What to upgrade first?

[Akshit2111]

Yes.. With dual subwoofers, more chances of getting smoothing bass in your room.. What are your room dimensions?..

Not that big though

 

[rpmahale]

Your budget is a key factor for upgradation process.
Currently the weakest link in your chain is your entry level AVR. Your Polk RTiA 7 are one of the good speakers in their class and at the same time have very good low end extension so upgradation of speaker as well as addition of subwoofer can be defer . As Polk are huge speakers and demands lots of power to perform well and your AVR is not able to supply which results in poor performance of entire setup. Now you have few options ....
1. Add power amplifier to existing AVR which is not possible due to non availability of pre out.
2. Add seperate integrated amplifier for music performance ... Again entry level amplifier may not do justice with Polk. They need more powerful amplifier from middle tier of product chain and can cost a substantial amount. CA, Marantz, NAD are some popular brands.
3. Addition of more powerful AVR from middle tier of product chain may have better musical performances and great movie performance. You will have latest technology on board with calibration system to fine tune AVR and speakers. Better bass management with preout for future upgradation.
Audition and decide.....

 

[Akshit2111]

I think first of all you should upgrade your music source. Gaana.com really?? Atleast try Amazon prime music in your fire tv. You tube also has varied quality. Try to play some Flac/WAV music files if not already. You may definitely see some improvement. Find out what you are lacking. Speakers are full blown floor standers so bass should not be the problem. Try to tweak settings in your AVR as well.

Done that already.
And as i said you tube gaana app amazon music bluetooth these are the primary sources.. as a matter of fact gaana app's hd music streamimg over hdmi gives the best quality imo

 

[Akshit2111]

Your budget is a key factor for upgradation process.
Currently the weakest link in your chain is your entry level AVR. Your Polk RTiA 7 are one of the good speakers in their class and at the same time have very good low end extension so upgradation of speaker as well as addition of subwoofer can be defer . As Polk are huge speakers and demands lots of power to perform well and your AVR is not able to supply which results in poor performance of entire setup. Now you have few options ....
1. Add power amplifier to existing AVR which is not possible due to non availability of pre out.
2. Add seperate integrated amplifier for music performance ... Again entry level amplifier may not do justice with Polk. They need more powerful amplifier from middle tier of product chain and can cost a substantial amount. CA, Marantz, NAD are some popular brands.
3. Addition of more powerful AVR from middle tier of product chain may have better musical performances and great movie performance. You will have latest technology on board with calibration system to fine tune AVR and speakers. Better bass management with preout for future upgradation.
Audition and decide.....

So if we go a littlr specific with the range of AVR we are talking about.. also if u can suggest some models it'll be really helpful.

 

[edjamesx]

Can you enlighten me on this amplifier thing a little bit. I have heard a lot about NAD, cambridge audio amplifiers. But when i was going through the specifications it said it is 50w per channel( the one suited to my budget) from what i have heard is that NAD often underrates its output performance. Now my AVR puts out 80w two ch driven.. so in terms of power i guess its more of a downgrade than an upgrade given the fact that an integrated amplifier would sound cleaner.. basically quite confused here.. budget is quite strict.. cant upgrade multiple things at once.. so need to know how to go about it..

NAD , Cambridge also quite good amplifiers for music . I forgot to mention in my earlier post..
Running the speaker with 50 watts will not sound bad , but when running the speaker with > 100 watts RMS , you will feel lot of difference ( more clean sound).The more power output you get the more clarity in the music .

If you have very strict budget ,
Try Crown stereo Amplifier ... You may get it around 20 - 30 k. It gives more power to speaker ..but lacks in tuning features as in AVR. We may also add Equalizer in between to fine tune the sound. ( generally people are adding this as power amplifier with pre outs of AVR , But also can be used directly ). Check amazon.com for this amp reviews , they have good reviews.

Try to audition this amp with some dealer .


Also Can you throw some lights on

What you are lacking in the current setup for music ?.
Are you running the AVR with stereo mode for music?.
Whats the cross over frequency you have set for the speakers ?.
Have you set Sub woofer to produce balanced bass ? where did you place your sub ?.
How you are feeding the music to AVR ? ( DVD / blue ray player) - what type of connection you used ?

 

[Akshit2111]

I guess replacing my avr should be my priority.. so with budget around 60k what avr wud suit best to my needs. Which can enhance music listening experience and later can be upgraded by adding amplifier and other stuff.

 

[JayaRaa]

Denon X2400H

I guess replacing my avr should be my priority.. so with budget around 60k what avr wud suit best to my needs. Which can enhance music listening experience and later can be upgraded by adding amplifier and other stuff.

