How can i maximize my current system and why?

PTJONES

Hello, I'm new to the Polk community. I have been putting together my surround sound system over the past few years and I would like to try and maximize my current system. Here is what I currently have:

Receiver- Pioneer VSX-821-K
Front speakers- Polk Audio Monitor 70's
Center Channel- Polk Audio CS2
Rear Speakers- Klipsch Icon 5 1/4" 2 way bookshelf
Subwoofer- Polk Audio DSWPRO 440wi 8"

I was looking at completing my set of Polk's with a set of rear Polk Audio Monitor 40's. But with my current setup, how do you think I might be able to maximize my setup to make my movie experience "Mind Blowing" I have been contemplating a new receiver, but would that make a big difference.

Thank You,

Concerned Movie Watcher

Geoff4rfc

Welcome to the forum PTJones!

Nice set up you've got so far. The M40's would be a nice addition, also, if you want to get more out of your system, not sure about your current AVR, but if it has pre-outs, you can add an external amp. Feeding more power to your 70's is exactly what they like.

SDA1C

Put a little amp on the front of that cookie and let it sing.

PTJONES

What kind of amp do you suggest. I am limited to how much I can spend, only because I have to clear and provide reasoning to my better half on why it will benefit the sound....LOL . But luckily I have patients and the ability to always look for the best deal possible. Does the size of my receiver matter. Its only a 5.1 channel and has a total of 100+ watts per channel. Is the amp fairly easy to setup.

PTJONES

SDA1C wrote: »

Put a little amp on the front of that cookie and let it sing.

What kind of amp do you suggest? because Ive thought about it before but didnt know if I needed it because of my receiver

SolidSnake1988

Well if it has pre-outs emotiva amps are really affordable compared to others. An xpa-3 could drive your fronts and your receiver your surrounds. I have a similiar set up like yours I'm debating between parasound and emotiva amps.

PTJONES

SolidSnake1988 wrote: »

Well if it has pre-outs emotiva amps are really affordable compared to others. An xpa-3 could drive your fronts and your receiver your surrounds. I have a similiar set up like yours I'm debating between parasound and emotiva amps.

So I would run my reciever thru the amp or I would only run the front & center channel thru the amp,and then have all my other speakers ran the receiver?

cfrizz

He can't add an amp, it doesn't have preouts.

PTJONES

cfrizz wrote: »

He can't add an amp, it doesn't have preouts.

Would I need to upgrade my receiver in order to have these "preouts", I think I can run an amp into my subwoofer. Would that be an alternate rout for my amp and my front speakers. If you had my speakers, What would you add or replace and explain why? to better maximize my system.

jeremymarcinko

Larger sub Psw505 Maybe. And mixing those horn tweeters with domes doesnt blend at all. I had klipsch b-3's for a while as surrounds it was terrible. I think your on the right track with the monitor 40's or the 50's work great as surrounds as well about the same money and you wont need some wobbly stand.

cfrizz

Welcome to Club Polk PTJones & Jeremy.

I would definately start with upgrading your receiver, get all the bells and whistles that you want it to have and make sure it has preouts so that later down the road you can get a 5 channel amp. All speakers enjoy and improve with more power. I would also look into changing out the surrounds at some point.

I won't say that I'm a firm believer in an all matching speaker set up because I like the way my system sounds just fine and none of my speakers match.

I never knew how good my 22 year old RTA-8Ts could sound until I put an 205wpc Parasound 1500A amplifier on them. A little later I added an Outlaw 200wpc monoblock for my center channel, finally I bit the bullet and got my Sunfire 5 channel amp for all of my speakers. I will keep it til it dies.

I will never have less than 200wpc powering my system, I will never go back to just a receiver powering my speakers.

Take your time, and save your money and make the upgrades a peice at a time, and have fun while you do it!

PTJONES

Thanks Cfrizz,

It sounds like a good game plan. So I see a listing of equipment below your posting. Is that all your setup? If so, do you have a picture of it because I would like to see how you make it all look good in your entertainment setup. Thats one thing that was guiding my choice was placement of extra pieces. Sometimes I just need to see and hear others ideas, to help formulate a nice setup.

Upstatemax

What is your budget?

A top end receiver is a great start... More power, better processing and dac all equals out to a more enjoyable experience.

As others have said, it would also leave you open in the future for a separate amp to push more serious power.

Myself, I like Denon, Marantz and the Pioneer Elite SC series for receivers.

PTJONES

My budget only depends on wifey I have to make sure she is happy so that I can be! Whats the saying "Happy wife! Happy Life"...LOL. I dont think its really price, but just knowing what I need and then working on getting and searching for those pieces. Because if anything I do like to look for great deals. So I need a high end receiver first, before I get the amp. What about using my subwoofer, because I think it has pre-outs for an amp. could I go that route?

