We're BACK in Polks in our HT!!
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I started typing the evolution of what is our HT (below), and realized how frickin' long it was! SO, the TLDR Version is this: I recently replaced the Boston Acoustic VR speakers in our HT with Polk LSi-7 Fronts, an LSiM-704C Center, LSiFX Surrounds, and 700-LS rears. I ran Audyssey and 'tested' it all last night and let me just say that it's good to be back in Polks! Wow... just wow. Even my wife and girls had big smiles on their faces listening to the opening scenes in Cars. I'll try to get pics later. But for now, I wanted to thank the forum for all the help over the years and especially most recently in finding all the speakers I needed. So, if you're interested in reading on (it's a fun journey...), see below!
Our Home Theater room has evolved a bit over the 10 years since I started 'building' it. It all started about 10-11 years ago when we got our first projector, initially to use for a football tailgate party with a screen I built in our garage. After that party, I decided to mount it in our rec room by the bar and start building an HT.
This first PJ was a Sharp XR-10X (720p, non-HDMI). I took a sheet of drywall, cut it to the dimensions of a roughly 100" screen, and hung it on the wall. We were in business! I had an OLD Sony (circa 1990) Dolby Pro-Logic receiver some Polk S-6's, a CS-250 center, and M3 surrounds as well as a decent Paradigm sub. We loved it. It looked and sounded super impressive.
First upgrade was the speakers. I slowly built a seven channel setup over the course of 2-3 years. That's what got me involved with this forum! Ultimately, I ended up with a pair of RT800i Front speakers, a CSi40 Center, FXi50 Surrounds, and RT35i Rears. During the time it took to fully acquire all these speakers, I upgraded the receiver to a Denon AVR-988 (Upgrade No. 2)! Things were great and the sound was movie theater-like! We were loving it even more. What an improvement with the upgraded speakers and receiver.
Upgrade No. 3 was a new PJ. Instead of buying a new lamp for the Sharp, I decided to pick up an Epson 8350 (HDMI, 1080p) and the video quality went to the next level. Add to that an Oppo BDP-83, and I was content... for about a year!
Upgrade No. 4 was trying different speakers. I wanted to go smaller since the size of our room (10x20) was tight with the large 800's in the front. I started looking for Boston Acoustic VR series speakers. I picked up a pair of VR-M50s, a VR-MC, a pair of VR-MX, and a PV-600 sub somewhat locally on CL. I just needed another pair of M50's or M60's to complete the 7.1 channel. After a few months, I found a CL deal (out of Boston, MA ironically) with a pair of VR-M60s, a VR-920 center (BIG one), and another PV-600 sub. I sold the VR-MC, my old Paradigm sub, and had a nice 7.2 setup of all Bostons. Sounded great, but I wasn't expecting it to be better than the larger Polks. I was content. The HT equipment was exactly where I wanted it to be... for about 6 months!
Upgrade No. 5 was selling the Denon and picking up an Anthem MRX-500 AVR. VERY nice AVR, and definitely better sounding than the Denon!
Upgrade No. 6 was to try separates. I bought a Rotel RMB-1075 five channel amp from Phil (forum member Pearsall001) two years ago and it brought incredible detail to the system. It was one of the best upgrades I made!
Upgrade No. 7 was getting a better sub. I purchased an SVS PCi 25-31 sub locally and sold the Boston PV-600's. Major improvement! I was DONE! (WELL, not quite...)
Upgrade No. 8 - I wanted another 2-channel amp so all my 7 speakers would have separate amplification. Dan (EndersShadow) dangled a carrot of link to a nice B&K Reference 200.7 amp here on the forum. I saw it, and the wheels started spinning. Last year, I worked out a deal, picked up the B&K, and sold the Rotel. NOW, I was done!
WELLLLLLL, not quite...
