Getting new speakers and need help!

KingV911

Hey all,

First off let me say I am (almost) completely ignorant on setting up HT systems.

I have an old Onkyo TX-SR304B that puts out only 65w per channel. I bought it from Onkyo as part of a "home theater in a box" deal that included 5 surround speakers and a powered subwoofer - all which are decent enough for the smallish spare room in which they are in, and also in a duplex in which I cannot crank anything too loud anyways.

However, I am thinking of starting to get new speakers for overall fuller and better sound when listening to music and watching movies. I've been looking into the Polk Audio Monitor 70s as they seem to get great reviews, and can be picked up now for under $400 a pair refurbished. My question is will my receiver be adequate enough for the time being to get much out of these speakers? Also, when setting up the Onkyo you have to select "small or large" speakers and MHz, etc. If I were to buy these speakers I'd all of a sudden have two large speakers, with the rest being small - what options should I select? Any information would be helpful before I spend the money on these speakers. Down the line I would like to upgrade the receiver and other speakers as well. So, please bare in mind that for the time being I will be sticking with the current setup.

Thanks in advance!

Erik Tracy

KingV911 wrote: »

Hey all,

First off let me say I am (almost) completely ignorant on setting up HT systems.

I have an old Onkyo TX-SR304B that puts out only 65w per channel. I bought it from Onkyo as part of a "home theater in a box" deal that included 5 surround speakers and a powered subwoofer - all which are decent enough for the smallish spare room in which they are in, and also in a duplex in which I cannot crank anything too loud anyways.

However, I am thinking of starting to get new speakers for overall fuller and better sound when listening to music and watching movies. I've been looking into the Polk Audio Monitor 70s as they seem to get great reviews, and can be picked up now for under $400 a pair refurbished. My question is will my receiver be adequate enough for the time being to get much out of these speakers? Also, when setting up the Onkyo you have to select "small or large" speakers and MHz, etc. If I were to buy these speakers I'd all of a sudden have two large speakers, with the rest being small - what options should I select? Any information would be helpful before I spend the money on these speakers. Down the line I would like to upgrade the receiver and other speakers as well. So, please bare in mind that for the time being I will be sticking with the current setup.

Thanks in advance!

Greetings and Welcome to Club Polk.

The Monitor 70s have gotten some good reviews here by other users - should make a significant upgrade from your HTIB.

They are easy to drive and as long as you don't go 'stupid loud' with your Onkyo you should be ok until you upgrade your AVR (when you do, you should look for an AVR that has pre-outs so that you have more flexibility in other long term upgrades by allowing addition of an external amp to drive your speakers).

As for what to set the Monitor 70s - I'm not familiar with the sub that came with your HTIB, but it may be worth experimenting setting the Monitor 70's to Large.

The general 'rule of thumb' is to set front speakers (even towers) to 'small' because subs can handle the low and scary LFE effects better.

However, not all subs are created equal and in your case the Monitor 70s may actually be better at the bass and LFE - so experiment. :biggrin:

KingV911

Erik Tracy wrote: »

Greetings and Welcome to Club Polk.

The Monitor 70s have gotten some good reviews here by other users - should make a significant upgrade from your HTIB.

They are easy to drive and as long as you don't go 'stupid loud' with your Onkyo you should be ok until you upgrade your AVR (when you do, you should look for an AVR that has pre-outs so that you have more flexibility in other long term upgrades by allowing addition of an external amp to drive your speakers).

As for what to set the Monitor 70s - I'm not familiar with the sub that came with your HTIB, but it may be worth experimenting setting the Monitor 70's to Large.

The general 'rule of thumb' is to set front speakers (even towers) to 'small' because subs can handle the low and scary LFE effects better.

However, not all subs are created equal and in your case the Monitor 70s may actually be better at the bass and LFE - so experiment. :biggrin:

Thanks for the reply. Would you have any suggestion on whether or not I should choose between the Monitor 60 or 70? I've read that the low end on the 60's isn't great, but I do have a subwoofer, but for music listening I'd think I want better low end from the front speakers rather than relying on the boominess of a sub to give low end. I can get the 60s for even cheaper, so if I get some feedback on whether or not the upgrade is worth it that would help me out even more.

Erik Tracy

KingV911 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. Would you have any suggestion on whether or not I should choose between the Monitor 60 or 70? I've read that the low end on the 60's isn't great, but I do have a subwoofer, but for music listening I'd think I want better low end from the front speakers rather than relying on the boominess of a sub to give low end. I can get the 60s for even cheaper, so if I get some feedback on whether or not the upgrade is worth it that would help me out even more.

Well, the Monitor 70 is spec'd to dig lower than the 60's and if your current sub is part of a package HTIB - then the 70's by themselves would be the better choice.

Another option is to check your couch cushions for more change and see if you can scrape together enough for new fronts (60's or 70's) and a new sub - some great deals are floating about on the PSW505 for example....not like I'm trying to talk you into anything....

spock 2054

KingV911 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. Would you have any suggestion on whether or not I should choose between the Monitor 60 or 70? I've read that the low end on the 60's isn't great, but I do have a subwoofer, but for music listening I'd think I want better low end from the front speakers rather than relying on the boominess of a sub to give low end. I can get the 60s for even cheaper, so if I get some feedback on whether or not the upgrade is worth it that would help me out even more.

Hi - The low end on the 60's and 70's is actually pretty good without a sub if you have enough power to push them. Are you using the sub that was included with your HTIB? If your sub is kind of boomy, then it is not accurately reproducing bass and low frequency effects. Since you are in a duplex, I'd suggest starting out with the Monitor 60's and a better sub than the one that came with your system. Sounds like you want to feel the bass instead of just hearing it.

Checking prices on newegg - you could pick up a pair of the 60's in cherry for $245.96 shipped (sale price ends today!) and a BIC F12 sub for $183.45 from amazon - 429.41. I am not too crazy about Polk subs.

KingV911

spock 2054 wrote: »

Hi - The low end on the 60's and 70's is actually pretty good without a sub if you have enough power to push them. Are you using the sub that was included with your HTIB? If your sub is kind of boomy, then it is not accurately reproducing bass and low frequency effects. Since you are in a duplex, I'd suggest starting out with the Monitor 60's and a better sub than the one that came with your system. Sounds like you want to feel the bass instead of just hearing it.

Checking prices on newegg - you could pick up a pair of the 60's in cherry for $245.96 shipped (sale price ends today!) and a BIC F12 sub for $183.45 from amazon - 429.41. I am not too crazy about Polk subs.

As far as the bass goes I just want to make sure that I am not lacking. I don't necessarily need to feel it, but I like to know that I can. I do live in a duplex now but my wife and I may purchase a home if we feel like it in the next couple years, so I'd like to have something that could possibly handle a larger room. And yes, the subwoofer I am using right now is the powered unit that came with my Onkyo HTIB. I'm sure it's not great, but it does alright. It's tempting to get a pair of the 60s, because as you pointed out they are very affordable, but I keep thinking the 70s will be better with music due to their better low end. However, I don't really know what I am talking about with this stuff so it's probably just that 70 is bigger than 60, so I figure it must be better!