Newb worries(first post)

stegmonster

Hello Club Polk. I have had a Polk HTiB for the past five years and have finally been able to upgrade to a full fledged Home Theater System. I was looking at TSi series speakers when I discovered the Monitor line and was able to take advantage of the Newegg deal yesterday. I was originally going to get the monitor 60's, but then I noticed the 70's were actually cheaper. My final buys were as follows: Onkyo TX-NR609, Polk Monitor 70's for the front, Polk Monitor 50's for the rear, and a Cs10 for the center. I have a sub already and will probably upgrade it in the next couple of months(suggestions??). This is the first time I have built anything like this up and was wondering(belatedly) if it would all work together. Had I thought to look for a forum like this initially, I would probably feel a lot better about my purchase. Will everything come together and sound good? I will mainly use it for HT with a decent amount of gaming.

jbooker82

Tx-NR709 would have had analog 7.2 pre amp outputs.

stegmonster

Honestly, before I started reading this site, I didn't know you could have an extra amp hooked up. That's one of the things that has me questioning my purchase, but most threads on the subject imply an amp really makes them shine with music which I don't really use it for.

tonyb

Welcome to the club and congrats on your new HT. If you could swing it, I would move that center up to the CS20. Your receiver is fine for what you have but down the road you may want to look into something with preouts. That upgrade bug bites quick and hard.

chumlie

Don't get sucked into the rabbit hole. It gets really spendy down here. Enjoy your system.

Geoff4rfc

I agree with tonyb, if you can switch to the CS2, or 20 as tonyb suggested, you'll get a much better match to your set up.

I had the privilege to listen to the CS1 and CS2 side by side. The CS1 sounds good by itself, but when compared to the 2, the choice becomes obvious.

I had also ordered the CS1 from newegg when I first got mine. I called them up, told them I wanted the 2 instead, and providing I didn't open the box, which I didn't, they sent me a return tag and then upgraded me to the CS2, sooooooo glad I did.

cnh

Welcome to Club Polk!

I agree as well. tonyb, solid advice as always!

I actually run the M70s with the CS2...the center really makes a difference as most of your surround sound is carried by it. As for a sub....what do you want to spend? If you want to go cheap you can't do much better than newegg's own Polk offering, the PSW 505.

If you have more coin, then something from Epik, SVS, Hsu, etc.

I also run an Onkyo, the TX-SR 805. No need for extra amplification with that monster for now, but it does have those pre-outs--which is a consideration.

Have fun!

cnh

stegmonster

I sent newegg an email requesting an order change for the Cs20. I forgot to upgrade my center channel when I upgraded my fronts. Thanks for catching that. Is 120 wattsish per channel going to keep me content for a while? I will be calling their customer service line tomorrow and try to catch them before they package my order(it's currently in "charged"). Any other advice? I have a RM6750 10" 100 Watt sub now. Nowhere near the best, but for now it's what I have to play with.

tonyb

stegmonster wrote: »

I sent newegg an email requesting an order change for the Cs20. I forgot to upgrade my center channel when I upgraded my fronts. Thanks for catching that. Is 120 wattsish per channel going to keep me content for a while? I will be calling their customer service line tomorrow and try to catch them before they package my order(it's currently in "charged"). Any other advice? I have a RM6750 10" 100 Watt sub now. Nowhere near the best, but for now it's what I have to play with.

Well, now thats the rub. We don't know what content is for you, only you can decide that. Thats why we suggest buying things that allow you an upward path, such as a receiver with preouts. Your receiver may put out the claimed wattage in 2 channel, but the power goes downhill when you run 5 channels,and off a cliff at 7 channels. Your sub from the old system isn't going to cut it with your new speakers in my opinion. The better match would be polks 505 sub which can be had for a couple benjamins. Have you given any thought to cables also ?

Stick around, browse the forum, we have a wealth of collective knowlege around here. Learn to use the search button at the top. Enjoy the new speakers.

stegmonster

Check that. I re-reviewed it and I guess I'm only putting 100 watts per channel(for 7 channels. Dunno if it changes running 5.1. Any guesses?). Is this enough to push them?

stegmonster

I searched the site for a couple of hours, but couldn't find detailed info on what I was looking for. My search-foo is not the best...

stegmonster

Thanks for the help Tonyb. I have poked around for the wiring, but again, I'm a bit out classed. What would your suggestions be?

tonyb

More like 80 watts running 5 channels, and around 50 running 7 channels. Not saying you can't run your speakers fine with that, you can. Everyone has a budget, believe me, I know. Just a FYI was all. Upgrade the sub and you'll be a happy camper.

Look at Signal cable, tell them your a member here for a discount. Bluejean cable also. Those are the budget recommendations. You can also keep an eye out in our flea market for used cables, or go to Audiogon.com for a good selection of used cables.

themuskr

try blue jeans cable. Quality stuff reasonable price. If your looking cheaper try Monoprice

stegmonster

Also, I intended to upgrade my sub in about three months. I figured I could live off the added bass of the 70's and my little sub for a few more months in order to get the mains upgraded.

stegmonster

Wow, I didn't realize they overstated by quite that much. That's pretty depressing. What kind of end connectors for the wiring is optimal?

stegmonster

Will the speakers sound alright with this reciever?

