SVS Sub and The Rest Polk

sleepyweasle

O.K. here's the deal, I presently own a Bose 15 HT speaker system. (not Lifestyle). and am thinking of upgrading them to something else. I live in a Audio/Video retail DEAD town, so my only source of information on the subject is magazines and the internet. I'm not a newbie but I'm, overwelmed by the anti-bose and the Pro-Polk, Pro -SVS information on this and other forums.

My wife (bless her heart) has become an HT fan since she married me. and experienced somthing other than 27" TV w/basic cable. has allowed me to upgrade "OUR" current loudspeaker setup.
I am Thinking:
Mains: Polk RTi150's
Center: Polk CSi30
Surrounds: Polk FXi30's
Sub: SVS 20-39pc+

How much more (according to the reviews and forums) should I expect from this set up vs. the bose. since I have nothing to compare them to the bose seems O.K. are they that "BAD"?

Any insight on the subject would be great......

System:
Onkyo TX797 100X6 watts
Sony cx450 CD
Sony cx985 DVD
Panasonic cp72 DVD
Sony W60 Sat TV
Sony slv-n88 VHS
Sony kp-57hw40 Wide Screen



P.S. we love it loud!!!!!

pjdami

Hello sleepy and welcome to the forum.

I think one of the issues a lot of people have with Bose is that you can probably do better for the money that you spend. Its not that Bose is a bad company but the price / performance ratio is a bit high.

I like your proposed setup. Since you are getting a SVS sub and will probably crossover the mains with the sub at 80 hz, I would consider getting the RTi70s instead. The 150s are some power hungry monsters.

You can do a search for RTi150 and read about the power requirements and some experiences that people here on the forum had with them.

P.

dave shepard

The 150's will need more then your reciever can put out and if you are going to use a sub the extra woofers in the speakers will not be needed (70's the way to go with a 40 for the center). If you plan to get last years speakers don't wait they are getting harder to find and you'll spend alot more for the new versions.

Good luck
Dave

PolkWannabie

There are some good deals at some retailers and at eBay for the 150's. I think you'll find that although playable w/100 wpc that the 150's will open up a lot more with additional power, but this is something you can deal with and adjust for after the fact. My personal preference for a center is either the CSi40 or CSi5 as the center channel gets utilized more than anything else.

kberg

sleepy, consider my setup.

amulford

Bose are not bad, just alot of them are not worth the money. The set you propse would be nice, but how big is the room?

If you think the bose set fills it, do you realize how much more sound you will be getting out of what you propose?

Also, as others have said, you might want more power to drive the 150's. This could be good if you want to do some time 2 CH.

Just a thought...:cool:

VR3

I say go with the RTi70 and CSi40 and call it a day, heck if you can - go with a FXi50 too.....lol

Mike Reeter

Sleepy,We have a Bose Lifestyles 12 set-up in our main family room,in our basement HT room is where the Polks are at,this is where we watch the bulk of our movies...getting very close to ordering our first SVS sub!!!

I echo the advise of others,the 150's are a GREAT speaker for 2-channel listening,but I would go with the RTi70's if your main interest is in DVD's...the 70's and a CSi40 center are a perfect match,along with some FXi30's or FXi50's...add an SVS to this mix and you should be set...

As said,last years RTi series is getting harder to find every day,but they are still out there,the price seems to be RIGHT also...Good Luck,you won't be disappointed with Polk...

Mike Reeter

kberg,We have a very simular set-up,how large is your listening area as far as cubic ft.? and how does your 20-39+ "fill" that area?

Hope you don't mind me asking,I'm just trying to figure out which SVS to buy...I REALLY like the looks of the cylinder...

Thanks,Mike

Dr. Spec

RTi70
CSi40
FXi50
20-39PC+

done deal

danger boy

i think you'll notice a difference going from your current set up to your proposed set up or the RTi70's.

i'm with the other guys in here..

my set up is very similar to what the other guys are saying would sound best.

RT800i's biwired (equal to RTi70's)
CS400i biwired (equal to CSi40)
FX300i rears (equal to FXi30's)
SVS 20-39 PCi (equal to none!)

Al

PolkThug

Originally posted by sleepyweasle

How much more (according to the reviews and forums) should I expect from this set up vs. the bose.

