Purchasing Surrounds Tight Constraints

ToothDoggyDogg

I'm new to this forum, but definitely not new to Polk audio, and am by no means an audio expert, thought I do try to educate myself as I go. I've owned my 5.1 system (4xRTi6, CSi3, PSW404) for a couple years now, but I recently moved into a new home where the family room isn't suitable for using bookshelf speakers as rear surrounds. The main problem is that the rear speakers need to be mounted on a wall that has tons of windows that stretch nearly floor to ceiling. The space between the windows, from trim to trim is probably 8".

I know the FXi3 and FXiA4 are timbre matched to the RTi series, but they are going to be too wide to fit between the windows. I've looked at in ceiling speakers, but I can't shell out $1k/pair at the moment. I was considering the OWM for their flexibility in mounting, but the tweeters/drivers appear to be quite different. The RM7/8 seem to have similar tweeter/midrange materials but different sizes.

When I listen to music, it's almost always stereo, so no big deal there, but I'm worried about the home theatre action. If I were to go with the RM8's, will I be dissapointed? Timbre matching? Anybody have similar experiences they can share?

If I had it my way, I'd probably just remove some of the window trim and make room for the FXiA4s, but my wife would kill me, and then it doesn't matter what speakers I have ;o)

Thanks,
B

wutadumsn23

In all honesty, timbre matching isn't as important with the surrounds as it is with the front 3 so you will probably be ok with the RM series or the OWM series for that matter. Welcome to Club Polk.

-Jeff

cnh

WELCOME TO CLUB POLK!

I'd suggest you also look at some OWM3s.....or even the larger 5s if you have the room....they may give you a bit 'more' volume and are very mountable but a bit bigger than RMs....?

cnh

ToothDoggyDogg

I got the feeling you all might say that about timbre matching and surrounds given some of the other timbre matching threads I've read in the forum. I suppose that's a whole 'nother can of worms, but if I can match the timbre as closely as possible, then I figured why not )

I've pretty much narrowed it down to the OWM3 or RM8. I know that one is wide dispersion and the other is direct, but I don't really have a preference there. The family room is open floorplan on the left side, so the wide dispersion might not be as effective on that side, but the tweeter/driver materials on the RM8 more closely match the RTi6/CS3 than then OWM3. I didn't know what had more affect on the timbre, the material or the size.

Anyhow, I'm leaning towards the RM8 at the moment. Whatever I decide to pull the trigger on, I'll post an update.

Also, whatever happened to stores selling Polk? Tweeter near me (Raleigh, NC) went out of business. I did a search within 50 miles, and couldn't find anything but Best Buy's, and they only sell entry level, so it's kind of a bummer to have buy, then listen, rather than vice versa.

ToothDoggyDogg

Also, I take a lot of pride in my home theatre, and I don't want to settle. If anybody thinks the RM8 or OWM3 are going to degrade my experience significantly as surround speakers compared to the RTi6s that I was using, then I want to know. The key is that I don't know, and I can't go to any stores nearby to try them out in a realistic home theatre setup.

I can get innovative if I need to...you know...buy my wife some new shoes and demolish the window trim, drink Busch Lite for the next year and save up for in ceiling speakers, whatever it takes.

B

TNRabbit

Consider the lowly Realistic Minimus 7 speakers; they need to be crossed over about 80-100 hz & can be ganged together (2 or more per channel) for more power handling capability. I have 8 pair~

ToothDoggyDogg

FYI....Customer support said that OWM3 would be the better compromise over RM8.

wutadumsn23

I say give the OWM3's a shot, if you don't like them it shouldn't be that hard to recoup your money on them. Just my $.02.

-Jeff

ToothDoggyDogg

Just ordered pair of white OWM3s.

The couch sits inches from the back wall, and the speakers will be on the back wall, about 3 ft. above listening level when seated, so I'll probably get low profile articulating mounts to aim them inward a little more.

3-5 day shipping. I'll update once they're up and the receiver is tuned for the new setup.

B

wutadumsn23

Good to hear, I think you will be very happy with them. Let us know how it sounds all hooked up.

-Jeff

ToothDoggyDogg

Suuuweeeet! I'm so glad I went with the OWM over the RM. I'm not sure what they'd sound like with an entire satellite setup + woofer, but they work great as the surrounds in my setup. Very clean install.....pics attached .....

ToothDoggyDogg

BTW....I wanted to get articulating mounts to aim the speaker inward towards the listening position a little bit, but my wife thought it looked stupid, and....it did (though I could care less), so we settled on mounting them facing forwards. Though not ideal by THX standards, still sounds awesome.

Pappy1

Hi TDD!

I really like your arrangement - looks beautiful! Glad that your wife was receptive to it.

Pappy

AVR - Pioneer VSX 9040TXH
Subwoofer - Polk Audio PSW 505
TV - Samsung HL-T6756W DLP
BD - Panasonic DMP-BD605
Cable - CableOne HD DVR
Center - Polk Audio CS2
Fronts - Polk Audio Monitor 70s
Rears - Polk Audio Monitor 60s

30PlusRetlaw

Very nice set up, but you have a ton of space on that wall. You need a BIGGER tv,

ToothDoggyDogg

I like the way you're thinking Jeff!

That stupid TV is a culprit on many AV forums, so let's not even go there, LOL. I bought that plasma (Samsung S4253) in 2006, and when it gets nice and warmed up (maybe 3+ hours of watching), you start to see blue noise along the far left side of the panel. Supposedly lots of the same, or similar models experience it, and a voltage adjustment on one of the boards will help, but nobody claims it solves the problem. Obviously the TV is way out of warranty, butiIf I can convince Samsung that enough of it makes me want to jump off a bridge, maybe they'll recall it and save the lives of so many AV enthusiasts?

Also, something I didn't think about is the reflection off the plasma. You can see the windows reflecting off it in the picture I attached.

Santa might as well go ahead and make some room for a 52" LCD on his sleigh......

B

30PlusRetlaw

ToothDoggyDogg wrote: »

I like the way you're thinking Jeff!

That stupid TV is a culprit on many AV forums, so let's not even go there, LOL. I bought that plasma (Samsung S4253) in 2006, and when it gets nice and warmed up (maybe 3+ hours of watching), you start to see blue noise along the far left side of the panel. Supposedly lots of the same, or similar models experience it, and a voltage adjustment on one of the boards will help, but nobody claims it solves the problem. Obviously the TV is way out of warranty, butiIf I can convince Samsung that enough of it makes me want to jump off a bridge, maybe they'll recall it and save the lives of so many AV enthusiasts?

Also, something I didn't think about is the reflection off the plasma. You can see the windows reflecting off it in the picture I attached.

Santa might as well go ahead and make some room for a 52" LCD on his sleigh......

B

How about a 100" high deff screen and a high deff projector, Just saying . I show my wife your set up and she loved.

Sherardp

30PlusRetlaw wrote: »

How about a 100" high deff screen and a high deff projector, Just saying . I show my wife your set up and she loved.

Now your talking my kind of party. Bigger TV and bigger sub would make for some nice upgrades. Nice setup OP.

Staszek

ToothDoggyDogg wrote: »

Suuuweeeet! I'm so glad I went with the OWM over the RM. I'm not sure what they'd sound like with an entire satellite setup + woofer, but they work great as the surrounds in my setup. Very clean install.....pics attached .....

Nice setup! I like the white, I was debating on the OWM3 in white or black but now I think I really want the white!