Home Theater setup

atxbuckeye18
atxbuckeye18 Posts: 9
edited May 2014 in Speakers
Hi all, I'm new to the Polk forum, but not to Polk speakers. Currently I have 4 Polk Monitor 40s Series II's, CS1 Series II center, and PSW10 sub which is used almost exclusively for home theater enjoyment.

Couple of questions for all of you more experienced Polk users:

I am moving to a new house and due to layout (13'10"x19'6"x9" with hardwood floors and no rear wall), the rear surrounds have to be ceiling mounted and I do not want the ugly look of hanging bookshelves the size of the monitor 40's. As such, I am considering the TL3's for my rear surrounds - any thoughts on these for rears only and how would they mesh with the monitor 40s and CS1?

Next I'm going to upgrade my sub to a BIC PL-200 and possibly upgrade my fronts and center as well. Any suggestions between better bookshelves/tower speakers and a center that would timbre match with the TL3's? Going with an entire Blackstone setup is not appealing to me since I would be giving up sound from bookshelves.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

Dan
Post edited by atxbuckeye18 on
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Comments

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,734
    edited May 2014
    The rears are basically filler and therefore do not have to be timbre matched to the front three.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • atxbuckeye18
    atxbuckeye18 Posts: 9
    edited May 2014
    Dolby Processing includes full signal to the rears, so while yes I agree it is mostly filler I would tend to disagree that timbre matching doesn't matter, but that's why I'm here - to learn. If anyone has any additional suggestions I'd love to hear what people think and why for front/center upgrades.
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  • Upstatemax
    Upstatemax Posts: 2,685
    edited May 2014
    Can you easily do built in ceiling speakers?
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  • atxbuckeye18
    atxbuckeye18 Posts: 9
    edited May 2014
    Upstatemax - My house is still being built so I could do that. For home theater are you able to direct the sound as well from an in ceiling speaker vs a ceiling mounted speaker?

    BTW how do you like your Def Tech's? I've considered those as well.
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  • Upstatemax
    Upstatemax Posts: 2,685
    edited May 2014
    atxbuckeye18 wrote: »
    Upstatemax - My house is still being built so I could do that. For home theater are you able to direct the sound as well from an in ceiling speaker vs a ceiling mounted speaker?

    BTW how do you like your Def Tech's? I've considered those as well.

    Most of the in ceiling speakers I've seen have aimable tweeters.

    I really, really like my Def Techs.

    With a good sub (or two) they really do an awesome job for the small footprint.
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  • atxbuckeye18
    atxbuckeye18 Posts: 9
    edited May 2014
    I've been considering the Polk RTiA3/CSI A4 or A6 and the Def Tech Promonitor 800 or 1000/Procenter 2000 for my fronts.

    My local CL has the Def Tech 800s for $200/pr or Mythos Gems (x2) + Mythos 7 center speaker for $400.

    What do you think about any of those combos?
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  • Upstatemax
    Upstatemax Posts: 2,685
    edited May 2014
    If you can do the ProMonitor 1000's and ProCenter 2000 I can find little fault with them.

    I would have gone with them if I had just a LITTLE more room to place them...

    The Rti A3 and A4 combo can also be a great combo for HT. If music will be played at all, I would prefer the Def Techs over the Rti series.
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  • atxbuckeye18
    atxbuckeye18 Posts: 9
    edited May 2014
    Thanks for the advice. Fortunately I have the room and could even go with towers but I think it would be overkill and a waste of money for strictly movie watching 1 or 2 nights a week - especially when a lot are disney/pixar movies with the kids. We do listen to music occasionally so I'll keep my eyes open for deals on either line.

    Thanks again!
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  • atxbuckeye18
    atxbuckeye18 Posts: 9
    edited May 2014
    I've narrowed it down to four configurations listed below:

    Polk Config 1

    FL Center FR Sub
    Polk RTi A3 Polk CSi A6 Polk RTi A3 BIC PL-200
    Polk CSi A4

    BL BR
    Polk RTi A1 Polk RTi A1




    Polk Config 2

    FL Center FR Sub
    Polk RTi A3 Polk CSi A6 Polk RTi A3 BIC PL-200
    Polk CSi A4

    BL BR
    Polk TL3 Polk TL3



    Def Tech Config 1

    FL Center FR Sub
    Def Tech PM 1000 Def Tech PC 2000 Def Tech PM 1000 BIC PL-200


    BL BR
    Def Tech PM 1000 Def Tech PM 1000




    Config 2

    FL Center FR Sub
    Def Tech PM 1000 Def Tech PC 2000 Def Tech PM 1000 BIC PL-200


    BL BR
    Def Tech PM 800 Def Tech PM 800


    Very interested in opinions on these.

    Thanks everyone
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  • atxbuckeye18
    atxbuckeye18 Posts: 9
    edited May 2014
    Sorry I know this looks a little muddy I didn't realize it doesn't hold my formatting. Some of these setups are very similar so in those cases I just want to know if the price difference is worth the upgrade in speaker (I.E. promonitor 1000 vs 800).

    Thanks again
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  • Upstatemax
    Upstatemax Posts: 2,685
    edited May 2014
    Because of my experience with them, I like the Def Tech Config 2.

    I don't think you'll need the 1000's for rears. I would save the $$ and put it toward something else in the system.

    Or you can always order both the 800's and 1000's for rears and send back the ones you decide against. Better than second guessing yourself.

    In the Polk (or even Def Tech) configs, why no FXi option for surrounds? They are killer surround speakers...
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  • atxbuckeye18
    atxbuckeye18 Posts: 9
    edited May 2014
    i would love the FXi's but with being forced to ceiling mount i think they're just a little too big and heavy. Essentially end up with the same issue I have with my monitor 40s.

    Can I ask why you would choose the Def Tech's over the Polk RTi A's? i have been doing a lot of searching, but haven't been able to find any real direct comparisons between the two.

    Thanks again for all of the advice
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  • Upstatemax
    Upstatemax Posts: 2,685
    edited May 2014
    Forgot about the whole ceiling mount thing...

    I prefer the Def Techs as a more balanced speaker. I think they offer a sound that suites both HT and music. The RTi A line is a great HT speaker system, but I think you need to be FAR more careful of the other equipment you put in your system to make sure they don't end up too bright.

    I had the RTi A7's and CSi A4 in an old set up. It was a kick a$$ HT when I tweaked it to my liking. But that system led me down the road to a dedicated 2ch system for music.

    There are HUGE amounts of options out there for you...

    The Focal Chorus line is another one that jumps to mind. Paradigm, Totem, PSB...
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  • atxbuckeye18
    atxbuckeye18 Posts: 9
    edited May 2014
    That's great feedback thank you!

    Just don't give me anymore options or I'll never make a decision haha. I've landed on the Polk/Def Tech options since they have true rear satellites that are able to be ceiling mounted, however I have demo'd the Paradigm Atom/Mini Monitors and love their sound as well. Just think that the Atom is a touch too big for ceiling mount ability.

    I've found some good deals on the Def Tech's online so I think I'll grab the 800s and introduce those to my Polk system then work my way through getting the rest of the system.

    Thanks again for all the advice
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