Calling all Polkies:Official Polk thread - Page 391

Greetings everyone.

Well, I am officially now a polkie! My only prior hands on with polk speakers is a pair of polk rears I bought about 5 years ago.

I just ordered:

2 TSI500s - Front Floor
1 CS20 - Center
2 TSI200s - Side Surrounds

Also already have the two polk rears and a JBL 10" Sub to round out the complete 7.1 setup.


Should arrive by Tuesday. I can't wait! I really hope I am not disappointed.

I'll let you know what I think sometime next week.

Could go with a Polk DSW Pro 660WI sub for $349 shipped from new egg when they run their weekend sale.

The Monitor 40's in black are sold out at newegg. What are your thoughts on this... is this temporary and will be restocked or the end of the lot and it will not be back?

I may have waited one day too long!?!?

They ALWAYS come back in stock. You just missed the sale. They'll be back, so will the sale - eventually.

That sale has been going on, sold out, repeat for a looong while

Fellow Polkies, got a quick question. I'm currently in Iraq and will be returning to the states at the end of this month. I've been ordering everything for my theater setup since I've been out here. Currently I have
Panasonic 65ST30
Onkyo 808
2XRti-A7
2XFxi-A6
1XCsi-a6
1-Velodyne Impact 12

Question I have is with the wiring. I don't plan on having an external amp for a few months til my wallet recoups, so until then everything will be off the receiver. I want to order the materials to make the below types of speaker wire but type of wire should I order; meaning should I make 5 sets of bi-wire, or 10 individual sets of wires. With the bi-wire way, Would one end only have 2-banana plugs and the other 4-banana plugs? Below are pics of what I mean since I'm not too good at explaining. If there are any other ways I should wire please feel free to let me know. I'm coming from the HTIB world and all this is pretty new to me. Thanks guys!

So, everyone continually talks about biamping in this thread.

Is there any advantage to doing this with Polk Monitor 70s?

I've got Monitor 70 fronts, CS2 center, a 7.1 Pioneer 1120k receiver, a vtf2-mkiii sub, and infinity primus 152 surrounds. So I think I have the extra channels to do the biamping but I'm not sure if there is a benefit

Sounds like a winner also at $349. I think you loose some bottom end extension but more output at tuning by the looks of it.

Just need to make your choice deeper digging (Emotiva) or a bit more output (Polk). The wireless could be a useful feature also.

Newegg is the exclusive seller of Series II Monitor speakers from Polk. They are still being manufactured for this purpose.

There is no value to "bi-wiring" your speakers. Nothing the human ear could even discern. I doubt even equipment would discern anything in the audible range.
Definitely put 4 connectors on each end. Bi-amping can be valuable in certain circumstances. I have found it to be useful but I have not used it on my current receiver.

Don't bother with bi-amping or bi-wiring. Neither is worth anything. If you need more power to the speaker, just use a better amp.

Will I notice a big difference in sound quality if I upgrade from Monitor 70’s to LSI15’s? I am currently running them on an Oynko 809 receiver and trying to decide if its worth it to upgrade, I watch a lot of movies and some music. Thanks in advance

When you Bi-Amp you have to use Two Amps, thus the term Bi-Amp.
What you're probably thinking is Bi-Wiring, where you run a 2 sets of wires to one speaker from the same receiver. One for lows and one for highs. A lot of people think it's a waste of time and the results get mixed reviews.

Here's the problem I see with what you want to do. First, the receiver you have is weak when switched to 5.1 and even weaker when asked to play 7.1.
When you bi-wire your speakers from the same receiver you have to use another set of output channels to make the second connection to the same speaker. When you do this, it puts additional strain on the receivers amp section and causes a power drop. It might make your receivers power drop so low that it puts your receiver in danger of "clipping" when trying to turn up the volume. I will use my receiver as an example of a power drop, look at the numbers here.

My receiver is rated at 100 WPC, is high current with discreet amps.



AV Receiver Reviews
Onkyo TX-SR608 A/V Receiver HT Labs Measures
HT Labs Measures

Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 82.3 watts
1% distortion at 84.7 watts

Seven channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 30.9 watts
1% distortion at 40.1 watts

You can see even with this amp section, I get a 17% power loss in the 5.1 mode and a 60 to 70% drop in 7.1. I might be wrong but I think the Onkyo amps are more heavy duty than the one found in normal Pioneer units.

Because of the power drop and the danger of clipping the amps which in turn burns up a speaker, I would not use this receiver in a 7.1 set up.

You want plenty of good clean power for your speakers and bi-wiring might or might not make an audible difference. I don't think this is your receiver but look at these numbers.

Pioneer VSX-1120 A/V Receiver HT Labs Measures

HT Labs Measures

Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 47.0 watts
1% distortion at 52.3 watts

Seven channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 38.9 watts
1% distortion at 47.1 watts

I would just run one set of wire to the Polks and be happy.
I would not bi-wire due to the power drop.

But that's just me, your results may vary.

I hope this helps you...

Wow, that's good information.

I think I am making bi-wiring and bi-amping be the same in my head, you are definitely right there

I am looking for a little help, I just upgraded my reciever to a Yamaha RX-A710 and need to upgrade my speakers. I am looking at getting fronts and a center channel and adding maching rears and front presence in wall speakers as I can afford them. I have been looking at a pair of RTi-A7's for my fronts and a CSi-A6 for my center, will the RX-A710 power these ok?

Thanks,

Moneypitt

I think you'll be fine with this Yamaha Aventage Receiver. They are better built than lower priced units from Yamaha. There are members at the Polk forums that use them. RTI's are very nice speakers too.

Visit polkaudio.com/forums if you have more questions.

Welcome, Im sure you will like the RTi A9's with the Pioneer Elite SC-35. However, I haven't seen any real difference in Bi-amping the RTi A9's with the SC-35 when I was running them without a amp.

