Polk Audio Speaker System and Sony Receiver

[Haui]

I have been looking for the best option price wise available to me. The following speaker system is on sale at Fry's from $499 to $200:

Polk Audio RM6750 5.1 Speaker system:

http://www.polkaudio.com/homea...cs/flatscreens/rm6750/


I also would like to know if the Sony receiver from this HTIB will be sufficient for the Polk Audio system listed above:

Sony HT-DDW660

http://reviews.cnet.com/home-t...2-6740_7-30827139.html

Will this be a decent setup, or will I need a better receiver?

***Links fixed***

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Your links aren't working for me right now.

Are you looking to keep the system very compact like that Polk system or are you open to options with larger physical speakers?

Do you have that Sony set already then?

If you're looking to upgrade your current set and you have the Sony unit, you might think about just upgrading parts of the system rather than getting a whole new 5.1 set right away.

YGPM in a minute, check out the "upgrade path" section.

 

[Haui]

Links are fixed.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Oh, is there crossover control on that Sony receiver? (if you have it already)

 

[Haui]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Oh, is there crossover control on that Sony receiver? (if you have it already)

I actually dont know. Why would I need it?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Haui

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Oh, is there crossover control on that Sony receiver? (if you have it already)

I actually dont know. Why would I need it?

Entry level HTIB type speakers tend to have very poor bass response. To compensate for this, small HTIB sets tend to set the crossover quite high to redirect more bass to the subwoofer. A crossover of around 80Hz is generally accepted as a good starting point when you have speakers capable of decent bass reproduction. On HTIB sets, some have a set crossover frequency designed to match the speakers that come with the set. On smaller sets, this might be well above the 80Hz point. 120Hz, 150Hz, 200Hz?

As a result, more of the higher frequency bass goes to the sub. With an 80Hz setting, the sounds being produced by the sub are low enough in frequency that it's not obvious that it's coming from your subwoofer. With higher bass being played by the sub, it's much easier to localize the sounds to coming from the subwoofer. For example, a bassy male voice in a movie could have some of his dialog redirected away from the center channel to the subwoofer to the point where it sounds like it's coming from both locations.

Bigger and better speakers will have better bass production so a lower crossover frequency can be set and your speakers can play more of the sound that they're supposed to rather than cutting out early and sending it to the subwoofer.

If your receiver has the ability to change the crossover frequency, you'll be able to change the setting to a lower point and keep more of the bass in the speakers vs. the sub, leaving the sub to just create the lowest bass that's harder to localize.

 

[Haui]

Ok. So if I dont have that on my receiver, and get a receiver that does, are these speakers good? My dad has a set of polk audio that rock the socks off of his living room.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

What kind of polks does he have?

Generally at Fry's, the polks people look at for budget setups are the R-series.
http://shop1.outpost.com/searc...&submit.x=0&submit.y=0

I think if you really want to do this upgrade, you should think about making a more significant jump than to another 5.1 set for a few hundred dollars. That Polk set would probably be better for you than the stuff you have now, but you might want to get something even better. I don't know how much you really see yourself spending on this in the future or how much this matters to you, but there's the possibility that you'd get upgraditis again with another set like this.

 

[Haui]

I dont have a sound system right now. That receiver is something I "MAY" obtain. I want something somewhat loud for movies and music (as I have none now).

Would fry's have these on display somewhere and setup?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Haui
I dont have a sound system right now. That receiver is something I "MAY" obtain. I want something somewhat loud for movies and music (as I have none now).

Would fry's have these on display somewhere and setup?

Ok, well in that case I would not recommend getting that sony receiver unless it's an absolutely incredible deal.

A budget receiver like something from Onkyo or Pioneer would probably be a better bet.

I actually don't have a fry's in my state, so I'm not really sure how fry's is set up for these items.

What kind of budget are you thinking for this whole thing?

If you're starting from scratch and want a nice system in the end, you might think about building this system up gradually similar to the method I mentioned in the upgrade path section of that PM I sent.

That's a great way to get good music performace right away and will allow you to purchase a matched surround sound system eventually as you upgrade your system over time.

 

[Haui]

I have $400 to spend.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Haui
I have $400 to spend.

The Polk set + a budget receiver would certainly work for that range.

Alternatively, Onkyo makes some pretty solid HTIB options that are popular. (SR800 is about that much... $420?)

You can get some other opinions here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb...y.php?f=109&order=desc

If you want it to be over and done with on that $400 budget, those are probably your best options.

If you want to leave yourself an upgrade path, then a ~$175 budget receiver and spending the rest on a 2.0 / 2.1 setup would be another way to go.