Looking to upgrade to some Polk Audios soon

comfortablycurt

So, I'm newer to the world of audiophilia, and I'm looking to buy my first set of audiophile speakers soon. I've got an Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 receiver, which I'm thrilled with, but my speakers are a bit sub par to say the least.

My price range for the whole setup is going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of a thousand dollars or so, and I'm looking for some suggestions on what to buy.

I've been looking at the new discontinued Monitor series a lot recently, and from what I've seen so far they're about the best bang I could get for that price range. They've come down a lot in price recently...which helps a lot.

The system I have in mind is a pair of Monitor 50's for my mains, with four Monitor 30's for my surrounds and surround backs, along with a CS2 center channel. I keep going back and forth on what sub I want to. I was looking at the PSW10 for a while...but I think I've pretty much ruled that one out. I want one with some more balls. I'm thinking I may end up going with the PSW110...it has decent power, and doesn't cost nearly as much as the higher end subs. Any other suggestions for what to look at?

Later on I plan to upgrade my mains to the Monitor 70's, and get another pair of Monitor 50's and use them as my surrounds. I've also had the PSW1000 in mind as well for an upgrade farther down the road. I noticed that the 1000 recently got discontinued though. Why is that? Is it problematic? Or are they just getting ready to release something else to take it's place?

Any opinions or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

4406bbl

Go to the polk ebay store and buy the rtia5,csia4 fxia4,or 2 sets of rtia1, and a psw1000,about 1200 shipped to your door. Lots of cheaper items there also but for the money I would go rti. In any case buy quality mains,center and surrounds while the deals are here as you can always find a cheap sub.

comfortablycurt

4406bbl wrote: »

Go to the polk ebay store and buy the rtia5,csia4 fxia4,or 2 sets of rtia1, and a psw1000,about 1200 shipped to your door. Lots of cheaper items there also but for the money I would go rti. In any case buy quality mains,center and surrounds while the deals are here as you can always find a cheap sub.

I would really like the RTiA's...but that would be going a bit above my price range. For that whole setup after tax and shipping it would be close to 1600 dollars.

I'm not to huge of a fan of the dipole speakers like the FXi's either. They've always sounded kind of delayed and echoey to me. I do think I'm gonna end up going with the PSW1000 though. I may end up getting that CSiA4 too. That's a much better center than the CS2...and it doesn't even really cost any more....so I might as well go with that.


How are Polks refurb units generally? Do they tend to have a lot of cosmetic flaws or anything? If I can save some money by getting refurbs, that's definitely the route I want to go, but if they tend to be dented and scratched I think I'd rather dish out the extra cash for new ones.

Unfortunately though I'm not gonna be able to start getting them until after the holiday season, and most likely not until early spring actually. I'm hoping they'll still have some of those deals going on their ebay store when I'm ready to buy. Do they usually have a bunch of stock on their ebay store? Or is it somewhat seasonal?

4406bbl

Every report I have seen is speakers are new or look like new,,use rti1,or rti3 for surrounds if you do not like dipoles. I think the bad economy is why you see these items cheap right now.

comfortablycurt

Crutchfield has the RTi4's for 180 bucks a pair. I'm assuming these would probably be a good match for the RTiA5's and the CSiA4 though. The RTiA's are basically just the newer versions of the RTi's with a different cabinet right?

They don't have any of the a1's or a3's on their ebay store, and they're pretty expensive elsewhere. I'll keep my eye out for some refurbs though.

And yeah...you could blame most of that on the economy right now. Expect the prices on all of the electronics and everything to come down next year. People aren't buying that kinda stuff right now really, so they've gotta do something to start selling some of it.

4406bbl

How about 4 lsi7 for 700 and an lsic for 399,NICE for 1200 shipped.

comfortablycurt

That would be awesome too, but that'd only be 5.1, and I'd still have to get a sub. Now that I've had the 7.1 for a while, I don't know if I could go back to 5.1. If I had the money to get those plus a pair of LSi15's I'd definitely be going for that setup...but those are a bit out of my price range currently. The LSi's are definitely on the list for a future upgrade though...like 10 years from now...lol

I'm thinking I may end up going with the RTiA5's, with four RTi4's and a CSiA4 center, and most likely a PSW1000.

