First home theater setup
Hello everyone, this is my first post and I wanted to thank everyone in advance for the help. Please keep in mind I'm new to this and I don't have any past experience to point out glaring faults to my plans.
I'm planning out my first home theater system. The living room is open to the kitchen, and is about 16' wide and a total of around 40' long split close to evenly. Seating is about 12' from the TV. The receiver I plan on getting will be a Harman AVR 2600. The receiver is rated at 65w/channel, but from what I've read Harman is pretty conservative with their watt ratings. I'm not looking for something that's going to wake the neighbors. I'm looking for something that will sound good when I sit down for a movie and there isn't other noise in the house going on.
I am thinking about RTi A3 fronts, CSi A6 center, and FXi A4 rear speakers. Will the receiver provide enough power for those speakers in that space? Will the RTi A3's be large enough? Will the CSi A6 overpower the RTi A3's? I don't have plans for a sub yet, that will be a later purchase (for that matter I might also wait on the surround speakers); I know it will sound better with one, but I'm stepping up from TV speakers so I won't miss it. Are there any questions I should be asking that I'm obviously missing?
I'm planning out my first home theater system. The living room is open to the kitchen, and is about 16' wide and a total of around 40' long split close to evenly. Seating is about 12' from the TV. The receiver I plan on getting will be a Harman AVR 2600. The receiver is rated at 65w/channel, but from what I've read Harman is pretty conservative with their watt ratings. I'm not looking for something that's going to wake the neighbors. I'm looking for something that will sound good when I sit down for a movie and there isn't other noise in the house going on.
I am thinking about RTi A3 fronts, CSi A6 center, and FXi A4 rear speakers. Will the receiver provide enough power for those speakers in that space? Will the RTi A3's be large enough? Will the CSi A6 overpower the RTi A3's? I don't have plans for a sub yet, that will be a later purchase (for that matter I might also wait on the surround speakers); I know it will sound better with one, but I'm stepping up from TV speakers so I won't miss it. Are there any questions I should be asking that I'm obviously missing?
Post edited by Slaine777 on
Comments
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Hello everyone, this is my first post and I wanted to thank everyone in advance for the help. Please keep in mind I'm new to this and I don't have any past experience to point out glaring faults to my plans.
I'm planning out my first home theater system. The living room is open to the kitchen, and is about 16' wide and a total of around 40' long split close to evenly. Seating is about 12' from the TV. The receiver I plan on getting will be a Harman AVR 2600. The receiver is rated at 65w/channel, but from what I've read Harman is pretty conservative with their watt ratings. I'm not looking for something that's going to wake the neighbors. I'm looking for something that will sound good when I sit down for a movie and there isn't other noise in the house going on.
I am thinking about RTi A3 fronts, CSi A6 center, and FXi A4 rear speakers. Will the receiver provide enough power for those speakers in that space? Will the RTi A3's be large enough? Will the CSi A6 overpower the RTi A3's? I don't have plans for a sub yet, that will be a later purchase (for that matter I might also wait on the surround speakers); I know it will sound better with one, but I'm stepping up from TV speakers so I won't miss it. Are there any questions I should be asking that I'm obviously missing?
Welcome to Club Polk!
You've got a very nice speaker selection in mind - you are definitely taking a big step up and should enjoy the sonic goodness.
As long as you don't go 'stupid loud' with your AVR, you should be ok - however, you may want to check to see if that HK AVR has preouts so that you can add an external amplifier later - as you would benefit w/ more power providing some noticable improvement in overall sonice performance.
The RTiA3s definitely benefit from a sub - so that should be part of your long term plan for upgrades - but to start you should have quit the grin going on!
H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music. -
Erik, Thanks for the input.
Does anyone have any experience with the RTi A3's as fronts and the CSi A6 as a center; would the CSi A4 be a better choice? -
Erik, Thanks for the input.
Does anyone have any experience with the RTi A3's as fronts and the CSi A6 as a center; would the CSi A4 be a better choice?
I'd go for the CSiA6.
