fuzzydog Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 i am thinking of going with a power amp for now... many expensive brands are available but not cheap ones... i am thinking of rotel rmb-1585 or a parasound a31... which is better? both are expensive though, compared to emotiva Have you looked at NAD? Some of their amps have adjustable gain which could come in handy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destiny Posted October 17, 2015 Author Share Posted October 17, 2015 i am thinking of going with a power amp for now... many expensive brands are available but not cheap ones... i am thinking of rotel rmb-1585 or a parasound a31... which is better? both are expensive though, compared to emotiva Have you looked at NAD? Some of their amps have adjustable gain which could come in handy. yes i saw a bit of their offerings but none sort of satisfied me to what i was looking for in the price range... about 3k$ is all i would want to spend max... i particularly like the parasound halo a31 as it can go to 250W/ch, which can really let the speaker combo i am planning on, to shine... I don't want the cost to go crazy, for the whole system, as i have yet to decide on display and also on a sub, which is another long story... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K5SS Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 I would go with the 5 chanel Rotel over the 3 chanel Parasound any day, especially if you ever decide to go Atmos or any other mega chanel format. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destiny Posted October 18, 2015 Author Share Posted October 18, 2015 I would go with the 5 chanel Rotel over the 3 chanel Parasound any day, especially if you ever decide to go Atmos or any other mega chanel format. there is the option of parasound a51 which is five channel... i was actually looking at the 250w/ch rather than 200w/ch and the real world performance is normally lower than advertised even with power amps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 there is the option of parasound a51 which is five channel... i was actually looking at the 250w/ch rather than 200w/ch and the real world performance is normally lower than advertised even with power amps... You will never use 250 watts unless you are in a good size church or other venue. I run mines in a power console that shows the watts, amp and volts being used and after several years with the system at max tilt, have never used 200 watts for the RF 7's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdit Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Just echo what some folks are already saying. Get a Denon 4520 or similar. I had the 4311 powering 2 rf7s, 1 rc7, 2 rs7s and 2 rs3s for height in a 25x12x8 room. I watch movies at reference levels quite often and it performed effortlessly. I do have a pair of SVS pb12nsd by the way. BUT, I was curious if I were missing something, so I added the Emotiva xpa-5, bought directly from the us and shipped to Canada. After calibration with Audyssey I noticed no difference. I decided to keep it any way because it looks cool in my entertainment center. However, after 3 years, I was able to sell it at even money, dueto exchange rates, so I sold it and have not missed it one bit. I do like the extra cash in my pocket btw . Anyway, just adding my 2 cents, actually 1.5cents at current exchange rates . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destiny Posted October 18, 2015 Author Share Posted October 18, 2015 Just echo what some folks are already saying. Get a Denon 4520 or similar. I had the 4311 powering 2 rf7s, 1 rc7, 2 rs7s and 2 rs3s for height in a 25x12x8 room. I watch movies at reference levels quite often and it performed effortlessly. I do have a pair of SVS pb12nsd by the way. BUT, I was curious if I were missing something, so I added the Emotiva xpa-5, bought directly from the us and shipped to Canada. After calibration with Audyssey I noticed no difference. I decided to keep it any way because it looks cool in my entertainment center. However, after 3 years, I was able to sell it at even money, dueto exchange rates, so I sold it and have not missed it one bit. I do like the extra cash in my pocket btw . Anyway, just adding my 2 cents, actually 1.5cents at current exchange rates . i understand that fully, and i will only go for the power amp only if i have too much of the upgraditus itch or how much budget i have a month from now, when i plan to buy the stuff.... another thing i would like to ask people is the importance of a center channel. The rc 64ii is timber matched to the rf 7iis but is it really necessary? i mean the dialogue in a movie would get better, i understand that, but does anything else gets better with a center, e.g the power of sound or added drivers adding "better" sound or increasing soundstage?i would place the rf 7iis at just the width of the hdtv that i will buy(most probably a 65-75") and that is hardly 6 feet apart.. wouldn't a center channel mess with the sound stage? and a phantom center shouldn't be that bad even though i cannot change the volume of the dialogue if it is low? a lot of money will be saved by this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdit Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Btw, this is what the front looks like now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdit Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 A phantom center is a compromise. For movies, the center pins the dialog to the screen, no mater where you are sitting. With phantom center, it depends on where you sit and the dialog are not as clear to my ears, so yes spending on a rc64ii is definitely better than on an amp. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 If your mostly watching HT or movies, most people say the center is the most important speaker of the system. