Upgrading Polk R50 to new front 3 for $500...suggestions?

[kalrith]

Here's my current setup:

Receiver: Denon 1610
Mains: Polk R50
Center: Polk CSi25
Surrounds: Polk R15
Sub: Polk PSW350

Now, it might look like I'm a huge Polk guy, but it's more that I'm big on getting good deals, and also Polk is the only brand I have experience with.

I'm thinking about going with a set of Polk Monitor 70 with Polk CS2 center. I can probably get all 3 for about $450 shipped from Newegg.

I'm probably 75% HT and 25% music. I prefer towers, but would consider bookshelves if they were noticeably better for the price (including nice stands). Also, this will be like a double upgrade for me, because my R50 will become my computer speakers.

I have two questions, which could be considered the...

CLIFFS:

I have Polk R50 mains and am thinking of upgrading them for $500 (for 3 front speakers).

Is Polk Monitor 70 (x2) plus Polk CS2 the best front 3 speakers for $500?

Is it a worthwhile upgrade, or should I wait a year and spend ~$800 in lieu of $500?

 

[SithSolo1]

I'd go here ( http://store.audioholics.com/section/66238/1/infinity-primus-speakers ) and grab 2x P363 floorstanders and the PC351 center. If you want you could buy 4x P163 bookshelfs and the PC351 center. It wouldn't leave you much for stands but you could find some cheap ones on the Bay or make your own. I just made two for my pair of Entra Ones(about the size of the P163) for about $33 and a few hours of work. You could probably do it for less than that.


Edit: If you want to save a little money the older P362, PC350, and P162 are the same acoustically as the newer ones. They just have a silver cabinet face compared to the black. They maybe be hard to come by but I see the P362s on amazon for $150 each.

 

[fuentefan]

I'm a Polk audio guy myself....however I buy mostly vintage stuff. Hunt around on craigslist for some of these vintage models

http://www.polksda.com/list.shtml

I've got a pair of SDA-2A in the front, RTA11T's in the rear, and 2x monitor 7 for center...

I used to have the R50's, but I blew the tweeters in them (very easy to do) so I started looking for something of higher quality. BTW the WAF factor may not be too high for some of those vintage polks