$2000 to spend, I'm thinking of Polk, any reasons why not to? (1 Viewer)

[ScottATL]

I've been looking around and found have a couple of options. I'm pretty set on my receiver, which I think I am going to go with the HK AVR 520, so that leaves me around $1500 or so on speakers.

I'm looking to go with floor standing towers up front, and bookshelfs in the back as I'd need to place them on the coffee table or under it on both sides of the couch. Now the two options I've been steered toward are HTD.com's Level 3 package, but not to get their sub. For the five speakers minus the sub it would run me $449 + $219 + $129 = $800 plus shipping. Now this would leave me plenty of money fo a nice sub and could go with a higher end SVS, which would be nice.

Option 2: This would be a complete Polk package. Floors:RTI70 ($599) Center CSI40 ($329) Rears FXI50 ($369) and the sub which is where I think I need some advice, but I am leaning toward the PSW650 (dual 10" drivers - $484). That would be $1782 shipped. I went to Circuit City and heard a very similar setup and liked it, but they had the PSW404 sub (single 10 driver)

Option 3: RT50 ($449), CSI30 ($159), FXI30 ($299), and PSW550 ($424) This combo would be $1331, leaving me under my budget(Budget just a guideline, not fixed) but how much quality am I sacrificing.

The questions that I have are which one of these packages are the best, 1, 2, or 3. OR should I maybe a combo between 2 and 3 where I choose the better fronts, center, rears or sub, but what should I choose not to skimp out on? Also, just how good is the PSW650? Should I forget this and go to a SVS?

The other question is should I just abandon all of this and go with something else altogether?

Thanks for any help

 

[John Garcia]

I'll give you reasons why not Polk: Go down to your local Paradigm (Monitor line), B&W (300 and 600 series), and KEF dealers, and check to see if you have any shops that carry Axiom
Polk is not a bad choice, but listen to other brands as well, at the very least, for comparison.
YES, you should forget about Polk for subs and go with an SVS, no question there.

 

[Mark Austin]

Unless you have a lot of room, I would suggest bookshelf speakers up front as well. And even if you did have a lot of room I would still recommend the bookshelfs up front at that price point.

If you have listened to the Polks, and they are the sound you like I see nothing wrong with them.

 

[Russell _T]

I would agree with everything John garcia mentioned above, but also add the Onix Rockets to the short list here.

 

[Eric C D]

When I get asked by friends, I say pretty much the same as the advice above, but let them make their own choices. None of them would really be wrong.
Speakers: either whatever you like at a good store in your price range. Online options would be the Onix Rockets, Home Theater Direct, Ascend Acoustics, or Norh (these belong in some decorator's house, but sure not a country motif - wait - that's another thread! ).
Subwoofers: I'm an SVS fan, but the Hsu (particularly the VTF-2 for your budget) also gets great comments about price/performance ratio and may fit your desires better. The "sound" of subwoofers isn't so personal, so an online purchases shouldn't be as problematic.
Enjoy!
Eric

 

[ScottATL]

Do the Onix Rockets come in black?

 

[Russell _T]

Scott,
Currently the Rockets are only available in Rosewood, but they are ramping up for an ebony veneer model due out in the next two months. Both finishes are stunning, and the Rosewood model is far more beautiful than in the pictures.

 

[Donald_Spry]

I believe they are going to start offering the Rockets in a black color sometime in Feb? The AV123 guys that post here could give you a better answer.

 

[Steve-sas]

To each his own. I agree you should like what you hear. I have listend to all of what John Garcia mentioned above except for the Axioms and I still decided on Polks. Lots of folks don't consdider them because they are "MASS MARKET" speakers sold at places like Circuit City and Crutchfield. I think you get a lot of quality for what you spend. Their customer service is exceptional and they have been around for a looooooooooooong time making very good speakers. Option # 2 would be an excellent choice (I have listened to this exact combination minus the 650) but I would consider a different sub. The Adire Rava or HSU VF-2 is in your price range now. Or you could go a little over your budget and get the SVS 25-31PCi for only $549 plus shipping. If you like the sound of the Polks....get them....you won't be disappointed.

 

[Edward J M]

What about the new Polk LSi series? Can you demo that instead? Rave reviews from many industry rags.

 

[John Garcia]

A complete LSi setup cannot be had for $2K, and that isn't even factoring in a sub, considering that the LEAST expensive pair of LSis MSRP at $700. If that were the case, I think they would be selling like proverbial hot cakes.
I am a Paradigm owner, and of the speakers I mentioned,I actually kind of like the KEFs the best overall, but I got a very good deal on the 'Digms.

 

[Paul Seyfarth]

If you were to look online you can get a pair of LSi9's for around $620, you could get the LSiC for around $350. Now if you got 4 LSi9's for front and surround, and LSiC for center that would cost you about 1600. That is with out the sub. They are great sounding speakers.

