Center upgrade/Surround questions

milobloom

New to this forum, all and any assistance is greatly appreciated.

I currently have:

CS245
2xRT55
2xFX300i

Moved from a smaller condo and my new HT in basement is 15.5' (front and rear wall) x 17.5' x 8' (ceiling).

Only 1 row of seating - will be approx. 14' from main speakers.
Incidently, screen is 96"x54" driven by new Panasonic AE700

My questions:

Center:
1) I enjoy older Criterion DVDs and other mono-type sources and have considered my center sould be upgraded. Given this room size, can anyone confirm my assumptions are correct? If so, what model family should I be looking at?

2) What is the vertical dispersion with the CS245? I am considering changing its angle to better direct to the listener.

Surrounds:
Currently running 5.1 - I'm waiting for greater convergence in the AV/PC world before I invest in a new receiver. The price for HDMI switching is too high right now - but I do love the Onkyo TX-NR1000.

3) For 5.1 - given that I have both options, should I run the FX300i's on the back wall as bipole or side wall as dipole? Only have 1'-2' from listener to back wall.

4) When I upgrade to 7.1, I think I'd prefer direct at rear (for DVD-A, etc) and use FX300's on side, any recommendation for good Polk matching speakers to use for rears?

5) Does anyone use FX300 or similar for all their surrounds in a 7.1 configuration and what do they think?

Thanks.

okiepolkie

Welcome to the Polk forum.
I hope I'm able to help you out a little here.

FX300i's will probably do better on the side walls, then directs lkie you suggest later in the rear.

I'm not sure on the dispersion on the CS245, but the more it is pointed towards your listening position the better.

A step up for the center would possibly be the CS400. They are somewhat difficult to find right now though.

Zach

Early B.

What kind of subwoofer do you have? If you don't have one, it should be your next purchase.

milobloom

Sorry -
Velodyne CT100

Early B.

I'd suggest sticking with 5.1 for a while and upgrading the sub. The "new" sub would probably make the biggest impact on your system. For your room size, check out a Hsu STF-3 or one of the middle tier SVS subs.