Home Theater Setup - Recommendations

Hi All,
I am graduating from "Home Theater in a box" and bought Polk Monitor 70 Series II (2 front speakers) and Polk PSW Series PSW505. I am also getting Onkyo TX-NR828 to power this setup.

All this would be arriving before the weekend and I am planning to set this up during the weekend. This set up for my 15'x20'x9' family room. I will be doing 2.1 setup only and would add more speakers(center and surround) only if needed.

I need suggestions regarding the setup -
- Cables: I am getting mediabridge Ultra sub-woofer cable for the sub and planning to use 16 gauge speaker wires for the front speakers. I have read some where that RCA cables should be used instead. Not sure if this is correct.
- Wiring: should I connect speakers through the sub or directly connect it to AVR.
- Setup: should I go for manual set up or use the setup wizard ?
- Any other frequency settings for Sub/ Front speakers I need to be aware of?

Thanks in advance.
JT

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Comments

  • Posts: 5,021
    Dont wire through the sub and use at least 14 ga wire. 12 ga preferably. You are going to have to play around with the settings to determine what sounds best in your room. Propper placement of the sub is going to be critical in a 2.1 setup.
  • Posts: 10,086
    If you don't have a db meter then use the auto setup with the mic.

    Set front speakers to small and crossover at 80hz, set the physical dial on the sub for crossover to the highest it goes.
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
  • Thanks "Nightfall" & "deronb1" - appreciate your recommendations. Can't wait to get started on the set up this weekend.
  • Posts: 320
    You can use regular RCA cables to connect the receiver to sub woofer.
    Since you have a proper receiver, you should be using the speakers ports on the receiver and not from the sub woofer.
    Control the frequency for sub woofer from the receiver and not from the the subwoofer.

    Depends on the length of speaker wire you plan to use. For lengthier runs, go with 12 AWG or lower number. For shorter lengths go with 14 AWG. But here, bigger the better. 12 AWG for shorter run wont harm anything but your pocket.

    Sony BDP-S6500 | Raspberry Pi 2 | XBOX One S | Wii --> Yamaha RX-V667 --> Adcom 5006 bridged to 175 watts for front LCR -- >Front: Polk Audio RTi8s | Center: CSi5 | Side Surrounds: RTi4s | Rear surrounds: FXiA4s | Cheap 12" sub woofer|Samsung UN60KU6300
  • jkalsi wrote: »
    - Wiring: should I connect speakers through the sub or directly connect it to AVR.

    Only time you should ever use high level inputs, meaning speakers wires go to the subs then to the speakers, is if you don't have a low level sub output on your receiver.

    jkalsi wrote: »
    I will be doing 2.1 setup only and would add more speakers(center and surround) only if needed.

    Needed is relative I guess. :) Since this is for home theater, well, you need them by my definition. Maybe you don't "need" four 18's or Atmos in the ceiling or front heights or even 7.1 rear surrounds, but you do at least need a center and 5.1 side surrounds.
  • Yeah, I will eventually get to 5.1 setup. Playing by the budget currently:)
  • Posts: 5,655
    Only time you should ever use high level inputs, meaning speakers wires go to the subs then to the speakers, is if you don't have a low level sub output on your receiver.

    There are some pretty big names in the industry who would disagree with you there.
    In the case of a 2 channel system, it is argued that using the high level inputs is a better gain match than using LFE or RCAs.
    The other argument is that in the case of a 2 channel system without active subwoofer eq on the pre-amp, the sub's crossover is used to cut off the very low end to the speakers which then eases the load on your amplifier.

    REL, arguably one of the better sub manufacturers out there, even specifically states that it is preferable to use the high level inputs on their subs when used in a 2 channel, music only system.

    I am not trying to start a debate, just pointing out that home subwoofers have different "rules" than car audio subs/amplification where you only want to use high level inputs if you have no other option.

    "Some people find it easier to be conceited rather than correct."

