[twistkill]

As the title says, just got a new house and finally getting back into the HT scene after a decade. I am getting rid of the Sony HTiB which was used in the apartment and starting from scratch.

I have a 15' x 20' room to setup my toys. I would say, I do 75% movies and 25% music. I am buying either Yamaha V677 or A740 reciever, so that's set. I already have bought a pair of Polk FXiA6 surrounds and an Acoustec PL-200 sub. I have set up around $800-$900 budget for the center and fronts (preferably from the same manufacturer). So far I've short listed -

Polk CSiA6 center with Polk RTi A5 towers
Acoustec PL-28II center with Acoustec PL-980 (or with BIC VK6-LCR center?)
Klipsch RC-52 II center with RF-52 II

What do you guys think, which combo would best fit? Or do you guys recommend something else for that budget?


PS - I also have a pair of Yamaha NS-9390 towers (circa 2004). They were pretty good (3 way, 70W, 89db) in the small apartment living room. Should I keep them with any of the new centers? Or just hang on to them for some other room setup?

 

[twistkill]

Bump!

Anyone? Need to sort out this speaker situation soon. Any help will be much appreciated!

 

[Socketman]

If it were me I would set up the room with the Yamaha speakers and see how they sound. The room has a huge impact on how a speaker sounds , so what sounds good to me in my room may no be pleasing to you. See if someone local can work with you and try some speakers in your room . Your budget is on the low side for the front 3 imho. I have a set of HPM900 speakers that are 30 yrs old and they still sound damn good so don't sell your Yammy's short.

 

[twistkill]

Yeah, the budget is a bit tight :/ I can maybe stretch it to a grand, but that's about it
I am planning to get a receiver, a 120"-130" screen and a projector as well.

I will set up the Yamahas once I get the receiver, with the surrounds and subs and see how it goes. I just don't want the center to overpower the Yamahas.

Thanks for the advice!!

 

[te1221]

Chane speakers would be in your budget: either a the bookshelves + center or 2 towers and running a phantom center.

 

[twistkill]

I just started hearing about Chane over the past few months. They look good on paper, I will do some further research on them.

I like the idea of phantom center, since I already have the surrounds and front towers to try it out. But not really comfortable to completely ditch the center channel. But i'll give that a shot and see (hear) how it goes.

Thank you!

 

[russ0230]

Fry's regularly has deals on their Rti series. I have the 12 and 8 in my setup and they have served me well in a large space like yours for years.

 

[twistkill]

Fry's regularly has deals on their Rti series. I have the 12 and 8 in my setup and they have served me well in a large space like yours for years.

That RTi12 looks like a beast! Surprisingly Fry's keeps having deals on Polk speakers.

 

[russ0230]

That RTi12 looks like a beast! Surprisingly Fry's keeps having deals on Polk speakers.

They are great. Heavy enough and stable that I'm not too worried about my kid or dogs knocking them over.

 

[Barrettmr]

Personally I would say keep to Polk if you are keeping those surrounds, not sure how well mixing speakers works. I know just mixing RT and LS Polk's didn't work as they are not matched and as the sounds move thought the speakers you can tell the difference. I have not tried but ATOM may make that even more of an issue. When I recently upgrade me LCR speakers I also change the surrounds so I have timbre matched LS all round and it sounds great for Movies.

 

[twistkill]

They are great. Heavy enough and stable that I'm not too worried about my kid or dogs knocking them over.

I have a cat that likes running from across the room and jumping on top of the towers, as if it was a scratch pad, toppling the towers quite a few times. Heavy towers make a nice point, even though I had not considered that aspect before. My current solution is to push it closer to the wall

Personally I would say keep to Polk if you are keeping those surrounds, not sure how well mixing speakers works. I know just mixing RT and LS Polk's didn't work as they are not matched and as the sounds move thought the speakers you can tell the difference. I have not tried but ATOM may make that even more of an issue. When I recently upgrade me LCR speakers I also change the surrounds so I have timbre matched LS all round and it sounds great for Movies.

I want to do that, but getting all Polk setup is going out of my budget. Moreover, I always thought 'timbre' aspect was a bit overrated. But I guess there are advantages of having everything matched. I am prepared to sell the Polk surrounds and get Acoustech PL-28II, PL-66, PL-980. I already have a BIC sub.

 

[russ0230]

I have a cat that likes running from across the room and jumping on top of the towers, as if it was a scratch pad, toppling the towers quite a few times. Heavy towers make a nice point, even though I had not considered that aspect before. My current solution is to push it closer to the wall

You don't want to know what my solution would be...I have dogs...



Thinking about kids and toppling towers does beg to ask what to do to secure them. Boys will be boys and an 88# speaker falling could be disastrous. I don't mean to derail your thread but it is something important to think about.

