RTi4 or M50 or M40 or M30????

Thrackk

I am really new to this. This is for a 2.1 bedroom setup. I have the Logitech Z2300 2.1 THX comp speaker setup connected simply to my Samsung LN32A450 lcd tv through the headphone jack. The 8 inch sub powers the sats as well. 120w to the sub + 40x2 to the sats with a maximum of double output (maybe?). I want to replace the tiny sats. Rti4 is on sale for $149(pair). Monitor50s on sale for $85 each. Monitor30 $95 pair. Monitor40 $129 pair. All free shipping. And the R50s $59 each + $50 shipping. Which is my best bang for the buck? Will my setup be able to push the M50s? Are the M50s too big for a 9 by 11 bedroom? Would they be too boomy or confined? Are the M50s just an extended M40? If i got the M40s i might have to buy stands cause of their height or they would have to fit on a dresser with the tv or they might have to go behind and slightly to the side of the tv. Will that hurt their performance? I've really hit a wall here and could use some sound advice (no pun intended).

MANSKITO

basically your setting your self up for problems in what your trying to do.(its going to suck)

I m new to this as well and i m in collage working on a very limited budget and i understand trying to work with what you have and make it sound great.
However your going to want to do this right the first time trust me. And that Means your going to have to buy an AVR or an AMP of some sort, speaker wire and speakers.
I'm into custome PCs and i bought the same speakers for my brothers PC and even my basic ($99 floor item) Yamaha receiver with some entry level Polks sounds light years ahead of my bros set up.
And as to your sub while its better then most home theater in a box even Polks most basic PSW10 ($99 on newegg) is way more kick **** then the logitech. Again save your money and do this the right way the first time don't try to jerry rig a system you will NOT get the same results.

MANSKITO

Also your going to want to get the speakers with the highest sensitivity because that 40 watts is a pretty weak 40 watts. I think your best bet is M60s for 100each. they have 90dB sensitivity so you will get more sound for your money. The Rti4 are a better music speaker how ever the 60s will be better for rock music and movies

dorokusai

They're all efficient loudspeakers, so you can't go wrong with any of the aforementioned choices. The real problem lies in the Logitech setup. It's not designed to run just any speaker you connect to it and the impedence of the satellites is probably pretty high. I think its unwise but that doesn't mean you can't do it.

As mentioned above....I'd also look for a cheap AVR/Receiver or Integrated Amplifier off of Craigslist for example. You can run a splitter from your sound card into the new gear and be able to run just about any Polk speaker available to you.

Out of the speaker choices you stated and your current setup, I like the R50.

Thrackk

40 watts is a pretty weak 40 watts?? I probably might not know exactly what i'm talking about, but that doesn't sound correct. Anyway 40 watts is RMS. Maximum output for the sats is 80 watts. Most of the stats on these speakers is 20-100w. From reading alot of posts on different audio forums, alot of people replace crap speakers that come in a HTIB all the time. I don't really see how this situation is that much different. Of course optimally I would want to buy an AVR and the works but don't have the room for the works presently so i'm trying to optimize what i have. Worse case situation i end up with some speakers i can use in putting together a better system later when my situation improves. So within those parameters that i mentioned originally, which seems to be the most logical purchase?

cnh

The Problem is not the 40 watts RMS if indeed that's what it really is, but what IMPEDANCE the amp in that sub/sat system is running at..because you're probably going to fry any of the speakers mentioned above by clipping them off that weak amp and WRONG impedance. I doubt that's an 8 ohm load back there? Which is what the Polk speakers are.

And at 40 watts PEAK and probably HUGE distortion at that level...I bet it's 10 percent at least....you can clip that amp really really easily....that's why it's not recommended. And why you'd be better off with a real AVR that has a distortion of less than 1 percent at

RMS at 8 ohm power!

cnh

dorokusai

It appears you're going to do it anyways, so R50. Good luck.

