Polk Setup: 2.1, 3.0, 5.0, or 5.1!!

barjebus

Hi guys! First post from me here, hoping to be a regular poster from here on in now that I've learned so much about Polk in the last week or two! I'm purchasing my first real audio rig at the moment. I just bought a Panasonic AE4000 1080p projector and am now putting together my audio for it.

I'll try to keep this brief! I have a Onkyo TX-SR707 and a Polk CS2 centre speaker in the mail at the moment. Locally (in a smaller Canadian city) there is only one Polk dealer. I recently bought two pairs of M50's for about 630$ after taxes and with additional 5 year warranty (5 years extra, so 10 years warranty, full warrant, not limited). This was going to be my 5.1 setup, but I've heard that the 50's don't do a good job for mid and low range. A sub would obviously supplement that, but I've heard that jumping to 60's and 70's is worth it.

I also found a version of the M60's on newegg.ca (they are T600's supposedly, but I contacted Polk about them and they are indeed Monitor 60's). They are on for 199$, free shipping, 5% tax, so $420 all told.

So, what configuration would you suggest to start off with? Should I return the 4 M50's to my local store and just order two M60's for a 3.0 setup? Should I do that and buy a sub for a 3.1 setup? Should I keep one pair of M50's and order the pair of M60's? Any mix and match setup works for me. The sub I would buy is likely the PSW125. I play a lot of games, and watch a decent number of movies. The room is about 15x17 or so? So its pretty large. Let me know your opinions!! I know very little about these things, so any extra details or explanation is super helpful.

packetjones

Welcome to the CP.

I would recommend going with a system that has a .1 option. If you play a lot of games and watch movies the subwoofer would be required in my opinion. I would recommend a 3.1 system and add the surrounds at a later time. This will allow yo to get higher quality equipment.

mystik610

For a large room and movies and games, you definitely want to get a 5.1 set-up. Surrounds not only make games more immersive, they help you localize audio effects and can help you play better....ie in a shooter, its a definite advantage when you can tell what direction shots are being fired from.

I've owned the TSi300's at one point, and they really are lacking in the lower frequencies. I thought the mid-range was actually very good though....I found them to be pretty warm and smooth. You definitely want to add a good sub though. Spending less on the towers and more on the sub would be the best use of your money.