Upgrade for Energy 5.0 Classic (1 Viewer)

[dbjunction]

I have a budget of $250 max and currently own Classic Energy 5.0 home theatre setup (essentially no sub-woofer). I was planning to get Polk PSW505 which comes exactly at my budget point. However, then i saw that i can get Polk PSW10 for around 100 bucks and can then add Polk Audio Cs10 center channel speaker.
So two options:
a) Polk PSW505
b) Polk PSW10 + Polk CS10 Center Channel Speaker
If I go with the latter option, will the Center Channel Speaker be a big upgrade to the one that comes with Energy Classic 5.0 set? Also, will my front surround speakers from Energy Classic set get overpowered with the "b" combination above? Or do you think CS10 is not much of an upgrade and I should rather go for the much better sub woofer (505).
Posting my first question here - so would really appreciate a response.
Thanks
dbjunction

 

[NickSI]

it is always tough to pair a center with other manufacture's fronts. The tones sometimes don't match up and the receiver can only compensate so much...
Get the bigger sub and save up for some larger/better speakers if you still feel it is necessary. But try to keep to energy.
Oh and someone will probably recommend a different sub as well but I don't know anything about subs.

 

[Jason Charlton]

Originally Posted by dbjunction /t/322749/upgrade-for-energy-5-0-classic#post_3957090
will the Center Channel Speaker be a big upgrade to the one that comes with Energy Classic 5.0 set? Also, will my front surround speakers from Energy Classic set get overpowered with the "b" combination above?

What's the problem with the current center channel? Not loud enough? Overpowered by the mains?

These sorts of problems can almost always be corrected by properly setting up and calibrating your system. Have you done that? What model receiver do you have? If properly calibrated, you can have a monster subwoofer, and it won't overpower anything.

Nick is correct - mixing different speaker brands across the front soundstage is never a very good idea - especially for home theater use, where mutichannel audio tracks make frequent use of panning which means all three front speakers handle the same sounds at various times, so it's imperative they all sound alike.

On the subwoofer front I definitely wouldn't bother with the 10" Polk. Polk makes good speakers, but their subwoofers aren't the best value. There are some alternatives that may work better than the 12" Polk. At around $200, the Bic F-12 is a solid performer - pretty much on a par with the 12" Polk - maybe slightly better. A notch higher on the budget spectrum (and better performer) would be the 12" Lava sub - HTF members get a discount on the subwoofer that brings it under $300.

 

[dbjunction]

Thanks Jason.
I have Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 receiver. I mostly watch movies (Blu Ray, Ps3) and have a smallish room. The problem is that often times, dialogues sound very muffled and that kills the fun of watching movies. It is so bad that for some movies that i have to switch on subtitles.
I have calibrated using Audessey that comes with the receiver and that has improved a bit, but not a lot. Based on your response, it seems that if I upgrade the center speaker, i might as well upgrade the front satellites with the same brand ones. Thanks for your suggestions on the other subs as well - i will surely check them out.

 

[dbjunction]

Thanks Nick - I had heard it is difficult to get multiple brands work together but thanks for confirming it. Based on yours and Jason's comments, I too am leaning toward a better Sub now.

 

[schan1269]

Some things to "try" in your settings...if you've used any "enhancements"...
Make sure DRC is turned off in the BD player. Make sure it is turned off in the Onkyo. If I remember correctly the Onkyo also has either Dolby Volume or Audyssey volume control (in essence, to keep commercials from being louder etc)...turn that off as well.
Most of the time, "My center speaker sounds muffled" problems are the "enhancements" destroying the soundstage.
It could also be, since you don't have a sub, you are running all five speakers full range???
If so, set the center around 100hz...that should help.

 

[Martino]

Those small speakers are designed to be used with a sub - after adding one and setting the cross-over frequency in the receiver, the performance of all the speakers (including the center) will improve. After getting the sub, set all of the speaker size to SMALL and the cross over frequency to 100 HTz...
As for the sub - with a budget of "arround 100 dollars" I would go for a dayton 12" model over the 10" polk...
Dayton Audio SUB-1200 12" 120 Watt Powered Subwoofer - $119.00 + $14.95 for shipping - $133.95
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-629

 

[schan1269]

In Onkyo receivers, you don't have the choice of "large small" in the speakers...
They make it even simpler than that...
It is either..."the speaker is full band" or you set a crossover. In Onkyo the crossover "pairs" are set independent. Front can be set at 60hz, center at 100hz, surrounds at 200hz.
Also, thankfully, Onkyo(and I would presume Denon as well) doesn't confuse you with "LFE double bass".
They take that option away if you set a crossover on the front speakers.

 

[dbjunction]

Thanks for letting me know that Martino... i had no idea that adding sub will also improve the performance of the other speakers.
I will also try mccambley's suggestion of tweaking each speaker's output.
Great ideas everyone, thanks a lot !