Help: Yamaha 863 & Polk RTi A9 / A7?

[tellanand]

I'm almost narrowing down on the following configuration for my HT rig. My room size is 17ft x 12ft x 10ft. My usage will be Movie:Music = 50:50. I intend to buy the Yamaha RX-V863 and the following Polk speakers:

- Floor Standers: Polk RTi A9 / Polk RTi A7
- Center: Polk RTi CSi A6
- Surround: Polk FXi A6
- Sub: Polk DSW PRO 600

I'm convinced on all the above speakers except the Floor standers. I love the RTi A9 - they have an amazing mid-range and low range compared to the RTi A7. Even at low volumes RTi-A9 rocks; its out of the world.

But the ProFx (the shop where I auditioned the speakers) guy in Chennai tells me that the 863 will struggle to drive it and over a period of time wear out and that I should go for higher end receivers.

I find this hard to digest. Yamaha 863 drives 105W per channel according to specs and the A9's are 500W (I think peak) - so where is the struggle for the receiver?

[1] Can someone comment on the rig and please suggest whether I should go for A9's or A7's with Yamaha 863.

[2] Will Yamaha 863 "struggle" to drive the A9?

[3] RTi-A9 being a monster by itself, do I really need a sub?

[4] Can some one specify the continuous RMS of the all the speakers mentioned above (@ 8 ohms)? I cannot find it any where on Polk's website or outside of it. Its always very vague on whether they are talking about the continuous RMS power or the peak.

Thanks in advance for all the help!
- Anand

 

[spirovious]

Yamaha may sound little Bright with Polk & may cause fatige for long time listening.Wharf 9 series,Jamo will sound decent.Even MS is better.

 

[alpha1]

The 105 watt rms per channel that I see on the website nowhere mentions that it is at <1% THD (atleast).
Typically measurements at rated watts per channel should be at <0.1%THD.

You aint gonna use any power after 1%THD (thats when you can make out that the amp is distorting)

 

[SAMUEL]

Hi Anand,
Nice choice with the RTi's there.If you can afford just go for the RTi-A9.Not only there is a difference in sound quality between the A-7 and A9 but they differ technically too.The A-9 features Sealed Mid-Range chambers and ported bass chambers.So the mids are tighter and have some terrific transient response.Three 7" woofers exceed the surface area of one single 12" woofer.
Advantage: Deep bass and again with tight transient response in the bass range.
These speakers are Massive and very tall ,Deep and weighing around 35kg's each.The Sheer massive physical presence itself is enough to bowl anyone over." There is no replacement for Displacement".hyeah:
And they are finished in REAL WOOD.Cherry looks awesome.
.I've listened to the A-9 powered by the Denon AVC-A1HD power amp.500w/ch. The first thing you notice with these speakers is their massive soundstage and scale.The dynamic response was amazing and these speakers go from zero to ballistic in a go.
Then again it was paired with a Denon -3808 and I listented to Andrea bocelli live at Tuscany DVD.Again the speakers grand scale was evident.
Andrea bocellis deep voice just filled the whole room and teleported me to a dreamworld.Triangles and chimes were just floating around.
Some say and I too felt the extra bite in the treble dept.But I liked it.
An extra treble can be tamed down but if it's not there we can't convincingly boost it.A friend of mine bought the RTi A-5 the same day and after a month the treble became so airy and smooth and there was a serious increase in bass response.He powers it with an Onkyo-605.
Are you planning for a 7.1 or 5.1 config.
If you are planning 5.1 then you can easily Bi-Amp the fronts with the Rx-v863.The yamaha should not struggle powering the A-9.
If possible in future you can add a decent power amp for the fronts alone.
If you are not using a subwoofer then definitely a power amp is required to really make the Triple 7" woofers come alive.
At Pro-Fx you can't audition Yamaha, so you audition it with the Denon 2809 and 3808-09.If the Denon-2809 powers it so can the yamaha 863.
According to Polk, recommended Amps for these speakers are 50-500W/ch @ 8ohms and any thing in between.So with 90db Efficiency I think we are in the safe limits.

All these are just my words anand,it is you who has to audition every component and decide and buy.If you love it you got to have it.
Also hang on for some time if possible and let other friends pitch in with their views and recommendations.

When you go to Pro-Fx also listen to the KEF-IQ90 ,which is also in the similar price range of A-9.They are very sweet to listen to.

I won't recommend the LSI's cause they are rated at a punishing 4ohm load.
very few receivers can handle these speakers , but are high calibre speakers. Those tweeters in the LSi are the stars.
I think I'm overloading too much.

So Anand All the best for you purchase.
:thumbsup:
Samuel

 

[ashishkesarwani]

I'm almost narrowing down on the following configuration for my HT rig. My room size is 17ft x 12ft x 10ft. My usage will be Movie:Music = 50:50. I intend to buy the Yamaha RX-V863 and the following Polk speakers:

- Floor Standers: Polk RTi A9 / Polk RTi A7
- Center: Polk RTi CSi A6
- Surround: Polk FXi A6
- Sub: Polk DSW PRO 600

I'm convinced on all the above speakers except the Floor standers. I love the RTi A9 - they have an amazing mid-range and low range compared to the RTi A7. Even at low volumes RTi-A9 rocks; its out of the world.

But the ProFx (the shop where I auditioned the speakers) guy in Chennai tells me that the 863 will struggle to drive it and over a period of time wear out and that I should go for higher end receivers.

I find this hard to digest. Yamaha 863 drives 105W per channel according to specs and the A9's are 500W (I think peak) - so where is the struggle for the receiver?

[1] Can someone comment on the rig and please suggest whether I should go for A9's or A7's with Yamaha 863.

[2] Will Yamaha 863 "struggle" to drive the A9?