 

[arjuraj]

So in your opinion adding a subwoofer should be my top most priority for enhancing my music experience?

don ever add sub for stereo!! it will spoil all your pleasant experience! for stereo subs r really not required(IMHO)! sub to stereo is another level of tough( matching gears) job! without knowing exactly what u gonna miss /or gonna get by adding sub!! just stay away!!!
also avr stereo listening and integrated stereo setup both are day and night diff! don kill yourself by adding sub! just do some audition for stereo setup! in any of ur friends home! not in showrooms! or hfv ppl nearby u!! u will get a clear image of what u have to do!!

MID lvl integrated amp
Gd dac
good budget spkr
decent cables!! you r done!!

mainly minimal room treatment is must! like panels/carpets

 

[Akshit2111]

NAD , Cambridge also quite good amplifiers for music . I forgot to mention in my earlier post..
Running the speaker with 50 watts will not sound bad , but when running the speaker with > 100 watts RMS , you will feel lot of difference ( more clean sound).The more power output you get the more clarity in the music .

If you have very strict budget ,
Try Crown stereo Amplifier ... You may get it around 20 - 30 k. It gives more power to speaker ..but lacks in tuning features as in AVR. We may also add Equalizer in between to fine tune the sound. ( generally people are adding this as power amplifier with pre outs of AVR , But also can be used directly ). Check amazon.com for this amp reviews , they have good reviews.

Try to audition this amp with some dealer .


Also Can you throw some lights on

What you are lacking in the current setup for music ?.
Are you running the AVR with stereo mode for music?.
Whats the cross over frequency you have set for the speakers ?.
Have you set Sub woofer to produce balanced bass ? where did you place your sub ?.
How you are feeding the music to AVR ? ( DVD / blue ray player) - what type of connection you used ?

The music lacks clarity primarily.. when i directly play audio through youtube on my tv(smart tv) then the sound is clear but lacks power.. when i play it through bluetooth or fire stick then it has power but lacks clarity.
I dont have a subwoofer as of now.
Crossover is set at 80hz
And yes i hear my music on stereo
And adding dvd's or listening to music on blu ray players is not practical for me so my primary source would always be youtube and other audio streaming options.

 

[Akshit2111]

don ever add sub for stereo!! it will spoil all your pleasant experience! for stereo subs r really not required(IMHO)! sub to stereo is another level of tough( matching gears) job! without knowing exactly what u gonna miss /or gonna get by adding sub!! just stay away!!!
also avr stereo listening and integrated stereo setup both are day and night diff! don kill yourself by adding sub! just do some audition for stereo setup! in any of ur friends home! not in showrooms! or hfv ppl nearby u!! u will get a clear image of what u have to do!!

MID lvl integrated amp
Gd dac
good budget spkr
decent cables!! you r done!!

mainly minimal room treatment is must! like panels/carpets

Now it is getting all the more confusing.. upgrading an AVR or getting a new integrated amplifier..? So if i buy a marrantz 5012 lets say and play music on that..then is an entry level integrated amplifier going to better in terms of music listening experience?

 

[tuff]

Here is an out of box idea. Get a Crown XLS 1502 power amp (around 26k) and a iFi Audio micro DSD Black. Get Chromecast audio and you are set. Never have to worry about power. and you can upgrade to better speakers later. FM @dheerajin and @prateekatasniya and me are using it. Amazing performance ,oodles of power.

 

[flute]

I dont know what is your source of playing music?

 

[prateekatasniya]

So i am really confused as to what should i uograde in my home theatre first?
My current gear is pioneer vsx 831( entry level receiver) and polk audio rti a7( L &R) and csia4(C).
I wud be celebrating 1 year anniversary for my setup and looking for some upgrade. In this one year it turned out that my avr was used 80% for music and 20% for movies. And i was satisfied with movie performance but not with music.
I ran a thread earlier as to why m i not getting good musical performance but results have been more or less same.
So in short i want to know what should add first
1) a subwoofer
2) an integrated amplifier
3) a high end receiver like pioneer lx series

My receiver doesnt have pre outs.
I mostly play music through amazon fire tv ( through youtube and gaana app)
And i dont have any blu ray player as of now.

Thanks in advance!

I would go with a good amplifier.
Eyes closed..
Just like @tuff said.. crown xls1502.
Nothing other than diy can beat it at that price.

 

[prateekatasniya]

Two subwoofers for what??
You have speakers with frequency response of 35hz+/- 3db.
Add crown xls 1502.
Your L/R speakers will become your 2 subwoofers.

 

[Akshit2111]

I would go with a good amplifier.
Eyes closed..
Just like @tuff said.. crown xls1502.
Nothing other than diy can beat it at that price.

