***Official HTIB Alternatives Thread*** - Page 49

How do the polk m10's compare to the rest of the r series?

The m10 and m20 sold at CC are R15 and R30 with a silver face...identical otherwise.

I have a start to a home theater but I need some help rounding it out. For some reason I keep liking the SVS stuff, but I'm open to all suggestions. Here's what I have right now:

Yamaha RXV-995 receiver
Pair of Klipsch SB-1 bookshelf speakers

Could I use those Klipsch speakers or are they just too terrible to put up with?

You could use them as surrounds which will help you out a little on your initial budget.

Assuming I use the SB-1 as surrounds, what would be a good setup for mains, center channel and a sub?

The SVS speakers and sub you mention are excellent. If budget allows get SCS for LCR along with the PB10 or 12. The SBS are very good, just the SCS do everything better. The x-ls/x-cs are also excellent...from www.**********, warmer sound, more laid-back. The x-sub is a great budget sub, but not close to the SVS. You can mix and match subs as long as you stay with the same line of LCR.

Hello everyone. I've just got done reading all the post on this thread and from the looks of it, i'm probably not going to get the HTIB onkyo SR800. From everyone's post, especially Ron and G-star, i've come up with a system and wonder if everyone can tweak it. As I said, i was looking at the SR800 because of the wife budget, so around $500 is what i can mostly spend. This is my first setup, and have inherited some old speakers that i don't know work anymore and can't test without a receiver.

This is what i've seen so far on setups for starters:
2 sets of Polk R150 @ $50 frys
Polk CSR @ 179 frys / 100 @ crutchfield
Onkyo TX-SR505 @ $269

From what i've read, the sub is the most important item in the surround sound. Does anyone know where i can change to maybe get either the
bic-100 or x-sub or Polk's brand of sub(name left me)

Right now i'm looking for the 5.1 surround sound, but i know i'm selling myself short by not getting the r300 for front and r150 for rear sound. Under this budget, i know that i can't do everything i want.

You can get the Onkyo TX-SR505 for much less off of here.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...activeda657-20

I have a tight budget, and am looking for some suggestions.

I will probably get a Onkyo 504 for $160 for the receiver.

I was thinking either Polk R50 for $70 each or Athena AS-B1.2 for $100 a pair for my mains.

I am not sure about my center channel or surrounds yet, looking for recommendations.

I think I will go with a Dayton 10" for $125 as the woofer.

That leaves about $115 or so for the center and rears. Which won’t work so…

The idea was to build a 5.1 system for under $500. So I need some recommendations, maybe a cheaper receiver or something. Some advice would be greatly appreciated. The system will be used in a fairly odd sized room, it will be used with a projector so mainly for movies and gaming.

Maybe some POLK AUDIO R150 for $50 for the surrounds leaving $65 left so the center probably won’t work.

What company makes the SCS speakers?

I didn't really want to spend ~700 upgrading the rest of this system... but I just might have to

SVS...The SBS-01 package consist of 4 SBS-01s and an SCS-01(center). The SCS is an offset MTM design (midwoofer, tweeter, midwoofer) that can be used veritcally as a front L/R speaker. It's offered as an upgrade and is compared favorably to several much more expensive speakers. I wasn't sure of your budget, but it's worth taking a look at.

If you have a Fry's store near you the Polk R300 floorstanders are $99/pr. Then buy the R150 for $40/pr for surrounds. Wait for a sale to find your Polk center, the prices do get lower.

Or if no Fry's store around, go for the Athena B1, C1 setup. That'll cost you $200 for 3 speakers then add your Onkyo receiver and whatever sub.

Speaking of sales...anyone know of any sales on the Polk CSR? Crutchfield has the best deal from their outlet that I've found. I've found some good deals on ebay for the CS1, but not sure if it's legit or if they will timbre match my R150's and R300's.

Here's the link for the CS1.

http://cgi.*********/New-Polk-Audio-...QQcmdZViewItem

This store posts this speaker for around $99 plus $15 S/H. I've only seen it go for $160 - 180.

The CSR is a good match for the R300s and 150s, as far as pricing, ebay will probably be the best route but if polk is like most the warranty is void unless you purchase from an authorized dealer.

$100 buck for a CS1 off ebay is about right...probably legit...check em out first. You might prefer the CS1 to a CSR/M/i25 (same speaker/different cosmetics). It's not a perfect match, but a little added treble and bass in the middle isn't a bad thing. I tried one for awhile with R50s and liked it.

