Virgin!

lofmarks

Hello all!
Yes, I am brand new and looking for some suggestions.

What I have:
BenQ projector new- 108'' [this is component out to VGA on the projector]
Old All in 1 Panasonic Surround
My extra DVD player is Progressive with Digital Coaxial vs Optical only.
14' X 14' room
Basically NO wiring [crap wire]

Went to Circuit City this weekend for receiver / audio recommendations.
Hot Shot / Cocky sales rep said that if he was me, he would go with Onkyo TX - SR604 & POLK 6800
[ he actually showed me 6880 but I don't see them listed anywhere on the web which is strange ]
I listened to the 6880's and was impressed.
Wiring is a huge concern for me as the DTV HD receiver is currently in the back of the room.

Thoughts / Questions appreciated in advance!
Thanks,
lofmarks

schwarcw

Welcome to the Club Polk Forums lofmarks! What kind of budget do you have? How much room? Do you plan on using a sub? I'm not familiar with that series from Polk. Are these small speakers, maybe HT in a box type system? Give us a little more info please, and be patient as it may take a day or two to get some perspectives from members.

Dennis Gardner

Welcome to CP!

With a projector and screen being the display of your choice, I wouldn't go with anything less than the Polk RTi line. The 6800 is Polk's All-in-one surround rig and won't give sound big enough for your display.

Just my opinion, but I did the Polk 6600 to RTi upgrade when I went to a projector setup and never looked back.

lofmarks

Thanks for the input.

The room size is 15' x 15'
Screen is 108"

My budget is around $1k for receiver/speakers.

What I am really in need of is:
- Good Wiring to start and mainly WHO to do it.
- Reciever
- Sub, Center & Front speakers.

I am not familiar with RTi ... but they really seem to $$ eat $$ up my budget right there! yikes!

I felt that when starting out I]correct me if I'm wrong in my thinking process[/I but when starting out, get your wiring down "right", then the receiver, then the speakers.....?
Thoughts?

Many thanks in advance to those of you training the New Kid On The Block!

lofmarks

cfrizz

Welcome Lofmarks!

You are not going to get much decent for $1000.00, unless you go used.

The MOST important piece of equipment in this whole thing is your speakers! If you get bad speakers the whole system will sound bad.

You get what you pay for. Unless you are willing to settle for HTIB save more money & start listening to decent speakers. Take music that you are familiar with so you can tell how each system sounds. Then go for your receiver, make sure you get one with preouts so that you have expandability!

You will also need a DVD player as well as a sub.

Lastly check out www.bluejeanscable.com for speaker wire & interconnects.

PolkThug

Onkyo usually makes a good HTIB in the $5-600 range.

reeltrouble1

Whether you consider the speakers or electronic components more important I really dont care, but both of them are more important that the wire.

I would buy some used RTi polks a processor of some sort, a new source player, this can be done for 1000.00, if you get the Polk HTIB it will sound good and if you are not into audio you might be happy for a long time, if you are into audio then I suspect you will want to upgrade, you might and mean might get 1/3 of what you paid for the HTIB on the used market, likely less.

RT1

RT1

PolkThug

$499
http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=HT-S790&class=Systems&p=i

lofmarks

cfrizz wrote:

Welcome Lofmarks!

You are not going to get much decent for $1000.00, unless you go used.

The MOST important piece of equipment in this whole thing is your speakers! If you get bad speakers the whole system will sound bad.

You get what you pay for. Unless you are willing to settle for HTIB save more money & start listening to decent speakers. Take music that you are familiar with so you can tell how each system sounds. Then go for your receiver, make sure you get one with preouts so that you have expandability!

You will also need a DVD player as well as a sub.

Lastly check out www.bluejeanscable.com for speaker wire & interconnects.

Thanks [ I think....] ..kind of blew me away with the feeling of not being able to get much for 1K! haha

I have a progressive scan dvd player. Starting off sucks. !!!
My old Panasonic HTIB does well surprisingly but I have to MANUALLY change the components from the HDTV receiver and the HTIB.... suck suck suck!!!

