Looking for setup suggestions

b15h09

I've been working on trying to get a decent setup for my HT that can handle both loud music and detailed surround. Here's a rundown of my gear.

Denon AVR 5800
170W x 7 @ 8ohm

HK Citation 7.1 Amp
150W x 4 @ 8ohm
or
450W x 2 @ 8ohm

2 x Monitor 70s for fronts
rated at 275W

4 x RM8 Satellites for surround
rated at 125W

1 x RM8 Center
rated at 125W

PSW110 Sub

I realize my gear is a little overpowered for the speakers I'm using, but the price was right. At first, I was hoping to set up the amp to push each set of posts of the 70s at 150w, but then I found that one set of posts is strictly for the tweeter, the other for the mids. I'm wondering what the best way to set this up so I don't hose my speakers, but still get good sound from them (I like my music loud and clear). The mid range on the 70s is great, but I'm concerned about the tweeter. Should I just leave the tweeter disconnected and run a separate tweeter or maybe a horn? If that would be suggested, would anyone have a recommendation on the speaker to use for my highs?
Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated.

wutadumsn23

I don't see a problem with running the 70's as is. I have the 70's and have put them through their paces, both with my AVR and an amp. I have had no problems with them at all. The 70's get a bad rap for the tweeters blowing, but any speaker is going to blow a tweet if you push it past it's limits intentionally. Honestly, I would look into getting a better center channel like the CS2, and possibly a better sub. Nothing against the 110, but most will agree that a good sub will make a huge difference in the overall sound of any rig. Look into Polks DSW series, SVS, Velodyne, Epik for example. Good luck and welcome to Club Polk.

-Jeff

cnh

WELCOME TO CLUB POLK!

That M70 tweeter does not need nor use much power...I doubt you'd get a lot of benefit from feeding it more power than it needs and it would probably just draw only the power it needs anyway!

So I'd just hook up the entire speaker to the power amp...most of that power WILL go directly to the woofers. I use a 200 watt/channel power amp on the M70s with the jumpers in place...it opens up the highs some but most of the power goes to the mids and the BASS! So I don't really understand what your asking.

You want to add horns to M70s? Do you want your ears to bleed? I'm not following the why? of your quest! These are only M70s they're not a 25K+ a pair set of towers?

I guess what I would really recommend with all that equipment up there is get ANOTHER set of speakers!

cnh

ikolbyi

If you purchase a high-end automobile and put in regular 87 octane gasoline, expect that high-performance vehicle to perform poorly. If you want your auto to perform as designed, you need to put in premium 93 octane fuel.

The same goes to AV equipment. You spent the money to purchase a high-end receiver, I question the sub + front speakers that you used. The RM8 for center and rears are a good choice.

My recommendation is to replace the sub and L/R fronts with a better quality product such as VM / LSi / RTi series and a higher-end PSW or DSW sub.

b15h09

I appreciate the replies. The 110 sub was a package deal with the rm8s, which is the reason I why I'm using it, but I have considered upgrading it. I have also considered getting a second set of m70s, and run 4 on the fronts through the amp (in which case I would most definitely get a bigger sub), but I'm worried that would muddy up the sound. While I'd love the RTi a9's, that's a bit pricy for me at the moment, at almost 5x the price of the m70s. The amp and receiver I've only got $1k in, and I'm trying to keep the whole setup under $2k.

ikolbyi

b15h09 wrote: »

I appreciate the replies. The 110 sub was a package deal with the rm8s, which is the reason I why I'm using it, but I have considered upgrading it. I have also considered getting a second set of m70s, and run 4 on the fronts through the amp (in which case I would most definitely get a bigger sub), but I'm worried that would muddy up the sound. While I'd love the RTi a9's, that's a bit pricy for me at the moment, at almost 5x the price of the m70s. The amp and receiver I've only got $1k in, and I'm trying to keep the whole setup under $2k.

Then it sounds like this is the speaker for you since price is a major factor:
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/tsi/index.php#tsi200

TSi200.

If you have someone in your household like my wife...'I don't want to see big speakers', then the VM10 http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/vm/index.php?s=vm10 is your only option. But if you decide on that route, purchase them from Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-Satellite-Speaker-Single/dp/B000VWRXZM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1269695282&sr=1-1 since it is a fraction of the price (< $200 per). I purchased my VM10 from Amazon and I am satisfied with the purchase experience and the overall product performance.

For a sub, DSW Pro 500 http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/dsw/index.php?s=dswpro500 would be my recommendation since you are on a price budget. If you go the VM route, then you must absolutely compensate with a better sub especially since your surrounds and center are RM and they only go down to 130Hz, so you are correct, your sub will need to compensate for the lack of base those speakers have. If decide onTSi200 or higher speakers, then you can go with the DSW Pro 400 sub since you don't have to compensate for the base, because TSi200 speakers can get down to 50Hz. The VM10 can only get down to 100Hz so you will need a sub, but better than the RM's at only 130Hz that I mentioned earlier.

Hope this helps.

b15h09

I appreciate the input. I'm curious about the TSi's. From what I understand, they're essentially the same drivers as the m70, but with an improved crossover and a downward firing port instead of front firing. That was the reason I went with the 70's, as they're alot cheaper than the TSi's, but essentially the older version of the same thing.

LOL, on another note, the wifey LOVES the look of the m70s.

ikolbyi

b15h09 wrote: »

I appreciate the input. I'm curious about the TSi's. From what I understand, they're essentially the same drivers as the m70, but with an improved crossover and a downward firing port instead of front firing. That was the reason I went with the 70's, as they're alot cheaper than the TSi's, but essentially the older version of the same thing.

LOL, on another note, the wifey LOVES the look of the m70s.

*sigh* I would have preferred to purchase LSi9, but was forced to RM and VM not because of price, but because of size. Now, if Polk can produce a VM10 size speaker (or smaller) with the same sound characteristics as the LSi9, I'll open my wallet for that.

b15h09

Well, finally got my setup going, and I'm loving the sound. At first I tried running 2 of the 150w channels from the citation for the fronts, but I just wasn't getting anything impressive. So I said screw it, and bridged the amp to 400 per channel, tweaked down the decibel level on the fronts, and ran the tweeters alone on the 170W receiver front channels. Still tweaking on it to get the sound just right, but all in all, it's balancing out very well. I'm able to get loud, crisp quality sound, but keep things tweaked down as to not push the full 400W to the speakers. I'm glad I went with this old denon, as it's adjustment options are great, and I probably wouldn't have been able to make this setup work nearly as well with something lower end. It's nice to have power to spare for future speaker upgrades as well.

I'll probably be taking the advice on an improved sub, though I'm not sure which yet. I don't get the low end I'd like, but the mids and the highs are making me very happy.

wutadumsn23

Awesome news man, glad you are up and running. Enjoy!!

-Jeff