Polk 5.1 Configuration with Pioneer Receiver

[tmax76]

Hi,

Seeking the Advise of the Polk masters.

I am trying to put together the following HT 5.1 combination using Polk and Pioneer. Please let me know your thoughts.

1) Polk Audio Monitor 60 Floorstanding Tower Pair as L/F Front Channel
2) Polk Audio CS1 Center Channel
3) Polk Audio Monitor 30 Bookshelf pair as L/F Rear Channel
4) Pioneer 5.1-Channel A/V Receiver VSX-819H-K


Please let me know your thoughts, experience and expert advise. If there are any known or obvious issues with this configuration.

Please let me know if these Polk Speakers and Pioneer 819H receiver combination works. Any suggestion on Cables are also greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Thanks & Regards,
TMax

[coolsax]

as you can see by my system its very similar speaker wise but i have 40s for the rears instead.. I think it works great, and you should go with 40s i think, if you have the room for them, as it is adding one extra driver. You will hear some also say to get a CS 2 instead of the 1, which is probably the better option if you can afford it but i'm quite happy with the 1 myself. all of this would definitely work together.. I had considered the 819 but went with the yammy myself..I'm still new to the HT stuff as well so others will have more and probably better opinions than mine :)

[tmax76]

Thanks CoolSax.

That is quite encouraging to know this is a almost a similar proven setup. I am also thinking of Polk R50 instead of the Monitor 60. How different are the R 50 vs the Monitor 60 ?

The main reason i am going with the Pioneer 819 is the good Ipod/USB type compatibility along with OSD ( I head it is not very good though) along with decent inputs.

@Tmax

[vc69]

You are going to need a sub.
I would also recommend the Monitor 70's as fronts and a CS2 as the center if you can swing it. Otherwise, looks pretty good for a start.

Btw, welcome to the club!

[coolsax]

I would say stay away from the R50 if you're going to use Monitor series for the rest of the hookup.. the R series is a lower series compared to the Monitor.. Though there are some difference, the Monitors are the predecessors and comparable to Polk's current TSI series.

and + 1 on wanting to get a sub to complete the 5.1 arrangement.

[vijayl]

+1 to what VC69 said

[comfortablycurt]

Looks pretty good so far...that should be a very decent setup.

My one recommendation would be to go with the CS2 over the CS1. The center channel carries over 50% of a movies soundtrack, including the majority of the dialogue. It's a crucial speaker, and you really don't want to skimp on it.

You've gotta work with your own budget and space constraints though.

[tmax76]

Yeh Budget is one thing that I was trying to adjust. I am trying out some simple re-configs. The R50 came into picture because of that. If I keep it at R50 I can move up the centers to CS2 or maybe CS10. I am little unsure if CS10 is of a higher grade or CS2. The number sequencing and pricing are going opposite way though neither is an indication for quality.

[coolsax]

the CS 10 is the current version of the CS 1, while the CS 20 would be comparable to the CS 2
10 & 20 = TSI series
1 & 2 = Monitor series

not sure but the CS 2 might be too much for the R50s but I'm not sure by anymeans....anyone else have an opinion on this?

if you are seriously still considering the Monitors, if you're not already, make sure you are checking out Newegg.com and Polk direct on Ebay. both of those will have them for significantly cheaper than retail.. you can get the Monitor 60's on newegg right now for 119.99 each with no tax(depending on state) and free shipping, and the 40s are on sale for 119.99 a pair right now if you used their promo code.

[tmax76]

Found this interesting review/article. Seems like this was a premium 5.1 combination of 2005. But at a price of $1300 though.

http://www.avrev.com/home-theater-loudspeakers/speaker-systems/polk-audio-monitor-series-5.1-speaker-system.html

[Knucklehead]

cs2 wouldnt be too uch for the R50's IMO. I have R50's with a CS350LS center and i think it sounds great!

[wutadumsn23]

Sounds good so far tmax. Only suggestion I have has already been mentioned a few times. The CS2 would be ideal for your setup and maybe even the Monitor 40's for your surrounds. As Curt said, the center is very important for HT and it is not a good idea to skimp on that speaker. Otherwise, besides the suggestion for adding a sub, sounds like you are off to a good start. As cool said, keep your eyes open on Newegg for deals on the Monitor 70's, 60's and 40's. They have deals on them all the time lately. Welcome to Club Polk.

-Jeff

[xcapri79]

Hi,

Seeking the Advise of the Polk masters.

I am trying to put together the following HT 5.1 combination using Polk and Pioneer. Please let me know your thoughts.

