti after seeing the test of one on AVS.. The Emo XPA-3 will make those speakers come ALIVE!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted January 8, 2009 Moderators Share Posted January 8, 2009 Did you mean PUSHING R-83s or PUNISHING them?~?! I hooked up a QSC amp to mine that had 265 watts/ch and cranked it up pretty good. Crystal clear and plenty of bass. Over the loudness, I believe I distinctly heard them shout out to me, "Is that all you've got?" Trust me, they can handle plenty of clean power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNRabbit Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Did you mean PUSHING R-83s or PUNISHING them?~?! I hooked up a QSC amp to mine that had 265 watts/ch and cranked it up pretty good. Crystal clear and plenty of bass. Over the loudness, I believe I distinctly heard them shout out to me, "Is that all you've got?" Trust me, they can handle plenty of clean power. I've run 400 watts of Sunfire amp into mine and my EARS were being punished... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted January 8, 2009 Moderators Share Posted January 8, 2009 I've run 400 watts of Sunfire amp into mine and my EARS were being punished... No doubt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holtrp Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 Good to know Jay, Where do you have the 83's crossed over? I hadn't planned on running them all the way down to 40Hz, although I know they could take it. I am in a similar boat. I just stepped up to the Denon 3808CI from a Denon 2307 which gives me an advertised 30w extra per channel. I was suprised with just how much of a difference it made. It could have been wishful thinking but after listening to Dark Side of The Moon on SACD a couple of times, I am convinced the sound is much clearer and louder by at least -5db from reciever to reciever. I have also been able to hear some details I hadn't heard before (espcially when it comes to drums and backing vocals) while listening to Dave Matthews and Modest Mouse in stereo. I popped in the Omaha Beach sequence from Saving Private Ryan this morning and all of the guns sound much more distinct, powerful and lifelike. I don't ever remember really appriciating the difference between the Thompson SMG, a BAR or a MG-42 like I did this time around. Although that could be wishful thinking as well, I haven't seen it for awhile and it is tough for me to tell unless it is side by side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 actually it was a down grade going from my harman kardon stereo to the denon 3805. I thought it would be an upgrade but I was wrong. Its probably because the whole system is now 7.1 spread out. I did upgrade to surround sound. I did not cross them over, I have the subwoofer crossed at 80 but i have the 83 set at full because it sounds to me more rounded and fuller. And why not? If I crossed them earlier I might as well brought rf-63 or 82's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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