My fledgeling set-up

[HorrorKind]

Hi everyone,

I'm fairly new around here and really only this year have I started getting serious about audio for my home theater.

At the beginning of the year i purchased a Samsung 52" A530 LCD and love it so far. Got a good deal for it but it still took a big chunk out of my budget.

I have recently ditched my old HTIB LG system and purchased a Sony STRD-G 820 Receiver along with a Polk 5.1 speaker package (RM6750). I'm still using my PS3 which I love still for both movies and gaming.

It is quite a nice set-up compared to what I had before BUT I'm already getting "upgrade-itis." I knew that possibility existed and have read the warnings before I upgraded to the Polk speaker package.

The one area I feel already needs to be upgraded some time in the near future is the Center Speaker for the RM6750. During my speaker levels adjustments I found I had to turn up my Center Speaker to +5.0 to hear dialogue very clearly during BD movies (even after Auto-Caloibration). The small sub is actually quite good for the size of my set-up living in a condo.

To start, I'd like to know what people would recommend as a really good quality Center Speaker to get for my current set-up. Preferrably one that I wont feel like ever upgrading again because it is so good I do live in Canada and realise that prices and deals are nowhere near as good as I can get in the U.S.

Thank you,

HorrorKind

[Beta Man]

I'd just upgrade the L/R/C and move the L/R to be used as surrounds in a 7.1 setup.

If you buy anything decent for a center channel, it's not going to "jive" well with your current L/R.

[HorrorKind]

So a very good Center will not go well with the Left and Right Fronts I have right now? (RM6750) So what would be a good match to start out with?

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by HorrorKind

Hi everyone,

I'm fairly new around here and really only this year have I started getting serious about audio for my home theater.

At the beginning of the year i purchased a Samsung 52" A530 LCD and love it so far. Got a good deal for it but it still took a big chunk out of my budget.

I have recently ditched my old HTIB LG system and purchased a Sony STRD-G 820 Receiver along with a Polk 5.1 speaker package (RM6750). I'm still using my PS3 which I love still for both movies and gaming.

It is quite a nice set-up compared to what I had before BUT I'm already getting "upgrade-itis." I knew that possibility existed and have read the warnings before I upgraded to the Polk speaker package.

The one area I feel already needs to be upgraded some time in the near future is the Center Speaker for the RM6750. During my speaker levels adjustments I found I had to turn up my Center Speaker to +5.0 to hear dialogue very clearly during BD movies (even after Auto-Caloibration). The small sub is actually quite good for the size of my set-up living in a condo.

To start, I'd like to know what people would recommend as a really good quality Center Speaker to get for my current set-up. Preferrably one that I wont feel like ever upgrading again because it is so good I do live in Canada and realise that prices and deals are nowhere near as good as I can get in the U.S.
Thank you,

HorrorKind

Hi!

Welcome to Blu-ray.com HorrorKind from a guy just down the road! I bolded your last line as it's not really true. You can get some great deals in Canada. In general the pricing in the U.S. is better, but if you're patient and not in a hurry, trust me....you'll find plenty of deals.

I'm not a POLK guy so I'll defer to others for recommendations on a new Centre-channel. Just remember one thing...you want to keep the centre-channel and your front speakers in the same family. That means, DONT buy another brand, stick with POLK first and foremost. Perhaps check out their website and see what centre-channel they recommend for your current setup.

John

[HorrorKind]

Thanks John,

What are the best places in our area to purchase home audio? Seems like every place I check doesn't offer anything anywhere close to as good as some of the deals I see in the States. I've looked at crutchfieldcanada.com and other places, and honestly I haven't seen any groundbreaking deals. Don't even get me started on amazon.ca...lol

[jomari]

welcome to the foray!

as mentioned, if ever you wanted to upgrade your current speakers, id suggest to go for your frontstage primarily.

IF its not feasible to purchase a brand new front set, and i know how most people cant due to the current economy, id suggest to get a center speaker that can at LEAST be within the same brand family as your current set. take note as well as to which fronts are supposed to be matched to them, and take it from there.

as much as id like to recommend to purchase a good 2 channel system first, its not always feasible for everyone.

best of luck to you.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Yeah...let's not get into the Amazon.ca discussion. Worst line-up and prices anywhere, although they had the best price ANYWHERE when BARAKA got released.

If you're not un-opposed to buying "gently used", CanuckAudioMart is a great place to buy anything A/V related. Also, many guys on Audiogon will ship into Canada.

As far as B&M's are concerned, you just have to watch weekly at the flyers and stuff. Also, the higher-end places have some great deals too. Right now all of "last year's" Yamaha models are greatly reduced. You can buy my reciver (see sig) for which I paid $1,100 last year for about $600-$700 now. So there are deals. And of course,,,,,,Boxing Day!

I know that TRU-TONE on Dundas (just west of Dixie Rd. - south side) was unloading some Denon and Marantz gear. Also, check out TABANGI ELECTRONICS (same area - East of Dixie - corner of Nellco & Dundas - south side). Their pricing on speaker cable is the best in town, as far as I'm concerned. They sell your basic stuff, but also gear like QUAD, Conrad-Johnson and such.

