Speaker Selection

tylerb56

Hi all... first post here. I'm looking for some advice regarding speaker selection.

I'm mostly interested in finding a nice balance between HT surround while having good quality speakers to listen to music. I just purchased a Yamaha 7.1- RX-V565. I don't have the ideal living room to go to 7.1 yet... but hopefully someday. In the meantime, I've been looking at Polk Audio RM510 5.1 High Performance (at Newegg), which includes a sub, for $399 including 100ft speaker wire.

My main question is: Is it possible (and make sense) to buy this set with the intention of upgrading to floors or bookshelves for the fronts in the future? Or would I also have to get another center if adding fronts? I'm on a bit of a budget and this set is appealing...especially since I have a lonely receiver at home right now. :cool:

Thanks...happy I found this site...already learning a lot!

coolsax

Honestly if you're planning on doing upgrades in the future, maybe look at doing a 2.1 or 3.1 channel setup to start If you want to go bookshelves, Newegg is constantly selling the Monitor 40s for under $150, in fact they are 139 currently. add a CS 1 or CS 2 for 89-119 and then add the PSW 505 for 229 currently if you use the email special. if you go the CS 1 route thats approx 457 shipped and is a nice 3.1 set up and it will allow to you add towers later if you want and move the 40s to the rear or keep the 40s up front if you want to down the road and I personally think it would probably sound better than using the whole RM510, I think it would definitely put out a fuller sound.

jemrey81

^^^ +1
Definitely get a good center channel (CS1 or CS2 are good) and if you want some book shelf speakers (the Monitor 40's are a great option, or the TSi100's if you want a little smaller speaker), and the PSW505 is a great sub.... the rears can come later imo. I am running a 3.1 right now and I don't really miss having rears (my living room won't allow it). I think all of those are on sale at Newegg right now. Don't skimp on the center though!

jemrey81

Oh yeah, WELCOME!!

hagmanm2

Yeah, what they said.

tylerb56

Thank you...thank you...and thank you, again!

This really helps, guys... and it makes sense. A bit more expensive than the RM510 setup, but it already seems to be much better in terms of a good sounding setup. Quite honestly, my living room won't accommodate surrounds that well anyway. On top of that, my wife hates the idea of running speaker wire to the surrounds. I'm sure we can live w/o them now! Plus I like the idea of building the system over time instead of just rushing into a setup.

At this point, I'm thinking Monitor 40's, CS2, and the PSW505. Monitors and CS2 provide proper voice matching, right?

Thanks again!:D

jemrey81

Yes, the Monitor 40 and CS2 will work well together (http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/recent/monitor40/)... Polk says so anyways

coolsax

yes the CS 2 is timbre matched the monitor series.

tylerb56

Any major differences between TSi's and Monitors? It seems the TSi100's would be able to be wall mounted if I decide to use them as surrounds in the future. If TSi series is the choice, CS10 or CS20 would be better centers then, right? They seem a bit thick to mount though... probably over-thinking...just need to buy and enjoy!

coolsax

I don't think a lot of people have noticed much difference between the monitor series and the TSI series they are extremely similar, but in terms of bang for buck the Monitors win it hands down b/c of their price.

I would say if you prefer the smaller TSI 100 then go for the Monitor 30 which is the matching predecessor M30 ---> TSI 100 / M40 ---> TSI 200

LuSh

I never thought the day would come when buying without listening would become the norm. I'm guess I'm lucky living in Canada.

coolsax

Yeah i bought my setup from Newegg sight unseen as well, and any listening I did do prior to was at BB and Frys, and actually going to Frys convinced me I didn't want to just get a Satellite system, but i also really didn't know any better. Since I found out where some of the local audio shops here in Austin are, I want to go out and audition to figure out what I like for a 2 channel only system.

mdaudioguy

I started with one of those Polk 5.1 in a box sat/sub packages... fine for maybe an 8x10 room... I literally had it hooked up for an hour. You'll be saving yourself time and money by going with the 2.1 or 3.1 options. Welcome to CP! Good luck! Can't wait to hear how it works out.

wutadumsn23

I have both the Monitor 70's and the TSi 500's and to be honest, I prefer the sound of the Monitors over the TSi's. Maybe because the 70's have the cascade crossovers (the only one in the Monitor series that does) so the differences between the bookshelf TSi's and Monitors won't be as pronounced. As for price, the Monitors win hands down, as stated above. Don't think you will be dissapointed either way you go. Welcome to Club Polk.

-Jeff

Dandydan

I was setting up my home theater for the 4th level and I used cs2 / monitor 60's / 50's / 40's with a psw 125 hooked to a new pioneer 1019 for movies. It sounds really good. I am use to 2 channel with an old Marantz and EPI speakers. In the future I am going to go back to 2 channel just for easy listening would love to get into some vintage speakers such as SDA's and preamp etc. Remember when i was 16 a buddy had a set of EPI towers with I think 24 speakers in each tower and it was like a concert hall. That is the way music should be listened to.

tylerb56

Just pulled the trigger on the monitor 40's. Next will be the CS2, then finally, the sub. Now for speaker wire... which I've learned is a touchy subject on this forum. I'm going the monoprice.com route... I'll probably just do 14ga and have it for future slightly longer runs. Thanks for all the replies! I'll update once I get the entire system set up... looking forward to it.

wutadumsn23

Looks like you are off to a good start, those wires will do you just fine. Good luck and let us know how it sounds all hooked up.

