Where would you go from here?

holt

I'm a brand spanking new member with some questions, that answered, will hopefully keep me from continuing a clumsy start in my upgrade. I started my HT experience about 2 years ago with these components: Samsung ln52a650 TV, Onkyo txsr605 AV, and a set of Onkyo sks ht240, a 6.1 speaker pack (surrounds and the one rear on speaker stands set about 8 ft to the side and the back of the sectional sofa - I ran the wires up underneath the house and drilled through the shoe molding and not the floor). I have a modest sized living room that isn't the ideal for a serious HT setup - back wall interrupted by front door entrance, one side wall interrupted by dinning area, and a vaulted ceiling. I recently got upgrade fever and at first was going to attack the Onkyo 605. It didn't take me long reading that it was actually the speakers I should be starting with as the receiver is still fine for now. Here comes the clumsy part:

I realized it was the center stage that needed addressing first so I read reviews and then checked prices - ended up with a pair of cherry (goes well with bamboo floor) M70s from Newegg. For the center, I started out buying the cs10 in the same order, but then came reading over here and panicked after seeing over and over again, "you MUST get the cs2 with monitor 70s!" (gee, thanks, folks ). I tried to switch the order with Newegg, but they were like, "sorry, you can't change at this point" :mad: To top it off, the center didn't make it in with the m70s and got stuck in UPS land (will be here Monday). I love the 70s, but they tend to dominate everything right now, and the cheap little Onkyo sks ht240 center is having a melt down between those two, but it is holding its own right now. My panic on my purchase of the cs10 lead me back to Newegg where I saw the cs2 black on sale for $109. I jumped on it and decided I'd unload the cs10, but first, I was going to compare the two and see just how much difference I was going to detect when I have them both here. Sorry, I know I'm going to hear, "you should go out with your favorite cd and listen to them both at an audio store" - not in this town; I've only seen the cs1 out at Best Buy and it wasn't even hooked up. Circuit City closed last summer and hhgregg is a joke.

Sorry for the run on, but here is my dilemma, I have place the old onkyo fronts as surrounds on either side of the couch which seems to be fine right now. I was thinking of eventually replacing them with the owm3s because of space and mounting issues - Do you feel there is any point in carrying on the one back speaker and do you feel the owm3s will make an improvement (living room is 20'x20')? I don't have the room for a 7.1 with the door situated as it is. If you think its still worth it, I would either just leave the onkyo in the stand in the back -but I never hear that thing back there - or find a single owm3 (remember, I have a vaulted ceiling and can't do ceiling mounts).

Currently, I still have the sks ht240 sub and its okay for now. I have the 70s crossover set at 60Hz (the onkyo audessy setup had them as full range, but I changed that). Any suggestions on that?

Thanks for your help!

LandShark

Welcome Holt!
I'm still learning alot of this stuff myself but since I have similar equipment I'll chime in. The CS2 as you stated is a super match to the M70's. I'm telling you, as you say the M70's dominate the Onkyo center, the CS2 can at times dominate the M70's. That thing is awesome. I have the OWM3's paired for surrounds also. I don't have a vaulted ceiling but they're so many different ways to mount them something will work. I had the Polk RM101's as surrounds before and always had a problem hearing sound from them. The OWM3's really made an improvement.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showcase/view.php?userid=82567

If you scroll down to the last picture you can see that the OWM3's are a good look on the walls.

holt

Thanks, Landshark! What do you think about the monitor 30s as surrounds (don't know how I'd hang them)? Would you think the single back speaker is a waste of space right now (there is at least 8 ft to the back of the couch)? I have room under the TV (wall hung) for the cs2 so the space is there..... Curious as to what I'll hear between it and the cs10.

LandShark

Actually I've never tried the 6.1 setup if that's what the "single" back speaker is. If you go with monitor 30's/40's for surrounds wall mounting is an option but they are pretty big speakers. Most would put them on stands but the 30's would be a little easier to wall mount. I've never heard the cs10 but the CS2 is a perfect match so I'm not sure it could beat it. If the CS2 can go under the TV it may have to be placed on a shelf or stand. It's a monster and if you look at my pictures it's just to the left of my Onkyo 705 and it's a good bit bigget than the Onkyo.

LandShark

By the way, if at all possible line the tweeters of the 70's and the center speaker at the same height. This is not possible in my entertainment center but it would improve sound if you could get it at that level.

hearingimpared

Welcome to Club Polk holt!

holt

I would be able to get the tweeter about the same height where it will go, so that isn't a problem. You are probably right about the size issue on the monitor 30s, the owm3 would be less conspicuous on the walls.

cnh

If you only have space for one speaker back there an OWM would be fine...might be a good idea to just mount 3 rears....all OWMS SR/SL and SBack.

It is possible that the M70s will overpower the CS1 (most of us run CS2s and as LandShark says above...sometimes we have to lower the dbs on the CS2 because it's too dominant...but this is because about 50 percent or so of all surround info goes to the Center..hence even the M70s are playing less info than that CS2.

But it would be possible to tweak that CS1 by raising the Dbs there and backing off the M70s some to achieve a better balance.

The best thing you can do for HT is get yourself a better sub than the sub that comes with that Onkyo speakers set.....the PSW505 (discontinued Polk 12" 300 watt) can be had for 250 with free shipping and a full warranty....and would make a huge difference for your system!

cnh

holt

Thanks, cnh. I've been wrestling with it all morning (also, a huge dose of guilt for thinking about spending more money). The back wall is just not laid out correctly for 3 speakers without them ending offset from the couch and somewhat compressed together. I already have 3 speaker stands in place, so I might just go with the Monitor 30s as surrounds. I've been viewing Newegg all morning and I am sorely tempted to get the Monitor 50s at their discounted price, but then would be the problem of raising them off the floor to clear the back of the couch - which would, to me, cause massive stability problems and look awkward. The sub your suggesting is now $229 and that is very tempting. My problem with subs has been the neighbors next to me get annoyed when I watch an explosive movie - and that is with this cheap Onkyo that I now have. They are much younger than me, so its a strange situation when they're the ones complaining of noise.