Some questions about speakers I have...

jjs1234

Hello everyone. New to these forums but I had a question if anybody knows. I saw a thread similar to this one without any reply's but I wanted to know if anyone has the specs or at-least may know if these speakers go well with the ones I plan to buy in the future.

I have a pair of polk monitor series 2 black speakers and was wondering if they would go well with another identical pair in the front with two center (my stereo allows 2 center speakers) Polk Audio OWM5, and one PSW110 subwoofer.


And one more question, what is LFE?

Here are the pictures:

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j160/RISEOFNATIONSFRK/DSCN2319.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j160/RISEOFNATIONSFRK/DSCN2318.jpg


Thanks for any replies.

drumminman

Don't know how well the speakers would play together.

Joe08867

LFE is a bypass for the subwoofer's own crossover. If your receiver has a dedicated subwoofer output you can use this feature otherwise you will need to use the regular connection on the sub not the LFE connection.

Let me get you other question straight.

You want to use 4 Monitor Series 2's for the front and 2 OWM5's for the rear? If so that should work fine but the OWM5's are a better speaker than the Monitors. So if you can get two more OWM5's you would be better off using them in the front and the monitors in the rear position.

dpowell

Welcome to CP!

It's always best to try and timbre match the speakers in a home theater setup however it is most important for the front L/R and Center speakers to match. It isn't as important to match the rears. What is most important is that it sound good to you.

What are you using for a center speaker?

Joe08867

For a center it sounds like he wants to use another set of Monitor series 2. His receiver gives him the option to run dual centers. That is why he had the question.

jjs1234

Sorry for me not being specific. I have 1 set of the Monitor Series 2 speakers. I like how they are mountable, small and they sound pretty good. I own a Sony AV 1070x (Made in early 90s) which allows this as you can see here:

http://www.blackswampaudio.com/Images/Inv/896.4.jpg

Allows an amp for center speakers which I assume can be hooked into the subwoofer? Also allows 2 center which I wanted to put to the right and left of the TV I am using, with the OWM5. I wasn't sure if the Monitor series 2 speakers were good for front and back. I cant find ANY info on them- no specs no nothing so I have no idea what the sound variances? are on them. They sound good. Maybe a little too much base but, I have an equalizer so I assume I can just adjust that.

The other thing I wanted to know which is kind of confusing to describe, is the subwoofer (PSW110), if it can be hooked into the stereo via the component cables and when done so can it support 2 more speakers since I see that on the subwoofer it has openings for 2 speakers. But I dont know if the speaker wire openings on the subwoofer are their just for amplification or can it support 2 more speakers?

Making the total 8.1?




PS. All I have is one set of Monitors the ones I mentioned above. I wanted to know what ones I should buy, as I dont want to buy then figure out "oh these sound terrible with this" or whatnot.

Now that I think about it the center out could plug into the TV and use that as the center speakers. However then could I theoretically use the center speaker as a side L and R?

Confusing. I need to read the manual. But what makes no sense is that this stereo must have a subwoofer output. Yet it doesn't show it.

Joe08867

The center out can be hooked to an amp but it will only produce the center channel frequencies not the subwoofer frequencies. So this is not a good option for a subwoofer on your receiver. Looking at the picture you posted I see no subwoofer out. You will need to use a sub that has speaker in connections on it.

I would not suggest mixing the OWM5 and the Monitors in the front together. I would use four monitors in front or four OWM5 in front. And your best bet would be to place a speaker above and below the TV for the center channel not next on the sides. They will end up smearing the sound that way.

If I were you I would get two more OWM5 and use them across the front. If price is the issue than I would use 4 of the monitor series 2 in the front and the OWM5's for the rears.

Joe08867

I missed the PSW10 part.

The speaker connections you see on the sub are for input of sound to the sub and then go to the front speakers of your stereo. These are powered by your receiver not by the sub. The sub just reads the frequencies of these inputs to distinguish what frequencies it should reproduce.



Looking at the picture. Connect the output of the front left and right from your receiver to the input left and right of the subwoofer. Now connect the output of the subwoofer to the front left and right speakers. They call this speaker level input.

dpowell

jjs1234 wrote: »

Maybe a little too much base but, I have an equalizer so I assume I can just adjust that.

You should let your amp do the bass management as much as possible without involving an equalizer. If your sub is connected and configured properly, you should be fine.

jjs1234 wrote: »

The other thing I wanted to know which is kind of confusing to describe, is the subwoofer (PSW110), if it can be hooked into the stereo via the component cables and when done so can it support 2 more speakers since I see that on the subwoofer it has openings for 2 speakers. But I dont know if the speaker wire openings on the subwoofer are their just for amplification or can it support 2 more speakers?

Making the total 8.1?

Not sure about that but the amp in your sub will likely be different than the amp in your receiver. If you only have the one sub and you are using it for HT, you should use the subwoofer output on your receiver for the sub and let the receiver power the speakers.

