Please help with Main/Surround Combo

AreBEe · October 2003

Hi all,

I've been lurking for a few weeks now and have been researching Polks on other forums as well. What a great place for specialized information!

I finally received the OK to upgrade my old Bose garbage and have decided to go with Polk RTi. I am set on getting the CSi40 but that's as far as I have gotten. I am looking for the best main/surround combination to go with the CSi40 and my SVS 25-31PCi sub. I have a Yamaha receiver with 90Hz fixed crossover.

Because of what's remaining in my budget after buying the CSi40, I'm thinking of these two options:

RTi38 mains and RTi28 for surrounds.

Rti28 Mains and FXi30 for surrounds.

My surrounds will be mounted on the back wall only inches behind the listening position so I'm wondering if the FXi30s are a waste. They will probably remain in the bipole mode forever.

The room is 11' x 22' and my HT/music ratio is about 85/15 respectively.

Should I put the money in the fuller mains or go with the bipole/dipole surrounds.

Thanks,

AreBee

thehalo8 · October 2003

Go to you local Fry's or Circuit City and check out their prices. You should go with some RTi70's as your mains instead of the RTi28s or RTi38s. With the new line of speakers just on the market all the stores are clearing out the old line with great prices; unless they are all gone in your area already

I bought pair of FXi30's for my brother at $140 for the pair. When I bought my FXi30's they cost me $350, so its definitely worth a trip down to your local store!!

Mike

AreBEe · October 2003

Go to you local Fry's or Circuit City and check out their prices. You should go with some RTi70's as your mains instead of the RTi28s or RTi38s.

I understand your thinking Mike, but I'm limited to bookshelfs for my mains because of my set up. I have a 9' x 9' wall unit and the speakers will be placed inside it. Here's a link to check out my set up. You can see the Bose Acoustimass sats mounted in the center and upper corners. I will be putting the new Polks in the same areas only the mains will brought to the front.

I have been to three diferent CCs and they are down to display models none of which were in very good condition. I have $100 referral credit at Crutchfield and should end up around $650 for all five speakers. A day late and a dollar short but I'll deal with it.

thehalo8 · October 2003

Ah, i see the dilemma; that entertainment center looks great by the way. I would go with the RTi38's since they are the closer match to the RTi70's. I am afraid the 5 1/4 woofer on the RTi28's won't be warm enough for your mains. Even the R series has the 6 1/2 woofers, so I would definitely have to suggest getting the RTi38's. I am sorry to hear you missed out on all the good deals

AreBEe · October 2003

Thanks again Mike, I was leaning towards the 38s as fronts as well. I figured with the 6-1/2" driver they would be better matched to the 6-1/2" drivers in the CSi40.

I'll end up going with the RTi28s in the rear. Looking forward to this upgrade and to this forum.

AreBee

Tour2ma · October 2003

Tend to agree on the 38's, but with the SVS the 28's could be viable as well with the crossover at 80 Hz. In any case I'd think the mains being as high as they'll be in your entertainment unit would produce a distracting image.

For imaging you might want to consider kicking the SVS to the corner and setting up the mains at head level outside the unit. Toed-in a bit they would not be that intrusive... Of course that reopens the 70's as an option...

With the rears so close to your seating, the fx's would definitely be the better choice there IMO.

Fireman99 · October 2003

I would say the FXI30's are your better choice for the rear aswell I just added a pair to my system they are aprox 2' behind the viewing seat now and They were woth the money.
Dan

AreBEe · October 2003

Well I had to make a choice. It was either fuller mains or better surrounds and since the majority of my beef with my current home theater is front/center oriented, I went with the RTi38 mains and RTi28 for surrounds to go along with my CSi40.

I promised my wife I'd be around $600 for the whole package and ended up at $650. The FXi30s would have had to be really loud for me to hear them from the garage.

I'm very happy with what I bought. If I am thoroughly unhappy with the RTi28s I have 30 days to send them back.

Thanks for all your help everyone.

AreBee

Tour2ma · October 2003

Originally posted by AreBEe
The FXi30s would have had to be really loud for me to hear them from the garage.

LOL.... great line...

danger boy · October 2003

good choice.. i prob would have gone with the FXi30's for surrounds... they sound great in bipole mode.

If it was my set up.. and I understand your spending budget.. but i would have gone with fuller more robust fronts. like thehalo8 suggested. i think a nice pair of RTi7o's would have worked well for imaging on either side of your entertainment center.. those would have been a nice front soungstage with the center.

But i think you'll be happy with your purchase of the 38's for fronts..

I'm just curious. where is you sub located in the room? Moving it to a corner wall will extend the output some..

AreBEe · October 2003

Danger,

My ideal set up would have been 70s in front and FXi30s for surrounds. Budget aside, as you can see by my above link, the HT is our living room so I've been sensitive to the WAF. My wife never gives me grief about aesthetics but she wanted the speaker upgrade to be as unobtrusive as the Bose AM7, which meant bookshelfs for fronts. Just to give you an idea why I never considered the 70s as mains, I was using Bose 701 towers as surrounds because I could hide them next to the couch. Not a very ideal choice for surrounds and the positioning was horrible.

The Bose system served me well over the last five years. I was able to buy the speakers through an employee program at 1/3 of the street cost, and I knew what I was buying as far as quality. I'm sure when the Polks are set up I will be more than happy with the improvement.

As I said in a previous post, our issues with the Bose were center/main oriented. The dialogue was just horrible and that probably has to do with the the frequency limitations of the AM 7. I can't wait to put in a movie loaded with dialogue and show my wife that we don't have to be blasted with front and center effects in order to hear the soft dialogue clearly.

Ralph

Please help with Main/Surround Combo

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