Downgrading :(

FittyFieFo

Hi guys,

I'm considering downgrading my speakers because I am looking into a condo in the future. Currently, I have Rti10's and Csi5 (you can see my "setup" in my signature). I will be selling them MAYBE in the future, if I go through with this. I am a very huge fan of Polk speakers.

My question is, does Polk Audio sell like a 5-7 piece compact home theater system? I am keeping my subwoofer. And perhaps upgrading my receiver with a Harmon Kardon. I went to Best Buy and saw a Polk Audio 5 piece system for like $399. I really want really good speakers since I'm downgrading from the huge speakers .

Any input or advice would be happily accepted. If you give me any ideas or links to any 5-7 piece system, I would greatly appreciate it. I looked at the Polk Audio website, and I can't find any multi-speaker system.

Thanks!

zarrdoss

Dont move into the condo

zarrdoss

No seriously I would keep what you have and just turn it down, you may not live in the condo forever and will kick yourself in the **** for getting rid of the bigger stuff. I would only consider downgrading if you dont have the space where you are moving.

Hilbert

I second Zarrdoss's advice --- this is not a good time to be selling stuff, and home theater systems don't really compare to big floorstanders. To be precise, when listening to my old Samsung htib I could tell trumpet from piano, but not trumpet from sax.

Must admit Polk has gotta be better than that. The information you're looking for is available at the link below but, I'll say it again, don't click. Keep what you have. You'll be happier.

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/rm2008/

FittyFieFo

Thank you both for suggestions. I have another question though. How do you know if you're getting the best out of your speakers? I might be looking buying a new receiver instead of trading all my stuff. I have a Yamaha HTR 5890. Are those good enough to power a 5.1 home theater system?

Also, if I keep all my big speakers. I will probably have my couch against the wall, MAKING NO ROOM FOR BACK SURROUNDS. Is there any suggestions on this??? and any suggestions on harmon kardon receivers?

Thanks!

I do really want to keep my speakers

Hilbert

Looking at the specs, I'd say in my ignorant noob fashion the Yamaha should power the speakers OK but you'd notice a big improvement with a separate amp. But take your time and collect a few opinions besides mine before you do something rash such as buying an amp.

As for the sofa---my sofa is against the wall. My speakers, all 5 of them, are in a line on the opposite wall. It's not very surroundy but it's fine imo for music, which is my chief interest, and OK for movies. Life goes on. 30 years ago it would have seemed fabulous beyond belief. The human spirit endures.:)

ps I know nothing of HK receivers but do a search, they have a lot of good comments on the forum

zarrdoss

HK JBL and Infinity are all the same now ( bought out by HK), and as far as I know they all make good stuff. If you put the couch against the wall put the speakers 2-3 feet out from the couch, against the wall and angle them kinda towards the center of the room, this works for me but something different might work for you.
A new receiver might make a difference but not as good as a 5.1 pre/processor and seperate amps.

quadzilla

FittyFieFo wrote: »

Also, if I keep all my big speakers. I will probably have my couch against the wall, MAKING NO ROOM FOR BACK SURROUNDS. Is there any suggestions on this???

You can just put the surrounds against the wall on either side of your couch and facing forward. This seems to be a fairly common set up. It's how I had my setup for years, and it sounded fine and it's also how the AV university on another site recommends you do a 5.1 set up, so....

FittyFieFo

How much would a separate amp be? I'm not really tech savvy on hooking up my speakers.

Do you recommend me upgrading my receiver!?

FittyFieFo

quadzilla wrote: »

You can just put the surrounds against the wall on either side of your couch and facing forward. This seems to be a fairly common set up. It's how I had my setup for years, and it sounded fine and it's also how the AV university on another site recommends you do a 5.1 set up, so....

Also any recommendations on the back surrounds? (they recommend fxi 5 to match the Rti Series)

cfrizz

You can use either the fxi 3 or 5 and they will do very well on the back wall on either side of your couch.

If your receiver has preouts just buy a 5 channel amp. If not you will have to upgrade the receiver first, making sure it has preouts to add an amp later.

FittyFieFo

cfrizz wrote: »

You can use either the fxi 3 or 5 and they will do very well on the back wall on either side of your couch.

If your receiver has preouts just buy a 5 channel amp. If not you will have to upgrade the receiver first, making sure it has preouts to add an amp later.

When you say "on the back wall on either side of your couch". Do you mean mounted on the wall, or next to the couch on a stand?

Also, I saw the specs for the receiver. http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/productdetail.html?CNTID=200016&CTID=5000400&ATRID=1020&DETYP=ATTRIBUTE.

It seems to have pre outs. Can you confirm that it does have preouts. Do you recommend any 5 channel amp? I'm just preparing for the future as I will be getting a very nice big screen LCD, and a Blu-Ray player :-D.

