Good Bookshelf Speakers?? (1 Viewer)

[kalebmoga21]

Hey guys.

I'm pretty new at building Home Theater systems. My last Home theater was a HTIB. Now that I have upgraded to a custom Home Theater it's crazy how different it sounds. Right now my current system is,


Receiver: Pioneer VSX-1020-K 7.1

Speakers: Polk Audio RM95 (Which contains 5 RM8 Speakers)

Sub woofer: Polk Audio PSW505


I wanted to make a 7.1 and move my RM8 to all surround, because l feel that they lack the punch and bass affect that i want my two front speakers to have. I was thinking of trying Polk Audio Monitor40 Series II but was gonna wait till they go on sale, some reviews said they bought them for $99.00. What do you think we be the best bookshelf speakers for me under the 200 dollar mark?


Thanks for you help.

 

[gp4Jesus]

being a felow Polkie, I'd like to help you w/you buying decision.

Can't locate info on the Polk Audio Monitor40 Series II speaker on their site or 'net.

IMHO I believe you want speakers, not just from the same company, but from the same line or series as they're designed to work best together; the primary reason your existing speakers work so well. Quote from Polk's site on the RM8: "When you do this, you'll never experience mismatched timbres and uneven sound reproduction. All RM Series Speakers are professionally timbre-matched to sound perfect together no matter what the configuration. "

Take the RTi A* series for example. They all, including the centers**, use the same tweeter; book shelf & floorstanding models - depending upon model, same 5.25" or 6.5" mid/woofs ; A7/9s - same 7" subs. Armed w/this info, depending upon space, decor, and spousal acceptance issues, take a look at other Polk Series speakers.

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/rtia/index.php

BTW I $aved a bunch, about 40% on Polk direct on ebay.

* [SIZE= 9px]I'm an RTi A fan[/SIZE]

** [SIZE= 9px]VERY similar mids [/SIZE]


You could start w/RTi A1s or 3s for new LRs. Follow w/CSi a4 or 6; then FXi A4 - sides. Finish w/either RTi A1s or FXi A4s in rear*. I recommend the smaller speakers as most AVRs find the floor standers** challenging***.

* [SIZE= 9px]Room may dictate best choice[/SIZE]

** [SIZE= 9px]A5 may be the exception[/SIZE]

*** [SIZE= 9px]same for any LSi series [/SIZE]


In conclusion, people blow my mind "mixing and matching" speakers from different companies, expecting HT sonic liquidity, getting disappointment instead.


cheers tony

 

[David Willow]

You should get speakers made to work with the other speakers in your setup. Normally that means getting speakers from the same manufacturer and usually the same line. Since you have Polks, you should check with Polk to see what they recommend.


The other option is replace the front 3 speakers as a set (the surrounds are not as important to timbre match). However, for $200 or less I doubt you will find something better than the ones you already own. You could look on Craigslist - nothing wrong with used speakers...


Your problem may not be your speakers, but rather your setup. Since you have a sub, you should have all your lower frequency sent here. The mains should not have to handle any of the bass (or at least nothing below 80hz or so). Make sure you have all your speakers set as "small" in your Pioneer and set the crossovers 80 hz or higher. Also be sure to run the auto setup (MCACC?) to properly balance the levels. If none of this helps, try moving your sub around and recalibrate. Location is very important.

 

[gene c]

Newegg.com has the Polk Monitor-40 (black) for $179.99/pr (cherry is $199), or drop down to the Polk Monitor-30 (cherry) for $89.99/pr and get the matching Polk CS1 (black) or CS1 (cherry) for $69.99 each.


I think getting a bigger center speaker is more important than just up-grading the fronts so if the $200 budget is firm then I suggest you opt for the Monitor 30/CS1 combination.

 

[kalebmoga21]

I cant mix and match out of the RM series? Will really effect sound quality? I looked at the RTI A3 but there $399 a pair. That's a little pricey for me. Yes, I already did the MCACC and everything went as directed. So really i should try to replace the middle one first? Are Monitor-40 alot better than Monitor 30? Could i use either of those with the RM series i currently have.? Thanks for all of your guys help. I'm really starting to get a feel of what i need to do.

 

[rboseley]

I happened to be in a Bose store looking for something else. Came out with 5 Bose speakers. Two were display - no longer produced models. Great

sound for less than an arm and leg.

 

[gene c]

The 40's would have a little more of that "punch" you were looking for but I can't imagine they would be that much better than the 30's. Here's the thing. You're supposed to keep the three front speakers as closely timbre matched as possible since they all sometimes produce the same sounds, like vocals, or sound will pan from one side to the other. If you bought just the 40's they might over-whelm the smallish RM center you already have. Then again you may not even notice it. I'm not saying you should replace the middle one first, just consider replacing all three front speakers to keep them as close as possible to each other. But just replacing the front L/R with either the 30's or 40's might work well enough. Matching the surrounds to the front 3 isn't as important so you could use the 4 RM95 satillites as the surrounds and back surrounds regardless of what Polk speakers you're using in the front.


I know you said you ran MCACC but you should double-check the speaker settings to make sure all are set to Small and the crossover set to at least 120. Most of the time these auto setup features set the crossover too high.

 

[gp4Jesus]

 

kaleb Gene offered sound* advice w/ what you have. I agree w/Gene-your LCR should match-bought together or separate. One omitted detail from my previous post, ebay's Polk Direct's speakers are refurbs (used) w/a shorter warranty than new. From my phone I can't readly check your speaker specs but off the top of my head I'd have your sub "pick it up" about 1/2 an octave above the f3**; about where he suggested (120hz) Moving the sub an inch or two in any direction can make significant difference. * no pun intended * 95hz I think