Upstatemax

If you're talking about the line level inputs, no they don't work like that.

They are for bypassing the receiver's crossover and using the subs crossover.

ALWALLER

PTJones I don't know how old you are, but take your time, it will work out. You talk about your wife's, she will only comment if you are spending a large amount of money outright. If you show her how you are saving for your next upgrade, when you save enough for the next item and you are not saving at the expense that of thing she thinks you need,then she will not question your purchase at all. Some times it take years for you to create the system of your dreams (10 years).But each step you take will good, and not at the expense of pissing off your wife. She will also over the long run like the changes in sound, if she is listening to your current set-up.
Talk to your wife about what you could safely save for your sytem upgrades, and partner with her for better sound. Good luck

cfrizz

PTJONES wrote: »

Thanks Cfrizz,

It sounds like a good game plan. So I see a listing of equipment below your posting. Is that all your setup? If so, do you have a picture of it because I would like to see how you make it all look good in your entertainment setup. Thats one thing that was guiding my choice was placement of extra pieces. Sometimes I just need to see and hear others ideas, to help formulate a nice setup.

Yes my signature lists my entire system. Here is a thread from 2009 with pictures of it. It's not the prettiest in the world but it works for me. I needed something nice and sturdy to set my 130lb 32" CRT tv on. And back when I first got it the only room I had to spare was vertical LOL!

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?91849-My-System&highlight=system

ThereIsNoEye

PTJONES wrote: »

Would I need to upgrade my receiver in order to have these "preouts", I think I can run an amp into my subwoofer. Would that be an alternate rout for my amp and my front speakers. If you had my speakers, What would you add or replace and explain why? to better maximize my system.

If your wife is a problem, the best value I see right now is the Onkyo Tx-nr717.

Amazon and Newegg have both been selling it a a great value.

I puts out more per channel than your Pioneer and also has pre-outs for adding extra amp down the road.

If you still have an extra few bucks after getting that, the Onkyo 282 2-channel power amplifier looks like a great bargain at $199.99 on Amazon.

You could run the Monitor 70's off of the Onkyo 282 and the center channel/surrounds off of the Onkyo Tx-nr717.

I'm guessing this would be quite a nice upgrade.

Upstatemax

ThereIsNoEye wrote: »

If your wife is a problem, the best value I see right now is the Onkyo Tx-nr717.

Amazon and Newegg have both been selling it a a great value.

I puts out more per channel than your Pioneer and also has pre-outs for adding extra amp down the road.

If you still have an extra few bucks after getting that, the Onkyo 282 2-channel power amplifier looks like a great bargain at $199.99 on Amazon.

You could run the Monitor 70's off of the Onkyo 282 and the center channel/surrounds off of the Onkyo Tx-nr717.

I'm guessing this would be quite a nice upgrade.

For the money he would spend on that, this would work out WAY better:

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/DENAVR4310CI/DENON-AVR-4310CI-7.1-Channel-Home-Theater-Receiver-w/Networking/1.html#!more

PTJONES

ThereIsNoEye wrote: »

If your wife is a problem, the best value I see right now is the Onkyo Tx-nr717.

Amazon and Newegg have both been selling it a a great value.

I puts out more per channel than your Pioneer and also has pre-outs for adding extra amp down the road.

If you still have an extra few bucks after getting that, the Onkyo 282 2-channel power amplifier looks like a great bargain at $199.99 on Amazon.

You could run the Monitor 70's off of the Onkyo 282 and the center channel/surrounds off of the Onkyo Tx-nr717.

I'm guessing this would be quite a nice upgrade.

Wow! I just read your post and it helped make my day...LOL. I definitely will look into that. If I'm looking at a receiver, what exactly do I need to look at for making sure that I'm getting more bang for my buck. I just compare the specs and see which one has the highest, when compared to one another. Is that ok, or is there something that I need specifically, such as watts or ohms, etc..

Upstatemax

PTJONES wrote: »

Wow! I just read your post and it helped make my day...LOL. I definitely will look into that. If I'm looking at a receiver, what exactly do I need to look at for making sure that I'm getting more bang for my buck. I just compare the specs and see which one has the highest, when compared to one another. Is that ok, or is there something that I need specifically, such as watts or ohms, etc..

Don't get caught up in WPC and silly stuff.

The devil is in the details. You want high quality DAC's, beefy power supplies and a sonic signiture that works well with the speakers/equipment you're using.

IMO, Denon, Marantz and the Pionner SC series do a great job with Polk speakers. I ran my M70's off of my Denon for years and it was a fantastic match.

ThereIsNoEye

I'm not an expert but the extra watts aren't going to make a huge difference, just a little one.

It's the features and pre-outs that are important.