Thanks again for your continued replies!!
lofmarks :0)

tommyboy

lofmarks,

My only advise is, make sure you get something you like, not whats neccessarily in your budget. Chances are you will actually waste more money that way....... like me!:o

tommyboy

Also, Even though the RTI series would be a great start, take a look at the R series. They are pretty decent speakers and can be found very, very cheap nowadays...

shawn474

lofmarks,
I was in the same situation as you. I got rid of my speakers because I was afraid of my two year old pulling down Cerwin Vega towers that weighed over 40 pounds. So I sold all of my speakers. In the process I decided to sell my receiver. On the recommendation of a CP member (thanks again Doro), I got the Sony STR-DA5es receiver and LOVE it. I then used the money from selling the speakers for new timbre matched speakers (I had Cerwin Vega center and fronts and rear Infinity Studio Monitors).

For a time I used the Polk RM6005 with an Infinity sub and did not like the sound I got out of them compared to what I had before - I think I had unrealistic expectations. So I sold them as well.

In short, I got a used receiver and JBL's all the way around (some will wince when hearing that I LOVE them) for right at a thousand dollars. At their price point, I think JBL's are a good buy. By no means am I suggesting that my system is the end all, be all; but for now it suits me great and sounds great to my ears.

I would say that the receiver purchase made me the happiest and if you find yourself choosing one or the other right now, get a good receiver and save for the speakers. You might be able to do both - there are good deals here on speakers especially if you're willing to buy used. Just a suggestion.

Take Care,
Shawn

lofmarks

tommyboy wrote:

lofmarks,

My only advise is, make sure you get something you like, not whats neccessarily in your budget. Chances are you will actually waste more money that way....... like me!:o

yes,... thank you and well said.
I refuse.....R E F U S E to go HTIB! Done that........ over that......

Seems that speakers is the consensus to start with.

I really thought that the reciever first.

Opinions welcome!

lofmarks

If I was to get THIS reciever unless others think of something cheaper / comperable / better.

I want to get kick **** speakers no doubt.

Questions:
1. What about the R series I was told about earlier?
2. Buying used?? -- here on this site?? Is this wise?

Thanks!

tommyboy

Good thing you have us to help you;) ... I wish I asked these guys before I made my purchase cause they would have saved me a lot of money...:)

But it really depends if you really will get into it or not.I first bought my onkyo HTIB just so I could hear Resident evil 4 in surround sound. Now I've been strangled by the "audio bug" ever since. Believe me, even though I'm happy with my setup, I'm dying to upgrade...:(

I'm not sure who said this to me on here, but whenever I make my next purchase (in a couple years) I will definitely be thinking of it. "pick something you like a lot, and go one step above it."

lofmarks wrote:

I really thought that the reciever first.

I had the onkyo 603 but sold it to get the H/k for two reasons, H/K is warmer and has pre-outs for a seperate amp. IMO, get something that at least has pre-outs, just incase you get "upgraditus" in the future:D

shawn474

If you don't mind Sony, check out their ES line. If there is a shop local to you, it might be wise to check them out. You can get the receiver listed below for well under 300 dollars. I will say that I haven't seen or heard this particular one and don't know if the ES line is as good as in the past, but I like mine a lot.

http://www.audioreview.com/PRD_302798_2718crx.aspx

tommyboy

lofmarks wrote:

I want to get kick **** speakers no doubt.

Don't we all.

lofmarks wrote:

1. What about the R series I was told about earlier?

Well, the R series is considered the "entry level" speakers of the polk lineup. But for their price range, actually sound pretty decent. I have just checked frys though and it seems they don't carry the old R series. They do have the new R 300 which is going for $50 a piece. Yet, I have never heard them, and neither has most of the members, so make sure you listen to them before you ever consider buying them(thats true for every speaker you consider, unless of course you love taking advantage of return policies)

lofmarks wrote:

2. Buying used?? -- here on this site?? Is this wise?

it all matters who is selling it, if the member has 2,000 posts, CHANCES are he will be a legit seller. I have yet to buy or sell on this forum, but if I decided to, I wouldn't hesitate...

tryrrthg

A couple members here have been impressed by the X-Series from AV123. I'd take a look there. buy your 5 speakers and a receiver, then save up for a good/better sub.

lofmarks

Thanks all!!! You all are terrific and you can not understand how grateful I am for your expertise EVERYone of you!

Can you tell me anything about the PLK Monitor 70's?
Many are saying on the CCity pages that these are better than the RTI's?????

