Calling all Polkies:Official Polk thread - Page 396

Last I checked in reading the manual MCACC doesn't allow for different crossovers per channel like Audyssey does with the Onkyo's and Denon

As a person who has bookshelves up front crossed over at 80hz and that means my Polk Rm6751's are lacking from 80-120 and believe me I notice a difference. As my receiver only allows for one crossover. So much so that I hooked the fronts up to the subwoofer so I can use the subwoofer crossover and keep the speakers at rm6751 at their proper crossover

Started reading at the beginning, I am rather close to catching up. I have 2 monitor systems. In the main HT I have cherry 70's topped with 40's, a CS2, RC85i surrounds, and an in-ceiling Yammy IW960 as the rear. The 40's are run as mains through an onkyo 701 (and others-6ch) and the 70's are powered by an HK 3490 used as an amp. 2 Klips SUB12's on DIY risers. I find this works based upon the room. Roughly 17x52 & 9' ceilings(couch @ 25'-ish open to the kitchen). I prefer a large front sound stage, but I would not suggest running 40's in parallel. I love the 40's and would suggest an amp to run an additional set.
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The basement consists of black 70's topped with 40's, CS2 and bose in-walls (were upstairs, replaced by the RC85i's.) Yammy RX667 AVR and a HK3490 as an amp for the 70's.(got um both rather cheap) I was sold on an A2-300 until QC and shipping issues changed my mind. I have a yee ole (13 yrs) Mitsubishi SUB10 that sill functions (3 driver replacements later) but will be 80/20 music to HT so I am considering a PSW505 (or??). I find that 40's on top do not work as well in this room. 14x32 7.5'ceilings w/the front sound stage 13' from seating position, but looks very cool IMHO.

I am looking for some good surround speakers to mount on a wall directly behind my couch and will match my current system. I have the following equipment now:

Marantz SR 7005
Polk tsi 500's (front)
Polk CS20 (center)
PSW 125 (sub)

Any help would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

My preference has always been in-walls for surround duty. In which case I would suggest either Polk Rc85i (8" driver + tweeter)or Polk RC65i (6" + tweeter). I believe the 85i's can be had for the same price. Overkill perhaps but I own a set and think they are great. I also believe they are a timbre match with respect to your set-up.


The 85i's have a 1" tweeter. 65i's have a smaller 3/4".

Thank you for replying. I do like to figure out the average of what would sound good and go one step better if I can. I was thinking about the OWM5's but not sure if they would work for me. I read up on the Rc85i's and the reviews are positive. Will the fact that they are over my head make a difference? It's about 12 feet from the tv wall and the speaker wall.
Also, for ease of installation I would have to go at least 6' 9" high on the wall. Would there be any problem with that as far as the sound?

Again, thank you.

I have a pair of Bose in-walls (i know) that sounded marginal at best. The 85i's blow them away at less than half the price. One is able to aim the tweeter, and at that height I would also suggest mounting them upside down (tweeter on bottom). I have mine mounted at a little over 4' tweeter on bottom. I also built an enclosure (not required) in the wall in hopes of achieving greater low-end response. I found the goal was achieved. But, of course I would after several hours (and beers) with my arms in and out of the wall.

I have not heard the owm5's but based upon specs the RC85's have greater range. May not amount to a great deal relative to use as surrounds, but it would seem the OWM5 series does offer greater mounting options. In-walls look cleaner IMHO. Polk offers RC80 (round/smaller as an in ceiling option). I have not heard the RC80's, but have read 85i's are preferred.

Thank you Chief. You have been very helpful with some useful info.

Have a good weekend!

Glad I could assist. AWESOME reveiver btw. Almost purchased a Marantz 7005, but one kid headed for med school (radiology) and one behind (anesthesiology) could not stretch it.

Hi All,
I am here to share my thought on the Polk RM8.

I had a complete 7.1 Vienna Acoustics speakers system: 2 VA Mozart Grand, 1 Maestro Grand, 2 Haydn Grand, 2 Waltz Grand and a REL sub. If you search, you'll know how much they cost :-).

I read a post from EndersShadow, post #10152 "Surrounds don't need to timbre match your fronts. They dont even have to be the same brand.", while I saw a complete set of RM95 on sale for $200, I took my chance and bought it to use the 4 RM8 as surrounds, replacing the 2 haydn and 2 waltz speakers. I was thinking if it doesn't work out, I still can use them as 2 zone. Oh Boy! I was surprised how well the RM8 perform. Believe it or not, they sound even better than the expensive VA speakers as surround.

I am now listening to the music with the two VA Mozart's (straight or pure direct) and watch the movies on all 7.1 speakers. Love it!

I ended up sold 2 VA haydn and 2 VA Waltz for $1600. Still have an RM8 Center and $1400 cash to spare :-)

After all, thanks EndersShadow.

I take check or money orders jk lol. Glad I could help!

Quick question,

Is it safe to drill into a Monitor 40 to mount it to a speaker stand? I bought some speaker stands off amazon and they mount speakers by either screwing a plate to the speakers, using a keyhole mount (M40's do not have anything on the back), or using double sided tape on the base. The M40 is way too big to tape it, so if I have some small mounting screws, is it possible to screw 2 or more screws in to the cabinet without affecting the speakers performance? Or should I just send them back and get a stand that would fit the M40 on top??

I would think you could screw into the cabinet but very minute of course. I screwed into my CS2 on either side but only about 1/16 of an inch to just steady the speaker in place of an over the plasma shelf.

That set up is now in the past and the CS2 sits on a shelf in a cabinet. As for my 40's, these were easy enough to make.



I made some slightly shorter ones for my 30's.



Of course in hind site, I could have made the supporting shelving flush with the dimensions of the speaker to clean up the lines. Maybe someday soon.