Also..thanks again for everyone who is helping and responding. Really helps me

quadzilla

FittyFieFo wrote: »

When you say "on the back wall on either side of your couch". Do you mean mounted on the wall, or next to the couch on a stand?

Either way should work. I think you just want them faced forward to get a more dispersed field. I'd probably go with mounted on the walls though so they're as far back as possible.

FittyFieFo

quadzilla wrote: »

Either way should work. I think you just want them faced forward to get a more dispersed field. I'd probably go with mounted on the walls though so they're as far back as possible.

Thanks!! Any suggestions would be helpful!

Hilbert

That Yamaha looks like a nice receiver, if you can make do with component video and without one or two other b&w. And it does have pre outs. Unless you really dislike the Yamaha sound, I suspect you'd get a lot more bang for the buck from an amp than from a different receiver.

FittyFieFo

Hilbert wrote: »

That Yamaha looks like a nice receiver, if you can make do with component video and without one or two other b&w. And it does have pre outs. Unless you really dislike the Yamaha sound, I suspect you'd get a lot more bang for the buck from an amp than from a different receiver.

I will most likely be using my receiver for movie's and music whenever company comes over. I'm not sure if you're telling me to buy an amp and sell the receiver or not? What does "b&w" stand for..I'm such a noob.

Hilbert

b&w = bells and whistles. Sorry, I got lazy while typing.

I'm saying the receiver looks nice, keep it. Maybe down the road consider getting an amp if you want to get the most out of your speakers.

But I'm not telling you to do anything, just suggesting. I'm fairly noobish too so take my advice with grain of salt.

Stick around, in just a few months you too can be doling out unintelligible advice to hapless noobs.:)

ps is it noobish or noobian? Will an oldtimer please explain?

zarrdoss

I'd say ounce you got your surrounds you will be doing good unless you want to throw more money at it. if that the case I might start with a real good 2 ch amp and put it on the mains and then add a 3-5 channel for the surrounds latter on, Seperate amps can get expensive but you can find used Adcom or like amps pretty cheap right now.
You can use your receiver as a pre-amp when you use the pre-outs and just hook an external amp up to it. You uasually get more cleaner power out of an external amp than the amps built inside a AVR.

FittyFieFo

Thanks guys!

I'll stick with the system I have now and just get the fxi5's if I can find them .

I'll mount those Fxi5's on the wall behind my couch. Thanks for all your help! I just need to make sure the settings are correct on my receiver.

cfrizz

Yes you have preouts, so all you need to get is a separate amp.

The 2 fxi speakers have keyhole slots on the back so that you can hang them on the wall. Mine are hanging 6 feet up and about 6 feet apart on my back wall over the couch.

Make sure you put the nails/screws into the wall studs so they will be nice & secure. You wouldn't want one of those speakers coming down on top your head!:eek:

Amp choices are many. It all depends on how much you want to spend. Whether you want to buy new or used.

I always recommend getting at least 200wpc for an amp. That's enough to let just about any speaker operate to its full potential.

My favorites are Sunfire (see my signature), Rotel, Parasound, Outlaw, Emotiva, B & K, Adcom. Plus tons of other companies out there.

FittyFieFo wrote: »

When you say "on the back wall on either side of your couch". Do you mean mounted on the wall, or next to the couch on a stand?

Also, I saw the specs for the receiver. http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/productdetail.html?CNTID=200016&CTID=5000400&ATRID=1020&DETYP=ATTRIBUTE.

It seems to have pre outs. Can you confirm that it does have preouts. Do you recommend any 5 channel amp? I'm just preparing for the future as I will be getting a very nice big screen LCD, and a Blu-Ray player :-D.

Also..thanks again for everyone who is helping and responding. Really helps me

NewHTguy

I live in a condo and my speakers keep getting bigger. LOL. Why should that force you to not have good music? before you give up those Rti 10s, I'd say go 3.1 and forget the surrounds . I'm considering the OWM3 or 5s at some point in the future. They are quite flexible.

Monster Jam

zarrdoss wrote: »

HK JBL and Infinity are all the same now ( bought out by HK), and as far as I know they all make good stuff.

I would agree with the later portion of this comment (that they all make good stuff), however I would exercise some caution on the beginning of the comment.

Yes, HK owns these brands, but no, they are not the same. One could make many analogies (such as VW owning Audi) that illustrate companies have subsidiaries to fill niches in a particular market, but really you need only look at the brand JBL. JBL makes a wide variety of speakers that are really nothing like each other.

Ticky-tack, I know, but something I thought worth commenting on.

vijayl

CP is great forum!! saved lot of time and effort for Fitty.. Great suggestions from everyone. guys are awesome

zarrdoss

Yeah I souuld have clarified more, the same company and they all share techknology sometimes but are still different in most aspects. They all make great stuff still though, Not like the Advent and AR sellout.