Deciding on first time HT system

MattN03

Hello everyone. I'm a newbie to HT and working on a pretty limited budget but here goes. I'm thinking about using a H/K AVR435 receiver with the Polk RM6900 system. This will be used in a fairly small living room (guesstimating 18' wide x 14' deep with 10' ceiling). I'm wanting something that will be under $1500 total. I've found refurb factory direct H/K 435 receivers on Ebay going for around $400 and Crutchfield has the RM6900 on sale till March for $799. I'll need 4 speaker stands because there isn't a good spot to put the fronts without stands, then of course I'll need stands for the rear too. I also want to get a decent surge protector (something I should have already bought!). Any recommendations on surge protectors and Monster Cable speaker wire? What are your recommendations for this system idea so far? What am I missing or overlooking? Is there something I could do better for the same amount of money? Any suggestions on other stores to buy the products from?

I honestly don't know a lot about HT, but just want a decent first time system. Thanks!

*Seby*-Polk-

First...you must know the USE for yor home theater and the Percents.

If you uses your H.T. for 75% movies and 25% music (5.1 or 2 channel) is one thing.
If you uses your H.T. for 75% music and 25% movies is other thing.

For me, IMHO, are receivers with work best with music than movies or inverse.

Listen differents brands of receivers, different speakers and decide by yourself.

jma9

i would watch outpost.com for sales on the polk audio r50/r30/r15/csi25 speakers. you could get fronts/center/surrounds for about $350-400. i think that would be a better option than the rm6900. then add a decent subwoofer (i would recommend going with another brand besides polk). you should come in right around your budget and be extremely pleased with your setup. i have the r50/30/15/csi25 setup with an svs sub and love it. it sounds great and didn't break the bank in terms of cost. just wait for the sales on outpost.com (r50's - 79.99, r30's - 39.99, r15 - 39.99, csi25 - 79.99). you can't beat their prices. partsexpress.com sells pretty nice speaker stands at a good price too.

tommyboy

jma9 wrote:

i would watch outpost.com for sales on the polk audio r50/r30/r15/csi25 speakers. you could get fronts/center/surrounds for about $350-400. i think that would be a better option than the rm6900. then add a decent subwoofer (i would recommend going with another brand besides polk). you should come in right around your budget and be extremely pleased with your setup. i have the r50/30/15/csi25 setup with an svs sub and love it. it sounds great and didn't break the bank in terms of cost. just wait for the sales on outpost.com (r50's - 79.99, r30's - 39.99, r15 - 39.99, csi25 - 79.99). you can't beat their prices. partsexpress.com sells pretty nice speaker stands at a good price too.

I agree with Jma about the r series. Buy the r-30 and 50s so you don't have to use stands and you would get better quality sound out of the bigger speakers. But just to let you know if you don't know already that the rm6900s come with their own wall mounting brackets so you won't have to buy stands for at least the surrounds.

MattN03

Thanks for the replies. I would say probably 50/50 between the movies & music. I honestly don't need something that is extremely loud, just something that sounds clean and strong in a smaller room. Will the speakers from www.outpost.com have the full Polk warranty?

*Seby*-Polk-

Buy the monitor series...Sounds really clean...trust me. Not as loud than Rti but same clean sound.

With pair of Monitor 60 and Monitor 30 ... CS2 and a sub ... you've got a great system.

tommyboy

MattN03 wrote:

Thanks for the replies. I would say probably 50/50 between the movies & music. I honestly don't need something that is extremely loud, just something that sounds clean and strong in a smaller room. Will the speakers from www.outpost.com have the full Polk warranty?

Matt,

All speakers can be played extremely loud, that matters what reciever you have, the difference is how much distortion and what frequencies you hear out of the speakers. The polk rm6900s are great for satellites but are missing mid range. Thats why polk recommends running the speaker wire from the fronts to the sub so the subwoofer can pick those up. But a sub isn't really meant for that. Getting the R or monitor series, you will get the highs and mids from your speakers, and the lows from a sub. bottom line is, you get better quality sound at higher and lower volumes from the r and monitor series.

MattN03

tommyboy wrote:

Matt,

All speakers can be played extremely loud, that matters what reciever you have, the difference is how much distortion and what frequencies you hear out of the speakers. The polk rm6900s are great for satellites but are missing mid range. Thats why polk recommends running the speaker wire from the fronts to the sub so the subwoofer can pick those up. But a sub isn't really meant for that. Getting the R or monitor series, you will get the highs and mids from your speakers, and the lows from a sub. bottom line is, you get better quality sound at higher and lower volumes from the r and monitor series.

man, that makes complete sense! Thanks for the info tommyboy Now if I can just find some places locally to listen to the R & Monitor series.