-Jeff

tylerb56

Newegg has the CS2's on sale for $99.99 plus 2.99 shipping through 4/18!!! If I don't win the refurbished one at Polk Direct eBay, this will be a pleasant alternative!

Dandydan

Guys if you are tired to trying to bid on ebay - go to Polk Direct - I bought 2 - 60's / 2 - 50's / 2 - 40's / CS2 / PSW 125 all for under 5 bills and for wire I bought 250 feet of 10gauge for $50. Polk was just awesome for pricing on the monitor series. Even cheap junk at Future Shop or Best Buy can not compete. I am totally happy.

tylerb56

Finally got everything set up. Monitor 40's and a CS2 so far. Sub's going to have to wait... my wife was a bit mad over the size of the CS2... it is big, but once we upgrade the TV and TV stand, I think it'll look a little less massive. Haven't had much of a chance in testing... watched a streaming movie through Netflix and it sounded great.

One issue... I have a Yamaha AVR (rx v565) and used the mic to set up the speaker settings. Using the "enhanced" speaker settings, the music sounded like it was coming out of an old radio with tone set to zero. With a bit of reading in the manual, I found that the "direct" setting uses the least amount of circuitry. What a difference! Music sounded great in 2 ch. After that, I went in and messed with the EQ manually and found that my settings made the "enhanced" modes sound much better (at least with music). And I've still got the Monitor 40's on the floor because they won't fit next to the TV..that may make a difference too...Anyway, very happy so far. Can't wait to keep messing around with the settings...

hagmanm2

sounds like you're having a ton of fun, as you should be! I also prefer Pure Direct for my 2 channel music. What crossover frequency are the 40s set to?

tylerb56

hagmanm2 wrote: »

What crossover frequency are the 40s set to?

I'll have to get back to you on that one... still kind of a n00b.

ibewbrother

Just for future upgrade reference...hold out for Mon 70's.....I love my 60's, but I wish I would have waited.

hagmanm2

ibewbrother wrote: »

Just for future upgrade reference...hold out for Mon 70's.....I love my 60's, but I wish I would have waited.

+1 for the TSI line. I was able to demo the 400s, but not the 500s, before purchase. However, everything I read was telling me to hold out for the 500s. I have to say, it is a BIG jump from the 400s to 500s. BIG. Personally, I was somewhat underwhelmed with the 400s performance.

However, I remain objective about it since I did my listening at Best Buy. When I first turned them on, I noticed the tweeter on the right speaker wasn't playing at ALL. Turns out the terminals where loose and one of the bridges was loose... I can't help but wonder how many people heard the speaker like that when demo'd. Anyways, I'm getting off topic here. 500s/70s FTW!

tylerb56 wrote: »

I'll have to get back to you on that one... still kind of a n00b.

You might want to look into fooling around with that setting (though I'm sure your auto mic setup made the necessary adjustment for you). I initially used my setup mic, but found my ears weren't too thrilled with the results (probably because of my crazy stupid room they're set up in). However, I listened to my speakers for about 5 weeks before going back to the crossover frequency. I bumped the 500s from 40 to 100 and am much happier with the sound.

tylerb56

Thanks for the advice. Another issue I'm having is the input source. I've been without speakers for so long that I've pretty much totally abandoned CDs and now have everything on my iPod. I don't have any sort of CD player anymore! So, I dug through some boxes and couldn't even find an original CD! I ended playing a copied CD through my Xbox 360... which I am using for everything (DVD, movies, streaming movies, games, media library). I'm eventually going to buy the iPod dock and I'm sure that will help (depending on the quality of the compressed music format). Until then, I realize I have to judge sound quality with a grain of salt... That being said, I'm still looking forward to tweaking the settings and finding something that truly pleases my ears... I'll have to read a bit more about the crossover frequency and try making some changes. Thanks again!

One more question I thought of... even though I don't have an HD TV yet... would using an HD cable from Xbox to receiver help in any audible way?

wutadumsn23

If that Yammie has "Pure Direct" that is, IMHO the best for 2 ch. listening. I use it with my Onkyo and my Monitor 70;s and they sound great. I use HDMI for all my components and they sound great.

-Jeff

tylerb56

Yeah, it has a pure direct feature, which is indeed excellent for 2ch listening. I've found some of the enhanced listening options to be very good for concert DVD's. So far, I'm really enjoying the sounds of these speakers. I think the first few minutes were a bit bland, but once I figured out the receiver and warmed up the speakers a bit, everything started to sound great.

To respond to an earlier post, my crossover frequency is set to 40 right now. Those Monitor 40s can put out some bass in a small room. I've tried other settings but this "feels" right... kind of hard to tell, but that was the setting determined with the mic. I'd really really like to add some Monitor 60s... but my wife thinks they're too big... heck, she thinks the 40s and cs2 are too big... going to have to wait until we move I guess.......

rooftop59

tylerb56 wrote: »

And I've still got the Monitor 40's on the floor because they won't fit next to the TV..that may make a difference too...Anyway, very happy so far. Can't wait to keep messing around with the settings...

A good pair of stands will drastically improve the imaging and soundstage. I think that the wife may like the look better as well. If you are handy you could do something like this:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67973

Or buy something like this:

http://www.standsandmounts.com/woodtechnology21inchfurniture-gradehardwoodspeakerstandsfgh-21variousfinishes.aspx

Good luck!