Matching new with older

mcmxli

What speakers, if any, in the Polk arsenal match the following setup? LS50 floor, CS250-S Center, and S4 bookshelf. I've been quite happy with their performance for the last 12 years, but am interested in upgrading technology to at least 5.1.
Any advice would be appreciated.

dragon1952

Looks like you have the '5' already....all you need is the '.1',
which would be a sub, to make it 5.1. You can use any sub you like because the sub won't need to match timbre with the other speakers. What you have already doesn't necessarily need to be changed.
I hope I'm understanding the question

What HT receiver are you using currently?

mcmxli

Thanks for the quick reply!! Yep, you fully understood what I typed, but I was unclear in what I wanted to ask. Let's try this:
In a previous HT room setup I had the S4's mounted on the wall. They are quite large (15.5Hx9.5Wx7.25D). I would like to replace them with smaller wall units from the Polk lineup.
As for the receiver it is an Onkyo TX-SV909Pro. All digital Pro-Logic.
According to Dolby and Onkyo there's no way to move to 5.1. The receiver is loaded with S-video, optical/digital switch, 7 discrete channels, blah, blah. But apparently, it's the Pro-Logic that's the obstacle.

AsSiMiLaTeD

Originally posted by mcmxli
Thanks for the quick reply!! Yep, you fully understood what I typed, but I was unclear in what I wanted to ask. Let's try this:
In a previous HT room setup I had the S4's mounted on the wall. They are quite large (15.5Hx9.5Wx7.25D). I would like to replace them with smaller wall units from the Polk lineup.
As for the receiver it is an Onkyo TX-SV909Pro. All digital Pro-Logic.
According to Dolby and Onkyo there's no way to move to 5.1. The receiver is loaded with S-video, optical/digital switch, 7 discrete channels, blah, blah. But apparently, it's the Pro-Logic that's the obstacle.

First, I'll be mroe than happy to take those s4 speakers off your hands if the price is right...

Second, does that receiver have 5.1 inputs???

mcmxli

Thanks for the offer to buy the S4's, but for now I'm in the fact gathering stage. I'll keep you in mind.
As for the 5.1 output on the receiver, unfortunately no. If it had, I'd be almost home by now!!

AsSiMiLaTeD

Originally posted by mcmxli
Thanks for the offer to buy the S4's, but for now I'm in the fact gathering stage. I'll keep you in mind.
As for the 5.1 output on the receiver, unfortunately no. If it had, I'd be almost home by now!!

You said it has optical and coax digital inputs? or no??

If it does, you can always do the decoding in the DVD player...

Okay, so if you're looking at a new receiver, the 701 or 801 would be nice, if you're wanting to stay with Onkyo...

You should check out Denon and marantz as well, as either should be a good match with those LS90s. I definitely wouldn't get rid of those, as they're better than alot of the stuff that is out now...

I'm not eve sure what your original questions was...

AsSiMiLaTeD

Originally posted by mcmxli
Thanks for the quick reply!! Yep, you fully understood what I typed, but I was unclear in what I wanted to ask. Let's try this:
In a previous HT room setup I had the S4's mounted on the wall. They are quite large (15.5Hx9.5Wx7.25D). I would like to replace them with smaller wall units from the Polk lineup.
As for the receiver it is an Onkyo TX-SV909Pro. All digital Pro-Logic.
According to Dolby and Onkyo there's no way to move to 5.1. The receiver is loaded with S-video, optical/digital switch, 7 discrete channels, blah, blah. But apparently, it's the Pro-Logic that's the obstacle.

OK, I gotcha...as for the rear speakers, maybe one of the other guys in here can help more...I'm still running a small pair of M1s with my RTi150s, and they sound great...I think the rears are the ones that matter the least of all...which voice matching is always good, it's less important with these are their job isn't really pinpoint directional sound, so the drivers and tweets don't matter as much...within reason of course...

For the receiver, I put some info in my last post, 701 or 801 if you're looking to stay with Onkyo, but you should also look at other brands like Denon, Marantz, harman/Kardon, Yamaha...

I personally like the Marantz for those speakers...those have the trilam tweeters and the Marantz are historically warm sounding, so it provides a good balance...only my opinion though...check out the 6300 or 6400 (6300 with component switching). If you go Marantz, it's best to get it at their online outlet store, I think it's www.accessories4less.com but you can google it...

I love the sound of Denon, just can't deal with the aesthetics, but that may not be a problem for you. The H/K receivers are nice, but I've heard of quite a few QC problems as of late...

These are all just my opinions based on my experience, you may not agree...

mcmxli

Polkmaniac,
The original question dealt with replacing my S4's with a smaller wall mount set of Polk surrounds that would match timbre of the S4's and the other speakers (LS50 floors, and CS250-S center). All the speakers currently match.
Regarding the receiver, here's what the manual says about digital/optical input/output.
"Optical Input: Connecting the OUTPUT terminal of the Video Disc Player with the optical digital output (sound) and the VIDEO-4 OPTICAL IN terminal of the main unit with an optical fiber cable enables higher class sound reproduction...."
Does this mean I can possibly keep the receiver and tie a 5.1 DVD player to it via optical and achieve true 5.1? If so, what's your favorite beverage?
mcmxli

AsSiMiLaTeD

Originally posted by mcmxli
Polkmaniac,
The original question dealt with replacing my S4's with a smaller wall mount set of Polk surrounds that would match timbre of the S4's and the other speakers (LS50 floors, and CS250-S center). All the speakers currently match.
Regarding the receiver, here's what the manual says about digital/optical input/output.
"Optical Input: Connecting the OUTPUT terminal of the Video Disc Player with the optical digital output (sound) and the VIDEO-4 OPTICAL IN terminal of the main unit with an optical fiber cable enables higher class sound reproduction...."
Does this mean I can possibly keep the receiver and tie a 5.1 DVD player to it via optical and achieve true 5.1? If so, what's your favorite beverage?
mcmxli

On the receiver question, I doubt it...My older H/K also has a digital input, but to be used only by video disc (laserdisc) players...when I hooked the DVD player into this jack, it didn't work out...

mcmxli

Originally posted by Polkmaniac
On the receiver question, I doubt it...My older H/K also has a digital input, but to be used only by video disc (laserdisc) players...when I hooked the DVD player into this jack, it didn't work out...

Many thanks anyway. The Onkyo was their top of the line. I do use the optical input for the laserdisc. Technological advancement is great, but backward compatability deadends really sucks. I'll check out the Onkyo 701/801 models.