If you're concerned about the sound, consider looking on craigslist for some used higher end speakers for the front and don't worry so much about the sides and dual centers. You should easily be able to find something in the RT series at a reasonable price. eg. CS400 center and RT800, 1000, 2000 etc. Use your existing m5's for the 7.1 surround duty.

skrol

I have a pair of M3 Series II speakers in very nice condition that I have been thinking about selling. I don't know if it is worth the while to to ship them across the country though. You may be able to find some local.
Stan

jjs1234

Joe08867 wrote: »

The center out can be hooked to an amp but it will only produce the center channel frequencies not the subwoofer frequencies. So this is not a good option for a subwoofer on your receiver. Looking at the picture you posted I see no subwoofer out. You will need to use a sub that has speaker in connections on it.

I would not suggest mixing the OWM5 and the Monitors in the front together. I would use four monitors in front or four OWM5 in front. And your best bet would be to place a speaker above and below the TV for the center channel not next on the sides. They will end up smearing the sound that way.

If I were you I would get two more OWM5 and use them across the front. If price is the issue than I would use 4 of the monitor series 2 in the front and the OWM5's for the rears.

I have a question. Since what I got is the front should be the same type of speakers... and they should basically be at eye level somewhat or hearing level... what about the rear? Do the rear speakers need to be at head level or can they be mounted on the ceiling pointing 45 degrees down?

Joe08867

The rears can be mounted high and angled down to face the listener with no problem at all.

I have my front speakers at ear level and my rears at ceiling level 4' higher and they sound awesome.

jjs1234

Joe08867 wrote: »

The rears can be mounted high and angled down to face the listener with no problem at all.

I have my front speakers at ear level and my rears at ceiling level 4' higher and they sound awesome.

Well the only question I have, is well I know rear speakers are supposed to be in the rear, well I wanted to put my sound system in my bedroom, and well the bed is resting against the back wall and the TV in front. If my head is against the back wall how do I have rear speakers or how do I make it work?

I see it only as the speakers would be positioned to my very left and right.


Options?

Joe08867

Positioning them in the corners of the side walls is your best bet.

jjs1234

And to speakers have a general degree of angle in which they sound good?

I mean do they have to be directly aimed at you or is their a general sound angle?

Id like to know if say the rears would sound as good if say I was sitting at the foot of my bed. (Im asking polk for the specs of my speakers still waiting) If I were using OWM3s at the rear and 4 OWM5s at the front.

Joe08867

You should be fine either laying in bed or sitting at the foot of the bed.

The Polk OWM3's and 5's have a pretty wide dispersion so even if they are pretty flat to the wall they should still do the trick.

jjs1234

While I know the OWM5s are more of a surround speaker, do you recommend them as a FL, FR and the center? Like what I guess I am shooting at is for the room (since I don't have much between the foot of my bed and the wall to walk through) would you say they are adequate?

jjs1234

Now that I think about it I might be able to get away with thin floor standing speakers. Though would the OWM5s still go together? In an above post Dpowell states that the front speakers should match.

Joe08867

The front speakers should match each other timbre wise. Meaning the tweeters and mids should have the same sonic character.

If you think you can fit a thin tower than I would suggest a monitor 60 tower and the center channel from that series. They would match the OWM5's well.

dpowell

Check this guide out for placing speakers:

http://www.dolby.com/consumer/setup/speaker-setup-guide/index.html

jjs1234

Found the ones I have, http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/recent/m3ii/#legal .

I can probably use these for the rear for now, now that I have the specs.

I forgot to add, the wattage is ample enough right on my stereo 195wpc with .015 harmonic distortion?

Whats the difference between harmonic and inter-modulation distortion?

Joe08867

I was picturing a different speaker. I would most definitely use those as rears only. They won't be up to the task of fronts or center channel duty with the power your describing.

As far as answering your distortion question. I found this in Wikipedia.

Harmonic distortion occurs when non-linearity (in an amplifier or loudspeaker, for instance) only creates new frequencies that are harmonically related to the original signal. In other words adds more bass or treble to a signal.

Inter-modulation distortion occurs when a different type of non-linearity can create new frequencies that are not harmonically related to the original signal. All audio devices give rise to distortion to some extent; harmonic distortion and intermodulaton distortion tests highlight different aspects of imperfections, and one type of distortion may be inaudibly low while the other is significantly high for some equipment under certain conditions.

To explain inter-modulation, think of a tape deck if your old enough. Some tapes play fine while others may sound like there warbling. That is a type of inter-modulation.

jjs1234

Thanks for the reply joe. I was originally thinking of using those as rears but I have no clue if they would match the timber as you mentioned above.

Joe08867

The good thing about Polk's smaller speakers like the Monitors you have is that they match a lot of other speakers. And the OWM's are built to match several other speakers in the Polk family. So together they should work just fine.