I could get that whole setup for about 1200 dollars.

The other possibility would be the Monitor 50's with four Monitor 30's plus a CSiA4 and a PSW1000, which would be around 850 or so, which is probably more in my price range.

Time will tell though, it all depends on how much extra money I've got laying around come spring time. I'm tempted to buy them right now...but I run a tree service for a living, which tends to be kind of seasonal. Work slows down quite a bit this time of year, so I should probably do the responsible thing and wait until the spring. Damn though...I can't wait to get some Polk's and open up my receivers real potential.

apphd

comfort..cur, You mention in the OP that your current speakers are sub par, but did not mention what they are. Those deals on Polk Direct are tough to beat. Maybe after the new year it will get better hard telling.
My thoughts.... any chance you could use 2 of your current speakers as rear surrounds for a while pick up some RTi's then complete the package later? I just hear so much more about the RTi's over the M series. I have a pair of M50s temporarily filling in until I have time to make repairs on something else. They are ok but, as marketed and priced, a step below the RTi. I know if I was looking at the 2 set ups in your last post $1200 to $850 and went with the M @ $850 within a month I would be kicking myself for not waiting until I had the extra $350

The LSi's mentioned are 4 ohm speakers I don't think the 606 would be up to it.

The refurb price on the sub looks great, but also around the point you could get some other more notables. I have not heard much about the 1000, but most of the regulars here tend to lean away from Polk for the subs. Up till the release of the DSW line at least, I hear those are competitive.

comfortablycurt

The front speakers that I'm using right now are Goldstar GSE-325's(Goldstar is now known as LG). I actually do like those speakers, though I still want to upgrade them. They're 3-way bookshelfs that each have a 7" woofer, a 4" mid and a 1 3/4" tweeter. They handle a hundred watts at an 8 ohm impedance. They aren't bad speakers though.

My center/surrounds/surround backs and my powered sub are all part of a HTIB system...and aren't really that great. They're Prodynamics brand...which you may not be familiar with. They're from the infamous "White Van Scam" if you're familiar with that. I bought them out of the back of a guys truck outside of a Best Buy. They're marketed towards people that don't know what they're talking about basically. The box had a price tag on it that said they retailed for 2900 dollars or something, which is completely off the wall. They're cheap satellites that each have two 2" mid/tweeters in them, and an 8" 100 watt sub.

Like I said...they're marketed towards stupid kids that don't know what they're looking at basically. To start with the guy was trying to sell it to me for like 800 dollars...lol...I talked him down to 60 bucks. I knew they were pieces of crap, but at the time I needed a stereo, and it has served me well for about 5 years now believe it or not. It's time for an upgrade though.

I have thought about just replacing my surrounds, center and sub, and waiting a while longer to save up for some RTiA7's or A9's. I don't know if I'd be better off leaving my Goldstars as my mains though, or moving them back to one of the surround positions. I guess I'd have to try both and see what worked better.

In all reality that would probably be the best way to go, because as you said, the RTi's are far superior to the Monitors.

If I just got the four RTi4's, a CSiA4 and a PSW1000 it would cost about $950, and from there I could start saving up for some RTiA7's, which I could get for about another $450 from Polk Direct. I think that may be what I end up doing, that sounds a lot more appealing than settling for the Monitor series.

Hilbert

How are things in Dixon? I've often wanted to go there and visit the Reagan shrines.

The system you mentioned in your original post is almost precisely the system I bought as my first excursion into Polkdom. It's definitely not audiophile, whatever that means, and I bought new speakers a few months later.

You don't mention your interests, presumably mostly HT but any music and if so what sort? This info might be of use to your advisors.

