upgrading to 7.1

brett7

I currently have a home theater system with 5.1 surround. I am in the process of building a home theater and I am planning on making it with 7.1 surround.

My current speakers are as follows:
Center Channel: CS 400i
Front Speakers: RT 2000i - these also currently function as the subwoofer
Surround Speakers: f x500i

I have two main issues:
1. Should I buy a dedicated subwoofer? If so any particular recs?

2. What speakers should I try to get for the rear speakers? My understanding is that I need to get timbre matched speakers. Are all the polk speakers across different lines timbre matched? Do I need to try to buy some used f x500i speakers or can I get a new pair from a different polk line.

Thanks,
Brett

frreo1

By all means, get a sub. I recently obtained a Polk PSW 1000, and it is awesome. It transforms the overall sound from the system. As far as rear speakers go, you should stick with something from the RTI series. Timbre balance will be lost if you start mixing and matching. If you get a sub like the 1000, cross over between 60 and 80 HZ, set all your speakers to small, and you will be amazed at the difference.

peteran

I have almost a similar setup, I would get RT25s or RT35s to match the rest of your speakers.
You will definetely notice an impovement when you have a dedicated sub, I would recommend pending on your budget an SVS.

wingnut4772

Oh my God, Yes! Get a sub.:)

GATOR3000

Sub........sub.........sub.........sub.........sub.........sub.........

What is sub?............Excuse me sir you mean "sub total".......hmmm...$$$$

Get the sub man and be done with it!!!

BTW welcome to the club.

Gator

Frank Z

Without knowing a bit more about the room, recommending a sub isn't the right move. A few more details like LxHxW, open to the rest of the house, windows, furnishings, etc would be useful.

For those that have recommended a seperate sub...Have you ever heard the RT2000i speakers? Bother looking up the specs?

Dual 8" powered subs in each speaker, and each speaker has its own amp. Could be plenty of bass in the right room.

Come on people, the objective here isn't to get someone to spend their money needlessly. Seems everytime this question is asked the answer is always thrown out without enough additional information to make the advice worth reading.

Early B.

Get a sub, dammit. Geez.

I don't care what the specs are for the RT2000i, you NEED a sub for HT. Period.

If you're contemplating a 7.1 setup, you must already have the room size to accommodate it. It would be nice to post your room size here, though.

Buy the biggest, baddest sub you can afford. Put the 7.1 plans on hold if you have to.

danger boy

unless you have to have a 7.1 set up.. i'd pass on that and instead spend that money on a good sub. Run the RT2000i's on small (or large, your choice), add a decent sized sub for maximum impact in your HT. sit back, open a beer and enjoy the show.

brett7

Thanks for the help.

In my previous home the speakers were in a rather large family room (roughly 18x18). They sound was excellent with the powered subs in the RT2000i's. I will be moving my setup to a room which is 13 x 20. Like everyone, I would like the best sound possible within reason. My budget has the capability to get both the dedicated sub and the back surround speakers if it will significantly improve the sound. I have to be honest, I was very happy with the setup/sound in my last house but if I can improve the sound without too much cost I would.

mrbigbluelight

Get a sub.

Unless you're living in a 6' x 10' cell, a good quality sub is one of the quickest cheapest routes you can take for HT setup.