RM6600 upgrade - R15, M30, R300 ?

jwhitakr

Hi everyone -

Long time reader, first time poster. :-)

I have an RM6600 HTIB system matched with a 10" Polk sub that I've used for the last 4 or 5 years. I originally bought it when I lived in an apartment and space was limited, but I've since moved into a house with a fairly decent sized basement (I would estimate it to be 12' x 20').

I've got the two front speakers on stands (about 30" high) and the center speaker directly below my big-screen TV. I am using an equally old Pioneer VSX-D411 AVR to power the speakers.

I primarily use the system for watching movies, and that's what I would like to improve with my upgrade. To me, the sound just doesn't seem to fill the room as well as it did when I was in the apartment and the low-mid's seem to be lacking. I have a digital sound level meter from Radioshack, and after taking some measurements there seems to be a noticeable drop-off from about 180 Hz down to where the sub takes over (currently I have the adjustable crossover on the sub set to about 80 Hz).

So, my goal is to improve the overall sound stage and fill out the lower end of the frequency range. I've been looking at inexpensive options for Polk speakers, and the R15's for left and right (mounted on the speaker stands) plus the CS1 for the center look to be an inexpensive choice that would offer a nice improvement.

What does everyone think? Do I need to look at more expensive speakers, such as the RTi4 / RTi6 or the Monitor 30 / 40's, to get better sound?

Thanks very much and Happy New Year!

jwhitakr

Anyone have any advice? I also emailed Polk support a couple of days ago, but haven't heard anything back yet.

astropuppy

Cir City has R15's on sale. Go down and listen to them and form your own opinion. To me its night and day.

Hint you can buy 4 for less then $75

Refefer

I'd seriously think of grabbing the Rti Series of speakers: the most entry level (and cheapest) of bookshelves just ain't gonna cut it if you want to have a decent setup. I'd seriously think of grabbing a set of them, preferably floorstanders, say the 8 or the 10's, which you can get fairly cheap if you buy off the bay or audiogon used, but whatever you can squeeze out of your budget. If you wanted to pick up something cheaper, try for either the R50's and Monitor 60's. Both should give you decent enough bass to make your system sound far, far better.

I'd pick up a pair of R15's and use them as surrounds if you're trying to keep the costs down, but you really need something meaty to power the front channels if you want it to sound good.

I suppose I should ask what you're looking to spend for the entire thing, that might give us a better idea on how to proceed.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

Phasearray

astropuppy wrote:

Cir City has R15's on sale. Go down and listen to them and form your own opinion. To me its night and day.

Hint you can buy 4 for less then $75

Nice scam they got going. I've check over 100 zipcodes throughout the United States in over 100 locations from the east coast to the west coast not a single store has them in stock. CC likes to advertise stuff on the internet for dirt cheap and lure you into their store.

peabody

Phasearray wrote:

Nice scam they got going. I've check over 100 zipcodes throughout the United States in over 100 locations from the east coast to the west coast not a single store has them in stock. CC likes to advertise stuff on the internet for dirt cheap and lure you into their store.

I just tried to order some on-line...they were listed at $25.98 a pair! I put two pair in my shopping cart and my final price was around $54 shipped...what a deal! I thought I had died and gone to heaven. When I tried to finalize the transaction it kept coming through as an error and it wouldn't go through. It gave an 800 number to call and of course when I called, the reason it wouldn't go through was because they were out of stock. Just my luck. The guy on the phone was nice enough to tell me about a pair of Sony speakers for around $50 a pair....I laughed and politely said "no thanks." So close.....

Ron Temple

I bought 2 pairs of R15s for my sons for Xmas @ $40.00 from Frys (in store). They are a tremendous value at that price. I can't see anyone selling them for less and I believe Frys is the only outlet that carries them in quantity(until they are finally gone).

astropuppy

Sorry, Didn't realize it was a scam. I bought mine from outpost.com If I remember correctly, delivered they where about $60 for a pair. Great value IMHO.

