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Slowly building HT, what piece next...?


Clergian

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I am currently running 2 rf-63's hooked up to a Marantz sr 5003. Last night a buddy of mine brought over his older onkyo amp and the improvement, especially in the bass department was pretty jaw dropping. So I am unsure what my next piece should be, either an emotiva xpa-3 to power the l/r and the future rc-64 center, or a subwoofer. I feel like I should get the amp first, and power the speakers I have to their fullest...but then again, a subwoofer would take a huge load off my fronts. For HT I should probably get the center first, but my wife listens to music on an equivalent or higher rate than I watch movies, and she is letting me buy something so I am not going to argue and will push the center channel campaign back a couple months.

So, amp or sub? I tried a search, didn't get to much.

Also, while you are reading this, help explain this to me. Last night when my buddy brought his amp over we powered the 63's with just his amp at first. The bass was VASTLY improved and overall sound performance was much better. BUT at around the extreme volume lvl of -5 through -3 the tweeter/highs started to distort or sound quality seemed to decline. So, we decided to hook his amp to just the 63's lows, and the Marantz's L/R outputs to the 63's highs. Now, I could easily run at around the 0 volume lvl with no noticable distortion in the highs, and infact the Marantz seemed to create MUCH more pleasing Highs than did powering the speaker soley by the amp. This was not just my opinion but a my buddy who has some experience with speakers, AND two wives both agreed that the AMP/Receiver set up created a much cleaner sound.

Why would this be? Could the seperate amp not keep up with both the highs/lows at that volume lvl? Did "bi-amping" with the amp/receiver give the 63's the power they wanted at ultra high volumes? With no active crossover, wouldn't the full range of sound be sent to both the highs and lows then the passive crossover has to figure it out (not really part of the above example, just wanting to understand)? Would the more powerful XPA-3 create a sound similiar to the receiver/amp set up I tried last night? Were the brighter almost uncomfortable highs experienced with the amp only set up specific to that amp (as with the marantz powering the highs they were much more pleasing)? If I got the XPA-3 would anyone suggest "bi-amping" the lows with the xpa and the highs with the marantz if I wasn't happy with the highs the xpa alone produced?

alot of questions here, thanks for ANY help, no need to answer them all, just any you might have an answer or opinion for.

Thanks,

Ted

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First I'd get the sub. That will take a load off your receiver once you engage the crossover. You'll also be able to get the LFE track you're missing now. Set your receiver to phantom center if it will let you. Next I'd get the center channel and lastly the amp. Most people build their HT with the L an R fronts first, but the sub and center are the heart of the HT and the 2 speakers you'll hear the most. Buy the best ones you can afford.

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so consensus seems to be the sub first (with wife taken into consideration). SVS was going to be my first choice, the pc13-ultra due to room constraints. Might take me a bit to save for something like that though and I have the wife's go ahead to pick up something NOW. Happens rarely. SVS rarely sells used, but I have been seeing alot of rsw-15's locally. Having no real experience with quality subs, is the rsw-15 something I might be happy with and would match decently with the 63's? I heard it was great for music but lacked a little in a HT set up especially when compared to a SVS. Should I hold off on a sub until I can get the pc13 ultra? Or is there a sub you guys would suggest that I might be able to find used in a decent price range, say around 6-800

Thanks

Ted

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Well, right now the HT is being built in the living room of a very open Florida floor plan. Not going to be really helpful to the acoustics of the system. That being said, the room isn't of gargantuan size, and maybe I am being overzealous thinking I need a PC13-ultra. Maybe the elemental or the pc12 would suit me better. That said, I do like to "feel" my bass.

Thank you for all the suggestions thus far,

Ted

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....... BUT at around the extreme volume lvl of -5 through -3 the tweeter/highs started to distort or sound quality seemed to decline.

alot of questions here, thanks for ANY help, no need to answer them all, just any you might have an answer or opinion for. ..........

Thanks,

Ted

You were clipping the amp. Turn it down and don't do that again. It kills tweeters. The number of the volume control doesn't correlate to the output power of the amp.

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Well, right now the HT is being built in the living room of a very open Florida floor plan.

Another Florida forum brother. Where is your location? I say buy a sub next, then center, then amp. Have you seen this one yet? No affiliation.

http://orlando.craigslist.org/ele/1518847811.html

It is still available as of 6:48pm.

Bill

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Hey John, after I hooked the highs to the Marantz and the Lows to the onkyo amp I no longer had the clipping problem. Even at higher volume lvls then previously tested. Is this because the speakers had more power?

And Bill, I am located on the Treasure Coast, Port St. Lucie specifically.

Ted

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