Upgrade Help

[Zakolson5]

Hey everyone,

I am looking to upgrade my speakers as one of the speakers just blew out and they are getting pretty old. They were a graduation gift awhile back and am looking for something that packs a little bit bigger punch in terms of bass and the crispness of the sound. What I have for a setup is the Polk RM675 5.1 speaker system with a Onkyo TX-SR507 receiver. My question is would a upgrade in the speakers be just enough to notice a better sound quality or is my receiver lacking as well? My budget would be no more than $500 unfortunately. Thanks for the help.

[kpkelley]

With your budget, and one of your speakers having blown, now is not the time to upgrade your receiver. It should serve you fairly well for a while yet. I'd recommend that you focus on the front speakers, perhaps a couple of TSi300's and a CS10(about $510 all together on Amazon). With your request of improved bass and clarity, I might suggest getting a new subwoofer normally, but having lost one speaker, an improved front stage would probably be your best investment.

I'd recommend that you keep the other two speakers that work as well. You could use them in a 7.1 setup if you upgrade your receiver in the future, or to replace one of the two rear speakers should one fail again.

[cricepng]

For $388.88 plus about $40 shipping you can get a really nice refurbished Onkyo ht-s5600 7.1 complete setup from http://www.accessories4less.com. Comes with a 2-zone receiver, 10" powered sub, and much better speakers than your old system.

Or newegg has a deal on individual Polk speakers. Keep your old receiver for now and get a pair of Monitor 45B for fronts ($160), a pair of Monitor 35B for surrounds ($130), a Monitor15C center ($100) and a PSW10 sub ($100).

[cricepng]

Accessories4less also has a refurbished Onkyo HT-S8409 7.1 complete home theatre for $499 (limited stock). They are the only authorized online dealer for refurbished Onkyos.

http://www.accessories4less.com/make...package/1.html

[repete66211]

Originally Posted by Zakolson5

Hey everyone,

I am looking to upgrade my speakers as one of the speakers just blew out and they are getting pretty old. They were a graduation gift awhile back and am looking for something that packs a little bit bigger punch in terms of bass and the crispness of the sound. What I have for a setup is the Polk RM675 5.1 speaker system with a Onkyo TX-SR507 receiver. My question is would a upgrade in the speakers be just enough to notice a better sound quality or is my receiver lacking as well? My budget would be no more than $500 unfortunately. Thanks for the help.

The 507 should be fine for a basic 5.1 setup. Keep two of those speakers to use as rears and invest the $500 in a front sound stage. From a value perspective it's hard to beat Polk. You can find some great deals on Newegg, but I obtained the speakers in my old Polk setup from their eBay store.

[Zakolson5]

Thanks for the help guys, going to invest in a front speaker setup and keep the receiver and surround speakers the same! Now I just have to choose what speakers!

[Solo man]

Originally Posted by Zakolson5

Thanks for the help guys, going to invest in a front speaker setup and keep the receiver and surround speakers the same! Now I just have to choose what speakers!

Have you chosen the speakers yet? I just recommended Pioneer speakers to one of my good friends to try and listen to. He listened to them and purchased them along with a new TV.

I myself have listened to them also and was impressed. The designer Andrew Jones is also respected in the Audiophile community but let your ears do the deciding.

They are slightly higher than your budget but you probably could get a discount.
Here is the link http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...ages/SP-PK52FS

[repete66211]

That's a 5.1 package. I think Zak was planning on using his current satellites as his rears.

[Solo man]

Originally Posted by repete66211

That's a 5.1 package. I think Zak was planning on using his current satellites as his rears.

Oh it sounded like others were recommending to just get front speakers and keep the rears. Then I did see him accept that recommendation in his last post and was offering a different point of view.

That is why I posted this 5.1 setup because it would be matched and they do sound quite nice for the money. He is more into movies hence why I suggested these speakers as they also sound quite nice for music as well.

He could also keep his rears and maybe go with a 7.1 configuration down the road.

[callas01]

another brand worth looking into is Wharfedale, they make some nice stuff that is reviewed quite well, see the links

http://www.musicdirect.com/p-96389-w...wood-demo.aspx

http://www.musicdirect.com/p-47335-w...wood-demo.aspx

[diceman1000]

BIC America makes great stuff also

[Billy13]

Originally Posted by callas01

another brand worth looking into is Wharfedale, they make some nice stuff that is reviewed quite well, see the links

http://www.musicdirect.com/p-96389-w...wood-demo.aspx

http://www.musicdirect.com/t-productnotfound.aspx

I can vouche for the Wharfedale line, as well as the Polk's

[Zakolson5]

Yes I would be more using the home setup for movies, ps4 more so than music. Making a decision this weekend, the old me would've bought a pair already, but im trying to get all the reviews and see what I really want.

[Zakolson5]

Originally Posted by Solo man

Have you chosen the speakers yet? I just recommended Pioneer speakers to one of my good friends to try and listen to. He listened to them and purchased them along with a new TV.

I myself have listened to them also and was impressed. The designer Andrew Jones is also respected in the Audiophile community but let your ears do the deciding.

They are slightly higher than your budget but you probably could get a discount.
Here is the link http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...ages/SP-PK52FS

The price actually isn't too bad. Would this be a big enough upgrade to notice a significant difference than the package I have now?

[repete66211]

Originally Posted by Zakolson5

The price actually isn't too bad. Would this be a big enough upgrade to notice a significant difference than the package I have now?

Even if you went with 4 bookshelf speakers (which is $450) you'd notice a significant improvement over the little Polk satellites. The larger the woofer and the larger the box the deeper, stronger and more dynamic the audio you'll get out of them.

[diceman1000]

You could get BIC Formula or Venturi bookshelf speakers, a matching center, and a BIC F12 or V1220 sub for right around your $500 mark and have a REALLY nice sounding setup. Or do like I did and get Venturi fronts and center with Dayton B652s for surrounds with a Dayton sub and a refurbished H/K AVR 1700 for roughly $600 total and it sounds AWESOME, especially with movies