    "Unwad those panties and have a good time man. We're all here to help each other, no matter how it might appear." DSkip
  • Posts: 128
    edited February 2015
    ZLTFUL wrote: »
    REL, arguably one of the better sub manufacturers out there, even specifically states that it is preferable to use the high level inputs on their subs when used in a 2 channel, music only system.

    I am not trying to start a debate, just pointing out that home subwoofers have different "rules" than car audio subs/amplification where you only want to use high level inputs if you have no other option.

    We're not talking about expensive 2 channel audiophile setups though.

    Why would anybody think it is a good idea to purposely reroute the LFE channel to your mains on a home theater, especially a budget one? This is literally what you would have to do to get this to work. You'd be making the receiver strain itself by sending sub-bass to the mains that they can't handle in the first place, just so the sub can be fed the same tone as the mains, which is the benefit according to REL, except in a home theater setting with LFE we are talking about frequencies and sounds in general that the mains should never be attempting to reproduce in the first place. Plus if you ever upgrade and get an Audessey flavor that has SubEQ, all those benefits fly out the window and are wasted. Doing this makes absolutely no sense.

    Perhaps top end REL stuff has a high pass output that would help with some of this, but anything cheaper than their Gibraltar doesn't even have a high level output, so I kind of doubt that's the case across the board.

    Anyway, I don't know what the rules are in the expensive audiophile world where a single 12 is $4,500 but for home theater, especially budget ones, please don't do this.
  • Posts: 5,655
    I clearly quantified my statement by SPECIFICALLY REFERRING TO 2 CHANNEL. You made a blanket statement. Your blanket statement does not apply to every scenario. Making blanket statements is poor form. Period.
    It isn't my fault that your reading comprehension is suspect.
    "Some people find it easier to be conceited rather than correct."

    "Unwad those panties and have a good time man. We're all here to help each other, no matter how it might appear." DSkip
  • Posts: 5,655
    ZLTFUL wrote: »
    There are some pretty big names in the industry who would disagree with you there.
    In the case of a 2 channel system, it is argued that using the high level inputs is a better gain match than using LFE or RCAs.

    I will help you with your reading comprehension by including the part of my quote that you did not include. I will also highlight the part where *I* specifically did *not* make a blanket statement.

    And your blanket statement...in case you have forgotten that you made it.
    Only time you should ever use high level inputs, meaning speakers wires go to the subs then to the speakers, is if you don't have a low level sub output on your receiver.

    As an aside, you do know that not all receivers contain an LFE output, correct? Even if they do have a "Sub" output. In fact, Audessey didn't add sub eq functionality until XT32. Just because it is passing the sub frequencies doesn't mean it is doing anything to EQ them in a lot of cases.

    "Some people find it easier to be conceited rather than correct."

    "Unwad those panties and have a good time man. We're all here to help each other, no matter how it might appear." DSkip
  • Posts: 5,655
    Perhaps top end REL stuff has a high pass output that would help with some of this, but anything cheaper than their Gibraltar doesn't even have a high level output, so I kind of doubt that's the case across the board.

    And why would you speculate that their top end subs have this added feature while the lower end stuff does not? Do you really think they would add "lesser" functionality to a higher end product?

    You can't seem to admit that the functionality has merit. You just prefer blanket statements (it isn't the first time since you join this forum...makes me wonder if you IP doesn't match some of the other suspect characters who have come and gone to feed misinformation).

    "Some people find it easier to be conceited rather than correct."

    "Unwad those panties and have a good time man. We're all here to help each other, no matter how it might appear." DSkip
  • Posts: 128
    edited February 2015
    ZLTFUL wrote: »
    And why would you speculate that their top end subs have this added feature while the lower end stuff does not? Do you really think they would add "lesser" functionality to a higher end product?

    Because I looked on the amp on their various offerings. The Gibraltar has high level inputs as well as high level outputs. Their lesser offerings do not. Maybe the Gibraltar has a high pass crossover which prevents sub-bass from going to the mains, I don't know. However, how would you have such a thing if you don't even have a high level output?

    Even if they did have a high pass high level output that prevents sub-bass from going to your mains, please point out where the high level output is on the plate amp below. I can't seem to find it.