[3] RTi-A9 being a monster by itself, do I really need a sub?

[4] Can some one specify the continuous RMS of the all the speakers mentioned above (@ 8 ohms)? I cannot find it any where on Polk's website or outside of it. Its always very vague on whether they are talking about the continuous RMS power or the peak.

Thanks in advance for all the help!
- Anand

Congrats,
I also have the same setup with Rti A7 with an additional Rti A3 for 7.1 setup and I am powering them with Nr905 with the additional power amp for the Towers i.e Rti A7. I am quite satisfied with my setup and Rti A7 in itself is quite close to the performance of Rti A9.
It depends on your usage but for the movie setup you do require a Sub to blend well and go down deep in the low frequency range.
With the Yamaha 863 I would say that you Bi amp Rti A9 and in the crossover section cut them off at 80 Hz this way your amp would be able to drive A9 easily but in the long run I would recommend a power amp to be added to your setup.
A7's Contineous Power Requirement is 140 W Rms at 8 ohms and A9's Contineous power requirement is 200 W at 8 ohms.

 

[reju]

My brother has paired the Rti A9 with Onkyo HT-S990.
Sounds great! But a little more powerful AVR would have increased the bass.

 

[tellanand]

Guys:

Thank you all so much for your inputs. Really appreciate it.

I have bad news: I ran the following test on Yamaha service center in Chennai (Phone: +91-44-2858 7256; POWER ELECTRONICS, NO,4, SEEYALIAMMAN KOIL STREET, MOUNT ROAD, CHENNAI - 600001) - its PATHETIC.

I called up Yamaha service center in Chennai and told them that I have an Yamaha receiver under warranty that I would like to get serviced. The guy on the phone asked me where did I buy it from and I told him I bought it from Bangalore (where I actually intend to buy).

I was shocked when he said that they will not cover warranty for any product purchased outside of Chennai. I tried to reason with him and after a few mts, he just banged the phone on me. So much for an International Brand - they SUCK.

Do you think I should buy a Yamaha any more?

- Anand

 

[reju]

Guys:

Thank you all so much for your inputs. Really appreciate it.

I have bad news: I ran the following test on Yamaha service center in Chennai (Phone: +91-44-2858 7256; POWER ELECTRONICS, NO,4, SEEYALIAMMAN KOIL STREET, MOUNT ROAD, CHENNAI - 600001) - its PATHETIC.

I called up Yamaha service center in Chennai and told them that I have an Yamaha receiver under warranty that I would like to get serviced. The guy on the phone asked me where did I buy it from and I told him I bought it from Bangalore (where I actually intend to buy).

I was shocked when he said that they will not cover warranty for any product purchased outside of Chennai. I tried to reason with him and after a few mts, he just banged the phone on me. So much for an International Brand - they SUCK.

Do you think I should buy a Yamaha any more?

- Anand

This is amazing. Call & check again, ask their names, and then I think you should take the matter with Yamaha India HQ/ Japan and let them know what is happening. But it may hold more weightage if you actually own a Yamaha product?

One of best services that I have ever experienced is with Dell. They want to solve your problem, at any cost. They offer REAL international warranty. And the best part is they have on-site service (unlike most of other laptop manufactures). They will come your place wherever you are located in India, at the time of service. You may have bought it Bangalore and on a tour in Chennai. But they will come to your address in Chennai!!

 

[tellanand]

This is amazing. Call & check again, ask their names, and then I think you should take the matter with Yamaha India HQ/ Japan and let them know what is happening. But it may hold more weightage if you actually own a Yamaha product?

I'm really glad I don't own a Yamaha and I thank my stars for running this test with Yamaha. I was almost about to buy the Yamaha 863 and I think I saved myself from a BIG mistake.

 

[manu4panjab]

Yamaha may sound little Bright with Polk & may cause fatige for long time listening.Wharf 9 series,Jamo will sound decent.Even MS is better.

you can easily tamed down the brightness by absorbing first reflection point with sound absorber panel so the more you raise the voice the better they sounded

i have polk tsi 500 for fronts and some too said the same about them for being bright but i absorb the first reflection point and i can definitely say that the more i increase the voice the sweet they sound

 

[marsilians]

I'm really glad I don't own a Yamaha and I thank my stars for running this test with Yamaha. I was almost about to buy the Yamaha 863 and I think I saved myself from a BIG mistake.

Ultimately the choice is yours to purchase and the dealer was BS'ing completely. Just call up Yamaha headoffice and have a chat about it.

Now, all electronics are bound to fail. However the Yamaha's are very sturdy. I have seen people place things directly on top of the receiver and still be able to run it at blaring volumes and they have stood up well.

Re; the match of 863 to the RTi9, it will be Ok to drive it but you will definiltey benefit from a power amp irrespective of hte AVR you will purchase. The products do pair well though.

I suggest the following setup if you are constrined on a budget.

AVR + atleast a 2 channel power amp. Connect L/R to the power amp and connect the C and surround speakers to the AVR. This will it will have decent power to drive them.

If you can manage a 5 or 7 channel power amp then you are good to go.

Used power amps within the past 5-7 yrs are also worth considering.

 

[anm]

what did you buy then?

I'm really glad I don't own a Yamaha and I thank my stars for running this test with Yamaha. I was almost about to buy the Yamaha 863 and I think I saved myself from a BIG mistake.

 

[tellanand]

what did you buy then?

As I said, I was almost about to buy Yamaha 863. Mr. Aditya from Xcite Bangalore had also placed an order for me from Yamaha and I was supposed to pick it up next weekend.

Now I have to start all over again with my research on features / pricing to narrow down my next choice. Mostly it'll be either an Onkyo 606/706 or Denon 1909/2310.