First time HT audio setup

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NaturalViolence

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
384
I'm currently planning a 5.1 setup. I'm on a very limited budget.

My fronts are monopoles facing inwards towards the listener.

For the rears I'm thinking about:

This (Klipsch RS-41 II): http://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-Refer...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1305486744&sr=1-1

Or this (Klipsch RS-42 II): http://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-Refer...hannel/dp/B000TD8XEI/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

I might eventually upgrade to 7.1 so in the meantime which one of those do you think would be better suited as rear speakers and why?
 
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$250/speaker doesn't seem like a very limited budget.

What components do you have now? (existing speakers, stands, receiver, etc)
 
$250/speaker doesn't seem like a very limited budget.
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That's what I was thinking. But the product advice I keep getting everywhere is insane. So I felt that if I didn't add that someone would be recommending $1,000 uber speakers which I couldn't possibly afford. It seems the type of people who post on these forums tend to have higher standards/more cash than most. Finding cheap rear dipoles/bipoles seems to be quite difficult, this seems to be about the minimum you have to spend to get decent units. Unless you can recommend a cheaper option?

What components do you have now? (existing speakers, stands, receiver, etc)
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Stands: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882798183

Receiver: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882120164&Tpk=Onkyo tx-sr308

Front Left/Right: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...e=polk_audio_monitor30-_-82-290-201-_-Product

(I got them for free and I really don't want to replace them if I don't have too)

Front Center: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290211

I should rename the thread title to "first time surround sound setup" since I have a 3.1 setup right now. The reason I didn't want to get matching polk audio rears is because quite frankly the polk audio surround speakers seem overpriced and crappy to me.

By the way thank you for the fast response. I didn't expect to see a response that fast.

Edit: Oh I almost forgot to mention. I'm not going to be buying stands for the rears since I have just below ear level wooden furniture to put them on top of that effectively acts as a stand.
 
Personally I'd just grab another set of polk monitor 30's since the klipschs you linked wouldn't match with your current setup. If you want to invest in better speakers, another alternative would be to upgrade the front speakers and move your current speakers to the back.
 
450 said:
Personally I'd just grab another set of polk monitor 30's since the klipschs you linked wouldn't match with your current setup. If you want to invest in better speakers, another alternative would be to upgrade the front speakers and move your current speakers to the back.
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Two questions then:

1. Is it really THAT important to have matching speakers? Most of the research I've done so far seems to point towards timbre matching not being that important.

2. Wouldn't it be highly beneficial to use dipoles/bipoles as rears instead of monopoles? I seem to have an issue with my monopole fronts not creating a wide enough dispersion field and thought that I could fix it by doing this. Plus I've heard that the rear channels are used for ambient sound in most movies.
 
1. Matching speakers isn't a must. However I think it makes more sense to allocate money to the fronts and the subwoofer.

2. di/bi-poles didn't do much for me.
 
I don't think the PSW10 is terrible, but there is a lot better out there.

96redformula is selling an a2-300 subwoofer in the FS forums. Maybe that might interest you? It'll be a big upgrade from the PSW10.
 
I just want the distortion (I think that's what it's called, I can't really think how else to describe it) gone, I don't care about power. So would that be a good distortion free sub?

Edit: Also could you link the thread?

Edit again: Nevermind. Found it.
 
The problem is that you are reaching the limits of the PSW10.

Assuming you aren't at the limit with the A2-300, then you'll be fine.
 
I set the crossover to 120hz since my fronts are only rated +/- 3dB down to 120Hz. Are you saying I could get rid of the distortion if I lower the crossover frequency? I remember trying that and not seeing any effect on distortion.

I honestly don't think I'll be able to blow $300-400 on just a subwoofer at this point in time.
 
I don't think the crossover point is the problem. Try lowering the volume.
 
Yeah that helped a lot. That's what I ended up doing, it's at about 30-40% (the volume knob on the sub itself). It reduced the distortion a lot but it's still present and with the volume set so low most of the bass is gone.

So what exactly affects this? I'm guessing it's the quality of the driver and the cabinet material that effect the amount of resonance inside the cabinet?
 
Ok. Stupid question, why on earth would amp wattage affect that?

And so then if distortion is primarily impacted by the amp the driver simply affects the frequency range?

By the way thanks for the help.

Edit: So then couldn't I just buy an amp to get rid of the distortion? It has a speaker level input for using a external amp.
 