How come not heard about this amplifier? Can you shed a little more light on this amplifier. Also can please guide step by step about the dsd and chrome cast thing? Thanks

 

[tuff]

How come not heard about this amplifier? Can you shed a little more light on this amplifier. Also can please guide step by step about the dsd and chrome cast thing? Thanks

The Crown XLS is a pro power amp. Used by DJ's and concert engineers. The trouble with most pro amps is they tend to have noisy fans and are generally ugly to look at (which is subjective IMO). This Crown has amazing specs, runs cooler than anything out there, (I havent heard the fans come on even after 6 hours of playing loudly) has no hiss (again common to some pro amps) and runs on their drivecore technology which gives run for the money to amplifiers 10 times is price.
You also need a preamplifier to drive these amps as they only have gain stage which you set it once and forget about it. These preamps are notoriously expensive, but the likes of iFi Audio have some DAC/ Headphone amp combos with RCA out, that allows you to hook up a power amp and use it to control volume. downside for using a headphone amp with pre-out is no remote control. You can read about DSD here.
You can get the cheaper versions of iFi products if you switch to Chromecast audio, which will give you much better sound than the Bluetooth you are using. Control it with a smartphone and you are set. Apps like Gaana, Saavan and other streaming services run without any hitches as it takes advantage of the network speed directly, instead of the phone passing the signal to Bluetooth, leaving you phone's battery last longer too.
In the end, there are numerous solutions for any given budget, you just need to figure out how to go about it.

 

[Akshit2111]

The Crown XLS is a pro power amp. Used by DJ's and concert engineers. The trouble with most pro amps is they tend to have noisy fans and are generally ugly to look at (which is subjective IMO). This Crown has amazing specs, runs cooler than anything out there, (I havent heard the fans come on even after 6 hours of playing loudly) has no hiss (again common to some pro amps) and runs on their drivecore technology which gives run for the money to amplifiers 10 times is price.
You also need a preamplifier to drive these amps as they only have gain stage which you set it once and forget about it. These preamps are notoriously expensive, but the likes of iFi Audio have some DAC/ Headphone amp combos with RCA out, that allows you to hook up a power amp and use it to control volume. downside for using a headphone amp with pre-out is no remote control. You can read about DSD here.
You can get the cheaper versions of iFi products if you switch to Chromecast audio, which will give you much better sound than the Bluetooth you are using. Control it with a smartphone and you are set. Apps like Gaana, Saavan and other streaming services run without any hitches as it takes advantage of the network speed directly, instead of the phone passing the signal to Bluetooth, leaving you phone's battery last longer too.
In the end, there are numerous solutions for any given budget, you just need to figure out how to go about it.

So 26k for crown amp + 45k for a preamp! That meand ill be shelling out somewhere around 70k.. compared to this if i get an int amp like cambridge audio a60 which i know wud have very less power but it'll spare me this whole jargon( pre amp and stuff)...

 

[rpmahale]

Will suggest first play Audio CD/FLAC/ALAC/320 Kbps MP3 songs on your system and check the performance. Placement of speakers plays major role in performance of entire set. On axis / Off axis performance of speakers also contribute more in defining sweet spot. As you are using AVR, system calibration, bass management, playing with tone control plays main role in defining the sound signature. So initially playing with AVR settings and speaker placement may result in improvement in sound quality. Most of the time streaming services stream low resolution music which become our favourite due to ease in use but at the cost of sound quality.
Will suggest to go for your favourite AVR with at least 5 channels pre out so in future you can add more powerful two/five channels power amplifier for better power, headroom and performance. Few listed AVR like if you are happy with Pioneer AVR in movie performance check Pioneer VSX LX303, Marantz seems to better in music so SR5013 may do well but cost more else NR1608 with front pre out. Now Denon AVR x3400h/3500 receivers are creating wave between audio circle due to above average performance but cost more. Yamaha A series receivers are long favourite in FM but again cost more. Take your time and invest wisely.....

 

[tuff]

Like I said, there are different approaches to get to the sound you desire. One box solution, like a Peachtree integrated amplifiers are also available, but your stated budget will not suffice.

 

[prateekatasniya]

So 26k for crown amp + 45k for a preamp! That meand ill be shelling out somewhere around 70k.. compared to this if i get an int amp like cambridge audio a60 which i know wud have very less power but it'll spare me this whole jargon( pre amp and stuff)...

The music lacks clarity primarily.. when i directly play audio through youtube on my tv(smart tv) then the sound is clear but lacks power.. when i play it through bluetooth or fire stick then it has power but lacks clarity.
I dont have a subwoofer as of now.
Crossover is set at 80hz
And yes i hear my music on stereo
And adding dvd's or listening to music on blu ray players is not practical for me so my primary source would always be youtube and other audio streaming options.

Why did you set it at 80hz.. Without a subwoofe???

And btw Cambridge audio cxa60 is just 60 watts..
Lower frequencies require more power.
You can directly connect your TV aux out to the crown amp. Coz anyhow you are playing music via YouTube.
Later you can add a DAC+preamp