Home Theater Layout and Equipment in Small Apt?

djjaeger82
djjaeger82 Posts: 6
edited April 2010 in Basic Hookup/Wiring Questions
Hi everyone! This is my first post in this forum, but I really appreciate everyones posts here, I've already learned a ton by reading thru a lot of them. I just moved into a new apartment and its finally time to do some upgrading. My old sony speakers and kenwood receiver seem almost ancient compared to my new sharp 52" TV and its time to get with the times:

Current Equipment:
TV: Sharp 52LE700UN LED LCD TV (52")
Cable: S/A Explorer 8300HD DVR
Bluray/Gaming: Sony PS3 1st gen
Fronts: Sony SS-MB300H (3 way)
Center: Sony SS-CN305
Surrounds: Sony SS-SR305
Subwoofer: Sony SA-WM40 (12")
Receiver: Kenwood VR-309

I've been reading a ton on this forum and have had my eye on the Polk Monitor series everyone is raving about, especially with the Newegg prices these days. I know its considered "entry level" but for my budget it makes sense and I hope to get a decent upgrade over what I've got today. (trying to stay around $1500 or so for receiver + speakers). I already picked up a PSW505 subwoofer from newegg ($229) and a CS2 center speaker ($99) both from newegg last week in their sales. My plan is to grab a pair of Monitor 70s for fronts to complete the front stage with the CS2 center.

My dilemma is with the surround/back speakers. As I'm sure you can see from my floorplan of my apartment my living room is actually pretty small (altho there is a large volume of open area if you consider the opening to the kitchen/dining room and the hallway/stairway/entryway). I'm trying to figure out the best way to set up a 7.1 system, or from what I've read it seems like my room may be better for a simpler 5.1 setup (due to the couch against the back wall). I'm willing to move things around if anyone has any suggestions/ideas to cram in a 7.1 system, but I haven't had much luck coming up with anything else on my own. I think I'm between the monitor 40s and 30s for rears/surrounds. I've seen a few other threads with folks stuck between them. For the slight amount more to get the 40s they seem like they're definitely worth it, albeit they're not as easy to wall mount. I'm worried that compared to the CS2/M70s in front that the M30s might be a little underpowered/weak in the surround/rear (altho I know everyone says very little sound information is actually sent there). With the monitor series discontinued and probably disappearing sometime in the near future, I'd like to purchase speakers for a 7.1 setup now, even if I only use 5.1 in my current place. I've also been reading about some of the other speaker placement options such as front heights or front wides and thought that would be much easier for me to accomplish in this current room, and could be an interim way to use the 6th and 7th speaker until I move onto a bigger/better place.

Finally, I'm definitely in need of a new receiver. My only sources right now are my cable DVR and a PS3. I've had my eye on the Onkyo TX-SR608 and the Pioneer VSX-1020-k, however I'd really like to get something with pre-outs for future expandability. Recently I've been looking more and more into the TX-SR707 or TX-NR807 (cool that users can do their own network firmware updates), but I'd like some opinions. Having the front heights/wides or ability to bi-amp the fronts on the Onkyo if I stick with a 5.1 setup might be a good temporary option.

So my questions:

1.) Anyone see any better way to setup my room for a true 7.1 experience with real rear speakers? No wife/girlfriend acceptance factor so pretty much anything goes. Or, am I better off with just a 5.1 setup?

2.) Anybody out there with a strong opinion regarding the use of front heights/wides instead of the surround back speakers? Does this really help that much or just another gimmick?

3.) Regarding surround/back speakers, for my room and proposed layout do you think its best to stick with M40s or go for M30s? To be honest with the prices on Newegg being only about $120 for a pair of 40s and $90 for a pair of 30s i'm almost tempted to pick up a pair or two of each just to give myself some options. I figure i could always wire them out in parallel some day if I move to a new place with a real home theater friendly room (ex: two surround right speakers like they have at the movie theater).

4.) Recommendations on a new receiver? Initially I was trying to stay around $500, but I'm flexible. If spending another $100 to get something like pre-outs makes me more future proof, I think my arm can be twisted to spend a little more. Is buying a 2009 Onkyo model to get the pre-outs a good thing? Who really needs HDMI 1.4 and 3D? (Only thing that makes me nervous are some posts complaining about HDMI handshake on the 2009 onkyos)

5.) Do you think this new Polk setup will be a small upgrade from my current Kenwood/Sonys, or will it be leaps and bounds better?

I have to admit so far I've been blown away with the Polk CS2 center speaker and PSW505 sub. Everyone always says how big the CS2 and I was expecting big, but I swear this thing is frigging HUGE, and I love it! Sound clarity is so much better over my old Sony center channel. Can't wait to get the rest of my setup! Now if only Newegg would have the sales I want right now!

Sorry for the long post, thanks again for the great community!
-Dan :)

What I'm planning:
Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR608/SR707/NR807 or Pioneer VSX-1020-k???
Fronts: Monitor 70s (waiting for the $170-180 Newegg deal)
Center: CS2 ($99, newegg)
Surrounds/Rears: M30s ($89) or M40s? ($119) or both??
Subwoofer: PSW505 ($220, newegg)
Post edited by djjaeger82 on
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