I need some opinions on what speakers will work with my Polk RM20's. I have an Onkyo 705 to go with a Panasonic 42PZ700U. I need to add 2 speakers and a sub to my system for 7.1. Let me first say I would like to stay in the Polk family if possible (necessary?). They will be used 90% movies and TV.

My room is 12 x 16 and my wife would like them not to physically dominate the room. That's one of the reasons we settled on the RM20's. The sound is nice also. I would like some smaller towers if possible and a smaller sub. Will be happy with wall speakers too.

Also, if I go with towers, should I use the bigger speakers in the RM20's as the surround or the back surround or will it matter. They would work better in my setup as the back surround, but I want the best sound possible so I will make it work either way.

Budget is $500 give or take for the 2 speakers and sub.

Thanks for you help,

Lomey

Anybody? Do I need to give more information?

If not, thanks, I'll keep looking. There is alot of great info here.

Lomey

The easiest solution for you would be to pick up Polk RM201 (single surround packs) at $400/pair which is a pair of speakers that match what you should already have. It's best to match drivers in all speakers, which is best accomplished by staying in the same manufacturer/family of speakers all around. Go to polkaudio.com and search for RM20, and at the bottom of the page is a link to the RM201 page, along with authorized dealers where you can pick some up. You could use the existing larger speakers for either the sides or back, but you'd probably find them better as rear surrounds.

This only leaves you $100 for a sub, so if you expand your budget a little bit you'll definitely get better quality. You could stick with Polk, but with subs it's really not important if it's the same manufacturer or not. The cheapest Polk sub (on their website) was listed at $240. You could pick up an Outlaw Audio LFM-2 right now for the same price which will probably be a better performer than the Polk. If you can stretch your budget to $400-$450 on the sub, you could pick up an entry-level SVS subwoofer (PB10-NSD) which is spec'd flat down to 20Hz (vs. 35Hz on the Polk, more likely higher than that), which would be much more satisfying and do what subwoofers are supposed to do (the low frequency effect rumble during soundtracks).

So, for $829 (probably less if you shop around), you could get perfectly matching surrounds and a very decent subwoofer.

Thanks Schredk! I thought that might be the best solution, but didn't know if I should use the 201's or 101's as the added two speakers.

Just so I have things clear. Use the 201's that I will buy for the front speakers. The 101's from the RM20 set I already have as the side surrounds and the 201's from the RM20 set I have for the back surrounds. Is this right?

I will up my budget for a sub, even if it means I have to wait until next month and use a JBL sub I have in my game room for the time being when I watch movies.

Thanks again for the help, this is still somewhat new to me. I am addicted!

Lomey

LOL, you think it's addictive now, stick around AVS for awhile. The upgrade bug hits us all. I've gone through 3 different receivers, 3 different HD-DVD players, a new PS3, added 10 new speakers (selling 1 and giving away my original 5.1 setup), added a new front projector, auditioned 2 separate amplifiers, and it goes on and on. All in the past 2 years. And I put all of the blame on AVSForum. But as others have stated, it's the journey, not the destination, that makes the home theater hobby so enjoyable. It gets bad when you get a really critical eye and ear; it gets to the point where you can hardly handle staying in a hotel or going to a family member/friend's house and having to watch a movie or TV on a 25" tube CRT from 12' away with no surround sound.

Also, the speaker arrangement that you described sounds like the best plan. The JBL sub should suffice until you can get something better down the road.