Monitor 40's for 9.1 surround

FATHERFORD

It's been many years since I have had a decent HT setup. So bare with me...

I currently have:
Sony STR-DG910 7.1 channel
TSI-500 Front
CS2 center
Monitor 50's surround

I'm looking to purchase Monitor 40's for back speakers. At the same time, I'm thinking about ordering monitor 40's for front height speakers when I finally decide on what 9.1 receiver to go with. Which leads to my question...

Would monitor 40's be ok for front height speakers?


To keep from starting another thread... What would be good ceiling mount for monitor 40's?

Thanks,
FATHERFORD

tommyt21

I use the M30's for Dolby IIz Height channels and there more than enough they also come with a wall mount key hole. I use M40's for my side rear postioned surrounds and they work great. M40's are not going to be a big benifet over the 30's for heights in my opinion because they are more of a ambient channel effect.

PS stay with 7.1 at the most.... 9.1 is a waste in my opinion unless you have a very, very large room. I would sugest you read up exstensivley on Front height/Front wide decoding. http://www.dolby.com/us/en/consumer/technology/home-theater/dolby-pro-logic-iiz.html.
I would look at other places to upgrade your system than going 9.1, perhaps an otstandingsub? A good power rated AVR? Better front sound stage?

FATHERFORD

Thanks!

I forgot to add I do have a PSW505 sub.

The room I am In right now is small, 18x14, but the wife and I are looking at houses so I can have a large dedicated media/game room.

I thought the 9.1/11.2 sounded a little ridiculous, but bigger is always better..right?

rooftop59

Let me preface by saying that I have almost no experience with 9.1 or even 7.1, but I would agree that if it were me I would use the money you would put into the m40's to either:

1. get an external amp to power your front stage (if your receiver has preouts)
2. upgrade your sub (the psw505 is a great sub for th emoney, but not nearly as clean, low, or tight as say a $400-500 from HSU or elemental designs)

I think tommy above actually just made the move form a psw505 to the HSU in his sig, so he might be able to chime in.

Good luck!

tommyt21

FATHERFORD wrote: »

Thanks!

I forgot to add I do have a PSW505 sub.

The room I am In right now is small, 18x14, but the wife and I are looking at houses so I can have a large dedicated media/game room.

I thought the 9.1/11.2 sounded a little ridiculous, but bigger is always better..right?

I use to think bigger was better also. I found through alot of (wasted) money and personal experince that getting a quality product and doing as much research as you can is best. As rooftop mentioned I upgraded my PSW505 to a HSU VTF-MK2 and that was one of the best upgrades I have ever done to my system. The HSU is light years better in sound quality and output over the PSW505. In my opinion:eek: It took movies and music to a whole other level!!

Geoff4rfc

Hey FatherFord, welcome to Club Polk!!

I come from the philosophy of bigger, badder, better!!! If you want M40's for heights, go for it. But I'm with these guys on the M30's, for the information fed to the height channels, M30's is more than adequate.

9.1(2), 11.1(2), heck yeah, rock it all. If you get the receiver to dish it out, go for it.

In my 7.1 set up, I employ DSX from my set up and use my M40's as wides, that channel delivers the most information compared to my height and rear channels and opens up my front stage the entire width of my room.

I see that you're using towers as your surrounds, me too. I currently have my wides on stands and plan on moving towers into that position as well. As they say, to each their own. Not everyone likes towers in the surround positions, but I've been enjoying this arrangement since I've implemented it.

I'm also in agreement with the sub recommendation. If you can upgrade your sub, it will change your movie experience in a really positive way. I went ballistic on my choice of sub and only use a fraction of it's potential, but man, let me tell you, having that much power on tap is the only way to go.

Best o luck on your set up, keep us up to date on how you're coming along.

kuntasensei

I used to run Monitor 30s as heights, and they're more than capable. However, they did sound better angled down toward the listening position, and for that, I used some B-Tech mounts that grab them from the sides. Still using the same mounts for the RTi28s that replaced the Monitor 30s (because they matched my other speakers, not because the Monitor 30s didn't sound good).

And as much as I'm a huge fan of the advantages of a 9.1 setup, I have to agree with everyone who has said that your money may be better spent upgrading the subwoofer in your particular system. Many years ago, I jumped from a low-end Polk sub to a SVS 20-39CS+ setup... and it still stands as one of the biggest improvements to the sound of my system. I would take honest-to-God 20Hz home theater LFE over height/width channels any day of the week.

begbie

Upgrade to 9.2/9.1(or more !). You'd be amazed how far audio calibration systems have come along.

My new Onkyo features Audyssey MultiEQ which has breathed new life into my Rti Polks.

You mentioned you're house shopping so decide if you're going front wides or front heights and how it wil be wired for a nice clean look.