Speaker Conundrum

[Trean]

Over the past year I have been redoing my home theater setup. I live in a studio apartment so I went with a Viewsonic VX2435wm 24" monitor that serves multi-purpose of TV, Media, and Computer. In addition I owned a HTiB w/ 5.1 setup.

A couple months back (might be more, I lose track) I purchased an Onkyo TX-SR605 receiver. I am now ready to move past my HTiB 5.1 speakers and purchase some new ones. I know they can be hefty in price so I plan on purchasing them piecemeal. I am on a modest budget but when stretched over time it can certainly accomplish quite a bit, but I want to know what to keep an eye on so I can watch for deals and pounce when I have the money available.


My questions:
1) Which speakers should I go with?
I have heard a lot or read a lot about Polk speakers, but I still don't know which would be best for me. I have looked into the R50's for front side speakers but don't know if those would fit with my receiver. I don't know about power usage/consumption and which speakers my receiver will be able to drive or not. Oh and when I was looking into the R50's I came across this picture: Connection Question!? What am I suppose to plug into those? There seems to room for two wires, are both needed? What do both do... and how do I go from one left/right out on the receiver to two left/right in's on the speaker.

2) Which order should I purchase in? I was thinking center, sides, surrounds, sub. I will be mixing the new speakers with my HTiB speakers and sub while the conversion is incomplete.

3) I was thinking 14 AWG wiring and banana plugs; I already own the banana plugs. Sound good?

[Big Daddy]

The connection question is easy to answer. Go to the thread A Guide to Optical, Coaxial, & Speaker Cables. Go to the bottom of the original post. There are pictures of different connections for speaker wires.

As far as speakers are concerned, buy the two front speakers first. Go with the higher end Polk or whatever brand you like. Save some money and buy a matching center channel. You may be able to use your current speakers for side surrounds or back surrounds. Eventually, you can buy a better quality subwoofer. Good things come to patient people.

[allstar780]

some brands to look at if you want to keep it in the same ballpark as Polk:

Klipsch
Jamo
Energy
NHT
Paradigm

[Trean]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

The connection question is easy to answer. Go to the thread A Guide to Optical, Coaxial, & Speaker Cables. Go to the bottom of the original post. There are pictures of different connections for speaker wires.

I understand the two different types of connection. What I don't understand is the fact that there are 2 pairs of connectors on Polk 50's. I tried to read up on why there are two and it was a tad confusing. Also I couldn't find out how to go from only 1 pair on the receiver end to 2 pair on the speaker end... or if it was necessary to run wire to both pairs of connections on the speaker end.

If you know how to easily answer those questions or something I could read that would bring me some knowledge on the subject, I would appreciate it.

[allstar780]

Originally Posted by Trean

I understand the two different types of connection. What I don't understand is the fact that there are 2 pairs of connectors on Polk 50's. I tried to read up on why there are two and it was a tad confusing. Also I couldn't find out how to go from only 1 pair on the receiver end to 2 pair on the speaker end... or if it was necessary to run wire to both pairs of connections on the speaker end.

If you know how to easily answer those questions or something I could read that would bring me some knowledge on the subject, I would appreciate it.

There are 2 sets of binding posts for if you desire to bi-wire or bi-amp your speakers... which is a totally separate thread on its own

If you are just wiring the speakers the simple way, you do just that. it does not matter if you wire to the top or bottom set of binding posts, just that the brass jumper strap that connects the top one and bottom one stays in place, allowing signal to reach both posts

[Trean]

Originally Posted by allstar780

just that the brass jumper strap that connects the top one and bottom one stays in place, allowing signal to reach both posts

See now that makes perfect sense, why couldn't I find that elsewhere. Thank you.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by Trean

See now that makes perfect sense, why couldn't I find that elsewhere. Thank you.

There is a whole thread on Bi-Wiring and Bi-Amping Speakers. It has a sticky under Speaker Discussion.

[Trean]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

There is a whole thread on Bi-Wiring and Bi-Amping Speakers. It has a sticky under Speaker Discussion.

That is the thread I started reading before my original post; truthfully it confused the snot out of me. All I really wanted to know was whether I would be forced to do that bi-wiring or bi-amping on speakers like the polk 50's or whether it was just an option. And although the OP in that post is really informative it doesn't say anywhere that speakers like the polk 50's offer it as an option but they can also be connected normally with using one pair of connections on the receiver end and one pair on the speaker end (provided the brass jumper the other person mentioned stays in place).

