My new HT

jaycam

Hello everyone! I wanted to share my new Polk HT system with you guys. It's not much but I think it's a good first system. To be honest, I feel a little intimidated by some of you guys on here with your years experience and monster setups, but I've enjoyed the short time I've been here and have learned quite a bit from you all. Thank you!

I started off trying to find older Polk speakers; the RT line but had a hard time. Then I saw the deal on Newegg and couldn't resist. So now I have Monitor60's in the front, CS1 center, Monitor30's for the surround and a PSW505. Moving up to this system from my crappy BestBuy brand 5.1 speaker setup was a huge change! My wife complained a little but once she heard the system all setup she was cool with it all.

I'm still running my crappy Insignia receiver (NS-R5101HD in case any one cares) but have plans to upgrade to the Onkyo TX-NR609. Accessories4Less has a great deal on a refurb...

So, that's a little about me. I'm looking forward my time here at Club Polk!

Thanks!

falconcry72

Thanks for sharing, and Welcome to CP!:biggrin:

Those Monitors offer a tremendous bang for your buck. Glad you're enjoying them!


Got any pics of the setup???

jaycam

Not yet, I'll get some pics up soon though!

Sherardp

Cool man, and welcome to the club. Pics are a must around here so we can see what your working with in the HT. No need for intimidation since we all started from the beginning, so dive into it head on and enjoy the hobby.

deronb1

Welcome! I have only been here five months myself. I have learned a ton and have crammed 10 years of pissing my wife off in five months as well:cheesygrin: Totally worth it though!

jaycam

Okay guys! Here are the pics!

tonyb

Welcome to the club and congrats on the new speakers. Don't be afraid to jump in or be intimidated, only a few of us bite but we all have had our shots. Seriously, everyone here is at different levels of their own audio journey, no shame in it at all. If I may offer up a suggestion for you, try pulling those front left and right speakers another foot forward away from the wall, see if you like it. Happy listening and again, welcome.

Glowrdr

I've always wondered - just how many folks do you think Newegg gets turned onto Polk? I see waves of new people all the time talking about picking up a new set of Monitors. That's how I got here in the first place. Started with speakers, then came this "oppo" speak. Then a reciever. I think I'm a victim of peer pressure. lol

Welcome to the club Jay. Lots of nice folks on here, that are all willing to share some great information.

jaycam

tonyb wrote: »

...try pulling those front left and right speakers another foot forward away from the wall, see if you like it.

I'll give that a try. Only problem I can forsee with that is that would put the speaker more out in the living room where they would be come more tempting to my 4yo and 18mo...we'll see though. They've been good about not touching them recently but you never know!

DSkip wrote: »

I like the symmetry of your system. If you're looking for a new TV, you should check out the Zenith 1080P 50" plasma at Sears. Its $549 and has fluctuated from $499 to $549 since Thanksgiving. Its an LG through and through (they even cover the repairs) and is ~$200 less than the LG version. Its the best entry/budget TV I've seen so far. If I could convince the wife, I might have it right now in my theater.

I personally would want the surrounds a little further away from my head than that, but if it works for you then why not.

Thanks for the TV suggestion! How does the Zenith compare to the Panasonic plasmas? I was leaning more towards the 42" size just because of the size of my room. As for the surrounds, I too would like to have them a little further out but I don't have that much room on either side of the couch. I usually sit towards the center of the couch when watching movies and the speakers are actually behind and above my head a little bit. I'll be doing some rearranging soon and I'll see if I can get them further out and see how it sounds...has to get approved by the decor committee (a.k.a. the wife :cheesygrin:).

Thanks again, everyone, for the welcome! Looking forward to being in the club!

Glowrdr

The panasonic plasma's are rated one of the top out there. It's usually the Panny or the Samsungs that take first and second in most reviews. Although, you'll be hard pressed to find one for $600 if budget is an issue (didn't see that it was, but that seems to be the undertone... we're all broke)

jaycam

Glowrdr, budget is a concern unfortunately I'll just have to take a trip over to Sears to check out the Zenith and see if I like it.

I see that you have a Duet also. I've been thinking about getting a networked receiver (Onkyo TX-NR609) and using a DLNA server to play my FLAC files through it rather than the Duet. Any thoughts on going that route or will I be better off sticking with the Duet and getting a lower priced, non-networked receiver?

pdxfj

Nice setup you've got going there. Might I suggest a "subduded" for your sub? Not much money and they make a huge difference.

Also, skip the 42" TV and get a 50". Like you I found the 42 to be more practical, but spent the little bit extra and got the 50. Very glad I did. I've also told friends to do the same and they are all happy with their 50" sets. If you're going to wall mount your new TV grab the wall mount kit from Monoprice. Much cheaper ($) than anything you could find locally.

Accessories4less does have good prices on equipment. In my personal experience I was not happy with the Onkyo 608, and others here will say the same. Look at at least the 808/809 or move over to a brand that has independent internal amps (Marantz, Pioneer, etc).

You've opened Pandora's box coming here... :biggrin: There's no way to close it now...

jaycam

pdxfj, thanks for the suggestions; I'll consider the 50" when I'm ready to buy. The mount I have for my TV now came from Monoprice...I've been buying my cables from them for a couple years now and have been happy.

I like the Pioneer VSX-1121 but I like the price of the Onkyo 609 ($300) better
I was also looking at the Marantz SR5006 but that one is $200 more than the Onkyo too...

Thanks again!

Glowrdr

I have a ton of stuff using DLNA (well, not a ton, but I think everything I have is connected). I personally like the Duet - it has a great interface. If you can get a duet for the right price, I'd jump on it. Otherwise I'm not sure what the Touch's are going for nowadays (that's the newer step up, but I don't feel the need to get rid of mine)

I found with the DLNA stuff, you can play music - but I have yet to mess around with playlist creation (if it even exists). The Duet has a great interface (think iPod), and it works with both Windows Media Player, as well as iTunes to grab your playlists from. I think this is great because you can manage everything on the PC.

So I'm not really dissing DLNA material, but I have more experience with the Squeezebox - and it has been a very positive so far. Although the DLNA does get use for watching movies in my current system. Something to think about I guess.