Calling all Polkies:Official Polk thread - Page 495

You're evil man...

Muahahahaha!!!!!


Edited by cr136124 - 11/18/12 at 2:55pm

As we speak, NewEgg has the 60's on sale at $149.99. On top of that... deduct a "$50 off w/ promo code EMCJJJG66, ends 11/19"... and you're under a $100!

Ok, I had the chance to hook everything up and run a couple of calibrations with the two XPA-2 working properly running on bridge mode (no issues this time).

Money for Nothing - Dire Straits sounded A-M-A-Z-I-N-G on Pure Direct. Then even better on Stereo 2.2 of course my Ultras added really solid, tight and deep bass, hence the improvement on sound!

Really happy with the outcome of this experiment.

That is awesome. Congrats man.

Thanks! Hopefully in a not too distant future I'll be able to upgrade to really monoblock amps. But until then the XPA-2s will take care of me...........
Edited by cr136124 - 11/19/12 at 8:38pm

Congrats CR on getting your amp working again. I got the XPA-5 hooked up yesterday and really liking the sound. I had read that the RtiA9's require a larger amp to drive them properly and now I have to agree. I've only been into this audiophile thing for fifty years or so and I find myself saying the same thing... "I'm hearing things I never heard before". Honest. I've been listening to mostly the same music for years and I swear I can pick up details I hadn't noticed before.

In addition to upgrading to the XPA-5 I also moved the Rti10's that used to be the fronts to the surround position, replacing Rti8's there. Some may believe that those are too large for surround speakers, but I'll reiterate what I've said before... you can't really have too much speaker at any position.

Was: Front: Rti10 Surround: Rti8
Now: Front RtiA9 Surround: Rti10

New issue: I'm having some cooling issues having a larger AVR in the cabinet. Where I previously had a Denon 1910 there is now a Denon 3312ci. I expected there to be a reduction in heat because the XPA-5 is outside of the cabinet. But even though the Denon is not driving any speakers apparently the power amp portion is still cranking out heat. I'll post a question in the Denon forum, but in the meantime I'm shopping for a quiet cooling fan. Anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks Rob!

About your question, how about this:

http://www.coolerguys.com/ho.html

Here's what the dual fans with LCD controller look like installed. They work perfectly. I have one in each side of the cabinet.

Coolerguys Cabcool

These fans are all programmable with the LED readout and keep the closed cabinet cool. They even shut off and start at your specified temps... Here's what it looks like installed:







Practically silent and invisible with the doors closed...

Thanks guys. Nice work on that cabinet BTW. Mine looks awful. I took a few photos but they make our house look like a hoarder's place I'm stopping at Microcenter today to check out some supposedly <9db fans. The saga continues...

I've been given the go-ahead from the misses to acquire new speakers. Trying to keep my head our of the clouds at the same time and keep the price reasonable. This being the "it's on sale" time of year, I hope to get more bang for my buck. So... what I've been looking at are TSi500, CS20, and TSi200 speakers, from Crutchfield for $1289.96 or 75T, 25C, and 45B Monitors, from NewEgg for $1019.80. Of course, I'm watching ads daily, especially NewEgg, as they have a deal on Monitor 60 Series ii right now. I'm looking to see if the have a deal for the Monitor 70.

Anyway, all of these speakers seem to have very similar specs. Is one the best choice overall?

In my opinion the monitor series ii is the best value right now. Like you said all they all have similar specs and I know from listening that I could not detect any difference between the tsi and monitor series ii's and I suspect the same is true of the new monitors, although I have not heard them yet.

Keep watch on the egg for specials on the 70's this week and next, I suspect they will have them for a great price soon.

^^
You've confirmed my thoughts. I'm heading out to try to audition something from Polk, but I'm afraid I won't be able to hear these models.

They are all pretty much the same get with different looks so I would just grab the monitor series unless you really like the gloss tops on the TSI or something. You can get them from newegg as they revolve sales and if you are patient you can pick up a whole set over time for cheap.

Speaker / low price / common price
70 / 150 / 180
CS2 / 100 / 130
40 / 100 / 120

Total / 500 / 610

I was able to get my whole monitor series for the lower price over a couple month period worked out great. Even if you are a little impatient you are looking at saving $400.

