Monitor 60 with sub or 70 without sub?

[Blue]

I'm just starting on my home theater and I'm torn on what I really need. Of course I want the biggest bang for my buck but I also don't want to sink money into speakers I won't really use to their full potential.

My budget is fairly limited and I'm torn between getting a set of monitor 60s with a CS1 center and PSW10 sub or monitor 70s with a CS2 center and no sub. Either way, I'm looking at the Monitor 40s (or possibly 30s or 50s) as surround speakers. If I take advantage of the sales that are going on through today, I can get the monitor 60s with center and sub for approx $370 or the 70s with center and no sub for approx $420.

My usage is about 50/50 music/movies and the room is 12x22. I don't currently have a receiver but I'm strongly considering the Pioneer 1020-k (love the built in internet radio), Denon 1911, or Onkyo SR608 (a little concerned about heat issues) in that order.

I have no plans to get a preamp for a receiver so would an entry level receiver be enough to power the 70s? I also know a lower end sub such as the PSW10 would be pretty redundant with the 70s but I have no plans on spending big bucks for a sub at this point.

I've read tons of posts on this site already talking about the various speakers but I haven't seen too much about 60's with sub vs 70's without.
Any advice would be much appreciated!

[zombie boy 2000]

Having owned all of the speakers you are considering, I would go with the 60's/sub combo over the 70's without hesitation. In fact, I would go with the 60's over the 70's regardless of the sub. Just a better speaker IMO.

That being said, I would also suggest you go with the CS2 in either scenario. I found the CS1 to sound rather anemic.

[cnh]

WELCOME TO CLUB POLK!!

I, respectfully, disagree. The M-70s are in another league from their little brother. More detail, fuller range, better imaging because of the more 'sophisticated crossover that the M-60s do not share, and the larger complement of mid-drivers and better power handling. Whip a power amp on them and WATCH them OPEN up! You won't believe its the same speaker! I can't say the same about the lower models?

But that's why they call this hobby 'subjective'.

In either case...you WILL need a good sub for HT.

cnh

[TECHNOKID]

...My budget is fairly limited and I'm torn between getting a set of monitor 60s with a CS1 center and PSW10 sub or monitor 70s with a CS2 center and no sub. Either way, I'm looking at the Monitor 40s (or possibly 30s or 50s) as surround speakers. If I take advantage of the sales that are going on through today, I can get the monitor 60s with center and sub for approx $370 or the 70s with center and no sub for approx $420.
My usage is about 50/50 music/movies and the room is 12x22. I don't currently have a receiver but I'm strongly considering the Pioneer 1020-k (love the built in internet radio), Denon 1911, or Onkyo SR608 (a little concerned about heat issues) in that order.

I have no plans to get a preamp for a receiver so would an entry level receiver be enough to power the 70s? I also know a lower end sub such as the PSW10 would be pretty redundant with the 70s but I have no plans on spending big bucks for a sub at this point.
I've read tons of posts on this site already talking about the various speakers but I haven't seen too much about 60's with sub vs 70's without.
Any advice would be much appreciated!

WELCOME TO CLUB POLK!!

I, respectfully, disagree. The M-70s are in another league from their little brother. More detail, fuller range, better imaging because of the more 'sophisticated crossover that the M-60s do not share, and the larger complement of mid-drivers and better power handling. Whip a power amp on them and WATCH them OPEN up! You won't believe its the same speaker! I can't say the same about the lower models?

But that's why they call this hobby 'subjective'.

In either case...you WILL need a good sub for HT.

cnh

I fully agree with cnh. The extra 50$ for the 70s with a good center will pay off. The 70s are a good performer for both music and HT however, while the sub is not required with music it is indeed with HT. Instead of the PSW10 (totally useless sub IMO, botom of the PSW line) I would suggest you go with the PSW505 which is also usually offered a steal pricing. You don't have to buy everything at once, you can start with a good 3.0 (fronts & center) and buy the sub and even your surround a little later on as money allows you. Being on a tight budget, The 30s should do fine as the surrounds don't need at all to be huge speakers.

BTW; welcome to Club Polk :)

[raffi]

Another vote here for the 70's...picked mine up from newegg for $360 shipped and while there wasn't a lot of difference in HT, they put my previous front (Definitive) speakers to shame musically.

[Outfitter03]

I say go with the 70's and the CS2. You will be pleased. The 70's are very enjoyable with music. I rarely play music with a sub with the 70's. For HT it is nice for the booms and rumble but I would second Technokids suggestion to wait and get the PSW505.

[jayman_1975]

I also vote for the 70's as i know their potential. Sadly they do not come fully alive without some good solid power, which those 3 receivers are lacking i'm afraid. They will sound ok though and in the future if you decide to amp them you will be quite tickled.

[Starboy]

Hi new to this site. I have the Monitor 70's for front, CS20 for center, Pioneer S-H253B-K for surrounds and and now installing a PSW10 for the Sub. Samsung 46" LED TV with Yamaha RXV-467 and Samsung Blueray. Watch movies 90% and music 10% will the PSW10 suffice? Dont really want a loud sub and will only play it at about 1/3 volume so just to add a touch of low end on movies.So far sounds pretty good to me only one problem is that I only have one ear

[wayne3burk]

...So far sounds pretty good to me only one problem is that I only have one ear

ouch

[over50]

i just sold my m60 and delivery my m70II is today.The m70II has 4 6.5 divers vs m60 has 3 5.25 driver. I hope bigger and more is better. we shall see. i assume the m70 your refer to is the m70 regular with subwoofer.