I had RTiA3s as a front with a CSi3 center (previous version of the CSiA4).
In a smaller room the RTiA3/CSiA4 would definitely work and you will be pleased, but the RTiA3/CSiA6 would be even better
H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music. -
i had the A3's and the A4 center. I was pretty happy with them overall. I eventually upgraded the fronts to the A5 towers and moved the A3's to the rear. Now i would like to get the A6 center. But overall the A3's and A4 center are a great match. I would say if you have a larger room and watch movies a lot then i would get the larger center.Front - RTiA5's
Rear - RTiA3's
Center - CSiA4
Sub - PSW110 -
Welcome,
congrats on your set up, it will make you happy for a while for sure. You will be fine with what you have. If you have the room for the bigger centre, then go for it, if not or saving some $$ is priority then the smaller one is more than capable of dealing what you throw at it. But if you can get the bigger one and be done with it. -
Erik Tracy wrote: »I'd go for the CSiA6.
I had RTiA3s as a front with a CSi3 center (previous version of the CSiA4).
In a smaller room the RTiA3/CSiA4 would definitely work and you will be pleased, but the RTiA3/CSiA6 would be even better
WELCOME TO CLUB POLK!
I'm with everyone above. My basement system...looks a bit like your proposed set up. But the room is MUCH smaller--only 10' wide and 20' long and the HT is in a 10' x 14' foot space. In that smaller space my CSI-3, Rti-A3 combo with supporting sub and 2 surrounds works fine! But I'd definitely move up to the larger center for a space your size. Upstairs I have an all Monitor system in a larger room where the CS-2 serves that room much better than its smaller brother (CS-1).
As for power, ETracy is right. My basement system runs off an OLD Pioneer 5.1 AVR that has ratings similar to your HK. No problem (with a Polk Sub) filling the room with some nice 'effects'!
Enjoy!
cnhCurrently orbiting Bowie's Blackstar.!
Polk Lsi-7s, Def Tech 8" sub, HK 3490, HK HD 990 (CDP/DAC), AKG Q701s
[sig. changed on a monthly basis as I rotate in and out of my stash] -
I have a HK254 which is very close to your 2600 and i have no issues at all driving my RTI'sFront - RTiA5's
Rear - RTiA3's
Center - CSiA4
Sub - PSW110 -
Erik Tracy wrote: »Welcome to Club Polk!
You've got a very nice speaker selection in mind - you are definitely taking a big step up and should enjoy the sonic goodness.
As long as you don't go 'stupid loud' with your AVR, you should be ok - however, you may want to check to see if that HK AVR has preouts so that you can add an external amplifier later - as you would benefit w/ more power providing some noticable improvement in overall sonice performance.
The RTiA3s definitely benefit from a sub - so that should be part of your long term plan for upgrades - but to start you should have quit the grin going on!
Good Day-The HK 2600 don't have pre-outs but it is a very nice AVR for it's price point. I've being useing this model for a while now for HT and Music and I love it. I have all Polk Tsi with the 500 for the mains and if I crank it to 80% IMO it Stupid Loud of course to some people it just normal listening volume. -
your setup will be superior for a while....than you will have the (upgrade-itis) ha but for the moment there perfect......especially the a6 you might wanna calibrate it dough at first it did seem a bit forward to the a'3s but now calibrated its perfect!Room Theater:
Fronts:RTIA3
center; CSIA6
AVR: Onkyo 709
panasonic 55"plasma
Ps3 slim 250gb
surrounds.Fxia6
Sub...svs pc13 ULTRA
Amp:Emotiva xpa3 -
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Thanks for the input from everyone and indyhawg's cat :biggrin:
Over the weekend I ordered a pair of A3's from Polk's ebay store. Tuesday I found a deal on an open box A6 center in cherry from an authorized retailer that came pretty close to what Polkdirect was for an A6 in black. A friend of mine recently upgraded their HT and is letting me use their old sub. Not sure what it is, but I know it will be better than nothing. I think I'm going to stick with 3.1 for now. When I do get rear speakers the best place I can see to put them is about 20' behind the seating on top of the kitchen cabinets.
