Budget Surround Sound Setup

MurrayW

I am trying to help my 26 year old son set up his first surround system and he is on a pretty tight budget. He is OK with just setting up a 3.1 system now then getting the surrounds (or switching his mains to surrounds and buy new mains later).

Our local craigslist has the following for $200 OBO:
2 Bookshelf Speakers -- RT35
1 Center Speaker -- CS245
1 Subwoofer -- PSW140

Would this be an adequate entry into surround sound for him if these are in "great shape" as advertised by the seller? Is the $200 a fair price? If not, what should I offer him?

He would use either an old Onkyo TX-DS838 or Harman Kardon AVR510 that I am no longer using to drive the speakers. Would he notice any difference using one over the other?

I also noticed that our local Frys has the R300's for $49 each. Could these be used as the surrounds or mains for the above setup?

thanks,
Murray

vijayl

I can't comment on above speakers, as I didn't have any experience with them.
With that budget, I wud go with
o R150 as Fronts for now - later as surrounds
o CSi A4
o PSW 125
All these are available in eBay-Polk Direct refurb, may be lil' over $200 incl shipping.

warlocks1

It is a good price for some really nice speakers. I would try to get him down a little. The CS245 probably about $60.00. The RT35 about $60.00 and the subwoofer about $75.00. I would offer $150.00. Good Luck!:)

apphd

I think the speakers listed from your local GL would be a great deal if they are in good shape. The R300s for $50 is also a good deal and they would work as surrounds ok. They would probably not be a great timbre match but for the price, would give you a nice start up budget sys. I would use them as the surrounds and not mains though. Both of the AVRs you have look great as well with these speakers. Onkyo and HK are favorites here for how they sound with Polk speakers. I think the Onk looks like it has some more features than the HK, so I would probably go that route. Other than that they look to be pretty equal. You owned them both, which one did you like most?

MurrayW

apphd wrote: »

I think the Onk looks like it has some more features than the HK, so I would probably go that route. Other than that they look to be pretty equal. You owned them both, which one did you like most?

The Onkyo is an older receiver and I just looked at the inputs last night and it doesn't have any digitial inputs so it will probably be the HK (although I might go with an Onkyo SR601 that I can get off of craigslist for $75). For some reason, even though I am not currently using the HK, I am having a hard time parting with it in case I ever need it in the future.

Thanks for all the advice on the speakers. I did offer him $150 for them last night and am waiting to hear back. From what I have heard here, it sounds like even if I go higher up the the $200 asking price, it will still be a good deal.

thanks,
Murray

MurrayW

Sorry for all the questions. Does any one know what model speakers these are?
http://austin.craigslist.org/ele/1065657087.html

Would these make good surrounds to go with the other speakers that I am probably going to buy? Or would the new R301's at $100 be a better way to go? Or maybe just wait and find something better than either of these 2 options?

thanks,
Murray

Mike21

Those might be the original Monitor 4s (not the Series 2) from the early 1970s.

MurrayW

My son bought the CS245 and 2 RT35's for $75. The seller had already sold the PSW140. So now we are looking for subwoofers in his price range. I read a little bit about the PSW10's and people did not have many nice things to say about them in general. Any recommendations on what we should be on the lookout for on the used market to compliment the CS245 and RT35's?

thanks,
Murray

MurrayW

Here's an update in case anyone cares. My son just got a PSW303 sub for free that he is going to use in his setup.

It is free for him but is costing is dad $330! I decided to upgrade my sub and give him my old one. I got a BIC Acoustech VK-12 after reading a lot of favorable reviews/comments on the AVS forum.

So all he needs now are surrounds. Today our local craigslist had 2 RT15's for $50. Should he get these or wait for something else...and what would that something else be in his $50 - $100 price range? Would 2 used RT15's for $50 be better than new 2 R300's for $100?

So far he has this:
Center Speaker: CS245
L/R Mains: RT35's
Subwoofer: PSW303

thanks,
Murray

jacob.simpson

MurrayW wrote: »

Here's an update in case anyone cares. My son just got a PSW303 sub for free that he is going to use in his setup.