Upgrade No. 9 - I pulled a bonehead move while constructing the built-in AV rack and finishing the front wall of the HT. I got lazy and connected an outlet hot. Shaky hands and a short tripped the breaker. It happened to be the same breaker my PJ was on. I reset the breaker, powered the PJ back on, and "no signal". I thought I fried the HDMI input on the PJ. A little sleuthing, and it turned out the PJ was fine. The Anthem AVR (which was on an entirely different circuit) must have taken a surge back through the HDMI cable from the PJ, and the HDMI output on the Anthem was fried. I used it as is for a while and then decided that I'd upgrade to a Marantz Pre/Pro. I picked up a 7702 and was back in business. I decided to 'karma' the Anthem to Dan (EndersShadow) for all his help designing my DIY subs (that will ultimately be the ?FINAL? upgrade). Additionally, I picked up an OPPO BDP-103 from Zazh (forum member stangman) and upgraded the 83 I had in the HT. Done. Nope!
Upgrade No. 10 - This is what got us "Back in Polks"! I've always wanted to try the old LSi series speakers. Well, last October, I almost bought all of Geoff's (forum member G-2) LSi's that he listed. Ultimately, I struck a deal to buy only the LSi-FX's. I was so looking forward to meeting Geoff and picking them up in November, but as most know, he passed away very unexpectedly and way too young after his knee surgery. I wasn't too optimistic that I'd still be able to get them, so I told his friend/family to just keep the deposit I sent him. Well, Geoff's dad actually called me a few weeks later and said he had the FX's and if I still wanted them, that he'd hold them until we got to Florida. He said Geoff would have wanted me to have them. Well, I was able to pick them up during our family vacation to Florida around Thanksgiving.
Now, I just needed fronts, rears, and a center! Right around Christmas, I was able to pick up an LSiM-704c from Polks eBay Store, and not a day later, stumbled on an LSi-C. I picked both up and will keep whichever sounds better. A couple weeks ago, I picked some 700-LS in-ceiling speakers (thanks to Dan again for finding them) from AVS Forum. Lastly, I was able to pick up a pair of LSi-7's from Van (vlam) here on the forum. I met up with Van last week and picked up the last piece of the puzzle.
This past weekend and into yesterday, I got everything installed and re-calibrated using Audyssey XT-32. Let me just say WOW!. What fantastic speakers the LSi's are. My wife and daughters sat down after I got everything re-calibrated, we popped in Pixar's "Cars", and gave it a test run. They all looked at me wide-eyed and said it sounded so much better. My wife (who usually rolls her eyes at anything I do audio-related) actually said she loved it and it was a worthwhile change.
So, for now, we're done, and BACK IN POLKS!!
Our Home Theater room has evolved a bit over the 10 years since I started 'building' it. It all started about 10-11 years ago when we got our first projector, initially to use for a football tailgate party with a screen I built in our garage. After that party, I decided to mount it in our rec room by the bar and start building an HT.
This first PJ was a Sharp XR-10X (720p, non-HDMI). I took a sheet of drywall, cut it to the dimensions of a roughly 100" screen, and hung it on the wall. We were in business! I had an OLD Sony (circa 1990) Dolby Pro-Logic receiver some Polk S-6's, a CS-250 center, and M3 surrounds as well as a decent Paradigm sub. We loved it. It looked and sounded super impressive.
First upgrade was the speakers. I slowly built a seven channel setup over the course of 2-3 years. That's what got me involved with this forum! Ultimately, I ended up with a pair of RT800i Front speakers, a CSi40 Center, FXi50 Surrounds, and RT35i Rears. During the time it took to fully acquire all these speakers, I upgraded the receiver to a Denon AVR-988 (Upgrade No. 2)! Things were great and the sound was movie theater-like! We were loving it even more. What an improvement with the upgraded speakers and receiver.
Upgrade No. 3 was a new PJ. Instead of buying a new lamp for the Sharp, I decided to pick up an Epson 8350 (HDMI, 1080p) and the video quality went to the next level. Add to that an Oppo BDP-83, and I was content... for about a year!
Upgrade No. 4 was trying different speakers. I wanted to go smaller since the size of our room (10x20) was tight with the large 800's in the front. I started looking for Boston Acoustic VR series speakers. I picked up a pair of VR-M50s, a VR-MC, a pair of VR-MX, and a PV-600 sub somewhat locally on CL. I just needed another pair of M50's or M60's to complete the 7.1 channel. After a few months, I found a CL deal (out of Boston, MA ironically) with a pair of VR-M60s, a VR-920 center (BIG one), and another PV-600 sub. I sold the VR-MC, my old Paradigm sub, and had a nice 7.2 setup of all Bostons. Sounded great, but I wasn't expecting it to be better than the larger Polks. I was content. The HT equipment was exactly where I wanted it to be... for about 6 months!
