Some help please (1 Viewer)

[CRSaab95]

I’m still new to the world of home audio. For the longest time I used a Sony out the box surround sound. So about a year ago I finally caved realizing I needed something more. Being on a budget I search for used equipment and found a pioneer VZX 820 K for 40.00, monoprice 10800 and 11948 for 10.00, Polk psw10 for 25.00. The only speakers I purchased new were a pair of Polk owm3 for 100.00 and compared to the Sony this sounded amazing to me!


So this year I decided to upgrade my AVR and ended up purchasing a Denon AVR-X1400H IN-Command 7.2. Hooked it up went through the calibration and was amazed with the added clarity this receiver has brought to my current setup. But with the added clarity the sub was now lacking and being I’m still trying to budget myself I found another psw10 for 30.00. While these are bottom of the barrel from Polk they are fine for “now”


Now during all this with all the sales going to I was also looking into the Polk signature series. I don’t have any experience with other major brands but between car speakers and the Polk sound bars I have in my bed rooms I’ve been a fan of Polk for a while. My original plan was to replace the monoprice 10800 with either the Polk S10 or S15 as I wasn’t looking into getting standing floor speakers.


Now this is where I have run into an issue. I happened to stumble across someone selling a like new Polk S35 center channel speaker and ended getting it for 80.00. After adding this speaker sounds keep becoming clearer. And the bass once again seems to be lacking. Now here is my question should I invest into a better set of front speakers over the small monoprice 10800 I currently have. I’m now looking at the polk S60’s hoping they will give me the mid-range bass I’m missing. Or invest into a better subwoofer? Which I’m looking into the SVS PB-1000.

 

[David Willow]

I suggest starting with matching speakers up front. Since your center is the best of the 3, matching the other 2 should be done first. Looking at Polk's site it looks like the S55 and S60 would work (or the S15 if you want a small bookshelf).

For the sub, I assume you calibrated everything? Are all speakers set to small? Did you run Audyssey? Did you keep the mic within a few feet of your main listening area for all the tests? If so, did you then try it with Audyssey turned off? Also, moving the sub around can have a dramatic impact on the sound. Before you give up on it try moving it and recalibrating. Of course an SVS PB1000 would be better but it would still have issues if it is in a bad location.

 

[CRSaab95]

I am just unsure on which ones to get. At first I was going to go for the smaller S10 but then decided to go for the s55. Then after watching and reading some reviews the s60 seem to be the better choice. I wish there was somewhere i could go and demo them before hand. I would really like to hear the difference between the two before purchasing them.

Calibration as far as i know i have gone through all the steps with this new AVR. I did run the audyssey but will be doing it again for the new center and additional sub. I did not see the option for selecting speaker size but i have not been through all the menus and options yet. As for the sub I still have the one in the same location from when i set it up with the old AVR. I am limited on where i can place it but I did place the sub on my couch and walked around the room to see where it sounded best and it have it in that general area.

 

[Robert_J]

Calibration as far as i know i have gone through all the steps with this new AVR. I did run the audyssey but will be doing it again for the new center and additional sub. I did not see the option for selecting speaker size but i have not been through all the menus and options yet. As for the sub I still have the one in the same location from when i set it up with the old AVR. I am limited on where i can place it but I did place the sub on my couch and walked around the room to see where it sounded best and it have it in that general area.

That will get you close since you put it in the loudest location but you don't know how flat the frequency response of your sub is. I had a 14db peak at 55hz which caused my sub to sound extremely weak during movies. If I turned it up for explosions on action movies, music was extremely boomy. I measured my room and used an inexpensive parametric EQ to flatten the response. If you go this route, the EQ can be used with any sub you upgrade to.

How do you measure the room?

 

[David Willow]

Audyssey 'should' do the same as the EQ. But if you really want to dial things in then REW is awesome (I even purchased a mic just for this purpose ).

I guess the choice for your fronts is really up to weather you plan to listen without a sub. I went with towers since I often listen to records and I prefer to turn off all processing in the AVR (which also turns off the subs). But you're correct, without listening you won't know for sure. But since you like the center there's a good chance you'll be happy with any of the others.