Thrackk

See stats on the Logitech Z-2300 2.1 below. I don't see a problem. Do any of you?People on newegg used monitor 30s and 40s with this system and say it sounds awesome for a low price upgrade. A person on the Logitech forum upgraded to the RTi6s and thinks it sounds awesome. Definitely going to go through with it anyway. Once again, OF COURSE it would be best to spend $1000 dollars or more getting an AVR and a full spectrum of speakers. Don't have the cash or the room. What i have room for are two better speakers than i have now. I'll worry about upgrading the rest when possible. I am worried about this system being able to push the monitor 50s though, so maybe the RTi4s are my best bet. Seems most people in this forum believe it the best sounding speaker when compared with the rest i listed. They say the R50s sound pretty bad with muddy bass.

Specifications from the manual:

• Total RMS Power:200 Watts. Satellites: 80 watts RMS (2 x 40 w) into 8 ohms at 1 kHz at 10% THD (total harmonic distortion) Subwoofer: 120 watts RMS into 8 ohms at 100Hz at 10% THD (total harmonic distortion)
• Total Peak Power: 400 Watt sat<10% THD
• System THD: Better than 0.05% THD before clipping
• Signal to noise ratio: @1kHz&gt;100dB
• Frequency response: 35Hz-20kHz
• DriverSize: 2.5”polished aluminum phase plug drivers, 8”long-throw with 6th order bass reflex enclosure subwoofer
• Speaker dimensions: Satellites: (H) 6.75” x (W) 3.5” x (D) 6” Subwoofer: (H) 11”x (W) 11”x (D) 15”

royalty

This sounds like a bad idea

Zitro

If you are just looking for a good budget upgrade, why not get the cheaper speaker? There are better speakers out there for sure, but for less than $100, the monitor 30's are a great speaker. I'm a college student also, so I know how tight money can be. I have them hooked up to a PSW10 and I'm pretty happy with them. It might be best just to get a good, cheaper speaker now since you are going to want to upgrade to a completely new system later anyways. Running through the logitech system, you won't maximize the performance from any of the aformentioned speakers anyways; a system only sounds as good as its weakest link.

Thrackk

How and why is it a bad idea? Are the system stats i posted above incompatible with replacing the speakers with some bookshelf speakers? Or does this idea offend some audiophile sensibilities or something to that effect? Perhaps i came to the wrong forum? The clipping is less than 1%, the watts are 40-80 at 8 ohms. Am i missing something?? I don't mind being schooled. I believe every issue with why it won't work has been proven incorrect. The Polks are rated at 20-100 watts at 8 ohms. Show me the flaw in my logic. I really am new to this. I don't doubt there is something i'm missing. If it will all work out though, can you please recommend some speakers. Thanks.

Thrackk

Thanks for the advice Zitro. Just looking for the best possible upgrade for the price in my current situation. I've read good things about all the cheaper Polks except the r150 and the r50s. I'm really leaning towards the RTi4 pair for $149 shipped. They are a tier above the monitors right? Although the m30s for $85 shipped are almost too good a deal.

??Can anyone tell me, based on the amp stats posted previously, why this amp is crap and not up to pushing the bookshelves properly?? I certainly don't want to spend good money on a good pair of speakers just to have them ending up sounding worse than what i already have.

Zitro

Rti4's are indeed a "step up" from the monitor series, but I've never heard them so I can't compare. The M30's are a pretty good speaker, especially for $85, and I am certain they are worlds better than the Logitech's satellites. I'm using them as my speakers in a 2.1 system hooked up to a NAD amp for music. I also play video games through them and they work very well with this. At the end of the day, the monitor series are great and I'm sure the Rti's are also; I guess you just need to decide if it's worth the price premium. My opinion would likely be no, but it might be helpful for some people who have heard the Rti4's to chime in.

Zitro

About the amp, it's simply going to be putting out too much distortion to really appreciate a good speaker, but an upgrade to a cheaper bookshelf will still be a good improvement over the stock satellites. However, it won't utilize the potential benefits the Rti4 might have over, say, the M30's, so it's probably best to just get the cheaper speaker for now till you get a proper amp down the road.

Thrackk

Sounds like good advice Zitro, but what leads you to believe the amp will put out too much distortion. Can you give an example? What is a normal amount of distortion in a moderately priced AVR. Logitech amp/sub:
• Signal to noise ratio: @1kHz&gt;100dB
• Total Peak Power: 400 Watt sat<10% THD
• System THD: Better than 0.05% THD before clipping.

Is this bad or just not optimal?