Help with RF-82's

[kegaroony]

I just purchased a pair of RF-82's and RC-52 centre speaker and want some advice on setting it up. Im running a Harman Kardon AVR-354 receiver, with a Polk Audio PSW-125 sub. I'm wondering if I should bi-amp the rf82's with my amp on my sub. I was thinking of running the LF on the 82's with the amp from my sub. Any suggestions? I'm thinking my receiver doesnt have enough juice for the 82s.

[Zen Traveler]

Welcome to the forum, kegaroony. I don't really understand what you are asking but it doesn't sound like a good idea.

[cornfedksboy]

Welcome to the forum, kegaroony. I don't really understand what you are asking but it doesn't sound like a good idea.

I can't say it any better than tkd. [Y]

[kegaroony]

Sorry, I'm pretty new to this home theatre thing, so maybe im not explaining it very well. There are 4 speaker posts on the RF82's and from what i can research it looks like they are meant for bi-amp the speakers, (think that means running 2 amps on the speakers). The speakers did come with a metal bracket to connect the speaker posts together, but I'm wondering if its better if I do run 2 amps on the rf82's instead of the one. My thinking is that if i run the amp off the sub woofer onto the low speaker connections on the rf 82 that it might be better. Hope I explained myself properly. Also, do you think my receiver has enough juice to push those speakers (550 watts)?

[Youthman]

Welcome to the forums. You are in the right place if you have questions. Lots of folks here willing to help.

There are 4 speaker posts on the RF82's and from what i can research it looks like they are meant for bi-amp the speakers

Correct.

but I'm wondering if its better if I do run 2 amps on the rf82's instead of the one.

I've personally tried it with my system and heard no difference in sound. Others state they have, but I personally did not benefit from it. Just extra wires.

My thinking is that if i run the amp off the sub woofer onto the low speaker connections on the rf 82 that it might be better

I've never heard of someone attempting that but do not believe it is a good idea. The speaker level inputs on your sub are designed to be used when you have an older receiver that does not have a sub out. In that case, you would come out of your receiver, into your sub, then out of your sub, into your speakers. The main problem I see with this is that you have two amplified signals thus introducing much more distortion (not good).

Here is some info from Crutchfield.com about using Line Level inputs.

Speaker-level inputs


If you have an older receiver and subwoofer combination that doesn't offer an LFE connection, then you can also use speaker-level inputs.
They also bypass the receiver's built-in crossover and send an
amplified signal to your subwoofer. Just hook up your sub from your
receiver's front left and right speaker outputs using ordinary speaker
cable. This will be a full-frequency signal, but the sub's built-in
filter will block the higher frequencies. Then, connect your stereo
speakers via the subwoofer's speaker-level outputs. Your sub will pass
on the unfiltered, full-frequency signal. If your sub does not have
speaker-level outputs, you can wire the sub and stereo speakers in
parallel using your receiver's speaker terminals.

Just keep in mind that you will be sending an amplified signal from
the receiver, only to be reamplified in the sub, which may cause
distortion. This method should only be used if you can't make either an
LFE or un-filtered line-level connection.

Also, do you think my receiver has enough juice to push those speakers (550 watts)?

Yes, Klipsch speakers are very efficient and do not take much power to drive them. The good news is that your receiver has Pre-Outs so if you find that you need more power, you can always add an external amp down the road.

[mustang guy]

Sorry, I'm pretty new to this home theatre thing, so maybe im not explaining it very well. There are 4 speaker posts on the RF82's and from what i can research it looks like they are meant for bi-amp the speakers, (think that means running 2 amps on the speakers). The speakers did come with a metal bracket to connect the speaker posts together, but I'm wondering if its better if I do run 2 amps on the rf82's instead of the one. My thinking is that if i run the amp off the sub woofer onto the low speaker connections on the rf 82 that it might be better. Hope I explained myself properly. Also, do you think my receiver has enough juice to push those speakers (550 watts)?

Welcome to the forum!

I believe you are a bit confused about two things.

First of all, the RF-82 speaker has a sensitivity of 98 db at 1watt/1 meter. That is a quite nice listening level, albeit not not loud enough that you need to raise your voice. They would be quite happy being driven by a 20 watt per channel RMS amp or receiver. Watts as compared to actual loudness is a math formula. It takes 10 db more volume to sound twice as loud to the naked ear. It takes about 9 times the watts to make a speaker twice as loud. In other words, 180 watts is only twice as loud as 20 watts.

Second of all, amp off the subwoofer does not exist. Those red and black connections are pass throughs. What they are for is to connect the sub when the receiver or avr you have does not support line-in (a subwoofer direct connection). The tops are from the receiver or avr, and the outs are to go on to the speakers. There is no amplification done. The only thing that is done is high pass filtering based on the crossover dial setting. Some subs actually have a fixed high pass filter that is not affected when the knob is turned. The knob in that instance is simply a low pass filter to tell the sub how high of a frequency it is allowed to play.

Finally, I would not recommend bi-amping at this point. That avr you have is plenty powerful for those speakers at 75 watts per channel. Driving those speakers with 150 watts would only be 3 db louder, which is only 1/3 louder.

edit: Youthman, we must have been typing at the same time.