Why not assemble a system piece by piece? Get some nice front speakers now, add center surrounds and sub & possibly amp later as money permits. This is what I wished I had done, whilst listening to my Monitors.

I just received 2 LSi7s and an LSiC from Polk Direct on ebay, and their quality to my inexpert eyes and ears is indistinguishable from the 2 LSi9s that I foolishly bought previously from Crutchfield at greater expense.

apphd

comfortably_cur wrote: »

The front speakers that I'm using right now are Goldstar GSE-325's(Goldstar is now known as LG). I actually do like those speakers........I don't know if I'd be better off leaving my Goldstars as my mains though, or moving them back to one of the surround positions.......If I just got the four RTi4's, a CSiA4 and a PSW1000 it would cost about $950, and from there I could start saving up for some RTiA7's, which I could get for about another $450 from Polk Direct. I think that may be what I end up doing, that sounds a lot more appealing than settling for the Monitor series.

These look like good options. Keep the Goldstar as fronts temporarily and get the Rti center, surrounds, and a sub.
Pick up: 2 A5's, CSiA4, 2 RTi4's, sub and use the Goldstars as surrounds or rears, until you get 2 more RTi4's. Or the same but with A7's.
There has been a lot of disscusion here as to whether the A7's are worth the extra $$ if running a sub with the 5's. Best I have been able to tell it's a split decision.

comfortablycurt

Hilbert wrote: »

How are things in Dixon? I've often wanted to go there and visit the Reagan shrines.

The system you mentioned in your original post is almost precisely the system I bought as my first excursion into Polkdom. It's definitely not audiophile, whatever that means, and I bought new speakers a few months later.

You don't mention your interests, presumably mostly HT but any music and if so what sort? This info might be of use to your advisors.

Things in Dixon are pretty slow, that's how they usually are though. There are plenty of Reagan shrines around town too. My parents actually own one of the Reagan homes. The upstairs of it used to be apartments, and Ronald Reagan was renting one of them for about a year or so. It was the last place he lived in before moving to California.

I have **** in the same toilet as a former president. Hell yeah! Not really...the toilets been replaced, but I still like to tell people that....lol

I've pretty much decided against the Monitor series, because as a bunch of you have said, they aren't really audiophile. They would still be a huge step up from what I have now, but in the long run I think I'll be happier spending a bit more money to get the RTi's.

My interests are primarily musically directed, although I watch a lot of movies too, and love my surround sound. My musical tastes range a lot...Some of my favorites are Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, The Allman Brothers. I also listen to a lot of stuff such as The Smashing Pumpkins, Tool, A Perfect Circle, Queens of the Stone Age, Stone Temple Pilots...A lot of stuff really. I even listen to some techno/electronica from time to time.

I'm a bass junkie...not that I like overpowering bass, but I do like there to be an abundance of good clean bass. Which is why I think I'll probably end up going with the A7's over the A5's.

comfortablycurt

Well, I think I've changed my mind. I think I'm gonna go with the A5's rather than the A7's. From what I've been reading, the A5's have a much better midrange section, and the 7's tend to be a bit bass heavy.

In the future I plan to upgrade it too. I'll get another pair of the A5's and use the four of them as my surrounds, and I'll get a pair of the A9's to take over as my mains. I think I'll be completely satisfied with the A5's and the RTi4's until I do that though, and I could picture the A5's being much better suited as surround speakers than the A7's. Am I right in thinking this?

Good Vibrations

comfortablycurt wrote: »

I think I'll be completely satisfied with the A5's and the RTi4's until I do that though, and I could picture the A5's being much better suited as surround speakers than the A7's. Am I right in thinking this?

Obviously it comes down to preference, if it sounds good, do it.

apphd

comfortablycurt wrote: »

Well, I think I've changed my mind. I think I'm gonna go with the A5's rather than the A7's. From what I've been reading, the A5's have a much better midrange section, and the 7's tend to be a bit bass heavy.