Geoff4rfc

I would advise DIY. You could get a spool of 100ft 14awg wire from Lowes. They also sell banana plugs. That would save you quite a bit of $$$. I've just been feeding bare end 14gage into my terminals for a couple of years now and I'm just now upgrading my cable and connections.

I wouldn't sweat the small stuff, concentrate on your big ticket items for now and worry about the interconnects later, just my opinion.

tonyb

stegmonster wrote: »

Will the speakers sound alright with this reciever?

Can you lend us your ears ?? There's more to good sound than just a receiver and speakers. Your room size, whats in the room,your placement of the speakers, how far away you sit, the cables you use, the source gear such as cd player or computer downloaded music etc, etc.

No need to make this more complicated than it needs to be. You said you dig HT and gaming, you should have no worries about your receiver and speakers doing a fine job.....aside for that sub, your good to go.

Geoff4rfc

tonyb wrote: »

your good to go.

Good to go!!!!!!!!

stegmonster

HAHA, thanks. I was having a minor freakout due to various reviews on other pages that went from they will do alright to you will blow the tweeters if you don't power them enough. I know my questions where rather vague, I was more or less looking for a "They will work without issue, just not to their extreme awesome limit". Thanks for the tips, the advice and putting up with newbie style questions.

stegmonster

I ordered the Cs20 and the PSW-505. I had the cash and decided not to wait.

tonyb

stegmonster wrote: »

I ordered the Cs20 and the PSW-505. I had the cash and decided not to wait.

Very nice my friend, you'll be a happy camper for sure. Let us know if you need help setting it up. Just a side note though, when you get the receiver, read the manual cover to cover. Newer receivers aren't so plug and play like the old ones.

rebuy

You should be OK with the Onkyo. Be glad you didn't get some other brands as their power output is a lot less in 5.1 that the Onkyo.

jbooker82

The newer TX-NRxx9's seem to hold their power better too. HT mag's bench test shows 81 watts at 0.1% distortion all 5 channels driven.

Here is the review on your TX-NR609
http://www.hometheater.com/content/onkyo-tx-nr609-av-receiver

stegmonster

I'm actually a manual reader. Always have, always will. Now, down to business. Bi-amping. Worth it with this reciever?

stegmonster

Read it may assist with the lack of power for the Monitor 70's. There are some guys using essentially the same speakers(different brands but same power) seemingly without issue. I assume it's from Bi-amping the reciever(common sense in some cases, because they mention it in others). Thoughts?

chumlie

Start saveing your money. sounds like you did jump in the rabbit hole. You'll be wanting to upgrade in 6 months. I would bet money on it.

jbooker82

stegmonster wrote: »

Read it may assist with the lack of power for the Monitor 70's. There are some guys using essentially the same speakers(different brands but same power) seemingly without issue. I assume it's from Bi-amping the reciever(common sense in some cases, because they mention it in others). Thoughts?

Well bi amping your going to be powering a 7.1 system (with only 5 speakers). You use the rear surrounds so your reciever will see a 7 speaker load. So by running a 7 channel system you reciever will put out 77 watts per channel. So powering your front towers you will have 77 watts to the mid and tweeter, and 77 watts to the woofers. Or you can non bi am them and have 81 watts to the whole speaker.

Bi amping is really for running seperate amplifers with an active crossover inbetween the AVR (Pre Amp) and the amplifier. That way you dont amplify the whole sound spectrum. You amplify bass with one amp and send it to the woofers, and you only amplify the mid and highs with another amplifer and send only it to the mid and tweeter. When you bi amp with a AVR your still sending Highs in to the woofer circuit, and your still sending bass in to the mid and tweeter circuit.

stegmonster

Ah, thanks for the explanation. I will probably upgrade my receiver next year, but I think the speakers will stick around for a while so I'm just dangling my feet over the edge of the rabbit hole... Is there any potential problems with bi-amping with just an AVR? I thought I would play with it and see how it sounds but if there are any potential issues I'd rather not risk it.

Geoff4rfc

I don't think there are any potential problems with bi-amping with just the AVR. But as Jbooker mentioned, when you do that, your actually running a 7.1 config with 5 speakers (also mentioned), and when you do that, jbooker was trying to explain that your using less power per channel to seperate areas of the speaker. Don't do that, and you send more power per channel to the whole speaker.

I did it with mine and ended up not stayin with it. At one point, I bi-wired the endes of the cable run into the speaker terminals, but I'm back to using the jumpers again. For sure, play around with it and have a listen for yourself.

More power from either a bigger AVR or an external amp is the going to be the answer. Your 609 will suffice for now, but eventually, like chumlie said, you may end up getting the upgrade bug before too long. I got my receiver before I got any speakers (they came two months later from back order), I've had my receiver for less than two years and I'm about to upgrade my front stage for the third time.