[BlueKhan]

I just (almost) finished my HT build. Yamaha 667 receiver, Panasonic BD-85 blueray, Polk CS2 center, Polk Monitor60's in front, Polk Monitor50's as suround, Polk Monitor30's as back, and a Yamaha312 sub. This setup sounds phenomenal, at least to my ears. The problem is that the sound is on such another level that it makes my 46" plasma look tiny. Feels like you're in a cinema watching a tiny ass screen. I couldn't be happier with the sound...who needs another zone? I can clearly shake every picture in a 3800 square foot ranch home with this setup. I'm very happy with the yamaha onscreen interface...ton's of options for dialing in speakers.

I'm a musician, but wouldn't nessesarily consider myself an audiophile. I honestly can't imagine ever needing much more of a HT/audio sound system than I own now. It sounds great at the sound levels that I listen to.

[Lietuvis91]

Im very surprised by some of the above responses...

Yes, compared side by side, the m70 is a better all around speaker than an m60.

BUT!

There is NO way that an m70 is superior enough without amplification, that it would rival an m60 with a sub. Given the choice of just m70s or m60s + a sub, i would choose m60+sub any day and twice on sunday. Thats not even a fair comparison.

[cnh]

I have a 51 pound Onkyo 805, twice the weight of a 600 series. These Onkyos put out a minimum 130 real watts into 5 channels and I've heard M-70s and M-60s on this AVR. Believe me, you CAN tell the difference. Perhaps that's not a fair comparison because these Onkyos have some reasonably powerful amplification for an AVR.

I ran the M-70s off a 605 before this and there they did not sound that much better than the 60s. So I think I see what you're saying. However a good quality AVR will reveal the difference without the extra amplification although they'll sound even BETTER with a power amp added.

It's important to remember there are some REAL design differences between the 60s and the 70s. The 60s are a two way design, the 70s add an extra driver (all their drivers are, also, larger) and are a 2.5 cascade design; and this means that the tweeter and upper woofers work together more closely. That configuration allows the 70s to play like a bookshelf/tower hybrid--fuller bottom with the imaging of a bookshelf. The 60s don't have that capacity. But again this is MOST noticeable for music in 2 channel (sub or no sub). Merely adding a good sub to M-60s will not remove the structural difference?

cnh

[Geoff4rfc]

I have a 51 pound Onkyo 805, twice the weight of a 600 series. These Onkyos put out a minimum 130 real watts into 5 channels and I've heard M-70s and M-60s on this AVR. Believe me, you CAN tell the difference. Perhaps that's not a fair comparison because these Onkyos have some reasonably powerful amplification for an AVR.

I ran the M-70s off a 605 before this and there they did not sound that much better than the 60s. So I think I see what you're saying. However a good quality AVR will reveal the difference without the extra amplification although they'll sound even BETTER with a power amp added.


cnh

I've got an Onkyo 807, my speakers are the 70's, 30's and CS2. In your opinion, does this AVR have the power to drive these speakers or would an amp bring out more speaker?

[cnh]

Onkyos 800 series since the 805 have kind of been on a diet. The 806 had less real power than the 805 and the 807 a bit less than the 806. But for HT the 807 is perfectly fine for that speaker set. I've never actually used all the power my 805 has to offer. And M-series are pretty efficient. I would actually agree with L-91 above on that...just get a good sub, set your speakers LFE cut-off to 80hz and you're good!

It is only for two channel performance that a power amp for the M-70s would help. Otherwise you're good. And, personally, if you want to go two channel. I'd probably upgrade from M-70s. I like to run my Towers in two channel occasionally, but when I listen more critically to my CD collection, I listen to my Polk SDA-2Bs (old vintage Polks) or LSI-7 Polk bookshelves on a dedicated two channel system of separates (Pre-amp and amp).

cnh

[Geoff4rfc]

...just get a good sub, set your speakers LFE cut-off to 80hz and you're good!


cnh

H.T. is primarily where it's at for me

I've actually been considering a sub, would the Epik Empire be too much sub or is there such a thing?

[cnh]

No such thing as TOO MUCH SUB. Epiks are very nice and would be a good choice for your system!

cnh

[Geoff4rfc]

No such thing as TOO MUCH SUB. Epiks are very nice and would be a good choice for your system!

cnh

Thanks bro, looks like an Empire instead of the an Emotiva XPA-3.

[TNHNDYMAN]

To the OP I would recommend you consider the CS2 over the CS1. I have the CS1 and while it is a decent center, I wish I had saved a little more and gone w/ the CS2 or a CSiA6. I'm pretty sure with the sales on at Newegg and Polk Direct on ebay its a great buy under $150.

[vwfred69]

I just got the cs2 off ebay for $112 shipped and it works great with the monitor 60s. I also have the psw10 and i have to say i don't like it. wish i could have gone bigger, but i would defiantly get a sub with either choice.