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neokeelo · June 2005

Well I finally did it! I sold my Kenwood Home Theater in a box setup and went with some used polks. I remember hearing Polk towers and centers in CC a few years ago and loved them. Being a college student, I had a limited budget. I hope I made a good choice for the money.

I just bought a pair of rt600i's for my fronts and a cs400i for my center for 515.00 shipped. Is that a good deal? I am trying to get some surrounds now and a receiver. I already have a JBL 12" 250watt sub for the bass.

If anyone owns these speakers could you please comment on them? What do you think about them compared to the newer Polk series that are out now? I am looking for a good but under or around $200.00, perhaps used receiver to mate them with.

Also what do you think of the cheaper brand lines like pioneer and Kenwood? Are refurbs ok to buy?

Any thoughts?

Willow · June 2005

Welcome,

Hope you enjoy your time here and learn lots.

As far as rating your systme, I do not feel qualified to rate it, I will however give you my opinion,

1- As far you the receivers you are looking at, kenwood is not a highly rated receiver, and I beleive they are not making anymore HT gear. That being said I first purchased a kenwood and it did me fine for about 5 mths then I upgraded. The top 3 brands are Yamaha, Denon and Harman Kardon. (top meaning the most pop on this forum)

2-you dropped the kenwood HTIB which was a good thing and bought polks another good move. I have never heard those ones but can assure you, you cannot go wrong with the polks.

3-no matter what any one says remember, it's your budget, your system, your taste. If you like it that's all that matters.

Now enjoy

TheReaper · June 2005

Originally posted by Willow
...The top 3 brands are Yamaha, Denon and Harman Kardon. (top meaning the most pop on this forum)...

... I like Onkyo, other than that, good answer

Willow · June 2005

Sorry , that one didn't even cross my mind, some what of a bias answer

BrentMcGhee · June 2005

you got yourself a very nice set of front speakers there.... especially for the price you got them for. good job. I really think you should rethink your idea on purchasing 200 dollar receiver though. You are really going to cripple those speakers. The best piece of advice i could give you is dont skimp out out to hold you over until later, especially on the receiver, that is the main part of your system. I would say a refurb dennon would be your best bet for what you have. It will be a lil more expensive prob around 500-600 bucks but it will be leaps and bounds above a new 200 receiver.

But please i can not stress this enough no matter what brand it is a 200 receiver is not going to give you what you want!!!! That is not to say that only expensive equipment is good, nothing could be further from the truth but 200 for a full mulitchannel dolby digital and dts receiver can only mean complete crap.

Toxis · June 2005

I'm sure you can even find some nice older receivers used or refurbished for the 300-400 range. Patience and a lil time invested in looking around...

neokeelo · June 2005

thanks for the advice. I have seen some used denon models that are 90wattsx5 for around 250 , I might check out one of those. I would just hate to buy a refurbished receiver and have it work for a while then quit on me $:\$

Toxis · June 2005

Denon warranties their refurbs if it's from a retailer. Don't forget to check audiogon and ebay. Some great deals out there!

Don't sweat the watts, but let us know the model so we know which one it is. The 1905 looks similar to the 2105 on paper but it's a world of difference in reality.

marker · June 2005

Originally posted by Toxis
Denon warranties their refurbs if it's from a retailer. Don't forget to check audiogon and ebay. Some great deals out there!

Yeah, but I believe it's only for 90 days. Not sure about that though.

Dennis Gardner · June 2005

Edit: Pioneer 1014/1015 is a good buy, but more than your $$$.

I agree with the brands mentioned above, but for the budget the Pioneer will offer more. Panasonic has a couple digital receivers that are nice also XR 25 & XR 45 (I think).

Steer clear from Kenwood ( they just went out of the home audio business), JVC ( they just don't have enough power), Sony ( at $200 they don't offer much).

Toxis · June 2005

I'd take an Onkyo 503 over any pioneer except the 1015.

Dennis Gardner · June 2005

Toxis,

I stand corrected the 1014/1015 is the model that I was referring to not the 814. Sorry about that.

It is the "Elite Lite" from Pioneer. $200 just doesn't buy much unless your go 5.1 used.

abenedicto · June 2005

I used the same speakers with a Yamaha 5740 and they were a really good combo. You might be able to find a closeout one at a best buy or some thing for around $200.

ND13 · June 2005

Originally posted by neokeelo
thanks for the advice. I have seen some used denon models that are 90wattsx5 for around 250 , I might check out one of those. I would just hate to buy a refurbished receiver and have it work for a while then quit on me $:\$

I've purchased a few refurbs in the past and never had any issues, ever. I wouldn't worry if it's a refurb or not. I'd rather have a refurb with a warranty than a used unit from a stranger.

ohskigod · June 2005

that will be a solid performing theater speaker wise. you got a big center right off the bat, which is good. The mains are good performers (one 6 1/2 inch driver per tower right?) unless you have a really big room, those towers will more than do the job. I'll ditto the Yammie 5740, great unit for the dough, but if you can expand the budget, reach a little higher on the reciever as others have said. The speakers you have are well worthy of higher quality amplification from a good reciever.

Either way, youll have a theater set up that will be the envy of your friends, have fun with it. The bad news? prepare to spend rediculous money over time on upgrades. when the bug bites, it bites hard

neokeelo · June 2005

Thanks to all who have replied.

About the center channel,
Right now I just have it hooked up on the top pair of cable inputs ( not bi wired) and it sounds like the left driver is getting most of the sound instead of both drivers being driven equally. Will bi wiring fix this problem or is this just how the speaker is designed?

How much of an effect does bi wiring do in general?

abenedicto · June 2005

Make sure the gold metal attachments that connect the top pair and the bottom pair are secure....Bi-wiring is not neccesary, just make sure those gold attachments are connected right and tight. Also make sure the speaker wire on both ends are secure (receiver and speaker).

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