New RTI10s and Denon 3805 questions

MIML

I just finished installing my new Polk RTI10s and Denon AVR3805.

I have 3 questions:
1) What should the speaker settings be on the Denon?
I have now:
Large main (crossed at 40hz)
Large surround
Large center

2) Also - is the Denon DMS-305 microphone "special" to the process of auto room EQ? I used a spare mic I had and it "read" the distance and set the output within 1/2 DB of my SPL meter - but I have not yet tried the auto room EQ

3) I need to upgrade the sub - any suggestions? It needs to be less than 18" tall to fit under a coffee table (WAF)

Thanks


Equipment:
Main Polk RTI10
Center Polk CS400I
Surround Polk RTI35
Denon AVR 3805
Sony Grand Wega LCD (50")
Sony Prog scan DVD
Sub RS Optimus (12" powered)

Grimster74

I'll give this a shot. I have nearly the same setup.

1) I would set all speakers to small and crossed over at 80 hz.

2) I've read on another forum just can't think of which one that you can use a universal mic as long as the stats of the mic are roughly the same. As soon as I find where I read this info I'll attach the link.

3) As far as the sub goes, I would suggest a SVS but seems all the SVS's are just over 20" high. If you can't talk the wife into a SVS my next suggestion would be the HSU or a DIY sub. Not exactly sure of the size on the HSU's so you may wanna check they're website. One other thing to keep into consideration, we could really use the size of your room to better help you.

And by the way, welcome to the greatest forum on the net.:D

gregure

All due respect to those with differing opinions, but I certainly didn't spend $1000 on main speakers to cut them out at 80Hz. I also have Rti 10's, powered with an Onkyo 701, and I've set the fronts to large, because I like a lot of bass. The 10's are superb, but I can't imagine setting them to small and crossing them over to the sub at 80Hz. Personally I think the mains should be large towers given their full range of frequencies by the receiver. That works better for 2 channel stereo as well. I'm sure the 3805 is better than the Onkyo I have (I was just wishing I hadn't jumped on the Onkyo and should have bought a 3805), so there's no reason to short change the 10's by setting them to small. I have mine bi-wired with Better Cables Premium II, and they sound tremendously fine. Return of the King was amazing with the full setup. I have my mains set to large and the rest set to small, and the crossover set to 60Hz, because that's within the range of all my speakers, and giving the surrounds that bit more bass really creates more impact from the back speakers, and gives the bass a more encompassing, less direction specific feel. Try out a few different settings and find what you like, but if you like a lot of bass, and prominent surround effects, I recommend trying out the settings I suggested for a really great HT experience. Good luck.

gregure

Oldwriter,
Please use this link to find the discussion on this forum about the new monitor series replacing the RTi's at CC.

http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=19003

Also, if your equipment supports it, I'd recommend going with a digital coaxial cable instead of the optical. They always push you to buy optical at the stores because they cost more, but they are not better than coaxial. With coax you don't have to worry about scratching the lense and it's about $30 cheaper. There's been some discussions on the board here, and the general consensus actually favors coax by a small margin, especially for music. I have both, and have yet to notice a difference, but I use optical for movies and coax for music, so as not to wear either out as quickly. Good luck.

Early B.

All due respect to those with differing opinions, but I certainly didn't spend $1000 on main speakers to cut them out at 80Hz. I also have Rti 10's, powered with an Onkyo 701, and I've set the fronts to large, because I like a lot of bass. The 10's are superb, but I can't imagine setting them to small and crossing them over to the sub at 80Hz. Personally I think the mains should be large towers given their full range of frequencies by the receiver. That works better for 2 channel stereo as well. I'm sure the 3805 is better than the Onkyo I have (I was just wishing I hadn't jumped on the Onkyo and should have bought a 3805), so there's no reason to short change the 10's by setting them to small. I have mine bi-wired with Better Cables Premium II, and they sound tremendously fine. Return of the King was amazing with the full setup. I have my mains set to large and the rest set to small, and the crossover set to 60Hz, because that's within the range of all my speakers, and giving the surrounds that bit more bass really creates more impact from the back speakers, and gives the bass a more encompassing, less direction specific feel. Try out a few different settings and find what you like, but if you like a lot of bass, and prominent surround effects, I recommend trying out the settings I suggested for a really great HT experience. Good luck.

If you get a good sub, you may re-consider setting your crossover at 80 Hz. The concept is a simple one -- a good sub is far more capable of providing tight bass than your Rti10's. So naturally you'd want to take advantage of that. If a lower setting works for you, that's wonderful, but if you love bass, very few floor standing speakers can beat out a decent sub.

reeltrouble1

For HT everything set to small crossed at 80 HZ. Will give your mains a break on the low end. Many would suggest that your sub needs to be your best speaker because of all the work it has to do pushing those bass waves, so get the best one you can afford.

I had to get two of the smaller polk subs to do the trick for me.

Check the subwoofer threads for lots of good info on them.

lonwa

I would have to agree. The sub is ment for the low stuff, but also keep in mind, that just because you set the crossover at 80 (small fronts), does not mean your fronts won't continue to produce 80hz and below.

The crossover is not like a switch, that the received says "woooooww, 79hz, you gotta go to the sub-out port," and does not allow anything below 80hz to continue on.
Its more like, "79hz huh? Maybe I should start sending this stuff off to the sub out port."

I would have to say conservatively your fronts will still be working pretty hard at around 65-70Hz, and then will start to drop off the frequency range. I would contact the manufacturer for the specifics on it's unit's crossover, because every brand is a little different, or try your radio shack meter with only the fronts on.

Hope this helps


Lonwa

gregure

Well, I've tried setting the fronts to small for HT, and I simply don't like it as much. I really prefer the mains to handle the full range for HT, plus I think the 10's sound great with bass. They don't go as low as the sub, but they still perform great. As far as the suggestion to consult the specs, the Polk manual directs you to set your mains as Large when you use the Rti towers, so obviously they feel it sounds better as well. Maybe if you have an SVS, it might be worthwhile, but for those of us who can't quite afford one...
As for my post in this thread about coaxial cables, I don't know how it got into this one, it was meant for another thread, obviously. Must have been because I posted it at 5:30 am, just after getting up.

lonwa

what kind of sub do you have, and how are your speakers set up? Are the mains directly connected to the receiver, or through the sub's binding posts?

Depending on how you do have them wired, you might be having the channels crossed over multiple times, or crossed over to the sub out port which you do not have the sub plugged into.

Just an idea. And when I said to check the manual, I ment the manual for the receiver, not the speakers. The speaker manual makes many assumptions about how your receiver handles crossover. Always go by the receiver for settings.


Lonwa