MattN03

Another question all. What is supposed to be the higher quality line-the R or Monitor Series?

zombie boy 2000

i have to agree with tommy on this...
my vote would be for a monitor line-up consisting of a pair of monitor 60's for the front, monitor 30's for the rears, and a CS1 (or poss CS2 for the center)
in regards to the sub, possibly an entry level Velodyne (or if you must stay with the Polk line-up, a psw12 -- although you'll find that many polk promos on-line and in-store offer a "free psw10" with speaker purchase)
these are a step-up from the R series, but if you're willing to go used (or with floor models from local dealers), then you might look into the Rti series, as these are even further up the food chain in the Polk pantheon
all this being said, i believe the satellites that you're considering to be overpriced and certainly an instance of style over substance (relative to Polk's other offerings, of course)

tommyboy

MattN03 wrote:

Another question all. What is supposed to be the higher quality line-the R or Monitor Series?

The monitor series

The r series is an older model of the new M series. Its just right now you can get the r series at very cheap prices. I also personally think the r series sounds better but others say the R and M series are exactly the same so....

You can get the M20 for 130 a piece compared to r30 for like 80 a pair(if you can find them). Monitor towers (50s) start out at 200 a piece.

zombie boy 2000

sorry tommy to cut-in....
i believe the M30's can be had for 99 a piece
(though this may be regional?)

tommyboy

I know you guys are bias against circuit city, but right now the are actually doing a pretty good deal(I should prolly post this in my signature that I work at CC). You can get 2 monitor 50s, 2 monitor 30s, CS1, onk txsr503, and velodyne vrp 10" all for $1000. Now you can upgrade the reciever (which I usually tell customers when they are buying) but you are getting pretty much $50 dollars off each speaker. Now I'm not getting paid to tell you this or anything Im just trying to help

tommyboy

MattN03

tommyboy wrote:

I know you guys are bias against circuit city, but right now the are actually doing a pretty good deal(I should prolly post this in my signature that I work at CC). You can get 2 monitor 50s, 2 monitor 30s, CS1, onk txsr503, and velodyne vrp 10" all for $1000. Now you can upgrade the reciever (which I usually tell customers when they are buying) but you are getting pretty much $50 dollars off each speaker. Now I'm not getting paid to tell you this or anything Im just trying to help

tommyboy

Can you give me a link to this deal on their website? I don't see it listed anywhere.

tommyboy

Matt,

Its not listed on the website. only at a local store. These are usually for people buying a big screen who wants a home theater that comes in a package. Now if you go to the store they show an inifinty package(it is the primus series which i think is terrible) for a $1000 but if you ask one of the guys you want the polk instead, they can do that(I have rung this system up with the polks quite a few times so if they tell you they can't do it they are lying or they don't know how to ring it up).

MattN03

tommyboy wrote:

Matt,

Its not listed on the website. only at a local store. These are usually for people buying a big screen who wants a home theater that comes in a package. Now if you go to the store they show an inifinty package(it is the primus series which i think is terrible) for a $1000 but if you ask one of the guys you want the polk instead, they can do that(I have rung this system up with the polks quite a few times so if they tell you they can't do it they are lying or they don't know how to ring it up).

Can you just buy the speakers & sub if you have receiver you already want to use?

tommyboy

oh, you already have a reciever... I think it only works if you want the whole package... sorry

zombie boy 2000

actually, i just went to the web-site for you and priced these individually...
1070.00 grand total, so a savings of 70 (savings yes, but you might find yourself wishing you had gone a different route with the receiver)
i say this only because a decent high current receiver with pre-outs might better suit you if the desire to upgrade comes skipping down the street anytime in the future (near or distant)
harmon kardon receivers are very clean and warm sounding, and though their specs do not seem as "meaty" as onkyo's, their watts are what are known as "true watts" -- high current and efficient
all their newer (and semi-current) models with the exception of the 135 or 140 (in other words, 200 and up) have pre-outs which would allow you to add an amp in the future -- it is not my intention to derail your immediate plans with these added considerations, just trying to give your system more "potential" so when the bug hits to upgrade, you're well-equipped

tommyboy

polk monitor 50: 400 a pair
polk montitor 30: 200 a pair
Polk Cs1: 179
Onkyo txsr503: 299
velodyne vrp 10":250
=$1330. I don't know, I guess you just didn't add the reciever.

but you can get any reciever you want from CC (onkyo or HK) and you will get your discounts off the speaker. The system would be more than a grand but....