That speaker level input isn't for using an external amp. That exists in the event you don't have a subwoofer pre-out on your receiver.
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But the product description says: "The back panel has both line level and speaker level inputs so you can use the PSW10 with virtually any amplifier."

Am I misinterpreting that?
 
Hmmm, so basically I just need a more powerful sub to get rid of the distortion. Well that's something that probably won't happen anytime soon (due to the amount of money you need to spend to get a decent sub).

Thanks a lot.

So if I wanted to replace the fronts and move my current fronts to the rear positions what would you recommend?
 
I'd get something in the Polk line, just to keep everything matched. Consider floorstanding speakers so you don't have to buy more stands.
 
Another option would be to slowly upgrade to better, more expensive. Consider purchasing used speakers to save money.

I'm a big fan of the Ascend Acoustics CBM-170. The CMT-340's might also be an option for you.
 
Looking at my room. I realize I need something more compact than a typical bookshelf speaker for the rear right.

I think I'm pretty much limited to bookshelfs for the fronts, sattelites/surrounds for the rear, and no sides. And I'll eventually take your advice ans get a better sub when I have the money.
 
1. Don't spend too much.
2. Keep things in line with your current setup
3. Things that sound good in the shops might not sound great at home.
 
I could sit here and give you all kinds of suggestions, but it seems to me that you should do a little educating yourself on this subject. There is a lot you can read that will help you understand why it is important to timbre match your speakers, placement, etc. You will get much more enjoyment out of your equipment if you know how to properly match your speakers and set the up properly.

Here are some links I suggest you go through.

link 1

link 2

link 3

link 4

link 5

I understand that may be alot to read or understand. But the more reading you do, the more you understand what can make HT so great.

I am not responsible if you become addicted to this. I do not hold myself liable :D
 
Adam.C, great links! I'll take a look at them when I get more time.
 
NaturalViolence said:
God this is all so expensive.....

Their is no way in hell I can afford MULTIPLE good subwoofers.
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You don't have to right away. With your current one, you can play with the placement and level. Read up on the sub links above. It will give you a good understanding on how to get the most out of what you already have.
 
Ok so I moved the subwoofer to a more ideal location, set up the stands allowing me to move the front right/left bookshelfs down to ear level and added a center speaker at ear level. First of all I have to say, the difference made by properly placing the speakers is AMAZING. I still have 4 problems with my setup:

1. Shitty bass: I need to buy a better subwoofer eventually as we've already discussed

2. I hear sounds that should be coming from behind me coming from in front of me (I need to add rear speakers or surround speakers to fix this, I am still in the process of doing research before I make a final decision on this)

3. Very inconsistent sound across the room. In other words while the sound is amazing in the center of the room (where the speakers are pointing) the sound degrades a lot if you move around the room since the speaker that you are closest to will always be too loud compared to the others plus you won't be in the direct sound field of more than 1 speaker (usually not the one that is closest to you). So it sounds a bit weird/unnatural if you are sitting anywhere else in the room. This is a problem since this room also functions as my families dining room and we have a dining table and chairs all over the room. So no matter how I angle the speakers it seems only one person will be in the "sweet spot". Is there any way around this? Is there any way to have good sound anywhere in the room?

4. It is literally impossible to have the center speaker and the HDTV both at eye/ear level. If I have the HDTV positioned properly so that I'm looking right at it the center speaker either has to be below it (way below ear level) or above it (way above ear level). Either way it sounds terrible. If I position the center speaker at ear level, like I have it right now, then I need to place my HDTV several feet higher, which is annoying because I need to crane my neck up to look at it. And looking up at it from below when I'm so close to it makes it look/feel unnatural. If I was in a big room this wouldn't be a problem. So clearly you can't have both the center speaker and HDTV at ear/eye level since one would need to be in front of the other. I am wondering how most people setting up a 5.1 system get around this simple fact, if they do. Most of the setups I have seen only either show the HDTV mounted higher up on the wall or show the center speaker on a shelf several feet below the front left/right speakers. What do you recommend?

If anyone could help me answer 3 or 4 this would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: Odd. I just noticed it sounds really good from in the next room, better than sitting in the same room as the speaker in fact. I wonder what could account for that?
I'm also wondering why sound effects were so much louder than dialogue (which was a serious problem) before I added the center speaker and moved the speakers to ear level. Since I did both at the same time I can't be sure which one fixed it. And I'm curious what caused the problem in the first place.
 
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