fronts, center and sub advice... polk ebay store

jumby181
jumby181 Posts: 8
edited August 2012 in Speakers
lightning strike hit the house and thinking the claim on it is going to allow me an upgrade, strictly budget. current
setup is r30 fronts, r15 rears and a dayton sub-120. honestly i have been pretty pleased with it. but...

looking at the polk store on ebay a set of monitor 50's can be had for $160 which i think is a steal and i hope would bea noticeable upgrade to the r30's. opinions?

which center to match? the cs1 or cs2? the cs1 can be had for $62, another steal, the cs2 for $125. is there a $60
difference between the two that would make the cs2 worth it??

been pretty happy with the dayton sub, but again, a psw505 for $249 sounds like a steal based on price point.
opinions on if the difference would be significant over the dayton? 90% of the use is home theatre, some music, but i'm not that hyper critical on the music side of it.

not sure if i could swing it but a pair of monitor 30's for the rears at $99 might be possible...

still deciding on avr to drive it. the reliability oif the new onkyos sounds pretty scary. so leaning to denon. maybe a 1712 or 1713. not sure
Post edited by jumby181 on

Comments

  • sponger
    sponger Posts: 325
    edited July 2012
    I started out with R series and later upgraded to the monitor series -- first to a monitor 50 /CS1 combo and later to a 70 / CS2 combo. There is definitely a huge difference in sound quality between the R and the monitors. Really IMO the only difference between the different monitor packages is room-filling sound as well as bass. There is no comparison between the 70s and the 50s playing at full range. With the 70s, sub is optional, IMO. Most people would disagree. But definitely without a doubt you will need a sub to help the 50s, and the 50s with a sub do in fact sound quite nice.

    Personally, I think the monitor series when set up properly leaves little to be desired unless you are some kind of an audiophile, which I am not. I didn't notice much of a difference between the CS1 and CS2.

    I would recommend putting as much money as possible toward the receiver. The entry-level Denons are not bad. I had the 1612 as noted in my sig, which I haven't updated. The 1612 does not read WAV files from a thumb drive. So, I recently picked up a 3312CI for that reason among others. Not sure about the 1712, but I think all AVR XX13 series will read lossless files from a thumb drive. If you're using an ipod with an ipod dock, then I think it doesn't matter anyway. The 3312CI sounds a lot better too. Not sure if it's the extra power, better components..etc. Just sounds better. The front mains also imaged better after bi-wiring with the 3312CI. Or that could be my imagination.

    If I was going to spend the kind of money you are about to spend on a Denon 1712 or 1713, I would probably spend it on a Yamaha. The 1612 was great, but I was not wowed by it. And in the absence of being wowed, my approach would be to play it safe with a good old Yammy.
    Denon X7200WA
    LSiM 705 703 704c
    Denon DP 400
    Yamaha CDC 775
  • jumby181
    jumby181 Posts: 8
    edited July 2012
    leaning to a 1712 at the moment, which with the MultEQ XT, number of inputs etc is great bang for the buck from the denon refurb site. seeing too many problems with the latest onkyo offerings to consider one of those. haven't even begun to look into the yamahas yet to see if i can find something comparable in features and price points.

    thanks for the input on the speakers, i really appreciate it!
  • sponger
    sponger Posts: 325
    edited July 2012
    Which denon refurb site are you buying from? Dakmart? a4l? Also, you could always skip the Monitor surrounds and keep the R15s, putting the savings toward the receiver. When I upgraded the surrounds from R to Monitor, I noticed that the crowd cheering in concert vids was much sharper, but that was about it. The surround sound in my HT gets used mostly for concert vids. Rarely watch movies. If you feel it's imperative that surround effects are optimal, then drop the R15s if they weren't already fried by the lightning strike.

    You're welcome for the $.02 on those speakers. Really it's a subjective opinion and should be taken for granted. But I have been using polk monitors for several years and they have not let me down. Infinity Primus speakers are in a similar price bracket, and so people often make comparisons between the two. I had the Primus 362 in my HT for a while and found the monitor 50s to be much more balanced and detailed. IMO, the primus are a showroom speaker designed to have exaggerated highs and lows that will make it stand out from the other speakers in its price class. The monitors are a great combination of smooth, yet-detailed highs with a punchy midbass that blends in great with a sub. They're a hugely noticeable upgrade from the Rs and can be played loud for extended periods of time without causing fatigue.
    Denon X7200WA
    LSiM 705 703 704c
    Denon DP 400
    Yamaha CDC 775
  • goofyGAguy
    goofyGAguy Posts: 545
    edited August 2012
    jumby181 wrote: »

    been pretty happy with the dayton sub, but again, a psw505 for $249 sounds like a steal based on price point.

    Just an FYI. NewEgg has the 505 on sale for $200 shipped pretty much every other week.
    My humble setup...