Yes, it's definitely safe. If you drill all the way through the cabinet, be sure to fill the holes up with some wood filler if you remove it from whatever it's screwed into.

Geoff4RFC, is your center in the under-TV cabinet? Is it off-center, or is the tweeter blocked by the vertical wood pieces?

I used Velcro and I know some other folks use blu-tack on theirs. Both work without damaging the speakers.

Or just take a board cut to the size of the M40 and screw into that adn then you have a totally flat plate to attach the M40 to with velcro.

I just picked up a pair of polk monitor 70's - amazing so far. I also have a PSW 505 for my sub. What should i set the crossover setting for the 70's too? I was thinking somewhere between 60 - 80hz.... If i set it to 80-hz i can take some work away from the amp and let my sub do more of the work. Thoughts?

80Hz is considered ideal for HT, though many find 60 a bit more pleasing for music.
Experiment for yourself and see which you prefer. It is not critical that you choose one over the other.

Yeah, it's left of center and has no blockage. I'll post a photo this evening.

I have new flat screen in bedroom. And as you can imagine, the speakers sort of suck. I bought the visio vsb200 soundbar and the Optical connect didn't work. I was hoping to maintain a small footprint in my bedroom, but I've yet to have any luck with finding any decent soundbars.

I just moved my old Sony HTIB into my bedroom, and I'm starting to think that a 3.1 system may be the way to go. However, I'm not really digging my old HTIB speakers long term.

Anyone know if it would sound odd if I bought a pair of Monitor 30s and a TL1 for Center? I know they don't technically match but I would rather have a pair of strong fronts, as opposed to some satellites that go with the smaller TL1.

For reference, I already have Monitor 60s, CS2, & a couple of 6751s in my main room.

@ jonnythan, I had the center down below and opposite the AVR and angled up. It had great sound since I EQ'd it with the doors closed and the speaker right up to the edge just behind the door. The doors are paneled with acoustic fabric.

I've just recently swapped places with the amp and the center speaker. With the added height, the center is aimed straight out instead of angled. The sound is so clear, it might as well be on top of the cabinet, you'd never know the difference.

I'm joining the club guys, yesterday I bought 2 Rti A5s, 1 Csi A6, and 2 Fxi A6s. These will go with my Denon 2112ci receiver and SVS PC12-NSD subwoofer. Today while looking at my order, I noticed the price of the Rti A5s went down $45 from what they were at when I bought them at Amazon. I looked at their policy and it states they don't give money back if the price changes on an item. I figured I'd try anyway since it's been less than 24 hours, and they refunded me the money! They have an amazing price on the A5s, only $279.99! Anyway, I've never heard any of these speakers before, but I heard Polk in ceiling speakers at someone's house before and they sounded amazing. What should I set the crossovers at? Should I do 80hz for everything or should I do like 60hz for the A5s, and 80hz for the others, or something else?

Buy the rm6752 for center it performs better than the TL1. Make sure your receiver allows for different crossover per channel as the smaller center requires a higher crossover than the Monitor 30's

Got some speakers today, and I'll be receiving the rest tomorrow. I don't have time to hook them up now because I have to go to work, but tomorrow it's on.

I already have two 6751s for my LR surround and thought about buying two more for my BR front speakers, but didn't think of getting it for a center. I guess I could have a 2 channel set-up. I thought since I'm only going to have 3.1 I would make it a bit bigger. I can put some 30s on the wall beside and a little behind my tv and a low profile center.

The only issue I'm having with going this direction is cluttering my bedroom. The old Rcv, 3 speakers, + a sub are in their now just to check if I like it and it's pretty crappy looking. One because the rcvr is big and two the color is fighting with my all black tv & dresser.

What do you guys do for your bedroom tv. Don't tell me all ya'll have a full HT set-up there as well.

I really just want a quality low profile single bar without a sub. I want to buy Outlaw sub to go with it. Still out of luck on that front though.

M40's and a CS10 running on a small Yammie AVR. There is a sub in the corner but that usually stays off.

woah, really? I guess if you are used to a full system, you can't just be satisfied by mediocrity.

All I have in my bedroom is a pair of monitor 30's and a vsx-521

Is a two channel set-up with the 30s pretty good? I was already thinking of getting some 30s of this setup. The only thing stopping me from going this direction is the big ugly receiver sitting beside my tv. I've already planned on picking up some black spray paint and seeing if that helps. Yeah the sound is much better with just my 3 crappy sony HTIB speakers and everything looks better with lights off of course, but there's got to be a better solution.

I was running my sound through two Bose Speakers with my old 20" CRT, but this new LED tv I just got doesn't have that option.

My 7.1 (and sometimes 7.2) set up has been in our bedroom since the beginning since there was no place other than the living room to set it up. Since our recent move, we have a dedicated room for it. My wife is so happy to have her bedroom back, she swore that we'd never have speakers in the bedroom again. Since I haven't pushed (it's only been 3 months), she's already considering letting me have my 42" in place of her 32" with a sound bar (the H.T. has a 50"). This makes me happy even though I really don't care about the bedroom. This could give me a new project


I have a set of 30's and I think they're really good speakers. If the room is small, I think you could pull off a decent two channel set up.

Unfortunately most flat panel TV's come with crappy speakers. The speakers in the Toshiba in our bedroom is okay for late night viewing... news and Leno etc (not to mention far more convenient), but if we want to watch movies or prime time dramas, the AVR setup realy makes a difference. It's nothing fancy... like I said, the M40's seem to have plenty of bass for the smallish room - 10x18. I tried going without the center and forcing stereo mode, but we've become somewhat spoiled by DD5.1 (or 7.2 in the living room). Nothing fancy in our house, just Polk Monitors... but the harsh, tinny, distorted sound of TV speakers just hurts my ears.