1) Polk Audio Monitor 60 Floorstanding Tower Pair as L/F Front Channel
2) Polk Audio CS1 Center Channel
3) Polk Audio Monitor 30 Bookshelf pair as L/F Rear Channel
4) Pioneer 5.1-Channel A/V Receiver VSX-819H-K


Please let me know your thoughts, experience and expert advise. If there are any known or obvious issues with this configuration.

Please let me know if these Polk Speakers and Pioneer 819H receiver combination works. Any suggestion on Cables are also greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Thanks & Regards,
TMax

Welcome to Club Polk, TMax.
What you have picked is a good budget system in my opinion and will work well for HT.
If you have the room for the CS2 it would be a better choice but not really a necessary choice over the CS1. The CS1 works well with the Monitor 60 and 50 series. The PSW505 which is available for about $250 nowadays makes a nice subwoofer for your system.

With my first Monitor series setup, I ran pair of PSW10's for the fronts. Later I added two more at the rears as I got them for about $75 each. They are ok at that price point and serve as good bass enhancement for the Monitors.

I would add that if you wanted a really decent sounding budget system going with R50's for the front and surrounds work just fine. I purchased 4 of them many months back for about $60 each. They make a nice inexpensive system and are far superior to the typical HTiB system. The CSR is the matching center and I have no problem with it.

I would recommend that you try to listen to these speakers if you can. Your own ears are your best judge for you. Good luck on system. My main word of advice is to stick to your budget and don't go into debt in this economy to purchase your system.

[tmax76]

Thanks XCAPRI. It is a definitely a good club to be in.

I did hear the R50 setup out. I was not able to do a direct side by side comparison with Monitor 60. I am more or less getting comfortable in the boundaries.One thing that kept worrying me was that If I go with the M 60, will CS1 be too weak for it ? Is the M50 a be better match for CS1 ?

I generally love bright sounds and listen to classical music, Jazz and country. Having said that I did find that R50 was a little bit higher on the Bass compared to the higher end Polks. But I think it is fine owing to the factor that certain levels of adjustments are possible out of the Receiver.

I am planning to wait a little bit on the Sub Woofer front. I would like to see how the whole setup is evolving to my taste and would add the subs at a later point in time based on the progress and necessities.

A small advise required is what is the optimal or the best cables for this setup ?

[wutadumsn23]

IMHO the CS2 would be the better choice. The CS1 is available form Newegg for $99.99 w/ free shipping, and the CS2 is available from Newegg for $149.99 w/ free shipping. For the extra $50 it will be well worth it. I'm not saying that the CS1 will not work, just that the CS2 will work that much better. The CS1 is the "recommended" center for the Monitor 50's and 60's, but I have always considered the cutoff for the CS1 to be the Monitor 50's, anything higher "needing" the CS2, but that is just my opinion. There have been people who have used the CS1 with the 60's and have reported no problems, all I know is I love my CS2. As for speaker wire, the usual recomendations are Monoprice or Bluejeans Cable. Get some 12-14AWG and call it good from either of those sites.

-Jeff

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290022 CS1 on Newegg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290024 CS2 on Newegg

http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp Monoprice for wires

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/ Blu Jeans Cable for wires

[xcapri79]

Thanks XCAPRI. It is a definitely a good club to be in.

I did hear the R50 setup out. I was not able to do a direct side by side comparison with Monitor 60. I am more or less getting comfortable in the boundaries.One thing that kept worrying me was that If I go with the M 60, will CS1 be too weak for it ? Is the M50 a be better match for CS1 ?

I generally love bright sounds and listen to classical music, Jazz and country. Having said that I did find that R50 was a little bit higher on the Bass compared to the higher end Polks. But I think it is fine owing to the factor that certain levels of adjustments are possible out of the Receiver.

I am planning to wait a little bit on the Sub Woofer front. I would like to see how the whole setup is evolving to my taste and would add the subs at a later point in time based on the progress and necessities.

A small advise required is what is the optimal or the best cables for this setup ?

With the 8 ohm Polk Monitor speakers, unless you are running over 48 feet, 16 AWG Cu is all you really need.
http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm
There is some good information in this link and it dispells several myths.

I like to use banana plugs for all my connections.
They make good connections and are easy to remove if required.

For interconnects, I seldom use anything that comes with the equipment.
Use shielded interconnects but you don't need expensive or fancy ones.
Avoid Monster at their list prices. I have purchased them at 1/2 or 1/3 price.