Right now I have RT2000p up front, FX500i in the rear, and LSiC in the center. I really want to upgrade my fronts to the LSi9, or even better the 15. I just love the sound of the LSi line.

 

[Jeremy Anderson]

I just upgraded my Polk RT25i/CS245i system to 6 RTi28's and a CSi30, and I couldn't be happier. They have a very neutral sound, no noticeable cabinet/port noise, and the silk/polymer composite tweeters yield very clean highs without the harshness of Polk's old tri-laminate tweeters at high levels. In my EQ'ing, I've found that my new Polks blend incredibly well with my SVS 20-39CS+ without any compensation, using the standard 80Hz crossover. I also immediately noticed that bass guitar comes across better on the new Polks than the RTi's, especially on DVD-A material such as Jonatha Brooke's Steady Pull and Glen Phillips' Abulum.

I used to have a Polk PSW-350 sub and while I love their speakers, I agree with the above recommendations of getting a Hsu or SVS for the low end. Unless you're just married to the idea of floor-standers, the bookshelf RTi28's or 38's would give you a great sounding system without breaking the bank (and leave you enough for a SVS).

 

[JamesKr]

My setup is: RTI38's L/R front, CSI30 center, RTI28's L/R surround, M3 monitors surround back. I agree with what others have said about the bookshelf recommendation. If you have the money then get the LSI series otherwise the RTI series bookshelf speakers sound great.

 

[John Garcia]

Now if you got 4 LSi9's for front and surround, and LSiC for center that would cost you about 1600.

Since the poster had listed floorstanders as mains, I would guess he would want to stick with that, which meant $1499/pr MSRP for LSi15s. Even if you got them for $1K/pr, that is pushing the limit of the $2k budget with a sub. Personally, I'd go with the LSi9s all around and be happy for a 5.1 setup, but what about 6.1??? Add another LSiC...$$$$

 

[ScottATL]

Well, I like the idea of floorstanding speakers because I have a rather large entertainment center that almost consumes my entire front wall area, minus about 20 inches. I can put the speakers on each side of it. If I did bookshelfs, I think they would be too high off the floor, they are too high to go inside it, and would cost me just as much in the long run to buy bookshelfs + stands. That is my reasoning for that.

I think my mind is made up on an SVS sub. I didn't think I could fit one in at first, but I think I can come up with the extra few $$$ that it would cost.

I found a couple of shops around that sell Paradigm and KEF's so I am going to go take a listen to them this weekend and make up my mind.

Right now I think I am going to be limited to a 5.1, but I am buying the receiver in case I want to expand later to a 7.1, but I doubt that I ever will, unless I move or turn my basement into a dedicated HT room, but I don't see that happening within the next year, so I am just going plan on the 5.1 for now.

 

[Jeremy Anderson]

If you've got the wall space to the sides, you can use bookshelf speakers with wall-mount brackets. For all five of my RTi28's, I'm using $50/pair B-Tech BT-7 side-clamping brackets. They're glass reinforced vinyl (to cut down on resonance and increase strength), take about 10 minutes to install and don't require screwing into the speaker cabinet. They also look pretty sharp and let you aim the speakers 5 degrees up, 15 degrees down and anywhere side to side you want. I got anal and used a laser pointer to aim mine before I locked them down.

 

[BrianJ>Y]

I have to STRONGLY second Axiom speakers. With your budget, I'd buy a pair of M22ti's,a vp150, m2i's, and an svs sub. I upgraded from 2 pairs of rt25i's and a cs245i and while i was happy with the Polk setup I am now ecstatic with my Axiom speakers. For reviews of the M22ti's and other Axiom speakers check out these links...
(22ti's compared to many other speakers, compared favorably to the Paradigm studio 40's in this review)
http://www.audioholics.com/productre...faceoff3_g.php
("Notice I didn’t say anything about budget speakers; forget about cost for a moment. Through this region, these speakers really are that good. I’m talking about the kind of performance that people take for granted in $3000 monitors. ")
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/a...niam22tise.htm
(review of an Axiom package including the M22ti's, this site also gave this particular setup "AUDIO PRODUCT OF THE YEAR" for 2002)
http://www.onhometheater.com/product/20020801.htm
(Heres a review of the m2i, which won a reviewers choice award from the soundstage network, i'm sure theyd work well as budget surrounds)
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/axiom_m2i.htm
I'm giving you all this info because I wish I knew about Axiom speakers before I purchased my Polk setup. Although there's nothing wrong with Polk speakers as they are a good value, I just personally feel that there are better speakers in their price range. For the money I don't really don't think you can beat Axiom. All this is my opinion, and it does all come down to preference, so take it as you want. Go out and audition as many speakers as you can and DONT RUSH IT. Goodluck
-Brian

 

[John Garcia]

Had I known about Axiom earlier (and been able to audition them), I'd probably have them right now as well.

 

[ScottATL]

Is there any place I can online shop for Axiom's? I'd like to shop around to get the best price. Any recomendations?