Newbie Setup Questions

jmzoot
jmzoot Posts: 21
edited June 2004 in Speakers
Just a quick question:

I purchased:

Front: Rti8
Rear: Rti6
Center:Csi3

I am looking to replace the center channel with the Polk Csi5 since I have been informed it has the same 6.5 woofers as my fronts and my rears.

Would it also be a smart idea to look for another pair of Rti8's for rears rather then the Rti6. I currently live in a apartment and am having a hard time trying to find a spot to wall mount the 6's. They seem quite heavy so I don't know how much I can drill into the walls without having to pay too much fees for damage. I was thinking of purchasing stands but most stands I have seen don't look sturdy enough to hold the weight of the 6's.

Once I add up the cost for the 6's and the cost of the stands I am not too far from the sale price of the 8's at Circuit City,

Would it make sense to have a floorstanding speaker as a rear ?? Is this high enough off the ground ???

Also, does it make sense to have the same exact speakers as fronts and rears???
Post edited by jmzoot on
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Comments

  • PolkWannabie
    PolkWannabie Posts: 2,763
    edited June 2004
    Give some consideration to FXi5's for surrounds.
    Rick
    HT+ Sunfire TG IV, Dual CG Sig II's, CinePro 1K2, Oppo 981, Audio Technica PL120, Polk SRT's & F/X1000's, Samsung 71" DLP
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  • radkrisdoc
    radkrisdoc Posts: 78
    edited June 2004
    Welcome to the forum!
    - Same speakers all around is the "ideal" setup for home theatre; dipole speakers (like the FXi's) are considered better as rears in HT and speakers like rti6 or 8 better for music, if you have a 5.1 music setup that can play SACD or DVD audio.
    - Yes, you can look into buying another RTi8 pair, you might even get them at reduced prices cos Polk is pulling the RTi line off of CC (Im not fully informed there though). If transporting them when u move (thats something to think about when you are living in an apartment) does not seem to be a difficulty, RTi8's would be the way to go.
    - On the other hand, you can still buy a pair of used speaker stands. Needs some time, patient searching on the 'net. Try ebay. This might have less impact on your wallet, but if you happen to come across open box RTi8's or reduced prices at CC, that wd be the way to go. Good luck!
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  • jmzoot
    jmzoot Posts: 21
    edited June 2004
    thanks for the info... I will definitely consider the Fxi5's but I haven't seen them in any Circuit City to get to listen to them.

    I can probbably get my hands on another pair of 8's from CC for about 500. I was able to get the 6's for about 235.

    I plan on listening to a 50/50 mix of music and HT.

    So if I have it correct my ideal setup would be 8's all around with a Csi5 as a center channel.

    What gauge speaker wire would be the best..... as there a table that says once you reach a certain length you should pick a lower gauge ??
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  • radkrisdoc
    radkrisdoc Posts: 78
    edited June 2004
    Wire gauge has to do with speaker damping.....it influences amp damping factors and might even make an awesome amp/ speaker setup sound bad. The easy way out would be to use a thick gauge, around 16 SWG. There are some real wire gurus out there.....they must be able to help you out, if you dont get any more replies from forum members, you can try reading this link

    http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14424

    This thread includes the list of wire guru polkies too. Have fun!
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  • jefft1314
    jefft1314 Posts: 169
    edited June 2004
    With the rti8's i'd run nothing smaller than 14awg, in fact i'd probably suggest 12awg. The thicker the better, especially in a system like that, especially with floor standing speakers.
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  • ProAc_Fan
    ProAc_Fan Posts: 15
    edited June 2004
    Since you live in an apartment I'm assuming any speaker runs can't be overly long. That being the case any wire bigger than 16 or 18 ga is just a waste of money.
    Spend that money on other more useful things than wire.

    Mike
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  • Mazeroth
    Mazeroth Posts: 1,585
    edited June 2004
    12ga wire from Partsexpress can be found very cheaply. NEVER skimp on the wire. I personally would never run anything smaller than a 12ga wire. Just my opinion.
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  • Willow
    Willow Posts: 11,055
    edited June 2004
    what wire AWG do you guys use for rears??
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  • ProAc_Fan
    ProAc_Fan Posts: 15
    edited June 2004
    Speaker cables aren't rocket science. The only goal is to get the electrons from point A to point B. The longer the run of cable the higher the resistance incurred. For runs of less than 30 feet 18 AWG is sufficient. For runs of 80 feet or less 16AWG is just fine. Anything larger is for vanity because sonically you'd never know the difference.

    Even Crutchfied, who have a vested interest in selling you more expensive cable, recommend 16AWG for runs less than 80 feet.
    Mike
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