    S5_Rear_silo.jpg


  • Posts: 128
    edited February 2015
    ZLTFUL wrote: »
    You can't seem to admit that the functionality has merit. You just prefer blanket statements (it isn't the first time since you join this forum...makes me wonder if you IP doesn't match some of the other suspect characters who have come and gone to feed misinformation).

    Misinformation? I'm not the one confusing the poor OP with talk of expensive audiophile magic when given anywhere near his setup and goals there's no good reason to purposely bypass the RCA's and use high level inputs. It would do more harm than good and I listed exactly why that is. It seems that some would rather do linguistic acrobats rather than actually help somebody.
  • Posts: 5,655
    edited February 2015
    You're the one trying to twist things. I specifically referred to 2 channel setups.
    You can go back and try and find where I said anything about home theater in this thread. I'll wait.

    And what exactly would you constitute as "expensive audiophile magic"?
    It isn't rocket science. And if it is such a horrible thing, why do a LOT of manufacturers include high level pass-throughs on their subs? Wouldn't it be cheaper not to add a whole other level of complexity to an amp? They put it on there because it works in certain instances as I pointed out above.

    I reiterate that you are the one throwing out blanket statements instead of actually educating the OP on ALL of the possible options he may have. And frankly, none of us can know what sounds better with his gear in his room. It is up to the OP to take the options given to him and experiment to see which works best *for him*.

    But you keep on with your blanket statements.
    "Some people find it easier to be conceited rather than correct."

    "Unwad those panties and have a good time man. We're all here to help each other, no matter how it might appear." DSkip
  • Posts: 2,289
    Wow! That escalated nicely! Seems to be happening around here more and more, lately...

    ZLTFUL wrote: »
    You can go back and try and find where I said anything about home theater in this thread.

    Hmmm...can't prove you wrong there, but considering the title of the thread is "Home Theater Setup - Recommendations" well, maybe you should have. ;)

    Welcome to Club Polk, jkalsi! Those speakers are leaps and bounds above any theater in a box speakers that I've had the displeasure (see what I did there?) of listening to. You also have a very capable AVR to drive them with. I think you'll be fine with using 16 gauge cable - however, I'd recommend 12 or 14 - for the fronts since the runs will be relatively short. Run them directly from the AVR output terminals to the speakers' binding posts. You should also be able to get very good results using your sub cable connected from your AVR's subwoofer preout directly to your LFE input on the sub. Then, run your AVR's Audyssey room calibration program once you have your speakers in position. Last, adjust your setup calibration pass to 80 Hz for the fronts and sit back and enjoy. Once you get some time spent with it, you may want to fine tune the crossover settings of the AVR and the positioning of your speakers to see what fits your listening tastes best. Rerun the Audyssey program if you do reposition the speakers or if you add a center and/or surrounds, which I HIGHLY recommend doing.

    Let us know how it works out for you. It's always exciting to get new gear and to get it fired up! Good Luck!

  • Thank you all for your insights and
  • Posted too soon !

    Thank you again to all the folk who have contributed here. I have received all the shipments and the only thing remaining now is to unpack and setup!

    I will doing this over the weekend and would post my setup notes and some pictures soon.

    Peace!
    JT
  • teekay0007 wrote: »
    Hmmm...can't prove you wrong there, but considering the title of the thread is "Home Theater Setup - Recommendations" well, maybe you should have. ;)

    This. :/

  • ZLTFUL wrote: »
    frankly, none of us can know what sounds better with his gear in his room. It is up to the OP to take the options given to him and experiment to see which works best *for him*.

    A legit experiment would be messing with the toe-in, or whether 60 vs. 80 hz works better for rear surrounds, or whether you enjoy a flat response or with the sub 6 db hot. Yeah there's plenty of things I'd totally agree with that assessment on.

    Trying to reroute your LFE channel through the amp of your $600 receiver so your 6.5" woofers can play sub-bass, for no other reason than so your sub can pick up this material for home theater, isn't really something you should have to ponder too hard as to whether it is superior than doing it the right way.

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