 

[Barrettmr]

I have a cat that likes running from across the room and jumping on top of the towers, as if it was a scratch pad, toppling the towers quite a few times. Heavy towers make a nice point, even though I had not considered that aspect before. My current solution is to push it closer to the wall



I want to do that, but getting all Polk setup is going out of my budget. Moreover, I always thought 'timbre' aspect was a bit overrated. But I guess there are advantages of having everything matched. I am prepared to sell the Polk surrounds and get Acoustech PL-28II, PL-66, PL-980. I already have a BIC sub.

Oh okay, I was just going by your opening post which shortlisted the Polk's as one of your options "Polk CSiA6 center with Polk RTi A5 towers". If you purchase something/from somewhere that lets you 'demo' the speakers just go see how the mixed speakers work for you and your AVR. As for the cat - well lets just say I'm NOT pet friendly

 

[twistkill]

Oh okay, I was just going by your opening post which shortlisted the Polk's as one of your options "Polk CSiA6 center with Polk RTi A5 towers". If you purchase something/from somewhere that lets you 'demo' the speakers just go see how the mixed speakers work for you and your AVR. As for the cat - well lets just say I'm NOT pet friendly

Oh yeah, that! Well, then I had to buy a Polk sub too, right? I just bought a pair of PL-66 surrounds too. I'll try them out both and see how that goes and return the other.

 

[mr266]

Oh yeah, that! Well, then I had to buy a Polk sub too, right? I just bought a pair of PL-66 surrounds too. I'll try them out both and see how that goes and return the other.

If you don't mind the different cabinet design, I'd go with the Polk RTI8's and CSI5 (older versions of the RTIA5 and CSIA6). You can get them from Polk ebay and stay well below your budget.

 

[crazyrob425]

Oh yeah, that! Well, then I had to buy a Polk sub too, right? I just bought a pair of PL-66 surrounds too. I'll try them out both and see how that goes and return the other.

Timbre matching has absolutely nothing to do with the subwoofer.

Timbre Matching is most important with your Front 3 speakers Front Left, Front Right and Center Channel. Having matching surrounds can help but not necessary unless you are really into multichannel music listening. Subwoofer can come from any company. There is no timbre matching with subwoofers.

If you like your Polk Surrounds I might be more willing to suggest that. Go to Polk's eBay Store as they have a few RTi speakers available. Only real negative is they are sold out of the Black CSi5 center.

 

[Barrettmr]

Oh yeah, that! Well, then I had to buy a Polk sub too, right? I just bought a pair of PL-66 surrounds too. I'll try them out both and see how that goes and return the other.

No - you can mix in any Sub and it will work great. I was saying that you should try and match timbre across the speakers not with the sub. With 7.1 its was also noticeable with my surrounds but you may not notice if you wanted to keep your Polk surrounds and try a matched LCR as other(s) have mentioned.

 

[twistkill]

If you don't mind the different cabinet design, I'd go with the Polk RTI8's and CSI5 (older versions of the RTIA5 and CSIA6). You can get them from Polk ebay and stay well below your budget.

Timbre matching has absolutely nothing to do with the subwoofer.

Timbre Matching is most important with your Front 3 speakers Front Left, Front Right and Center Channel.....Only real negative is they are sold out of the Black CSi5 center.

Not much of a (aural) difference between the older Polk speakers and the newer ones? I see some CSI5 and RTI8 on ebay, in good condition.

Which one would you guys pick? BIC PL-28II + PL980 or Polk CSI5 + RTI8?

No - you can mix in any Sub and it will work great. I was saying that you should try and match timbre across the speakers not with the sub. With 7.1 its was also noticeable with my surrounds but you may not notice if you wanted to keep your Polk surrounds and try a matched LCR as other(s) have mentioned.

Thanks for the "sound" advice guys!

Just bought a Yamaha A740 Receiver, and powered up the Yamaha towers, they still work and sound good! I might just hang on to it and use them in another room.

 

[crazyrob425]

Not much of a (aural) difference between the older Polk speakers and the newer ones? I see some CSI5 and RTI8 on ebay, in good condition.

Which one would you guys pick? BIC PL-28II + PL980 or Polk CSI5 + RTI8?

I did a side by side test with Polk RTi A1's vs the older RTi4's and heard no difference at all. It was just a difference in looks.

Personally I have experience with Polk's and liked them so I favor them. Bic speakers though are liked by the people who buy them so I doubt you can go wrong either way.

 

[twistkill]

I did a side by side test with Polk RTi A1's vs the older RTi4's and heard no difference at all. It was just a difference in looks.

Personally I have experience with Polk's and liked them so I favor them. Bic speakers though are liked by the people who buy them so I doubt you can go wrong either way.

I'll try to buy both combos and see which one sounds better. Both aren't available in stores to do an audition :/
But thank you for the input, certainly helped!