John

[HorrorKind]

Thank you for all the great advice so far guys. I will have to make due with what I got so far and honestly it serves me quite well right now. I will look into some of those Canadian retailers when I'm ready to upgrade my fronts.

[Twitch9]

Not true about deals if your looking for a good center look at Paradigm, lots of room to move on pricing in Canada for their speakers.

[ak808]

Don't know if this will help but if you truely have the upgrade bug then you might want to ditch the polk line altogether. Not that polks are bad but you have easy access to speakers I can only dream of finding in a store here. On top of my head paradigm monitor audio as well as others. Check out audiogon for some deals.

[aramis109]

LOL... welcome to what happened to me. I started out with the RM6750 set. Trust me, save up your dough and go listen places and see what you like. Being in Canada you have some of the best manufacturers right in your backyard. Paradigm, Axiom(?) and others. Decide what you want and start looking for deals.

I would chime in also to replace the front three, then upgrade the rest as you go. That RM6750 set is like a honeytrap- it gets you interested in audio and then you find yourself sucked in to a downward spiral.

[Johk]

Being Canadian, I have two suggestions:

- The first would be to look at Axiom audio (a Canadian company);

- The second would be SVSound which is distributed in Canada by Sonicboomaudio

Both companies produce high quality speakers at great prices since they sell directly to the customers. Also Axiom ships for free, they have a discount of 5% (if you purchase 5 items about 30$) and they also sell factory seconds which gives you another 10% off for speakers that are supposed to have slight blemishes (I have never found any on my speakers) and obviously they have no operational problems or sound performance issues.

Anyway, I think those are two interesting options that will give you more performance for your money than other brands selling through traditional retailers.

[HorrorKind]

Excellent suggestions. I'll definitely look into the Canadian manufacturers when I'm ready.

Thing is as I mentioned, I live in a condo with my gf and she already complains that my current set-up is too loud...lol

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by HorrorKind

Excellent suggestions. I'll definitely look into the Canadian manufacturers when I'm ready.

Thing is as I mentioned, I live in a condo with my gf and she already complains that my current set-up is too loud...lol

Good speakers don't mean "louder", they just sound better......

[HorrorKind]

I've been checking out the Axiom web site and it looks like they have some great speakers and packages. Some of which I would love to get but I think the neighbors would be knocking on my door to make complaints and my gf would probably have to leave during movies...lol

I was looking at this one:
http://www.axiomaudio.com/epic80_600.html#

[HorrorKind]

If I were to upgrade with this Center speakers first http://www.axiomaudio.com/vp150.html

Would it sound too much off with my current set-up? I'm sure the answer is I will need the matching 2 fronts as well but it would take me a while to get them.

[SDBlu]

I went with Axiom and I live in a condo as well. No regrets at all, I am very impressed with the performance of my speakers and at the price range they are awesome. I'm not sure about your financial situation, but I started with my front three...and then got the sub...and finally the surrounds.

Take it one step at a time. Good luck.

Axiom is a very good company and have GREAT customer service

[Johk]

Originally Posted by HorrorKind

If I were to upgrade with this Center speakers first http://www.axiomaudio.com/vp150.html

Would it sound too much off with my current set-up? I'm sure the answer is I will need the matching 2 fronts as well but it would take me a while to get them.

While it won't sound too much (when all speakers are at the same level), it won't create a uniform front stage since the speakers are not tone matched (unless you're very lucky). The point of having matching speakers is that you'll get a transparent soundstage where you won't be saying this is the center speaker and these are the fronts, you'll get speakers that will blend in perfectly.

Also concerning the Epic 80, you need to know one thing up front, the M80 (the fronts) are 4 ohm speakers which are harder to drive than 8 ohm speakers. That means that you'll either need a receiver that can handle 4 ohm speakers or get a separate amp for them. On my part, I would recommend the M60, which were designed to get the same performance as the M80 but they are 8 ohm speakers.

Cheers!

[HorrorKind]

Originally Posted by Johk

Also concerning the Epic 80, you need to know one thing up front, the M80 (the fronts) are 4 ohm speakers which are harder to drive than 8 ohm speakers. That means that you'll either need a receiver that can handle 4 ohm speakers or get a separate amp for them. On my part, I would recommend the M60, which were designed to get the same performance as the M80 but they are 8 ohm speakers.

Cheers!

That's very valuable to know. I appreciate that. Maybe one day I will listen to those M60's.

I think I'll just wait until I can afford to get all fronts at the same time instead of upgrading the center first. In the meantime I wanna figure out the best setting for my RM6750 set-up. As I mentioned in my first post I had to turn up the Center Speaker way up in order to hear dialogue properly. I've been reading up as much as I can from others that own the RM6750 package and haven't heard any other complaints about the Center channel. Auto-Calibration was done and I tweaked the settings a bit to my liking. I was just taken back by how much I had to turn up the Center channel.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by HorrorKind

Excellent suggestions. I'll definitely look into the Canadian manufacturers when I'm ready.

Thing is as I mentioned, I live in a condo with my gf and she already complains that my current set-up is too loud...lol

This link has a list of all those speaker manufactures in Canada!

John