Once again sorry for pointing everybody at a cc scam.

jwhitakr

Thanks Refefer, astro, and others for the advice. I will take a look at the RTi series of bookshelf speakers for the fronts and a timbre matched center to go along with it. I'm thinking that the R50 / R150 would be a good replacement for the surrounds.

I also hadn't checked out the audiogon site before. Looks like a lot of nice used equipment can be found if you are patient and spot a good deal locally!

Appreciate the help,
Justin

peabody

astropuppy wrote:

Sorry, Didn't realize it was a scam. I bought mine from outpost.com If I remember correctly, delivered they where about $60 for a pair. Great value IMHO.

Once again sorry for pointing everybody at a cc scam.

I don't necessarily think it was a scam, I just think they blew out of them. I ended up getting a pair from Frys.com for 50 bucks...

Dennis Gardner

Just a word about upgrades. As you upgraded your room size, you were right to realize the speakers were outmatched. Once you upgrade your speakers you may find that your AVR or sub will then be your weak links, so choose upgrade wisely.

I prefer some of the older models RT/RTi speakers on the used market instead of buying new R line. You may end up with more speaker for your $$$.

TheReaper

astropuppy wrote:

Once again sorry for pointing everybody at a cc scam.

It is not a scam. I occasionally use CC online, and have no problem seeing the status of the R15s.

When I click on the R15s, I get the R15 detail page which has a "How to Get It" (see attached picture) section:

1) The RED dot with an X next to "Not available for shipping", means I can NOT order it from the central warehouse and have it shipped.

2) The GREEN dot with a Check next to "Get it today: check in-store availability", means One or More stores have them.

3) If you have previously entered your zip-code (or enter it now and press GO). You get the section on the right where it lists your three local stores. The RED Xs and "not carried" next to my local stores, means they do NOT have them.

It is fairly obvious to me, that I won't be able to buy a pair of R15s at Circuit City. But if your local store is one of the few (or one) that still has them, you will be able to buy the R15s there.

PS. So far in my experience, I have found CC Onlines availabiliy listings to be accurate.

halo

Refefer wrote:

the most entry level (and cheapest) of bookshelves just ain't gonna cut it if you want to have a decent setup.

That's a brash statement. Pretty ignoranant imo as well. Maybe its because I'm using R15's for my mains & surrounds, a CSi25 cc, and an SVS 20-39 PCi sub. I don't feel (or hear) that this set up has any deficiencies. Its just HT. The R series from Polk get the job done better than some other companies higher end products. Again, my $.02 YMMV.

Is there better stuff out there? Absolutely (but not at a $50 per PAIR price point).

mrbigbluelight

I'd agree.
The "R" series is not a bad way to start out; the price/benefit ratio on these little buggers is very, very good, and helps folks with "Wants" bigger than "Wallets" to get into the game.
DO keep an eye out on the "Used" market, though. You can really make your budget go a lot further.

Get what you can afford, and be happy with what you get.
There's ALWAYS something bigger and badder out there, but the main thing is be happy with what you have until you can afford to move up.

astropuppy

R15's are a great HT value. Especially when you have kids using the your HT. I have R15's up front, R1's in the back and a CS350 LS center. I really need to sell the center before it gets dropped kicked by the kids. Don't ask how I ended up with that combo; But, a pair of RT-7's went to the living room stereo.

jwhitakr

Thanks everyone for the thoughtful replies! I've got my eye on at least one pair of RTi38's, and keeping a pair of RT55's in sight as I consider how much I want to spend.

One question I've run into as I'm looking at new front speakers (forgive me if this has already been asked and answered, but I didn't find it when I searched the forums..) - is there a complete listing of timbre matched Polk center / front speaker combinations, including all of the older Polk models?

I know that some of the speaker pages on the Polk site have the corresponding center / left-right that is timbre matched...but I'm confused as I see some speaker pages (such as the R15) that say:

"Timbre-matched to fit into any Polk Audio home theater or multi-channel music system for a more realistic, more seamless surround sound environment."

I can't imagine that the R15 will work as seamlessly with a CS1 as it would with, say, a CSR?