Thoughts?

reeltrouble1

That Onk reciever does not have preouts when you are ready for seperate amplification, you want this. The Onks you have to go to the 700 series to get this. I would not buy a receiver without pre-outs. The make of receiver is your choice, they are all very similiar, they may sound a bit different from each other, not necessarily better just different.

RT1

lofmarks

god... i hate to ask this question but...... what does/is seperate amplification?
RT1 ---> Do you mean that I can't change the levels of each channel???

Sorry for stupid questions but......... was always told no stupid questions,, we are all learning in life right?

Thank you!

zombie boy 2000

Simply put, there are many speakers out there that the average receiver does not have the muscle to properly power. If (and when) you choose to move on to these speakers (Polk's very own LSi series comes to mind), you at least want the option of adding more power to your set-up.
This is where the external/separate amplification comes in -- and is only possible with the existence of pre-outs.

As such, an external amp with more watts, current, power, etc. would would be hooked up to your existing receiver, thus providing a bit (or alot) more power to your speakers. The sonic advantages are numerous.

tommyboy

lofmarks wrote:

god... i hate to ask this question but...... what does/is seperate amplification?
RT1 ---> Do you mean that I can't change the levels of each channel???

Sorry for stupid questions but......... was always told no stupid questions,, we are all learning in life right?

Thank you!

don't worry, I worked at circuit city for a long time and I didn't know what a seperate amp was until I really start researching better audio...:o

Think of a reciever (AVR) in terms of a HTIB. Your avr is connected to all your components and powers your speakers. A seperate amplifier just powers your speakers, and a pre-amp(or a reciever with pre-outs) takes the inputs from all your sources. You just get better quality by buying seperate components...

With the monitor 70s though, everyone has their own opinions, but I think its a unfair comparison(if you read the CC reviews), just because the RTIs are more power hungry and sound much better with seperate amplification. I also thought the monitor 50s sounded cleaner than the 70s, IMO...

reeltrouble1

No problem and ZB summed it up, its about power and nice sonics down the road. When new people come with great attitudes like yours we can be a very patient and helpful bunch.

Welcome to Club Polk now ask away, although you are likely to get point-counterpoint answers in some cases. There can be a lot passion around this place.

RT1

lofmarks

ok... understandable... thanks.

Looks like I have a lot of shopping to do and see what I can get for my $$.

I mentioned in an earlier post about the Monitor 70's.

Is anyone familiar with those? As you can see I really want to be a Polk-ster!!!

I'm just really confused as to how to build this sucker.

~~~Seems like "Go For Broke" with the front speakers anywayz is the vibe I am getting from everyone.

~~~Receiver with preouts 2nd?

zombie boy 2000

So I take it your set-up is going to be used mostly for HT?

lofmarks

yes, mainly HT. I have DTV HD which is nice for the few channels that ARE available. As far as Music .... no,,, DVD concerts perhaps.. but not general cd people.
Why do you ask, does this give you a different flavor for what my intentions are as to what you would recommend?? That is what I am hoping for anywayz.
Thanks to all who have contributed today! You guys sure are patient!


Scott

tommyboy

For a room your size, I would choose one of these 3.

entry level-R30(or R50) if you can still find it

semi entry level-Monitor 60s

For your room size and budget, high end;) . RTI8s

The Rti8s are actually cheaper then the M70s. And the Monitor 60s are actually considered by many to be the best of that series.

For recievers, I went with H/k 240 new for 300 bucks, has pre-outs, and decent with music and movies. They don't sell that model anymore (new one is $600) You can find a nice refurbished reciever from the h/k website. There is also other brands to look at. Just make sure you do more research before buying...

zombie boy 2000

By the way... Welcome to the Forum!

If you're using your speakers for HT, run (don't walk) away from the 70's. I think they're vastly underappreciated for music applications, but for home theater, they leave MUCH to be desired.

lofmarks

I had read a few times in that the Monitor 70's [due to blowing tweeters..haha] were not as good as the Monitor 50's and the difference is like $300.
Anyone familiar with either of those 2 or do you still feel that RTi is where it is at???
Thanks again,
S

zombie boy 2000

If you're doing HT, the Rti's are your babies. Unless, budget is an issue...

in which case, I'll echo Tommyboy's vote for the 60's.






what is your budget?:D