Upgrade No. 5 was selling the Denon and picking up an Anthem MRX-500 AVR. VERY nice AVR, and definitely better sounding than the Denon!
Upgrade No. 6 was to try separates. I bought a Rotel RMB-1075 five channel amp from Phil (forum member Pearsall001) two years ago and it brought incredible detail to the system. It was one of the best upgrades I made!
Upgrade No. 7 was getting a better sub. I purchased an SVS PCi 25-31 sub locally and sold the Boston PV-600's. Major improvement! I was DONE! (WELL, not quite...)
Upgrade No. 8 - I wanted another 2-channel amp so all my 7 speakers would have separate amplification. Dan (EndersShadow) dangled a carrot of link to a nice B&K Reference 200.7 amp here on the forum. I saw it, and the wheels started spinning. Last year, I worked out a deal, picked up the B&K, and sold the Rotel. NOW, I was done!
WELLLLLLL, not quite...
Upgrade No. 9 - I pulled a bonehead move while constructing the built-in AV rack and finishing the front wall of the HT. I got lazy and connected an outlet hot. Shaky hands and a short tripped the breaker. It happened to be the same breaker my PJ was on. I reset the breaker, powered the PJ back on, and "no signal". I thought I fried the HDMI input on the PJ. A little sleuthing, and it turned out the PJ was fine. The Anthem AVR (which was on an entirely different circuit) must have taken a surge back through the HDMI cable from the PJ, and the HDMI output on the Anthem was fried. I used it as is for a while and then decided that I'd upgrade to a Marantz Pre/Pro. I picked up a 7702 and was back in business. I decided to 'karma' the Anthem to Dan (EndersShadow) for all his help designing my DIY subs (that will ultimately be the ?FINAL? upgrade). Additionally, I picked up an OPPO BDP-103 from Zazh (forum member stangman) and upgraded the 83 I had in the HT. Done. Nope!
Upgrade No. 10 - This is what got us "Back in Polks"! I've always wanted to try the old LSi series speakers. Well, last October, I almost bought all of Geoff's (forum member G-2) LSi's that he listed. Ultimately, I struck a deal to buy only the LSi-FX's. I was so looking forward to meeting Geoff and picking them up in November, but as most know, he passed away very unexpectedly and way too young after his knee surgery. I wasn't too optimistic that I'd still be able to get them, so I told his friend/family to just keep the deposit I sent him. Well, Geoff's dad actually called me a few weeks later and said he had the FX's and if I still wanted them, that he'd hold them until we got to Florida. He said Geoff would have wanted me to have them. Well, I was able to pick them up during our family vacation to Florida around Thanksgiving.
Now, I just needed fronts, rears, and a center! Right around Christmas, I was able to pick up an LSiM-704c from Polks eBay Store, and not a day later, stumbled on an LSi-C. I picked both up and will keep whichever sounds better. A couple weeks ago, I picked some 700-LS in-ceiling speakers (thanks to Dan again for finding them) from AVS Forum. Lastly, I was able to pick up a pair of LSi-7's from Van (vlam) here on the forum. I met up with Van last week and picked up the last piece of the puzzle.
This past weekend and into yesterday, I got everything installed and re-calibrated using Audyssey XT-32. Let me just say WOW!. What fantastic speakers the LSi's are. My wife and daughters sat down after I got everything re-calibrated, we popped in Pixar's "Cars", and gave it a test run. They all looked at me wide-eyed and said it sounded so much better. My wife (who usually rolls her eyes at anything I do audio-related) actually said she loved it and it was a worthwhile change.
So, for now, we're done, and BACK IN POLKS!!
Post edited by scubalab on
Comments
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Nice. Share some pictures!