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by Trean

That is the thread I started reading before my original post; truthfully it confused the snot out of me. All I really wanted to know was whether I would be forced to do that bi-wiring or bi-amping on speakers like the polk 50's or whether it was just an option. And although the OP in that post is really informative it doesn't say anywhere that speakers like the polk 50's offer it as an option but they can also be connected normally with using one pair of connections on the receiver end and one pair on the speaker end (provided the brass jumper the other person mentioned stays in place).

Bi-wiring and bi-amping are optional. People use them for marginal improvement of their speakers. Not all speakers can be bi-wired or bi-amped. They must have the connections for them. You will be fine with one pair of speaker wires, but I still recommend that you buy better quality speakers piece by piece. This way, you won't want to upgrade after 6 months. Believe me, if you catch the home theater disease, there will be no end.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by allstar780

There are 2 sets of binding posts for if you desire to bi-wire or bi-amp your speakers... which is a totally separate thread on its own

If you are just wiring the speakers the simple way, you do just that. it does not matter if you wire to the top or bottom set of binding posts, just that the brass jumper strap that connects the top one and bottom one stays in place, allowing signal to reach both posts

allstar780 is correct, but let me add something.

My speakers (see sig) are recommended to be connected in a diagional pattern (black-top/red-bottom or vice-versa) by the manufacturer. So check your speaker manual, if it came with one, or the company website.

[Trean]

Originally Posted by John72953

allstar780 is correct, but let me add something.

My speakers (see sig) are recommended to be connected in a diagional pattern (black-top/red-bottom or vice-versa) by the manufacturer. So check your speaker manual, if it came with one, or the company website.

haven't bought any yet, but will do when I do

[greekjgg]

modest price but expensive sound quality.

www.thespeakercompany.com

I just got mine last week and they slam on a 606.

$349 right now for 5 sats and a sub.

30 day trial
free shipping
free re-ship if you don't like, you have nothing to lose. Do the research and you'll see who owns them. THey were reviewed in my mens health mag this month.

[Trean]

What is the difference between the 50 and the r50? It seems like the r50 is usually half the price, is it 50% worse?

I am slowly getting less confused about speaker setups, just wish I had a better personal experience with some speakers to judge quality.

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by greekjgg

modest price but expensive sound quality.

www.thespeakercompany.com

I just got mine last week and they slam on a 606.

$349 right now for 5 sats and a sub.

30 day trial
free shipping
free re-ship if you don't like, you have nothing to lose. Do the research and you'll see who owns them. THey were reviewed in my mens health mag this month.

You need to post some pics!

[allstar780]

Originally Posted by John72953

allstar780 is correct, but let me add something.

My speakers (see sig) are recommended to be connected in a diagional pattern (black-top/red-bottom or vice-versa) by the manufacturer. So check your speaker manual, if it came with one, or the company website.

Crazy Totem

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Trean

What is the difference between the 50 and the r50? It seems like the r50 is usually half the price, is it 50% worse?

I am slowly getting less confused about speaker setups, just wish I had a better personal experience with some speakers to judge quality.

You need to listen to them, and decide if the price to performance increase is worth it to you..... or if you like the polks AT ALL..... you should definitely listen to the paradigm/Klipsch/axiom/etc... that are in the price range you're looking at. If you're in a small studio apartment, I'd assume you're in a rather large city, so you should have a lot of resources available to you in regards to Audio Stores.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

You need to listen to them, and decide if the price to performance increase is worth it to you..... or if you like the polks AT ALL..... you should definitely listen to the paradigm/Klipsch/axiom/etc... that are in the price range you're looking at. If you're in a small studio apartment, I'd assume you're in a rather large city, so you should have a lot of resources available to you in regards to Audio Stores.

Agreed and sound advice +1!

[Trean]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

You need to listen to them, and decide if the price to performance increase is worth it to you..... or if you like the polks AT ALL..... you should definitely listen to the paradigm/Klipsch/axiom/etc... that are in the price range you're looking at. If you're in a small studio apartment, I'd assume you're in a rather large city, so you should have a lot of resources available to you in regards to Audio Stores.

In Milwaukee but don't get out to shop much due to research and the impending doom of the end of the school semester. I will try to look up some places downtown and add it to the bottom of the to do list.

Maybe when I go to my parents for the few days around Christmas I can head over to Circuit City or something like that; their house is really close to Best Buy and Circuit City.