When you are able to use a 2-channel amp for the 70's, it's free up more overall wattage for your center and surrounds.

I'm guessing w/ your system you want to be looking for the spec @ 8ohm.

Your Pioneer, after being hooking up to five speakers, might be getting 25-40 watts per channel @ 8ohm.

With the Onkyo 717 receiver and 282 preamp...I'm going to guess you'll be getting around 100 watts per channel @ 8ohm.

I think that should make a pretty big difference right away.

Upstatemax likes the Denon but I don't personally know much about it or the seller.

Both would be options though.

Upstatemax

I've been using Denon for years and I love them.

The 4310 was Bench tested with 5 channels driven @ 113.8WPC at .1% distortion.

All 7 channels driven @ 104.6WPC at .1% distortion.

This suggest a pretty beffy power supply, plus it has great Burr-Brown DAC's. This model was considered a "great value" with it's $2,000 original price tag...

Not too shabby.

sponger

Upstatemax wrote: »

I've been using Denon for years and I love them.

The 4310 was Bench tested with 5 channels driven @ 113.8WPC at .1% distortion.

All 7 channels driven @ 104.6WPC at .1% distortion.

This suggest a pretty beffy power supply, plus it has great Burr-Brown DAC's. This model was considered a "great value" with it's $2,000 original price tag...

Not too shabby.

I have no doubt that those readings are correct. However, I'm confused. According to Denon's website, the 4310CI is 35 pounds. If it produces 100 WPC with 7 channels then that would make it a 700 watts @ 8 ohms receiver. An amplifier that produces 700 watts at 8 ohms is usually at least twice the weight of that reciever, is that not correct? If so, then why is there such a disparity between the weight of that receiver and the weight of the typical amplifier? Are most amplifiers just hugely underrated?

Upstatemax

sponger wrote: »

I have no doubt that those readings are correct. However, I'm confused. According to Denon's website, the 4310CI is 35 pounds. If it produces 100 WPC with 7 channels then that would make it a 700 watts @ 8 ohms receiver. An amplifier that produces 700 watts at 8 ohms is usually at least twice the weight of that reciever, is that not correct? If so, then why is there such a disparity between the weight of that receiver and the weight of the typical amplifier? Are most amplifiers just hugely underrated?

Weight alone does not tell the whole story. Power supplies and amplification are getting more efficient all the time... Just look at Wyred 4 Sound.

http://www.wyred4sound.com/webapps/p/74030/117839/339145

PTJONES

Upstatemax wrote: »

I've been using Denon for years and I love them.

The 4310 was Bench tested with 5 channels driven @ 113.8WPC at .1% distortion.

All 7 channels driven @ 104.6WPC at .1% distortion.

This suggest a pretty beffy power supply, plus it has great Burr-Brown DAC's. This model was considered a "great value" with it's $2,000 original price tag...

Not too shabby.

So how do you get your receiver to maximize and use all the Watts per channel that are listed in the specs. I thought because I had a 5.1 AVR and 110 watts per channel, that I was actually getting that much power to all my speakers.

Willow

Sometimes it is better and easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

thsmith

ALWALLER wrote: »

PTJones I don't know how old you are, but take your time, it will work out. You talk about your wife's, she will only comment if you are spending a large amount of money outright. If you show her how you are saving for your next upgrade, when you save enough for the next item and you are not saving at the expense that of thing she thinks you need,then she will not question your purchase at all. Some times it take years for you to create the system of your dreams (10 years).But each step you take will good, and not at the expense of pissing off your wife. She will also over the long run like the changes in sound, if she is listening to your current set-up.
Talk to your wife about what you could safely save for your sytem upgrades, and partner with her for better sound. Good luck

OP, you need to re-read this advise.

Upstatemax

PTJONES wrote: »

So how do you get your receiver to maximize and use all the Watts per channel that are listed in the specs. I thought because I had a 5.1 AVR and 110 watts per channel, that I was actually getting that much power to all my speakers.

Manufacturers post wattage with at most, 2ch driven on avr's. you can look up and see if anyone has done a bench test on an avr that you might be looking for, that's the only real way to find out what they really can push.

PTJONES

Upstatemax wrote: »

Manufacturers post wattage with at most, 2ch driven on avr's. you can look up and see if anyone has done a bench test on an avr that you might be looking for, that's the only real way to find out what they really can push.

So I found this info on my AVR:
Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 63.2 watts
1% distortion at 78.1 watts

So, what you are saying that I will need a 7.1 channel AVR that comes with the preouts to run an amp, so the amp could run my monitor 70's, while my AVR will then run all my other speakers. What about my Subwoofer? Do I need to run a separate amp to that to get more power to it too.

tonyb

No, your sub has it's own built in amplifier. If you want more power to your sub you can either buy a bigger one, or a passive one and add your own amplifier.