Help on Setting up HTS

mwaddo

Hi,

I am new to the Polk club, and I have a few questions I hope the experienced users here can help with.

I am attempting to build a decent (not high end) HTS system a little bit at a time. So far I have a Sony WEGA TV, a Sony HTS receiver, and Polk RT25/PSW250 speakers. Nothing is really high end, but everything seems (so far) to be of very good quality.

So, going forward, I have 2 questions:

1. Is it worth adding a center channel speaker, then adding the surround speakers later? Any advantages/disadvantages to this?

2. When I decide to add the surrounds, is their any problem with using the RT25's as the surrounds?

What I would like to do is eventually move the RT25's to the back, and add something like RT55's as the fronts. Any problems with sound matching with this scenario?

Thanks in advance for any input.

Mike

Steve@3dai

Personally, I would add the center channel first. The center channel does a LOT in movies, plus, it's all the vocals and that is a major part of the movie.

Putting the RT25s in the rear and RT55s in the front? Sounds like a awesome plan to me! I plan on switching my R10s to surrounds when I get my LSi9

Sounds like you got it down!

- Steve

Aaron

I wouldn't bother getting the center channel until you have the surround speakers. I prefer to watch a movie in stereo rather than surround sound with just the three front speakers. If you really have the itch to buy something now, get the rear speakers. Depending on your receiver you may have a phantom center mode that uses the left and right front speakers to simulate a center speaker. Alternately you may also be able to wire you TV's speakers as a center channel (depends on the TV).

Aaron

TroyD

my concern would be the sub. I would just wonder how much value added a 250 would do to the 55i's

Depends on how much cash you want to inject here. I see Steve and Aaron's points but I'm going to go with Aaron. If you don't have all the channels, I say skip center for now, add rears and listen in stereo or Pro-logic with a phantom setting on the center. My old receiver had a setting for 3ch stereo (fronts and center) and I found it to be extremely annoying.

Taking the sub into consideration, I would consider another pair of RT25i's (or maybe 35i's) and a 245i center. That would sound very sweet, I think.

Troy

mjk91383

welcome to the forum!

joe

juice21

i would add a center first. i say this because you want to eventually move your 25's to the rear, so i see no reason to buy another pair of 25's now as rears and have an extra set later on. buy a 245i, or 400i if you can swing it (this would be my personal recommendation, awesome center!!). then later, when you get some extra cash, get some 55i's and bring your 25's around back. that will be a sweet set-up. you'll ge tthe most bang for your buck out of a center right now (especially since you already own what you want to become your rears) just my .02

hope it helps.

TroyD

on what you want to drop for cash.....

I still think, if you plan on sticking with that sub that using RT 35i's or 25i's as fronts is a swell idea, especially in a modest setup...

I'm just going to go on record and say that I like the RT35i better than the RT55i, for my purposes. The 55i is bigger, louder and goes deeper than the 55i. In my mind though, the 35i has the upper hand in detail and clarity. Just my .02.

Troy