5.1 Speaker Recommendations Polk ok?

[Microman]

I have this JVC RX9010V AV Receiver.

I have a Center Speaker by a company called DCM. 8 ohm 80 Watt
Have a SubWoofer from Costco KLH 120 Watt.
Rears currently are these JBL Bookshelf speakers. 8 ohmn J2050

Do I need to start all over and get 5 new speakers. Or can I keep this Center Speaker, and the Sub, and look for some fronts and rears.

Frys is always having sales on Polk speakers. . THe Polk Rti8 are available for 149, should I buy 2 or 4 of these?

Missed the Polk R50's that were 99/each the other day.

Just never seem to get a lot from the rear.

[weapon]

[quote Microman] Just never seem to get a lot from the rear.
Best line ever!

[tahoedrew]

Does your receiver have individual speaker adjustments, meaning is there a mode where it plays "white noise" through each speaker, individually, in your setup so you can adjust each speaker to have the same volume level? If not, I'd say a "matched set" is your best bet.

I run a "mixed" setup too (matching Advents in the front and center, Polk subwoofer and Polk rears), but my Yamaha receiver can adjust each channel independently, so I have them tuned to give proper output (though to just the center, "ideal," listening position). My fronts are equal distant and perfectly placed for stereo imaging, the center is a little closer than it should be, so it's a slightly lower volume than the fronts, and the rears have a slightly shorter delay as they're very far away but they're adjusted louder than the fronts because of the distance. If you can "tweak" each speaker having a mixed setup is not a bad option if you don't have the money for a full setup. That being said, matching your center speaker's characteristics to your main front speakers really is essential so that the sound transfers well as an object moves across the front and so dialoge (almost exclusively in the center channel in 5.1 audio) matches the other audio from the front speakers. If you can't find two DCM front speakers that match your center, I'd pitch the center channel and get three matching front speakers first.

~A

[anonymouse1]

You have four best value options:

1. Buy the "Spherex" system on Ebay--originally designed to go with the Xbox, you can pick these up for under $300, and they sound insanely good for the money. The only downside is that sometimes the electronics crap out.

2. Buy 5 Infinity Beta 10 or Beta 20 speakers on ebay--maybe $150 each.

3. Buy 5 PSB Minis on Ebay--maybe $75 each

4. Go check out www.avsforum.com, and find out what kind of mail-order speakers they're recommending these days. Might take half a day fo research.

I went with the Infinity route--more money, but more flexibility, and insanely good sound.

Depends on your budget.

I'd definitely go with all five speakers the same. For the subwoofer, it doesn't matter.

And you don't need a dedicated center channel speaker, unless you want one for looks or space requirements--a regular speaker works fine, if it fits.

[DavidS]

The R50s are usually on sale for $70 each. They were $50 each on Black Friday. They'll be on sale again in a couple of weeks for $70 each. I have a pair of those as my front speakers with a pair of R300 ($50 each) as my rears. I have a Sony center channel speaker that works well and just got a Velodyne VX-10 subwoofer ($100 on Black Friday at Frys). The Polks are a good value for the sale price and I actually bought the PSW10 subwoofer for $100 from Circuit City on Thanksgiving day, but returned it unopened since I was able to get the Velodyne). I have not seen many good reviews on the Polk subwoofer.

[motopsyco]

When DCM first entered the market, sales people would say DCM meant "Drug Capital of the Midwest". We thought that was funny then, in the late eighties, when we were stoned. Their Time Window speakers were kinda cool.

A matched set for the front three is a very good idea. However, even sonically matched speakers will sound different across the front by virtue of being in different positions in a room. Even a SPL meter (measuring "Pink Noise") will notice this while trying to level match speakers (from the listening position). So if your not going to treat the room to be neutral (for the lack of a better term), the speakers will respond/sound different. As a general rule, don't mix horn loaded speakers with cone types.

Subs do matter. They reproduce the first octave or so. Anything else is just a base pan and will be satisfying in most applications. I have owned or used a few rather small "subs", and they all bumped along very well. So I'll assume the KLH is a similar class and suggest keeping it (its paid for!).

Not knowing your budget and environment, the JVC, judging by the published peak wattage, has enough continuous output to get the job done. So even in a average to small room, I would go with 10" speakers with ratings that resemble the DCM. Keep the DCM as long as it does not show signs of wear. Small speakers are better suited for near field monitoring and will lack midrange and upper base in average sized rooms. In other words, they would be a false economy.

When I started my home theater madness "side channels" just needed to deliver a broad diffused stage. I have yet to enter the "discreet digital" realm, so other than being able to reproduce full range audio now, I'll guess their job would be about the same. I'm still cobbling together side channels. I have a pair of discontinued Radio Shack mini speakers that have sweet Linnman tweeters (with hootie ports that will be plugged). I'll use them for the sides paired with base pans I've yet to assemble.

You can get a lot of weird advice when asking what speakers to get. All I really have to offer is, don't buy junk. What's junk? In my opinion, any "Home Theater in a Box", and whatever Best Buy stocks. Maybe their Magnolia room might have something worth spending real money on, but that's a big maybe. Nowadays there's no retail middle ground in audio. If your lucky enough there might be a boutique dealers who could help you.

I was lucky that way. I happen to walk into a little dealer near where I worked and he helped me by finding deals on speakers I could afford. He was also the only listed dealer for the subwoofers I have, VMPS Originals (that's how I found the shop in the first place). I settled on N.E.A.R. 40me II's and JIB center. I'm glad I made the choices, my speakers are a cut above and will serve for years to come.

Cheers!

[anonymouse1]

If you're doing a home theater, you really want the front three speakers to be the same brand and model--speakers are "voiced" to have certain sound characteristics, and the effect is MUCH better if all three front speakers are voiced the same. And it helps if the two side speakers are voiced the same as the front three.

I've helped a lot of people with home theater systems (advised a guy just yesterday), and this is by far the consensus position.

[ho'ard]

I like the idea of making use of what you already have. If the individual volume is adjustable, that's the way to go. Polks tend to not be very efficient, so they may be a good balance to the JBL speakers and help with your "not gettin' any from the rear" problem.