Hello all,

Looking to setup a sound system for the house. Right now I've got a 15+ yr old Aiwa bookshelf system with a sub serving the duty. Looking to step it up a notch or two.

I was looking at the Onkyo 605 for a receiver and here is what my considerations for speakers are at the moment.

After reading quite a few threads on the inexpensive side of things I was looking a maybe a couple of pairs of the Polk R50's with a Polk center to match, and then maybe a Velodyne vx-10 sub? I have not had the chance to listen to the r50's as there does not seem to be anywhere local that carries them. The reviews on them seem pretty good though.

After visiting a local audio store they had some Definitive Tech speakers. The guy there had some PM700's for 600/pair and recommended a pair of Pm700's for the front a pair of BP1.2X for the rear and a CLR2002 for the center channel. Said I'd probably be good on bass for now with the two PM700's as they have a built in powered 8" sub in each.

Would I be likely to notice a significant difference in the two setups? I would be looking at at least $400 difference price-wise with the definitive setup being the more expensive of the two. Would I be better of if I went with the definitive setup to get a pair of bp8b's for the front and something like the Velodyne vx-10 sub to go with them?

The definitive setup is certainly more than I originally budgeted for the project, but if it would be worth it I would certainly pony up the extra.

Thanks,

Dan

Buy the best speakers you can afford. The Def Techs are a cut above the Polk R series and worth it IMHO. The powered 8" woofer in a bookshelf speaker is a brilliant design, but they are powered woofers, not as capable as a dedicated subwoofer in reaching the 20-30 hz range. Still a great speaker.

You might want to consider the Polk RTi6's which are also a cut above the R series and can be had for 1/2 price or better now that the newer Polk series are out. A pair of polks and a subwoofer would also be in the $600 ballpark.