    ...is no more. :cry:
  • CzechM8
    CzechM8 Posts: 16
    edited August 2012
    jumby181 wrote: »
    lightning strike hit the house and thinking the claim on it is going to allow me an upgrade, strictly budget. current
    setup is r30 fronts, r15 rears and a dayton sub-120. honestly i have been pretty pleased with it. but...

    looking at the polk store on ebay a set of monitor 50's can be had for $160 which i think is a steal and i hope would bea noticeable upgrade to the r30's. opinions?

    which center to match? the cs1 or cs2? the cs1 can be had for $62, another steal, the cs2 for $125. is there a $60
    difference between the two that would make the cs2 worth it??

    been pretty happy with the dayton sub, but again, a psw505 for $249 sounds like a steal based on price point.
    opinions on if the difference would be significant over the dayton? 90% of the use is home theatre, some music, but i'm not that hyper critical on the music side of it.

    not sure if i could swing it but a pair of monitor 30's for the rears at $99 might be possible...

    still deciding on avr to drive it. the reliability oif the new onkyos sounds pretty scary. so leaning to denon. maybe a 1712 or 1713. not sure

    I have the monitor 60's as my fronts and the CS10 center (which is really just a cs1). BUT, I have the DSWPro 500 for my sub. It's probably more sub than those fronts and center are matched to, but I tend to prefer that home theater bass that you FEEL... With all those I'm running OWM3's as my rears and a couple of RM8's for my presence speakers...

    Personally, I absolutely LOVE my system. I was originally running Tsi100's (monitor 30's) as my fronts, but got the 60's on sale around Christmas at Newegg for $100 per and it was a GREAT decision. They were a definite upgrade for the fronts. I really would like to throw those Tsi100's as my rears, but haven't found a good option for hanging 10 pound speakers yet that doesn't make me uncomfortable. lol.

    All in all, I am VERY happy with my lineup and the one you are proposing is pretty similar. While I'm not an audiophile, I am very picky about my home theater sound and this system has been great... especially given the relatively low cost.
  • jumby181
    jumby181 Posts: 8
    edited August 2012
    thanks again. pretty much have decided to go with the 50's and cs1. leave the r15's for now.

    still leaning towards the 1712 or maybe a 2112ci. the onkyos reliability issues on the NRx15's has me looking at the
    denons. the 1712 i found at the denon website as a refurb, the 2112ci at accessoriesforless which is a denon dealer
    so same warranty.

    waffling on the sub. have decided to put more into that then i was originally considering. after cruising the avs forums for a week or so and reading a lot i think waiting a bit to see if the klipsch rw-12d goes on sale for $300 again or
    maybe the bic pl-200 if it doesn't. they seem to be a consensus pick for under $300 and the klipsch a major steal if it can be had for that price on sale.
  • sponger
    sponger Posts: 325
    edited August 2012
    I know the saying goes that lightning doesn't strike the same place twice, but have you considered something beefy to protect your equipment from possible future electrical attacks?
    Denon X7200WA
    LSiM 705 703 704c
    Denon DP 400
    Yamaha CDC 775
  • goofyGAguy
    goofyGAguy Posts: 545
    edited August 2012
    goofyGAguy wrote: »
    Just an FYI. NewEgg has the 505 on sale for $200 shipped pretty much every other week.

    And voila! Just like clockwork.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290130&nm_mc=EMC-EXPRESS080412&cm_mmc=EMC-EXPRESS080412-_-EMC-080412-Index-_-HomeAudioSpeakers-_-82290130-L01A
    My humble setup...

    ...is no more. :cry:
  • jumby181
    jumby181 Posts: 8
    edited August 2012
    i know, got an alert email this morning from slick deals and fat wallet for the sub deal at newegg. too funny. it is today only though and i am going to sit tight for a bit and keep an eye out on a deal for a rw-12d. they aren't listed on the klipsch site as a current product that i could find so i am hoping the sales continue as stocks of them are sold out.

    i live out in the woods and am on dsl, 99% certain this came in through the phone line then traveled through the
    network. the phone line runs through my yard right next to the tree that was hit. every breaker in the panel popped and so far nothing in the house is fried except what was on phone line or the network. except the well pump but that wire runs by that tree as well. so not sure what i could have had to protect from this one. i have good quality surge protectors on everything already.
  • sponger
    sponger Posts: 325
    edited August 2012
    Is your phone line plugged into a surge protector?
    Denon X7200WA
    LSiM 705 703 704c
    Denon DP 400
    Yamaha CDC 775
  • jumby181
    jumby181 Posts: 8
    edited August 2012
    so i ended up with a denon avr-1912 from a4l. loving it. picked up a set of monitor 50's from a guy on craigslist. pristine condition and only $100. cs1 from newegg for $69. can not believe the difference. not sure if it is the avr or the speakers or both. but i am very
    pleased. going to leave the r15 surrounds for now and may pick up a set of monitor 30's.