It is free for him but is costing is dad $330! I decided to upgrade my sub and give him my old one. I got a BIC Acoustech VK-12 after reading a lot of favorable reviews/comments on the AVS forum.

So all he needs now are surrounds. Today our local craigslist had 2 RT15's for $50. Should he get these or wait for something else...and what would that something else be in his $50 - $100 price range? Would 2 used RT15's for $50 be better than new 2 R300's for $100?

So far he has this:
Center Speaker: CS245
L/R Mains: RT35's
Subwoofer: PSW303

thanks,
Murray

Frys.com
authorised dealers for Polk get R300 very nice quality for that price(if you get right now) 49.99 each + shipping or Get R50 for 59.99 each + shipping in case if you are ordering R300, place order for 2 quantity together for better shipping pricing and if you are ordering R50 place order individually for lesser shipping price. Your son is really lucky....:D

MurrayW

jacob.simpson wrote: »

Frys.com
authorised dealers for Polk get R300 very nice quality for that price(if you get right now) 49.99 each + shipping or Get R50 for 59.99 each + shipping in case if you are ordering R300, place order for 2 quantity together for better shipping pricing and if you are ordering R50 place order individually for lesser shipping price. Your son is really lucky....:D

Or he has a really stupid father! :eek: Thankfully I was able to resist the temptation to upgrade my HDTV when I was helping him research that.

We can order the R300 for in store delivery to avoid shipping costs. From my few days in this forum, I thought the RT series was better than the R series, so that is why I was wondering if the RT15 would be better than the R300 (also 1/2 the price). Plus at some point, he might upgrade his mains and make the RT35's his surrounds.

It looks like there are 1 or 2 Polk listings each day on our local Craigslist, so maybe we should just watch for a week or 2 and see if any RT25's, 35's or even 55's pop up.

thanks,
Murray

MurrayW

Sorry for all the questions...I'm back again trying to figure out what surrounds to get. Here is what is available in my son's price range:

1. Used RT/FX ($100)
2. Used RT15 ($50)
3. New R300 ($100)
4. New Monitor 30 ($120)

Used RTFXLC ($90) - just found this one and don't know anything about it yet, so I didn't rank it.

All prices are for the pair.

I've ranked them in what I think is the best to worst. Maybe I am too enthralled with the FX concept and the RT15 should be #1 since it is half the price.

I'd be interested in how others more knowledgeable than I am would rank these choices.

thanks,
Murray

MurrayW

MurrayW wrote: »

Sorry for all the questions...I'm back again trying to figure out what surrounds to get. Here is what is available in my son's price range:

1. Used RT/FX ($100)
2. Used RT15 ($50)
3. New R300 ($100)
4. New Monitor 30 ($120)

Used RTFXLC ($90) - just found this one and don't know anything about it yet, so I didn't rank it.

All prices are for the pair.

I've ranked them in what I think is the best to worst. Maybe I am too enthralled with the FX concept and the RT15 should be #1 since it is half the price.

I'd be interested in how others more knowledgeable than I am would rank these choices.

thanks,
Murray

A pair of RT35's + stands (which I need) just showed up on craigslist for $75. That is probably my best choice for the money, correct? I think I will jump on them unless someone here talks me out of it quickly!

I would be mounting these RT35's on the wall. Do I need a fancy bracket or would the bracket that came with my first 2 RT35's work? I'll try to describe it. It is a metal bracket that sticks about 3/4" from the back of the speaker with a small opening that looks like it is meant to be hung from a screw or bolt that extends an inch or so from the wall.

thanks,
Murray

apphd

I think that would be perfect if everything is in good shape. Good stands could run you close to or above $75. Considering what you already have if they look good and are working go for it. RT 35 fronts and surrounds should sound good with the HK. Also opens the door for an easy upgrade to 7.1 if your son chooses. Add some towers for fronts, and use the RT35's for surrounds and rear.