zombie boy 2000

my bad..
fuzzy math i guess

zombie boy 2000

oh..
and i don't have squat against circuit city, as they gave me a kick-arse deal on my monitor 70's and HK 240...
(fresh in the box, 340.00 each for the speaks and a cool 360.00 for the HK brand new in the box as well)
i haven't seen anything, anywhere rival the latter deal for that model harmon kardon

tommyboy

Matt,

You can get whenever you want but when i rang the monitor 50s up and they were $150( employee pricing is $142, even though I got accomodations directly from polk for cheaper...) and monitor 30s at $50, I personally thought that was a good deal (as long as you don't buy the extended warranties ). But if you already have a reciever , completly forget what i just said.

by the way, why doesn't my signature show up everytime i make a post?

okiepolkie

Matt,

Let us get a little more from you about your system.

What type of video connections will you be utilizing on the receiver?
What upgrade possibilities do you want to retain?
EX: Do you want to upgrade speakers within the next couple of years, or is adding an external amplifier something you might want to consider later.....
Would wall mounting be a possibility for the rear speakers?
What arrangement do you have your furniture/entertainment equipment in now?

I'll think of some more and get back to you later.

MattN03

tommyboy wrote:

oh, you already have a reciever... I think it only works if you want the whole package... sorry

I don't have a receiver yet, but have my eyes on a H/K 435 on Ebay (Factory diret refurb models). They typically can be bought & shipped for say $450 total (if you watch the bidding closely). If you take the $1500 total that I want (ie, budget! lol) to spend and subtract the $450 that leaves me with $1050 total to spend on speakers & a sub, A/V connections, and a decent surge protector for the stereo equipment plus my existing TV, DVR, DVD, and VCR. This is really what it boils down too. Can I find something decent for this budget? Everyone has given me some good info so far, so please keep it coming!

MattN03

okiepolkie wrote:

Matt,

Let us get a little more from you about your system.

What type of video connections will you be utilizing on the receiver?
What upgrade possibilities do you want to retain?
EX: Do you want to upgrade speakers within the next couple of years, or is adding an external amplifier something you might want to consider later.....
Would wall mounting be a possibility for the rear speakers?
What arrangement do you have your furniture/entertainment equipment in now?

I'll think of some more and get back to you later.

I was planning on buying Monster Cable for all receiver to speaker connections (the house already has some Monster Cable run from my TV area to a back wall for the surrounds. I really don't plan to upgrade soon, but if the bug striked it would be nice to have that option. Adding an external amp isn't something I'll likely do. I'm looking at a refurbed factory direct H/K 435 receiver from Ebay as the power source. I have attached a couple pics of our current living room setup (TV is a Toshiba 36" for an idea of size). Hopefully, this will give everyone an idea of size and layout I'm dealing with.

zombie boy 2000

$450 is an excellent price for that receiver, and the 65wpc are nothing to be sneezed at (if you are still looking at the monitor series)
if it were a $100 or so more i might suggest getting a 235 (or even 335) and using the extra funds toward an external amp, but....
with the 435 you'll get a quality AVR that won't need an immediate upgrade
that is unless you're looking at the Rti series (used), as this will need more power to make 'em sing
remember, interconnects and cables are important (and you're certainly doing right by figuring them into your budget), but your speaker selection is considerably more important
if new, i still cast my vote with the monitor line-up
if used, now we're opening up a whole new can of worms

Skynut

Some power conditioners to consider.
panamax
zerosurge
brickwall
surgex

Also don't forget interconnects in your budget.

zombie boy 2000

and don't say never on the external amp idea...
once you start researching, you'll find this to be arguably the cheapest and most beneficial upgrade
(i am assuming of course that this you are treating this purchase as a long-term investment)
the 435 will be good to go on this front, as it has pre-outs

MattN03

Skynut wrote:

Some power conditioners to consider.
panamax
zerosurge
brickwall
surgex

Also don't forget interconnects in your budget.

What are power conditioners? Are interconnects the Monster Cable type connections?

MattN03

zombie boy 2000 wrote:

and don't say never on the external amp idea...
once you start researching, you'll find this to be arguably the cheapest and most beneficial upgrade
(i am assuming of course that this you are treating this purchase as a long-term investment)
the 435 will be good to go on this front, as it has pre-outs

I'm wanting all new stuff since I'm a newbie and don't want to be suckered into a worn out/bad speaker set :eek:

Skynut

If you want to read alot about power conditioners go here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=277384&page=1&pp=30
The thread is about 4 hours long in read time but it has interesting points.