Polk Audio RTIA9 WITH receiver Yamaha Rx-v579. Need power, is an amp possible?

Ryan_221

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Nov 16, 2016
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Hello! I recently came upon a crazy sale on Polk Audio RTIA9 speakers. I bought two. I knew about the crazy power requirement but thought I could attach a emotiva amp to help, but now I'm not so sure.(reciever is a Yamaha Rx-v579) There are two preouts on the back labeled preout subwoofer. Could I use those? I checked into subwoofer preouts but I couldn't find the answer.

If it's not possible, how would they sound otherwise? Untill I have the money to upgrade the receiver I mean. I'm using them in a large basement, about 26 ft front to back, but half the basement, the wall comes in a bit so it's 20ft instead. The tv, speakers, and couch are in the 26ft section. If that makes sense...

Also, my friend bought the same speakers, along with a Onkyo TX-NR575 7.2 reciever. Would that be sufficient? Should he return it?
 
Solution
You can't use the subwoofer outputs. They only send out mono bass.
You could use a speaker to line level converter connected to the front speaker terminals to provide a line level audio output for an amp. Not as pure as using a front preamp out but if you need to run the speakers beyond what the receiver amp provides it will work just fine and not be an expensive option.
No receiver has the equivalent power of a high powered amp. Just isn't enough space or money in receivers so using an external amp will be a plus even with a better receiver. I would suggest Marantz as an upgrade option later. The SR5012 has a full set of preamp outputs and the built in amps are pretty good too,
Your room is pretty big so having at least 200 watts for...

bistwo

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Jul 27, 2011
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You could power them using the preout to a second amplifier but it will not "help," the receiver, you will be limited by the power of the second amplifier since the preout is only an audio signal, no power. It will function similarly to if you plugged the source directly into the second amp. These speakers are rated for 50-500 watts per channel (your receiver has 80 per channel) but ideally you would need at least 200 watts per channel to run something like that.

The Onkyo receiver has 170 watts per channel, so that would be much better then the Yamaha.
 

Ryan_221

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Nov 16, 2016
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Thank you for the response bistwo, I appreciate the info.

Just so I'm understanding correctly, the preouts could connect to an amp, an emotiva Xpa-2 for example, supplying the audio while the amp supplys power to the speaker, looking for about 200w per channel. I would need two of these. One for each preout, and for each speaker. Right? The subwoofer I have would be out of the picture I guess, but the speakers have plenty of bass apparently.

Are the amps a smart solution, with the price? Would it make more sense just to upgrade the receiver for power? I really liked the Yamaha untill the power issue.

Also, about the Onkyo. Where did you get 170w? I checked specs on CNET, and i did see 170w/channel, as well as 80w/channel, with impedance 6ohm and 8ohm respectively. The Polk speaker is 8ohm, so wouldn't it be 80w? However the main product website says 240w/c peak, Crutchfield says 100w/c at 8 ohms..im not really sure what the true value is..
 
You can't use the subwoofer outputs. They only send out mono bass.
You could use a speaker to line level converter connected to the front speaker terminals to provide a line level audio output for an amp. Not as pure as using a front preamp out but if you need to run the speakers beyond what the receiver amp provides it will work just fine and not be an expensive option.
No receiver has the equivalent power of a high powered amp. Just isn't enough space or money in receivers so using an external amp will be a plus even with a better receiver. I would suggest Marantz as an upgrade option later. The SR5012 has a full set of preamp outputs and the built in amps are pretty good too,
Your room is pretty big so having at least 200 watts for the front L-R speakers isn't a bad idea. More power won't make it sound better just louder so if your receiver plays loud enough for you don't worry about it until you can afford a really good amp like a Parasound. That will give you more volume and better sound quality.
 
Solution

Ryan_221

Commendable
Nov 16, 2016
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1,510
Thanks for the reply americanaudiophile! A speaker to line level converter you say? Thanks for that, I'll look into it!
Honestly, I don't like super high volume levels, and I understand applying power increases volume, but with these speakers I've read others recommended at least 200w per channel to get the "best sound", which didn't make sense to me. The quality of the power for sure, but the amount?

Anyway, I'll let my friend know about the line level converter as well. His reciever (the Onkyo) supplies 170w I believe, but he likes high volumes. I'll let him know about the reciever you recommended too.

 
Some speakers need more current than others. Receivers have less current output then separate power amps. Power is voltage x current so you can have 100 watts with very little current or 25 watts with a lot of current. The Polks are a difficult load and high current low power amps are usually very expensive so most people just go for high power.
Marantz receivers will produce some current so will drive difficult loads well.