surround sound question?

[bigpapy]

I got my 5.1 KEF2500 system and I want to upgrade to 7.1 I looking the polk rti10 floor standing speakers my question is if I would be able to get 7.1 with this speakers.
Also I just order the onkyo 605 that will be my reciver

[bigpapy]

bump

[aod38]

Absolutely. All speakers are universal, so no matter what you put you'll still get 7.1. The Polk's are pretty good, but if you can, try to find a pair of Energy RC-70's. I had to choose between those and the Polk's, and I couldn't be happier. Very similar sound, but I find the energy's had a little more depth. You can find them at about the same price on special, and if you're in Canada, Future Shop always has them on special.

[bigpapy]

thanks,I got other question on the back of the speaker I see a pair of conections do I have to conect both?

[gearyt]

Originally Posted by aod38

Absolutely. All speakers are universal,

Be careful, no they are not.....

[jaydoc24]

gearyt is right, Ideally, when moving from a 5.1 to 7.1 system by simply adding two more speakers, it is imperative that you use speakers from the same manufacturer and even the same line. Speakers have different timbres and different crossover settings even among different speakers made by the same company. You should either re-buy seven new speakers and start from the ground up or try to find more of the same line you have.

As a last resort, it is generally more recommended (although not as much as matching perfectly) that if you are going to move ahead with your decision to at least buy from the same manufacturer, i.e. buy more KEF speakers. I have a 5.1 system from them (the iQ series and love them).

If you can be absolutely sure that all the speaker specifications match perfectly, you could attempt to have a mixed 7.1 system, but I don't recommend that. You can really only get away with mixing the subwoofer without noticeable deteriorations in quality.

[gearyt]

Originally Posted by gearyt

Be careful, no they are not.....

To more fully explain..
besides timbre, etc
you also have impedance, 4 and 8 are normal but there are many others including 70 volt !!

The important matches, in my optinion are Center, most dialogue Fronts, most action. The surrounds can match each other, but need not match the center and fronts. Newer receivers can do minor adjustments ie: audiossey

[gearyt]

Originally Posted by bigpapy

thanks,I got other question on the back of the speaker I see a pair of conections do I have to conect both?

do you have two jacks or two pair of jacks ??

If only two, then one wire, typically red and black need to go to the receiver connections, also red and black..... Red to Red,,, Black to Black

[crackinhedz]

@ gearyt

...anything electrical he is your man.

[bigpapy]

this have two pair of jacks,also the guy from the audio dep. told me if I conect all four jacks I wont be able to get 7.1 I planing to put this speakers on the front

[gearyt]

Originally Posted by bigpapy

this have two pair of jacks,also the guy from the audio dep. told me if I conect all four jacks I wont be able to get 7.1 I planing to put this speakers on the front

Usually... the two pairs feed into the crossover electronics and each will give you a different type of sound... ie: second set gives a "brighter" sound
can you post a pic of the rear of your speaker, esp the nameplate ??

also... there are stereo speakers on the market that accept two inputs ie: polk

[MouseRider]

The Polk RTi/10 supports a feature called "bi-wiring" and "bi-amping" which is why there are two pairs of binding posts for inputs.

Neither of which would affect your ability to use the speakers in a 7.1 configuration because you're not supposed to connect different channels to the different pairs of inputs.

Basically, the top pair drives the high-frequency elements and the bottom pair drives the low-frequency elements.

When connecting normally, the speaker comes with a metal plate that bridges the two pairs of posts.

Bi-wiring lets you drive the high and low frequency sections with different wires.

Why? Well some people think this will result in better sound, many think it's voodoo. Electrically, there isn't anything that would prove that there's better sound. What it does allow you to do is run your own external crossovers since you can feed signals directly to the high frequency and low frequency elements separately.

Bi-amping lets you drive the high and low frequency sections with different amps.

Again, this allows you to provide your own crossovers to the equation and more significantly, allows you to have frequency-specific amplifiers do your work which is has much more merit than just bi-wiring and if you have the proper amplifiers, could actually provide for better sound.

Now, if you have a receiver that performs advance bass management like the Lexicon MC12 and you have a good pair of bass amplifiers, you could use the bi-amping ability to essentially create a 7.3 setup, where you would be driving the low-frequency elements in the Polk as two separate subwoofers. But you won't get much improvement unless you have a good bass management system in your receiver or processor.