Calling all Polkies:Official Polk thread - Page 114

Originally Posted by mdaudioguy

However, I'd ignore the part about brand names... copper wire, for the most part, is copper wire. ... My understanding of the brand name stuff at CC, BB, and the like, is that the sales people make a better commission on the accessories, so of course they're going to try to "sell" you on the merits of the brand name stuff.

Originally Posted by skipsterut

+1

The general consensus is that "name brand" high cost cables are snake oil. See this thread for some pertinent discussion.

Also, since there seem to be quite a few posts related to setup issues, thought I'd pass on this link to an entire AVS forum that has a huge amount of great info available.

Originally Posted by arango1

oh man, my friend talked me into 10 guage from bluejeans for my back surrounds of 25ft. Did I screw up?

Originally Posted by arango1

oh man, my friend talked me into 10 guage from bluejeans for my back surrounds of 25ft. Did I screw up?

Originally Posted by Ron Temple

The "designer" offerings are for folks like yourself that want the small footprint or modern look. I'm sure they sound great, but I've never heard them. That said, the speaker cabinet design and larger driver/tweeters of the traditional speaker lines will offer better bass response and a richer midrange. There are some on going demos of the new VM line and RTi A line within the Club Polk crowd. Consensus is that the VM line is good, but not as good as the RTi As. How that translates to the RM50Ts I don't know.

My best recommendation is to audition each speaker if possible, then decide what suits your needs. Also, you will need a sub. If you stay in the Polk line, move up to the DSWs. Even the little DSW400 is head and shoulders better than the 303.

Originally Posted by bilbo3660

What is your cost differential between 10 guage and 16 guage?

Originally Posted by mdaudioguy

Ron - Thanks so much for your response! Tweeter has a pair of RTi10's for $479... VERY tempting, but the 17.5" depth is basically a no-go for me. The specs on the tweeters are the same as my RM50T's, and the four 4-1/2" drivers seem to deliver a great mid-range. The low end was my concern from the beginning...

From one of my earlier posts:

"When I bought these from Tweeter, I told the guy that they sounded pretty good, but I'd like to add a little low end to them... he offered me the Polk PSW303, a never-used floor model, for $80. I figured I couldn't go wrong at that price, but now I'm thinking it's a little lost in my rather bright, 18x25 sunroom. Any thoughts?

I also happen to own an Acoustic Research S112PS sub, which I've been using in a smaller room - about 12x12. Should I use the AR in the bigger room and the Polk in the smaller room? Or, should I buy another sub to use in the bigger room with the RM50T's?"

About the DSW400 you suggested, would it be better for me to stick with Polk? Or would the SVS PB10-NSD or the BIC Acoustech H100 that others have recently written about be a better choice? My interests lean toward music vs. movies. (I know -- all the more reason NOT to have bought the RM50T towers...)

Originally Posted by skipsterut

No. Larger guage wire doesn't hurt. It's just a bit more expensive and not necessary, and it's a bit harder to handle than smaller guage. But don't worry about it. If you already have it, just use it and you'll be fine.

Originally Posted by daeagles

I have the RTi8's along with RTi4's for my rears. And the CSi3 for the center speaker and what to upgrade the center one should I try to find the CSi5 or is there a newer model similar to this

Originally Posted by skipsterut

According to Blue Jeans Cable web site 10 gauge (Belden 5T00UP gray jacket) is $0.85 per ft -- so 100ft is $85.00 +S/H. According to the monoprice.com web site a 100 ft reel of 16 gauge is $15.36 + S/H. So the cost differential is about $70.00 per 100 ft.

(Note that if you need 10 gauge you can find it at lower cost from other vendors (e.g. Westlake Electronics has it for $0.76 per ft) Westlake also has 12 gauge (Belden 5000UE gray jacket) for $0.43 per ft. )

Originally Posted by daeagles

I have the RTi8's along with RTi4's for my rears. And the CSi3 for the center speaker and what to upgrade the center one should I try to find the CSi5 or is there a newer model similar to this

Originally Posted by Ron Temple

If you like the RM50ts than stick with them. A great sub will fill in and blend with them nicely. I hate to bust your budget, but I think you need a little more beef than the PB10 in your large room. I'm getting uncomfortable recommending particular brands, there are so many great choices, but for a music first sub that's big enough for your room, I'd consider the Epik Valor.

Originally Posted by skipsterut

According to Blue Jeans Cable web site 10 gauge (Belden 5T00UP gray jacket) is $0.85 per ft -- so 100ft is $85.00 +S/H. According to the monoprice.com web site a 100 ft reel of 16 gauge is $15.36 + S/H. So the cost differential is about $70.00 per 100 ft.

