Not sure if my current set-up will work...

TMac

I just bought a house that had bose cube speakers built in to the wall in all 4 corners of the living room. I currently have an onkyo ht-rc180 receiver, polk cs20 center channel, and the polk psw505 12' sub that I've never used before. Just talking with my buddy who claims he is a home audio whiz, he says the surround speakers will be be drowned out by the center, and also that the sub is too powerful for the set-up. He also said that bose speakers need to be used along with other bose speakers because they don't mesh well with others. With all that being said, can I set it up as is and will it perform well, or should i just buy some new polk surround speakers (Polk Audio OWM3 On-Wall Speaker). If I buy the new ones, do I need 4, or will just 2 do in the back.

Thanks for any advice you can give...

nguyendot

I would toss the bose as they don't mix with anything. Also, in surround sound the center channel plays about 95% of all material you hear anyways, so yes it will "drown out" your other speakers.

F1nut

I agree, time to junk the Bose and get some real speakers.....either Polks that match your current center or a whole new set.

rebuy

Since it is your first post, I welcome you to Club Polk. I haven't been around long enough to welcome people.
There you go, you have the classic Bose set up. That guy probably paid mucho bucks for those Bose cubes.
Now you have a Bose system and are questioning it on a Polk site. You're in trouble, those little paper cones make a lot of noise.
So I guess you're telling us there is wiring in the walls suitable for Bose Speakers. If you replace them are you going to use this wiring? What did the Wiz say? If you stay with the cubes and use a sub you'll probably end up with a big frequency gap like a lot of Bose systems have.

You can always try it out if you're strapped for cash after buying a new house.
I have always thought people (not you) are funny for spending so much money for Bose cubes.

I have Polk bookies and paid a lot less and got a lot more quality sound that what I have heard from Bose.

If you do hook this system up with the Bose. You'll have a lot of level adjustments to do so you can hear the Bose properly.
You have nothing to lose from hooking it up and listening to them all together, just time. One thing for sure the bass from the Polk sub will be superior to a Bose sub, and the center will sound better than the cubes.

I better get off now before I get sarcastic.

TMac

I would toss the bose as they don't mix with anything. Also, in surround sound the center channel plays about 95% of all material you hear anyways, so yes it will "drown out" your other speakers.


Nguyendot.....You saying I don't need the surround speakers with a good center? Or that I only need the back ones? If I get new surround speakers...any suggestions?

Thanks for all your help.

TMac

OK, so I'm going to get some new speakers. Like I said before, here is my current set-up...
Onkyo HT-RC180
PSW505 Sub
CS20 Center

I guess I need front left/rights and rear surround. I'm limited on budget and am looking at boofshelf fronts and Polk Audio OWM3 rear surrounds. Any recco's for those 2 components?

nguyendot

That's not what I said. I'm just saying that remember your center does most of the work. So your friend saying it will 'overpower' the rest is inaccurate. It's just doing its job. Get matching speakers.... Your selections will do you well withw hat you have already. The CS20 is kinda low end but it will match fine.