You should post pictures once you get it all setup.

If you need any help with you setup, just asks because there are people here who have great insight.

I will suggest you vist the Polk Audio eBay store for a great price on a CSi A6. This is the proper center channel. Get it.

Happy for u.

You will like the setup because they are not mis-matched at the very least.

What receiver are you running?

Thank you for your service! I was prior service too with the Air Force 2001-2008 and now work with the VA.

As for as wire, I would not worry about Bi-amp wires. I like Audioquest and I currently use some Monster M Series which has built in bananas and Monster XP cable with GSL Audio bananas.

Nothing special here yet, but I will be upgrading later, much later.

Hell yes, there is a big difference in everything.

Amplifier requirements, purchasing price, and sound.

I would suggest adding a separate amp to your setup. The Yamaha Advantage A1000 tested on 50 ish watt in 5 channel mode. Therefore, your RX-A710 should produce less.

Home Theater test on A1000
http://www.hometheater.com/content/y...-labs-measures

The RTi A7's will produce better sound under a more powerful high current amplifier in the mix and will ensure that you don't quickly damage your new speakers.

Why not make a Single bi wire (2 banana plugs on one end, 4 on the other) set for the front. It does the same thing as removing the jumpers. When you remove the jumpers you have to run a cable from the bottom set to the top set. With a single bi wire instead of having 6 conections on the back of the speaker you only have 4.

I woudn't run a double bi wire though. ( 4 connections on each end). I dont like the look of jumper cables / welding cables running across the floor to my front speakers.

So it will not only be under powered but will damage the RTi-A7's, so what amp do you recommend.

A parasound, or carver amp would be a nice warm amp to pair with the RTI A7's.

I run a carver A-753x with my RTI A7's and CSI A4. 250wpc x 3 channels.

I've got M60's and a CS10 up front in my HT. Have been quite happy with the CS10, but am always reading in this forum about people who were MUCH happier after they moved up to a CS20/CS2. I think I would also enjoy the "bigger" sound, since to me the CC is the most important speaker. I know I've asked this question before but am getting very serious about making a move since Newegg has the CS2 for $99 right now. How much of a difference is there in the silk tweeter (CS20) vs. cloth tweeter (CS2) in terms of brightness? I really like the high/treble sound of the tweeter in my CS10, don't want to lose ANY of that just to gain more bottom/mid in a CS2. I also suppose that if there IS a noticeable difference I could just easily pop the silk tweeter out of my current CS10 and switch it into a new CS2 in a matter of minutes. Or would that somehow mess up the internal crossovers? Although even if it did I imagine the Audyssey in my Denon 1910 could compensate for it. The Newegg CS2 sale runs for another couple of days, so I suppose I have a little time left to listen to you expert Polk folk advice

I see what your saying and I think I might go this way. How do you recommend I make the side with the 4? Normally speaker wire has 4 sets on each side or just 2. Do I solder on a second set the one side? Is there any other speaker wire that I haven't seen yet?

So I think i might have figured it out. I'll get 12g.4-conductor speaker wire and solder the 2-positives and 2-negatives on one side to make 2 connectors and still have the other 4-connectors on the other side to Bi-Wire easily. How does this sound?

Not an expert, but I do own two of each, CS10's CS2's and CS1's. The smaller units are too small for CC duty in a larger room. The CS10's are in the bedroom and family room. CS1's I'm using for rear channels in the LR with M70 fronts and M60 surrounds. This all works well now, but there was a metamorphosis behind all this, starting with M50's, a CS1 and OWM3's.

Newegg has also had the CS20 on sale recently (for around 140 I believe) and I had considered buying one about a year ago, but went with the CS2 instead for the slightly smaller cabinet. At that time had M60 fronts and though the CS2 performed very well as a center I could perceive the timbre mismatch, which led to the M70 upgrade. I liked the sound of the M60's and though the 70's sound different they also sound good as well. You may fare better than I if you are already accustomed to the brighter timbre of the CS10 as well as the "brighter" sound of the M60's (as compared to the 70's).

I'd say go for the CS20 if you have any desire for that unit. If you don't do it now, then you will always wonder what you have been missing. If you don't like it you can sell it, or, as I have done, find another use for it.

It's 100% completely pointless. Biwiring does nothing at all. Get 14g 2-conductor wire and call it a day.

Anyone have a recommendation on what model Polk center(s) & rear satellite(s) would be the closest timbre match to a pair of SDA-1C's with the upgraded RD0-194 tweeters? Support recommended the CS10/CS20/CsiA4, but I've seen other recommendations for other vintage models or just to jump to the A6. I just setup a shelf above the plasma to host a bigger speaker, so any size up to 2' wide or ~1' deep should be OK.

For the rears, they said RM8/TL1/TL2's, specifically saying the TL3 wouldn't match well. I had been using a vintage Polk RM3000 syetem (RM1000W sub & RM2000 satellites). The driver foam surrounds in the satellites have fallen apart and not worth it to me to repair. The manual for the system indicates the response for the _system_ is 25-20 or 42-18 (-3db); it doesn't tell me the crossover point. I connect the amp & the satellites to the same pair of sub binding posts.

The local Polk dealers only carry the CS10, so I don't want to spend a lot of time shipping back'n'forth trying the different models. Thanks!

Edit: I got a recommendation to use a Monitor 5/7/10 with a 194 tweeter, but the size and tweeter location within the cabinet doesn't work well with my equipment. They also said a CS350LS would be close match to the 194. Are there any recent horizontal center channel speakers where I can replace the tweeter with a 194?

Edit 2: Spoke with a different guy in support, and he recommend in order a CS400i, CS400, or CS1000P as close timbre matches.