Polk Audio Speakers + SV PC Ultra Subwoofer (1 Viewer)

[jpman70]

Hello everyone: Was seeking some advice on purchasing an entire set of 7.1 speakers and Subwoofer. My local store demo'ed a set of Polk Audio speakers as follows:
Front: LSI15,
Center: LSIC
Middle Surround: LSIFX
Rear Surround: RC60I
Subwoofer: PSW1000B

Question1: Does anyone have any comments (+ve or -ve) about this setup?
Question2: Would it be better to replace the Polk subwoofer above with the SVS PC Ultra? (it's about the same price). Do I need to worry about "Matching set" sounding better at all?
Thank you!

 

[Arthur S]

Hi Jignesh

I can suggest that you seriously consider buying on-line...I like the HTD Level 3 Towers and the Level 3 Center and the Level 3 bookshelf speakers as surrounds...and I like a pair of HSU VTF-3MKIII subwoofers. Please keep in touch.

 

[SethH]

To answer your question: Yes, the SVS Ultra would be a better subwoofer. It is most important for your front soundstage to match, ideally your surrounds will match as well. It is not at all important for your subwoofer to "match" the rest of your setup.

 

[Ron Temple]

LSis are excellent speakers, be aware that being 4 ohm nominal, they need more power to do them justice than an AVR can offer. You'll need to look into a 7 channel amp as well. As far as subs go, the PSW1000 is supposed to be very musical, but can't be compared to an Ultra. You might want to wait for the new ones coming out in May. They are going to be special.

 

[Will d s]

I have a Polk sub which is decent but not too impressive with LFE. If I could do it again I would go with the SVS.

 

[Arthur S]

With all due respect...if you set the 7 speakers to the recommended Small setting with an 80Hz cutoff...this will reduce the demands on the internal amps of any receiver by as much as 66%...virtually any receiver should be able to handle the speakers that I have recommended.

 

[Hayes Preston]

Answer 1, Polk LSi's are outstanding speakers in my opinion, I am very happy with my LSi system (I use Polk LSi's for the 5 main speakers and a sunfire sub for the lfe) which leads me to...

Answer 2, it is recommended to have "matching" speakers for the 5 (or 7) speakers in a surround system, the main thing you want to match is the tweeter, so basically as long as the main speakers are from the same line, then you can get any sub. I also would recommend and SVS sub over the Polk sub. I have never heard a PSW1000B, but I have not been very impressed with any Polk subs.

 

[Arthur S]

I have both an SVS 20-39PCi and 2 HSU VTF-3HOs plus Turbos...just get a pair of the HSU VTF-3MK3...there is a test out there that puts the VTF-3MK3 near the top.

 

[jpman70]

Thank you all for your input!!
Just one question on the 4 ohm comment: Do you think that if I go with a receiver like Yamaha 2700 or Denon 3806, would they provide enough power? The store demo had the Yamaha receiver paired with this setup. Thanks again.

 

[JeremyErwin]

Club Polk is full of posts extolling the virtues of putting 200--300 watts into an lsi speaker. Granted, the subwoofer will cut down on the power requirements, but, then why go for a full-range speaker like the lsi15?

Certain Polk speakers are 4 ohms. The Lsi7 is closer to 6 ohms, the Lsi9 and LsiC closer to 4 ohms. These impedance dips do not always occur at frequencies below the crossover peak.


Check the owners manuals for the receiver you are about to buy. If the only reference to "4 ohm" is "dynamic power", or if the manual contains words such as "don't connect speakers with an impedence less than 6 ohms", your goals might be better served by buying an external power amplifier or going with another brand-- rotel, nad, harman-kardon, outlaw --that explicitly supports 4 ohm speakers.

It's not the voltage, it's the amperage.

 

[Arthur S]

I agree with this post...don't buy fullrange speakers and a subwoofer...you will be wasting either the bass in the Polks or the bass in the subwofer...please keep in touch.

 

[SVS-Ron]

JP,

While everyone will have their own view, ours is that "matching" speakers for mains/center/surrounds is a good idea generally speaking, but matching the subwoofer in brand or model is largely irrelevant. Most systems are much more limited by their subwoofers than the main speakers as well, and I personally concur with the idea that "mondo" mains are harder to justify if you indeed have a very capable sub (and subs are a far more efficient and effective way to get full spectrum bass than any big main speakers ... and this applies to future SVS speaker models too).

If you are interested in giving a PB12-Ultra or PC-Ultra (both marvelous subs, I have one of each ;^) a try, you will want to order, like today. We phase out this generation of Ultra woofer products very shortly as we consume the last few woofers and retool and refit our supply and assembly lines for the new PC-Ultra and PB13-Ultra subs coming in May and June respectively (both more expensive than the the subs they replace, but with substantially better performance overall too). Dates are still tentative since we're not setting pre-orders or the official release dates just yet, but we are getting very close (just a few "due ins" from suppliers and final testing inside the R/D team before that happens).

Of course there are quite a few other choices from SVS that spread the Ultra's price points, drop us an e-mail if you need anything more specific from us!

Best regards,

Ron Stimpson
SVS