If you have a $1200 budget and some patience you could stop up to the RTi line. You could also contact sellers like sound distributors, or acoustic sound design they might just cut you a deal right away. Finally the polk ebay store is a great way to get speakers, almost everyone says they look brand new.

best buy carries the tsi's. frys carries the rti12 (older version of rtia9's).

^^
Terrific! That's where I'm going. There's a BB Magnolia store on my way from work. Thanks!

What's your budget? If you want to spend the least amount, the Polk Monitors will be the best. If your budget is $1500 or more, I would look into HSU and HTD instead. I love my Monitor 70s, Klipsch RW-12d sub, and the CS2 will be on order soon. However, once we get our new house I am replacing my set up with HTD. A friend of mine has them, and the sound is amazing for both music and movies.

The monitor sound good, and I am very happy with them for what I paid for. $149.99 for each monitor on sale from newegg. The sub was on sale too for $299.99. For the 2.1 set up I paid about $621.00.

I don't want to spend a few hundred more for a system, unless I have to. That was my thinking that led me to the TSi and Monitor lines. But, I'm watchin' the NewEgg prices like a hawk. The 60 was on sale for $100, $149 sale price with another $50 off, just a couple days ago. If they offer a similar deal on the 70, I'd be ready to buy.

The monitor 70's usually go on sale for $149.99 each.

NewEgg has the Monitor Series II:

The M70 on sale for $249.99
Until 11/22 they have the CS2 for $149.99 minus another $50 makes it $99.99
Until 11/22 they have the M40 for $169.99 minus another $60 makes it $109.99

That's about $700... sounds like a great deal even without anything more off on the M70. But, I could buy everything but that and wait on it. And, still have money left to put towards a decent sub.

I'm anxious to hear what I can at Best Buy.

I know this is a Polkie thread, but try the Pioneers Phase 2 series and see how you like them. I ended up liking the Polk Audio better, and I got lucky the 70 series were on sale. Remember that Best Buy will price match online prices too

I hadn't thought to ask... but I will now. Thanks for the tip. I'll check out the Pioneers, if they have them.

Crutchfield is offering $300 off a Polk sub with a purchase of $499 or more, but I'd at $1350 on a TSi 500 based system compared to $710 w/o sub for a M70 based system from NewEgg.
Edited by petaylor - 11/21/12 at 10:10am

For anyone interested, the M60's will be Newegg's shellshocker special starting at 6PM EST.

I would suggest a better Sub other than Polk Subs. How big is your room? An inexpensive and good sub recommendation would be the BIC F12 for $198 from amazon or parts-express.

^^
I've been researching subs, for just what you've said. The room is darn big, like 15' X 18' and add a high ceiling and that it opens to other areas... and lot of volume. My logic says to skip the sub offer, since the price is higher for a similar set of speakers, anyway.

You add a second sub. Two BIC F12's. Or buy a really good sub from SVS, but they are pricey but worth it. I think 2 BIC F12's would be cheaper and best option.

I'm OK with saving the sub decision for another day. I'm thinking... and I'll know better, after I've heard the speakers... that they're going to give me much better mid-range and even base over what I have now... a Bose AM7 up front with its unpowered sub and 301s for the rear.

One step at a time... but I have thought about two 12" subs over one 15". Again, price plays big in the decision.

Got my new Monitor Series ii 60s in and did a quick install at lunch. I've got the 40s on top of the 60s for front highs. Need to make some more speaker cables to hook up the 40s and make a stand for the left side. I'll also be moving the tv 7.5" left to get it centered better and to get some more room next to the equipment cabinet.

The rest of my setup is a CS1 for center, 30s for surrounds and PA-120 sub.

Move the monitor 60 stack on top of your sub so that they are all the same height. Other than that looks nice.

Built a temporary stand to get the left stack up to the same height as the right. Pretty happy with the setup, but I think it'll take a bit to get used to. Some voices sound odd through the center, Robert Downey Jr. In Iron Man sounds almost staticy. May try a 40 in place of the cs1 in vertical orientation to see what it sounds like. Wish I had room for a 50 or 60. Also wish I could tear down the ceiling and do better sound proofing, but the wife says I need to wait until the next house. We'll see...