Originally Posted by imeridian

I agree with spending the bulk of the money on speakers, that's sort of a 'final' expense, in that one doesn't need to upgrade their speakers in the same way one needs to upgrade a receiver. Good speakers are a much more of an investment and thus much more worthy of a heavy hit to the budget. The MSRP of my speakers is 4X that of my receiver, just for reference.

Originally Posted by metal83

After a little more looking, this is the set up i may put together.

Fronts- 2 Polk Monitor 60's
Center Channel- CS1
Rears- Polk Monitor 30's or 40's
Sub- ? (no clue)
Now i also have been looking at the RTi8's, not sure i could afford putting together an RTi matching system though and still be able to get a decent receiver.

I was initially just going to use the Polk RM6880, and buy an expensive receiver (Yamaha 1800, Pioneer elite 94, or Denon 3808). And just get some better speakers down the road (all though i'm not sure i'd be able to for a while considering how much i would be spending on the receiver). But many people have been telling me i should get better speakers first and not worry about a high end receiver quite as much.

Would my set up above be good for everything, as in movies, games and music?

Originally Posted by metal83

Wow, what speakers and receiver do you have? If you dont mind me asking.

Originally Posted by mdaudioguy

Everything I've been reading about the RM50T towers (or not reading as the case may be) and ESPECIALLY what I've been hearing from them is that they are not the best choice for me for "music first." I went to Tweeter this evening and checked out a few options. Basically, their deal is you can trade up (within a year) to any pair of speakers that is 50% more than what you paid and receive full credit for the returned speakers. Not being flush with cash, I decided to bump up to the RTi10's that are on sale for $479 for the pair (buy 1 at that price, get 1 free). Since I paid $396 for the old speakers, I need to spend $594 on new speakers, so that means I need to spend at least $115 more...

Bottom line - What would be a good center channel speaker to pair with the RTi10's? Polk recommends the CSI5, but Tweeter only has the newer CSIA4. A good match?

Ron - I like your recommendation on the sub. I think I'm going to do without one for a little while, since the range on the RTi10s goes quite deep. Then, as soon as my little pockets become over-stuffed with cash , I'm going sub shopping! I'll be keeping my eyes on this thread to see what subs others might be using with the RTi10s. That Epik Valor seems to be a serious sub...

Originally Posted by moparman390

I listened to the 70's compared to the 60's in a Frys the other day and the difference is noticeable. There was little difference between the 50's and the 60's but the 70' have larger speakers so they produced more bass and sounded alot better. However the Frys person told me that they are discontinuing the Monitor series and coming out with something else that was in response to my question as to why the prices were falling and why some of them were gone from their website. Anyone else hear the Monitor series is going away?

Originally Posted by crossg

Sounds like they are being replaced by the TSi Seiries maybe? Ron posted this a while back. Click. I agree that there is a noticeable difference between the Monitor 70' and 60'.

Originally Posted by rmccully

Thanks for posting those links. At first glance, the TSi's look very similar to the Monitors. However, if you look a bit deeper, there are some pretty noteworthy changes.

The first is that all of the speakers in the line are 4-ohm rated. For the life of me, I can't see why they'd make their entry-level line 4-ohms. I think this could deter a lot of potential customers (if they knew what it meant). The towers are bottom-ported, which is just a difference, not necessarily better or worse. And the extension seems to be a few Hz lower. Of course there are the obvious cosmetic changes. I wonder what the actual retail prices might be?

Originally Posted by rmccully

Thanks for posting those links. At first glance, the TSi's look very similar to the Monitors. However, if you look a bit deeper, there are some pretty noteworthy changes.

The first is that all of the speakers in the line are 4-ohm rated. For the life of me, I can't see why they'd make their entry-level line 4-ohms. I think this could deter a lot of potential customers (if they knew what it meant). The towers are bottom-ported, which is just a difference, not necessarily better or worse. And the extension seems to be a few Hz lower. Of course there are the obvious cosmetic changes. I wonder what the actual retail prices might be?

Originally Posted by metal83

Best Buy has them on the website as coming soon, you can see the prices.
If its true that the Monitor series are phasing out, i guess i outta grab some before they do. I dont think i can afford the RTi's, or the new TSi's.

Originally Posted by rmccully

Thanks. BB has them listed as $460 for the TSi300, $650 for the TSi400, and $920 for the TSi500. These are the floorstanders that are most-related to the the Monitor 50/60/70, respectively. The TSi100 is $230, and the TSi200 is $350 (similar to Monitor 30/40). As for the centers, the CS10 is $200 and CS20 is $350. If these prices hold up as being the actual retail prices rather than MSRP, they will be a significant increase in price from the current Monitors. Given the magnitude of the price increases, I would predict and expect a performance increase.