In the future I plan to upgrade it too. I'll get another pair of the A5's and use the four of them as my surrounds, and I'll get a pair of the A9's to take over as my mains. I think I'll be completely satisfied with the A5's and the RTi4's until I do that though, and I could picture the A5's being much better suited as surround speakers than the A7's. Am I right in thinking this?

I think the A5's would make better surrounds than the A7's, but could be rather space consuming in many rooms. I guess if you have the room and don't mind the looks there's no reason it wouldn't work. One thing though when you add the A9's I think the 606 will start running out of power, especially with 4 A5's for surrounds. But that gives you a reason to upgrade your AVR!:D

comfortablycurt

apphd wrote: »

I think the A5's would make better surrounds than the A7's, but could be rather space consuming in many rooms. I guess if you have the room and don't mind the looks there's no reason it wouldn't work. One thing though when you add the A9's I think the 606 will start running out of power, especially with 4 A5's for surrounds. But that gives you a reason to upgrade your AVR!:D

I don't mind the look at all personally. I love having gigantic speakers all over the place...lol My living room is 18x22, so it's big enough to justify it I think.

Believe me...I've already considered the possibility of the 606 not being able to keep up. I'll use it for a while when I first get them. My next upgrade after the A9's will probably be an Onkyo SR806 or SR876, or the current versions of them if they get discontinued. Along with a 7 channel power amp, possibly an Emotiva, to bi-amp my whole setup.

That should power it efficiently right?

comfortablycurt

Well, I'm pretty much set on what speakers I'm going to get, but I'm still kind of unsure of what sub I want to go with. I've been looking at the PSW1000 for a while, but I keep hearing about how good the DSW Series is. I don't have the money for one of the MicroPro's, but would I be better off going with one of the DSW Pro's? I'd either get the 500 or the 600, whichever my finances will allow when I'm ready to buy one, but I'd most likely go for the 600.

So basically, which one is generally considered better? The PSW1000 or the DSW Pro 600?

comfortablycurt

I was just checking out some of the SVS subs too...those look damn nice. I was checking out the SVS PB12-NSD. It looks like a much better sub than any of the Polks for the price point it's in. I could get it for about 660 shipped, which is about 200 more than the PSW1000. From the sounds of it though, I'd be much better off with it, and I'd probably never have to upgrade it.

That is...until I decided spend some real big money on a sub anyway.

What are the general opinions on the SVS subs? I know they have a good reputation. Would they blend well with the RTiA's?

apphd

comfortablycurt wrote: »

I don't mind the look at all personally. I love having gigantic speakers all over the place...lol My living room is 18x22, so it's big enough to justify it I think.

Believe me...I've already considered the possibility of the 606 not being able to keep up. I'll use it for a while when I first get them. My next upgrade after the A9's will probably be an Onkyo SR806 or SR876, or the current versions of them if they get discontinued. Along with a 7 channel power amp, possibly an Emotiva, to bi-amp my whole setup.

That should power it efficiently right?

That AVR and amp upgrade will do it. Hear the A9's are killers! I have to say, 2 days ago with your OP and newly acquired 606 and $1000 budget I think, you have upgrade the most in the shortest time I have seen (all good). It will be a killer system for sure.:D

comfortablycurt

apphd wrote: »

That AVR and amp upgrade will do it. Hear the A9's are killers! I have to say, 2 days ago with your OP and newly acquired 606 and $1000 budget I think, you have upgrade the most in the shortest time I have seen (all good). It will be a killer system for sure.:D

I'm definitely hoping so. I'm sure I'll be satisfied with it. Like I said before, I won't be able to start buying my speakers until probably early spring, because of the holiday season and everything. I've still gotta buy Christmas presents for my parents, 3 brothers and 3 nieces and 1 nephew...so moneys gonna be a bit tight for a while.

I think I'll manage to wait though. I'm still being blown away by how much my sound is improved with the new receiver, even through the speakers I have now. I can't wait to see what it can really do with some good speakers though.