New with the old?

[surfcitydude]

I've had great success with my Monitor 5jr+ (circa 1986), so much so that I'm still using them for my left/right channels. Over the years, I've added a CS175i for my center channel and a PSW250 subwoofer.

Oh...did I mention that I've been running without any rear channels?

So, given a fairly small living room with terrible wall access, I'm thinking at best of going for 5.1 sound with a decent receiver. (Yeah, the receiver will probably be 7.1, but my room just isn't setup for _that_ many speakers).

My current thoughts are to 'semi-retire' my 5jr+ to become my rear speakers, keep the PSW250 subwoofer (and perhaps the center channel, too) and upgrade the front speakers.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

[danger boy]

where do you want to go with your system? Keep the budget relatively low.. or have this 5.1 HT be a kick ass no expense spared rig?

If you like and want to keep the Monitor 5jr's.. then do and build a system around them. The only problem I see with using vintage Polk Audio speakers is that they are often times larger then current models of Polks. So they take up more real estate that way.

No problem with going with a 5.1 system for the HT. Most of us are very happy with ours. I have the ability to go 7.1 too from my pre amp.. but I just don't think i'd gain enough to warrant buying a pair of back surround speakers, more wire, and another two channel amp.. when a well set up 5.1 HT can sound nearly as good,or better.

I personally like your plan.. keep the 5jr's for the rears, maybe upgrade the center and upgrade the sub. Buy used, you'll save some $ that way.

Oh yeah, Welcome to Club Polk.

enjoy

[ben62670]

Welcome to Club Polk
You could search for another pair of old monitors for the front or rear so the speakers acoustically match, or get some used SDA's for the front would be very nice.

Ben

[Jet_olson]

FYI...I just purchased some TC610i's (in-ceiling) speakers for my rears because of my awful wall situation and installed them today...installation was a snap and they are perfect for rear surrounds. If you can run wire to your ceiling then I would go with these. They are around $299 for 2 at Tweeter and sound great for surrounds.

[dudeinaroom]

Welcome to Club Polk
You could search for another pair of old monitors for the front or rear so the speakers acoustically match, or get some used SDA's for the front would be very nice.

Ben

+1 on the SDA fronts

they give a nice wide front stage to the ht.