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destiny Posted October 18, 2015 Author Share Posted October 18, 2015 (edited) A phantom center is a compromise. For movies, the center pins the dialog to the screen, no mater where you are sitting. With phantom center, it depends on where you sit and the dialog are not as clear to my ears, so yes spending on a rc64ii is definitely better than on an amp. I don't really have budget issues(for now, but money in pocket is never a bad thing:p). I really don't have the need for pinned dialogues as it will be never more than 2 people watching(me and wife) and anyone else really don't know or care that much about audio. My main purpose for the system is to have BIG sound(a reason for choosing these speakers as well as normally there are 8" woofer cones with towers nowadays). The only advantage i see for a center channel is that i can take it up or down a notch, if a movie has a bad mix(or tv episodes etc). What i would like to know is that would the center channel add or subtract from the setup's BIG sound? i can slightly angle in the large speakers to better target my seating position... would a center channel really be able to keep up with those big L/R mains when talking about the BIG sound thing? i understand that they are matched but the speakers will be pretty close together woulnd't they interfer with each others sound stage a bit? or maybe i should just but it all and shut up... if i don't like it then i can add it to my other setup which is an hk avr 171 with rb 81iis... there is also an option which is more than twice the price, that is the klipsch p27c which belongs to a much more expensive lineup... i might be able to find that in my country and maybe that would be better, but too expensive though... Edited October 18, 2015 by Destiny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 (edited) The cente is the most important speaker in a multichannel setup for HT. The RC 64 II will compliment the RF 7 II's and is the best choice. With the speaker not that far a part, a phantom center is well worht trying. Edited October 18, 2015 by derrickdj1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 another thing i would like to ask people is the importance of a center channel. Very, very important. And not just for dialog. Over 60% of a movie soundtrack is routed to the center channel. Without a doubt, the most important speaker in the whole HT setup. In my family room, my RC-64 gets the hardest workout of any of my speakers, and it can take anything that has been thrown at it. Bill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K5SS Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 The center and the subwoofer are the most important HT speakers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 The cente is the most important speaker in a multichanne setup for HT. The RC 64 II will compliment the RF 7 II's and is the best choice. With the speaker not that far a part, a phantom center is well worht trying. You basically just said it's super important so you might want to try not having one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 The center and the subwoofer are the most important HT speakers. Are we splitting hairs here? Okay, the subwoofer comes in a a very close second. Spoken from a guy with 4 subwoofers in his family room. I meant in frequency of use and overall impact in the movie soundtrack. If the dialog sounds muffled and the blasts sound tinny and thin with little impactful substance, then the movie watcher is in store for a very boring action movie. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destiny Posted October 18, 2015 Author Share Posted October 18, 2015 another thing i would like to ask people is the importance of a center channel. Very, very important. And not just for dialog. Over 60% of a movie soundtrack is routed to the center channel. Without a doubt, the most important speaker in the whole HT setup. In my family room, my RC-64 gets the hardest workout of any of my speakers, and it can take anything that has been thrown at it. Bill Okay i get it... but there is another way to look at it(from a noob like me) that wouldn't it be better to have the "bigger" speakers handle that 60% with more authority? because if that much signal gets taken away then why not simply use cheaper mains with the best center? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdit Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Sure, if you can, use another rf7ii for center, otherwise the rc64ii is your best choice for a center. If you watch movies you will no doubt notice a difference between the rc64ii and the lack of it, night and day difference to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Okay i get it... but there is another way to look at it(from a noob like me) that wouldn't it be better to have the "bigger" speakers handle that 60% with more authority? because if that much signal gets taken away then why not simply use cheaper mains with the best center? That is a good question. The center channel works in conjunction with the mains(and surrounds, subwoofer) but being in the center, it ties that impact to the screen. The mains handle the majority of the films musical score which in my opinion, is a very important aspect of the HT experience. Hence, quality front and right main speakers are crucial to the experience. Bill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 (edited) Anyway, just adding my 2 cents, actually 1.5cents at current exchange rates . We 1.5% appreciate your answers. (did I do the math right enough to make that joke work?) +++ Edit: I agree with others directly upstream ^^^, get the best center speaker you can, even if it means you have to get slightly less powerful L/R speakers. Edited October 18, 2015 by wvu80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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