No Frys in my area and the shipping takes a large chunk of the budget. The Athena setup is only a 3.1 setup, I was really hoping for a 5.1 setup for less then $500.

I Priced another setup using the Athena - Audition B1.2 Speakers ($85/pr) as the mains, Athena - Audition AS-C1.2 Center Channel Speaker ($99) and Dayton 10" ($124) and Onkyo 504 that comes to around $470, so I could go over budget $20, and get either Acoustic Research A2's (which I couldn't find online) or Polk R150's. Which surrounds would sound better and are there any other surrounds that are in the $50/pr range.

I got that email yesterday too, but I got the same one 3 months ago. The prices for Athenas are still the same as they have been. I was expecting lowered pricing after getting the letter again. Oh well.

I've got more than enough speakers anyway. Don't need any more.

Look at these surrounds, and since you're already buying your sub at Parts Express, you'll get free shipping. They're not the perfect match for the Athenas but neither are the Polks or AR A2's. Since they're only surrounds it doesn't matter much. This will get you right at your $500 price point. And they include mounting bracket hardware if you plan to do that.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=300-670

Another Onkyo 504 owner here, I was planning on going either Polk R50s or R300s with matching surrounds like R150s or CS1s, but they might be too bulky for my taste. Instead, made up my mind on Polk RM20 5pack speaker system, and hopefully I'm not sacrificing too much over design.

As for the subwoofer, Polk PSW110 or Polk PSW303 are on my current list. How do you pick sub for the receiver btw? I'd assume Onkyo 504 outputs 75watts per channel, and what happens if to get 200w subwoofer?

Also, what's the deal with video shielding on subwoofers? Don't we all have LCD TVs?

Don't worry about matching the subwoofer with the receiver. Subwoofers are powered and have their own amp built in. The 504 receiver does not power a sub. The wattage you see listed on the 504s specs does not apply to the sub.

No we don't all have LCD TVs I'm still in the dark ages with my 11 yr old panasonic that won't die. Has a perfect picture and I can't justify investing in another until it does, but saying that I can't think of any subs off the top of my head that are video shielded and I've never had a problem. I guess if you put the sub on top of the tv you might .

Of the polks you listed for the price I've found doing a quick search I think you can do much better with the Bic H-100 or the X-Sub from av123. The x-sub is on backorder now though. If you want to move up in price a little the ED A2-250 and A2-300 are amazing subs for their price and include free shipping.

Hmm... so using the LFE input has nothing to do in this regard?

Thanks, how will these speakers compare to the Polks r150 or AR A2.

The Total system so far:

Mains- Athena - Audition B1.2 Speakers
Center- Athena - Audition AS-C1.2 C
Surrounds- Dayton SAT
Sub - Dayton 10"
Receiver - Onkyo 504

Total - Around $500

Will this system work well for movies and gaming? I will go and listen to most of the speakers if possible. Can any one say if they think this will be a good system or could recommend any changes?

Have no clue, never heard them. But I've never heard the AR A2 either. Someone is this thread did buy the Dayton satellites and gave them a great review. But you'll have to go back many pages to find it.

But for $32/pr are you really gonna complain?


It'll be fine for movies. Don't know about gaming because I don't play them at all.

But for $500 for a receiver, 5 speakers and subwoofer, you're doing much better than if you would have purcahased a HTIB system.


I doubt it. None of the speakers are available in stores. Best Buy stopped carrying the Athenas long ago. And they Daytons can only be purcahased online.

I can tell you this. I have an Onkyo 5xx-series receiver, Athena B1 and C1 and Dayton sub and I use it daily. I'm very happy with it. My Dayton sub is an older model than the one you're purchasing though. My system was also ~$500.

Thanks, if I wanted to upgrade the surrounds later what would you recommend?

Has anyone ever had the BICV1020 sub? I'm debating on either this sub or the x-sub. Is this the upgraded sub from the h100?

what color are those Athena 1.2s? They look silver w/ a black filter front thing.

also, what stands would you recommend to go along with the athenas?

Will 1080p component also be downgraded?

Im getting a Onkyo TX-SR674


I was wondering which speaker setup out of these two would perform better, the onkyo got a nice review at Cnet.


HK
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4142960



Onkyo
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4043204







And does anyone with this reciever know if i could do a 2.1 or 3.1 setup.
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4124859