Onkyo/Polk Setup (1 Viewer)

[John*W]

I recently listened to the following setup and liked the sound. I was wondering anyones pros and cons of the Onkyo and Polk listed. I'm flexible to change brands upon seeing what is written. Thanks!

Onkyo TXNR801

Polk(floor) RTI10(I will be getting 4 of these, 2 up front and 2 to run the rears)

Polk(center) CS15

Polk(sub) PSW404

Polk(ceiling) 2 rounds in the ceiling just in front of seating area

Hitachi HIT575500 57" Ultravision, may go with the 65", not sure yet.

The family room that all this is going in is 15x20. Would the 65" be ok?

Thanks for any feedback...

 

[Jeremy Anderson]

I run an Onkyo/Polk setup, and my only advice to you is this: DO NOT GET A POLK SUBWOOFER. For the price you would pay for the PSW404, you will not get the performance you'd think you would. Spend the extra money and get one of the online-only boutique subs like SVS or HSU, and you will be infinitely happier.

I have to ask: What are the ceiling speakers in front of the seating area for?

 

[Brent_j]

John, is there some reason for having the RTi10's as rears? I have the RTi10's for fronts and some FXi3's di-pole / bi-pole for surrounds and they are a great surround speaker. If you want, you can even get the FXi5's for surrounds I just dont think they are worth the price difference over the FXi3's. I also run a CSi5 for my main center and a RM2600 for my rear surround.
Overall I am very happy with my setup, I would STRONGLY recommend picking up a separate amp for your setup, especially if you are going the RTi10's for rears as well, from what I can find the 801 is only pushing 100w x 7. I currently run my Polks off a Yamaha RX-V2400 rated at 120w x7 and I feel my RTi10's are barely getting the juice it needs, the same with my CSi5 center. I am getting a separate amp to power my center and fronts.

Anyhow, I think you will be very pleased with your Polks, they are a great sounding speaker, the imaging is fantastic for HT and they really sound amazing for music. I really enjoy the fact that I have REAL wood cabinets for the Polks (except for the surrounds, they are MDF cabinets, but still sound great).

Choices, choices, choices.... have fun!
Brent.

 

[TylerZ]

John,
I think you would be fine with the RTi6's or FXi3's in the rear. I think the 10's are great speakers, but IMO they are overkill in the rear. Spend the savings on an HSU or SVS sub.

 

[John*W]

Ok maybe I should go with a surround for the rear instead of the RTI10's. I'm not planning on getting a 2nd amp to run the rear speakers so i will keep it simple with a dipole setup for the rear.

I'm new to a 7.1 setup so please excuse my ignorance. the CS15 & RTI10's work the front. so the rear would be the same setup but with possibly a dipole instead of floor ones and a center channel also? The reason I'm going with the 2 ceiling ones is that i don't have the place for 2 surround speakers on the side walls. Thats assuming this is where i would put these 2 surrounds in the first place. Basically what i need is someone to move me in the right direction of what a basic 7.1 surround is supposed to look like.

 

[John*W]

My other question is, I'm having the room wired for 7.1. If i buy the Onkyo 7.1 receiver and choose to run just a 5.1 speaker setup will it work? Basically, I'm doing the 7.1 for a future upgrade. Would it be worth it to buy a 7.1 receiver now?, or go with a 5.1 or 6.1 receiver to run a 5.1 setup. Sorry for any confusion on the replies i'm making but i'm completely clueless on this, LOL.

 

[Frank Zimkas]

John,
I'm not trying to toot my own horn but you might want to click on my sig and take a look at my 7.1 set up.

A 7.1 system should have 2 side surround speakers and 2 rear speakers. mounting a couple of speakers in the ceiling as you described will not work.

Have you considered a front projector instead of an RPTV? I just upgraded from a 55" WS and the difference is astounding.

 

[Byron_T]

John,
I have the Polk RTi70's up front with a CSi40 center and FXi50's for side and back surrounds. I have not listened to the new models but I love mine. I also recommend finding another sub. I have a SVS 20-39PC-Plus and could not be happier. I also have the Hitachi 57S500 and it's great. I sit about 10 feet from it and it is plenty big.

 

[John*W]

Thanks everyone for feedback so far. at least i have the tv & the front speakers squared away now. its the rear and surrounds that is the confusing part. the room setup is so that the kitchen, dinette area, goes into the family room leaving a walk through instead of a side wall hindering any speaker setup. across from that on the other wall is the stone wall floor to ceiling fireplace. behind the sofa are 3 regular size windows in a line. so the only whole solid part of the wall is where the tv is going.

what is the correct way to put 2 surrounds behind the sofa seating position? i've seen sites that say directly behind over head mounted at standing eye level, i've seen off to the side of the sofa just above ear level.

in my case it would have to be to the sides because of the 3 window setup that is behind the sofa. any suggestions on this?

 

[ScottCHI]

if you have the room and the space for them, and you really do have a need for 4 identical big speakers, i say get 4 RTi10's if that's what you want. however, i'd get the RTi8s if i was going that route.

 

[Frank Zimkas]

WWW.Dolby.Com is a good resource for determining the proper location for speakers. Obviously concessions must be made for room configuration, WAF, budget, etc.

 

[Brent_j]

John, again, if you get the FXi3's or FXi5's because of the di-pole / bi-pole config, you can place them just about anywhere. I have a 7.1 setup with my surround FXi3's on the di-pole mode 2 1/2 feet above and right to the side of my couch, with my 2 rear speakers hung in my ceiling firing down behind the couch (i had no room in the back as my couch is right against my back wall)

I think it sounds great with it this way, definitely not what Dolby suggests but it works great for me.

Brent.

RPTV: Mitsu 65"
Receiver: Yamaha RX-V2400
Center: Polk CSi5
Fronts: Polk RTi10's
Surrounds: Polk FXi3's
Rears: Polk RM2400 center channels

 

[Dennis Gardner]

John,

I think the other guys have covered surround options well. I use both dipoles on the sides and direct types for rears in my 7.1 setup. Polks all around!

In a room that size, I would seriously consider looking into front projection with 80-100 screen. It could be done well for less than the RPTV and really takes advantage of the great Polk speaker setup you are considering. Frank has just recently moved this direction in his setup and would echo my thoughts along this line. I shopped RPTVs last spring and ended up with the projector instead for 1/3 what I was looking to spend on the 65" Pioneer. 1500 hours on my new projector and I will never go back to regular TV.

Dennis

 

[John*W]

Thanks for all the input!. Now the fun news, I listened to a Yamaha RXV1400 with Boston Acoustic VR1.B & a Velodyne DLS 3500B and I'm hooked!!!

So looks like I will be going with that 7.1 receiver and running 4 floor standing BA's with the Velodyne as a 5.1 until whenever I decide to make it a 7.1 speaker wise. Changes! Changes! Changes! LOL