The RT35 does have internal wall mounting capabilities using a keyhole molded into the rear power port.

When you get everything set up let us know how it sounds

candjhuntley

So... did everything work out?

Kex

MurrayW wrote: »

My son bought the CS245 and 2 RT35's for $75. ...

That's a great deal! I've seen the RT35 alone, or the CS245 on its own both sell for more than that, or $150 combined. Even $200 would not have been totally ridiculous IMO, since the RT35 alone frequently sell for $125 or more in my experience (eBay watching, mostly). Finding another pair of RT35, which you seem to have done, makes this system an ideal starting system, or very close. Most people don't have a system nearly as good as that (those on audio forum's such as this excluded, obviously).

Well done, and a nice thread story too.

MurrayW

candjhuntley wrote: »

So... did everything work out?

We have all the components ready to go. They are painting his walls and installing carpet next week, so we aren't going to set things up until after that is finished. I do have some questions on mounting the speakers and I started a new thread here: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80096

I would appreciate advice from anyone who has been following this one who has any suggestions.

Thanks for all the help!

Murray

MurrayW

I dropped one of my RT35's from about 7 ft when I was trying to mount it.

I think the woofer is damaged -- when I hooked it up there was very little volume and it sounded like only the tweeter was working. I am going to try to take it apart and look for damage. What should I be looking for and are there very many things that could be wrong that I could repair or should I just start looking for another RT35 to become available?

thanks,
Murray

danger boy

MurrayW wrote: »

I dropped one of my RT35's from about 7 ft when I was trying to mount it.

I think the woofer is damaged -- when I hooked it up there was very little volume and it sounded like only the tweeter was working. I am going to try to take it apart and look for damage. What should I be looking for and are there very many things that could be wrong that I could repair or should I just start looking for another RT35 to become available?

thanks,
Murray

bummer.

MurrayW

Keiko wrote: »

Owch!

Only thing I can suggest is to look for a loose wire Murray. Check at the driver and the crossover ends. Hopefully it will be something this simple. If not, customer support might be able to help. It may be difficult finding a single RT35 to replace the damaged one. Good luck.

Customer Service & Tech Support:
polkcs@polkaudio.com
1-800-377-POLK (7655)
9AM-5:30PM EST Mon-Fri
(410) 764-5470 FAX
International +1-410-358-3600

I'll open it up tonight. Yeah, I am pretty much resigned to having to buy 2 RT's rather than finding a single one. I guess I will have a spare if anything ever happens to one of the others! There is an auction on EBay right now for 2 RT35i's that ends tomorrow, so hopefully I can check everything out tonight and if it looks like the speaker is toast I can bid on those.

I think that finding 2 sets of RT35's on craigslist within a few days of each other was just a lucky coincidence and I won't count on another set showing up locally in the next few weeks.

thanks,
Murray

MurrayW

If I can't fix my RT35 and I don't win the EBay auction for the RT35i's, would RTi4's work for my surrounds? There is a local listing for a pair of RTi4's for $100.
thanks,
Murray

Kex

MurrayW wrote: »

If I can't fix my RT35 and I don't win the EBay auction for the RT35i's, would RTi4's work for my surrounds? There is a local listing for a pair of RTi4's for $100.
thanks,
Murray

They should do fine (and they're real wood veneer, not vinyl). I think they are considered "brighter" sounding than the RT35, but most Polk RT/RTi speakers seem to blend very well, especially as surrounds in HT. You will also find RT35 or 35i from time to time, or more commonly, RT25 and RT28i, either on CL or eBay, but they'll all be mostly around $100-125 or more IMO (if in good condition).

MurrayW

I opened up my dropped RT35 tonight and did not see anything loose. All wires were secure and in general the woofer looked like it had never been dropped. So much for the easy fixes...I'll send customer support an email, but I am afraid I will be looking for new speakers for my son's surrounds.

Thanks for all the help.

Murray

max997

there is a decent setup that just came out from samsung with bluray player and surround sound system