Now I need to decide between the H/K AVR 2600 and AVR 3600. The main advantage I see to the 3600 is preouts that I'm not sure I'll ever use. I'll just have to wait and see what kind of price I can get them for.
The next thing I have to look at is speaker wire. I believe I'm going to go with the 'Twelve White' from Blue Jeans Cable for the front and center channels. Any thoughts? -
Thanks for the input from everyone and indyhawg's cat :biggrin:
Over the weekend I ordered a pair of A3's from Polk's ebay store. Tuesday I found a deal on an open box A6 center in cherry from an authorized retailer that came pretty close to what Polkdirect was for an A6 in black. A friend of mine recently upgraded their HT and is letting me use their old sub. Not sure what it is, but I know it will be better than nothing. I think I'm going to stick with 3.1 for now. When I do get rear speakers the best place I can see to put them is about 20' behind the seating on top of the kitchen cabinets.
Now I need to decide between the H/K AVR 2600 and AVR 3600. The main advantage I see to the 3600 is preouts that I'm not sure I'll ever use. I'll just have to wait and see what kind of price I can get them for.
The next thing I have to look at is speaker wire. I believe I'm going to go with the 'Twelve White' from Blue Jeans Cable for the front and center channels. Any thoughts?
Go for the AVR with the preouts - sure pay a bit more now - better than double later for a different AVR (and amp).
Blue Jeans cable is a good value for a start....
H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music. -
I got my A3's today, still don't have a receiver to test the out on, but I have to say they are larger than I was expecting. They are bookshelf speakers so I decided, why not put them on a bookshelf till I get my AV furniture. I have them turned sideways because they are too deep to fit any other way. I can't wait to hear them. FedEx says the center channel should arrive Tuesday. I'm expecting to be surprised again. There's a difference between knowing a speaker is two feet wide and holding a two foot wide speaker in your hands.
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The sub my friend has is an older ('97ish) Yamaha sub. He said it was a stereo sub. I don't understand what that means. When I try to google stereo sub all I get are a bunch of product links for stereos with subwoofers. How would I need to wire that for the mono output of the receiver?
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Can you post a model or better yet a photo of the back of the sub (assuming is has an amp). The only thing I can think of that it may be a passive sub, if that's the case you'll need some sort of external amp for the sub. If the sub has a power cord running out of the back it should be a powered unit, all you'll need is a single rca from your avr's sub pre out to your sub. I use monoprice for my sub cable, and I'm happy with it. If it doesn't have LFE input and is powered, you'll have to run your speaker wire through the subwoofer, and if it needs an amp, I'll let other members here address that issue.
Your well on your way, as Eric said a few posts above, spring for the AVR with pre-outs, I'm in the same boat, and will now have to buy another avr on top of the one I bought a few years ago.
Welcome to CP, where your wallet will learn to hate you! -
I was able to get the model number of the sub from my friend. It's a Yamaha YST-SW150 subwoofer. If anyone in San Diego is interested in one I found a craigslist ad for one with pictures. http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/ele/2281879367.html
I have taken the advice on the receiver and ordered the Harman Kardon AVR 3600, the model with the pre-outs. I think I'll have everything together by midweek next week.
As a side note, I found a free iPhone app from JL Audio that has a SPL meter on it that I'm going to try to use to set up my receiver. I don't know how accurate it is, but you can't beat the price. -
I have the RTi A3's and the CSi A6 with the HK AVR 3600 and I think it works pretty well. I haven't gotten around to getting the loaner rear speakers or sub from my friend yet. My eventual upgrade path for the rear speakers is either FXi A4's for rears or moving the A3's to the rear and getting a pair of A5's.
I'm looking at my subwoofer options now. Being new to home theater I'm a little amazed at how much subwoofers cost. Based on reviews I've seen I'm think I'm going to get something from Epik. I'm not sure if I should go with the Legend or the Empire. Does anyone have experience with a room this size (16' x 40') and a Legend?
