- Nov 27, 2001
- 30,383
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- 126
So, after going through and building my system downstairs, I moved my older 46" HDTV upstairs and I've been using it to watch a lot of TV shows (including ones I purchase on blu-ray). I also ended up moving up my old Logitech Z5450 computer speaker set to use with my TV. I don't know, I guess my 5.1 setup downstairs has spoiled me a bit, but I just see the Logitech setup as being "cheap" not to mention, I wouldn't mind having speakers on my computer (I haven't had any in around 4-5 years).
I was considering something rather small, since the room is pretty small in comparison to my living room. Since Polk came out with their Monitor Series II, the Series I prices are dropping pretty well (as long as they're in stock
). I can pick up a pair of Monitor 30s for $85, which means I can obviously get 4 of them for about $170. That's not too shabby!
The room I'm using is a 13'x12.5' room. The entertainment center is in one corner of the room and technically every corner of the room is relatively free of obstructions. I'm not looking for something terribly loud, as I live in a townhouse apartment and the room does border my neighbors apartment. The main goal is to get a more expandable system as the current setup requires my HDMI connections to go into the TV (has only 2 HDMI inputs) and then sound goes out via Toslink (optical) to the Z5450 receiver. The entertainment center has a HTPC, PS3 and XBOX 360.
But the questions that I still have:
1) Are the Monitor 30s sufficient for this space? I know in my living room I use Monitor 70s up front and Monitor 50s in back. Would it be better to use Monitor 40s up front (still bookshelf, ~$125 per pair) and 30s in back? The main thing for me is that I'm still not looking for terribly loud given the position of my neighbor and not wanting to be that asshole with the loud system.
2) What sort of subwoofer would be the best? I was considering not going with one at all, but I wouldn't mind at least a little bass... I mean, even my Z5450 has a subwoofer, it's just turned down pretty low volume-wise. I was considering the Polk PSW10, as I'm not looking for anything great, so the price point on this is somewhat perfect. But... and there's always a but... the sub has no LFE (although, it appears you can get around this by just plugging in the S/P-DIF cable into one of the RCA jacks and turning up the Crossover to max) and I read in multiple reviews that it doesn't do as well in movies with continuous bass... an example was a helicopter landing. Does anyone that owns this sub think it will work fine for my "subdued" desires or is there something in a similarly low price range that is an all-around decent performer?
3) The last part of the puzzle is the AVR. Given that this isn't meant to be anything fancy, choosing an AVR that has the necessary features without being too expensive is honestly the hard part for me. I wouldn't mind getting a second Denon AVR1610, but those don't seem to be in stock anymore at the usual places. I was considering the Onkyo TX-SR508 as it has 4 HDMI in (and I need 3), but it's also nearly $300. I could always look really cheap and buy the open box deal for $200, but trusting open boxes.
Any thoughts? You're more than welcome to tell me to be happy with what I have (Z5450) too if that's what you think.
I was considering something rather small, since the room is pretty small in comparison to my living room. Since Polk came out with their Monitor Series II, the Series I prices are dropping pretty well (as long as they're in stock
). I can pick up a pair of Monitor 30s for $85, which means I can obviously get 4 of them for about $170. That's not too shabby! The room I'm using is a 13'x12.5' room. The entertainment center is in one corner of the room and technically every corner of the room is relatively free of obstructions. I'm not looking for something terribly loud, as I live in a townhouse apartment and the room does border my neighbors apartment. The main goal is to get a more expandable system as the current setup requires my HDMI connections to go into the TV (has only 2 HDMI inputs) and then sound goes out via Toslink (optical) to the Z5450 receiver. The entertainment center has a HTPC, PS3 and XBOX 360.
But the questions that I still have:
1) Are the Monitor 30s sufficient for this space? I know in my living room I use Monitor 70s up front and Monitor 50s in back. Would it be better to use Monitor 40s up front (still bookshelf, ~$125 per pair) and 30s in back? The main thing for me is that I'm still not looking for terribly loud given the position of my neighbor and not wanting to be that asshole with the loud system.
2) What sort of subwoofer would be the best? I was considering not going with one at all, but I wouldn't mind at least a little bass... I mean, even my Z5450 has a subwoofer, it's just turned down pretty low volume-wise. I was considering the Polk PSW10, as I'm not looking for anything great, so the price point on this is somewhat perfect. But... and there's always a but... the sub has no LFE (although, it appears you can get around this by just plugging in the S/P-DIF cable into one of the RCA jacks and turning up the Crossover to max) and I read in multiple reviews that it doesn't do as well in movies with continuous bass... an example was a helicopter landing. Does anyone that owns this sub think it will work fine for my "subdued" desires or is there something in a similarly low price range that is an all-around decent performer?
3) The last part of the puzzle is the AVR. Given that this isn't meant to be anything fancy, choosing an AVR that has the necessary features without being too expensive is honestly the hard part for me. I wouldn't mind getting a second Denon AVR1610, but those don't seem to be in stock anymore at the usual places. I was considering the Onkyo TX-SR508 as it has 4 HDMI in (and I need 3), but it's also nearly $300. I could always look really cheap and buy the open box deal for $200, but trusting open boxes
.Any thoughts? You're more than welcome to tell me to be happy with what I have (Z5450) too if that's what you think
.
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