Speaker recommendation

[Paladyr]

I have been living with my HTIB speaker setup for a while now and finally want to upgrade. I have an onkyo tx-sr507 receiver (not my original receiver). I was thinking about getting the Monitor70 fronts, Monitor40 rears, and the CS2 center. I have a few questions:

1. Will my receiver be good enough for this setup?
2. If I don't like listening to movies/tv at extremely high volumes (like movie theaters) should I get smaller speakers, like monitor40s all around?
3. I have the sub that came with my onkyo, should I use that with this new setup or just toss it?
4. How should I mount the rear speakers? Ceiling? Wall? Stand (would have to be fairly high to get over the top of the chairs)?

Thanks!

[djperez81]

Welcome to Club Polk!!

I would go with the 70's and the cs2 up front. As far as your receiver it will push them but i wouldnt recommend cranking it up as you could damage your speakers. If you added some power to those 70's it would make a big difference. I would recommend monitor 30's for surrounds and they will sounds good. Most your sound is coming from your frontstage anyways. I have my surrounds on adjustable stands and have them just higher than the couch, but you could always mount them on the wall, your choice.I would stick with the sub you have til you get a better one. Good luck.

[Lietuvis91]

1. M50s would be a better match for your 507 receiver. It will not drive m70s well enough, especially not in a 5.1 setup, so I would definitely stay away from m70s.
2. Size of your speakers should depend on the size of your room. How much area are you filling up, and how much clutter do you like and can bare? Take all this into account and decide for yourself.
3. You can use your sub, no harm there, you can always upgrade later.
4. M30s are wall mountable, M40s will need some kind of an additional mount. Whether you use a stand or a wall mount depends on the arrangements of your room, size and shape of your furniture (stands may not work with tall couches), really it is a custom setup for your specific needs and wants, so it’s hard to answer.

[Joe08867]

I would also recommend 50's the 70's may be a bit much for your receiver.

Your sub will play for now and you could always upgrade later.

[Paladyr]

What about getting the M60s and the CS1? I think I'll go with the wall mountable M30s.

[drummer86]

size of room has a lot to do with speaker choice, as mentioned above. A lot of people assume they need tower speakers to get good home theater sound regardless of room size but it's just not true.
Wall mountable M30's are a great surround speaker and CS2 is a better bet for sure.

[Paladyr]

15' x 16' room

[Paladyr]

I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the M60s, M30s, and the CS1. I was worried I wouldn't be satisfied with the M50s so I got the M60s to be safe.

Will the speakers come with instructions on how to setup the receiver. I know I'll set the speakers to small, and I know how to set the speaker delays, anything else I need to worry about like setting crossover frequency?

[drummer86]

congrats on the purchase. I had that exact setup for quite a while. Compared to your old HTiB setup you should be quite satisfied. I will say that the CS1 often left me wanting more from the center channel, but you may have a different experience.

As for configuring your receiver - Do what works for your ears in your room. There's no hard and fast rule for settings. Sounds like you're off to a great start. Welcome to Club Polk.

[Lietuvis91]

I think you will be more dissatisfied w the cs1 as opposed to the cs2 than u would have been w the m50s vs m60s. The center carries a big load in most movies, that is what would have made the bigger difference.

I would keep the m60s above 60hz, higher will gain u clarity, lower will gain u depth of sound, but will compromise clarity. I had mine set to 80hz on my onkyo 608 as clarity was important in my HT and i had a decent sub. The center should be good at 80hz, but dont be scared to experiment w different settings.

[Paladyr]

I think you will be more dissatisfied w the cs1 as opposed to the cs2 than u would have been w the m50s vs m60s. The center carries a big load in most movies, that is what would have made the bigger difference.

I would keep the m60s above 60hz, higher will gain u clarity, lower will gain u depth of sound, but will compromise clarity. I had mine set to 80hz on my onkyo 608 as clarity was important in my HT and i had a decent sub. The center should be good at 80hz, but dont be scared to experiment w different settings.

Well I read a lot of great reviews of the CS1, and since it looks like I need to upgrade my receiver to take adv of the M70s, I decided I would stick with a lower priced upgrade and see how I like it. Since I'm coming from a pretty low-end setup, I'm going to be impressed with pretty much anything :p. If this system ever leaves me wanting more, then I will upgrade all of the components.

Thanks for all the input everyone!

[Paladyr]

I ended up cancelling my order last night at like 1:30am and got the M50s like you guys suggested. I'm hoping I can be satisfied with this package for a while. If the receiver wasn't a gift for the gf I prob would've just upgraded it and got the M60s :-/.

[Lietuvis91]

For the receiver and size of your room, you will have a well matched system that should be VERY capable. You shouldn't have to worry about clipping your speakers when you do play it loud, and you will get clean/clear sound at low volumes, because that receiver actually has the potential to do your m50s justice. And don't get hung-up on "size" of your speakers, because "size" gets you nothing but crappy sound when you stick a huge underpowered speaker in a small room.

Good sound doesn?t come from just one part, it?s about the entire system! And you will have one well matched system. Enjoy it! :wink:

so did you get the cs2 or cs1? Get the cs2...

[djperez81]

CS2 for sure!!

[Paladyr]

For the receiver and size of your room, you will have a well matched system that should be VERY capable. You shouldn't have to worry about clipping your speakers when you do play it loud, and you will get clean/clear sound at low volumes, because that receiver actually has the potential to do your m50s justice. And don't get hung-up on "size" of your speakers, because "size" gets you nothing but crappy sound when you stick a huge underpowered speaker in a small room.

Good sound doesn?t come from just one part, it?s about the entire system! And you will have one well matched system. Enjoy it! :wink:

so did you get the cs2 or cs1? Get the cs2...

Thanks for the encouragement :P.

I got the cs1 bc I didn't want my center channel to overpower the other speakers. I think I'd rather have the center match perfectly. Everything I read about the cs1 was great as long as it was paired with the M50s or lower. If it was paired with the M60s or M70s it was overpowered and harder to hear.

Plus newegg had the cherry cs2 for 149 instead of 109 like the black one. That kind of affected my decision as well.

I can't wait to hear these speakers. I can't believe it's taken me this long to upgrade!

[Paladyr]

Installed it all last night, WOW, I'm very happy! Thanks again!

[Lietuvis91]

Glad you're happy! Makes plenty of steam in that room, doesn't it?!

Now kick back and enjoy the sound. As those puppies break in, the mids and lows will get stronger and deeper, and they will sound even better. :wink:

[Paladyr]

It really does. I watched UP on blu-ray and it's plenty loud!!! I can't believe I've gone this long without!