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All those words and no pics?!?2 Channel in my home attic/bar/man cave
2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius -
Very nice, Al. But I think I know you well enough to know that you will never be done!McIntosh MA252 Integrated Amp, LUMIN D2 Network Music Player, Yamaha Aventage RX-A840 receiver, Emotiva XPA Gen3 2 channel amp, Polk LSiM 703 speakers. Oppo UDP-203 Blu-Ray player, Polk LSiM 705 speakers. Polk Signature S20 speakers.
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Well done, now get some pics up!!!
Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2 -
I got pics of his setup on my phone but while I like him.... it's not enough to use my cell data on him
He also needs to post his Audyseey before and after pics heheheh"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
I don't want to bore everyone with the Audyssey results, but here's a few pics...
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Man, that is sweet, nice work.
Any you are never done upgrading, never ever.When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
Family Room:LG QNED80 75", Onkyo RZ50 Emotiva XPA3 GEN3 Oppo BDP-93,Sony UBP-X800BM. Main: Polk LsiM 705Center: Polk LSiM 704CFront High/Rear High In-Ceiling Polk 80F/X RT Surrounds: Polk S15 Sub: HSU VTF3-MK5
Bed Room; Marantz SR5010, BDP-S270Main: Polk Signature S20Center: Polk Signature S35Rear: Polk R15 Sub: SVS SB2000
Working Warehouse; Yamaha A-S301, Sony DVP-NS3100ES for disc Plok TSX550T SVS PB2000 Mini tower PC with 400GB of music -
Nice!!! You got some high quality stuff going on. Good job
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Why is it sometimes the pics come up as links and sometimes they come up embedded in the post?? Strange...
Anyway, many thanks for the compliments! We really enjoy the HT. It's evolved quite nicely since it began 10 years ago and I wouldn't be where I am today without the help from this forum. A lot of what is seen in those pics came from Club Polk Members!- Oppo 103 came from Zach (stangman) and was like new
- LSi-7's came from Van (vlam) - they're minty and he even had the orig. box
- LSi-F/X's came from Geoff (G-2)
- He had them packed up for me (like new) in the orig. box before he passed.
I've got gear all over the house as well from other members too, like the Pioneer Elite VSX-52 I got from Mark (mark090852). One of the best upgrades I made. We have it in our bedroom with a Panny plasma and a set of Martin Logan (MLT-1) 5.1 setup. Amazing sound from such a modest setup! And, you're right Mark... you know me too well. But for now, I'm content and plan on enjoying this setup for some time now.
We're still rocking a Carver HR-742 I picked up from George Grand driving our outdoor speakers. So glad I got to meet the legendary Jersey Grand before he passed...
There are many other pieces of gear in our house from members here. To you all, I say thanks! Buy great gear from trusted sellers, and you can up your game quite a bit on a limited budget.
Shout out to Cathy (cfrizz) for her great advice several years ago to go with a separate amp. GREAT advice!
Dan, ya frugal bastage... save your data... I'll be asking for instructional pics and videos when I finally get around to building the sub boxes around the little drivers patiently waiting behind my bar.
And thanks for the compliments mrloren! Coming from you (I've see some of the beautiful woodwork you've done) it means a lot. -
Dan, ya frugal bastage... save your data... I'll be asking for instructional pics and videos when I finally get around to building the sub boxes around the little drivers patiently waiting behind my bar.
Frugal on data, so I can splurge on subs.... Although at the rate your going with the simple sealed build, I may beat you to duals hehehe....
And I will do my best, but its just a sealed box man... surely with your tools you can build one of those braced with the dowel rods like I sent you pics of lol....
And yes, I'm just poking a bit o fun at you..... because I'm jealous that your going to be 7.2 and I'm still at 5.1 with no real hope of moving to 7 due to room constraints.
"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
Nice gear and a killer install I think I'm a little jealous. That woodwork looks great as well.
I would never leave that room. -
Nice write-up, I wish I could remember 1/2 of the upgrades and replacements I've done in 13+ years.
This thread is another kick in the a$$ of how nice it was to have the System Showcase.So, are you willing to put forth a little effort or are you happy sitting in your skeptical poo pile?
http://audiomilitia.proboards.com/