You are going to hear deeper bass than you ever have before. The "bass module" has a steep roll off at around 45-50hz. There are a lot of movies out there with strong bass in the 25-30hz range that are really going to come to life with the SVS.

Also, your perceptions will change about what a 'muddy' sound is. After you hear music on the Polks you'll know what I'm talking about - the Bose will now sound slightly muddy.

Regards,
PolkThug

kberg

Originally posted by Mike Reeter
kberg,We have a very simular set-up,how large is your listening area as far as cubic ft.? and how does your 20-39+ "fill" that area?

About 2380 ft3. The 20-39 PC+ is PERFECT for the room, IMO. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Turbota

Just my opinion, but I would go with the below speakers for a great sounding 5.1 system:

RTi70 Fronts

RTi38 Surrounds

CSi40 Center

Adire Audio "Rava" Sub
_______________________________________

The "Home Theater and High Fidelity" Adire Audio / Rava review:

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_9_2/adire-audio-rava-subwoofer-6-2002.html





_______________________________________

sleepyweasle

I would like to thank everybody who took the time to answer my questions. It's nice to know that I have a place to go to read about my passion. I have been on this forum for 5 days now reading everything I can find on the subject of HT. I will be taking the advice of many of you about the 150's problem is, 70's are nowere to be found so, just a couple of more questions. How about RTi8's are they this years 70 model? And how do they compare with your recommended 70's. Next and last, what is the cylinder on the SVS made out of? Thank You again for helping me out you guy's are great.

Proposed System ver.2
L/R Mains - Polk RTi8's
Center - Polk CSi40's
Surround - Polk FXi30's
Sub - SVS 20-39PC+

kberg

Originally posted by sleepyweasle
Next and last, what is the cylinder on the SVS made out of? Thank You again for helping me out you guy's are great.

Cardboard, I believe (with an outer layer of foam), but quite thick and very durable. No need to worry about it.

racer4551

Sleepy, yes the rti8's replaced the 70's and would be an excellent choice of fronts for your setup.Very similar to 70's,just new polk look.If you want to compare specs,do a comparison in the floor standing speaker section .I Had the setup you propose with the 70's instead of the 8's and sounded super. I did change out the fxi30's for the fx500i's for a little more balanced sound in my room setup,which you can see in the showcase section.The 500's have a 6.5 inch speaker compared to the 5 inch in the 30.Whats nice about either speaker is that they can be switched between bipole or dipole depending on your listening preferences,i use dipole because it blends better with center rear surrounds.(7.1 setup) and they are wall mounted .The csi40 or the new csi3 or 5 mates great with 70's or 8's.The svs20-39pc+ will blow you away with its performance,cant go wrong there IMO.

Dr. Spec

The original SVS cylinders were made of "sonotube" or its equivalent. The former for making concrete columns.

That was abandoned a few years ago and a high tech laminate turned on a CNC lathe is currently used. Far stronger and more rigid than the sono-tube, it can withstand direct mortar hits without damage.

walk

I listened to both the 70s and 150s, I liked the 150s more. The 70s were brighter, almost too bright, but lacked punch in the low bass. The 150s pump it out, almost don't need a subwoofer. They are large and heavy though, like 80lbs each. Luckily Polk devised a good box that makes getting them out easy

100wpc is plenty for the 150s I think - depends on how large your room is. I have a 100w amp in a medium/large room and they go far, far louder than I could ever stand it (and I listen to rock/r&b/reggae and like my bass good and thumpin

danger boy

walk, that's good to know.. yeah some people just don't like a seperate sub.. and the 150's sound like they have plenty of bass extension for ya. think what would happen if you added an SVS to your 150's? :eek:

walk

Well in my new house the 150s need the subwoofer pretty badly. I used to like to listen to music in 2-ch stereo mode (no sub) but now, the bass sounds pretty thin that way. If I crank the bass 'knob' on the receiver to +12 it helps some - the 150s definitely have lower extension than my puny 8" sub, but I don't like to do that. Been listening to music in Neo6 Music mode lately and I like it.

Maybe with a LOT more wattage the 150's bass comes out better, I don't know. Could be my room swallowing it up too. I have just about the ideal speaker setup for imaging/etc and there's not many other options.

I do plan to add a SVS by summer/fall time