OK, final Rcvr input

[jayn_j]

I know, I've just moved and am in a rental home. Itll be a couple of years before we buy (just to make sure I dont move again), so Im gonna hold off on rears. Might as well get the fronts and center upgraded.

I'm in a rental house as well. The rears hung with 2 wall anchors, and I just live with the cords hanging down. I tend to agree that you have nothing really wrong with those Polks. I think you will be happier going with the rears. At worst, you can set them on shelves or furniture.

I've been getting around to posting some pictures of my setup and I'll try again tonight.

 

[gadgtfreek]

I'm in a rental house as well. The rears hung with 2 wall anchors, and I just live with the cords hanging down. I tend to agree that you have nothing really wrong with those Polks. I think you will be happier going with the rears. At worst, you can set them on shelves or furniture.

I've been getting around to posting some pictures of my setup and I'll try again tonight.

Thanks, please do. I guess my big issue is how to get the wiring. Other issue is, the chairs we sit in are right up against the back wall and I have no room to the side of my chair (stupid layout)

 

[jayn_j]

Thanks, please do. I guess my big issue is how to get the wiring. Other issue is, the chairs we sit in are right up against the back wall and I have no room to the side of my chair (stupid layout)

I am in exactly the same situation. The main viewing couch is against the rear wall. I have dipoles hung high and about a foot away from the rear wall. Not ideal, but certainly better than no rears at all. You still get a rear effect.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Cool, please post pics when you can.

 

[HD MM]

My seating is pretty much up against the rear wall too. I have my rears on speaker stands just behind us to the left/right.

Are there any cable hookups on that wall? Maybe you can route the speaker wires underneath (basement) from one side of the room to the other and use the same path/hole that your existing cable line travels....

 

[gadgtfreek]

Problem is, my seat is right against the wall on the side too, no room for a side speaker. Id prob just go the attic route and mount them above us

 

[HD MM]

Problem is, my seat is right against the wall on the side too, no room for a side speaker. Id prob just go the attic route and mount them above us

That would work too. Just angle them towards the listening position and you're set. Just get a couple satellite speakers so any small wall/ceiling penetrations can be repaired quickly and easily when you move.

I have a Polk SurroundBar in my upstairs setup and a true 5.1 setup in my HT. The difference with the rears is mind blowing!

I really think you would benefit more so from the rears creating a real 5.1 surround field than new front speakers, but that is just my humble opinion....

 

[gadgtfreek]

I guess Ill look at that then. Will get a couple of comparable polk rears, then mount them up on the ceiling above us, then angle them at us and down.

I just never thought you'd benefit from them being directly over you

 

[jayn_j]

I guess Ill look at that then. Will get a couple of comparable polk rears, then mount them up on the ceiling above us, then angle them at us and down.

I just never thought you'd benefit from them being directly over you

Actually, if you look at recommended configurations, you would see that most installers recommend that surrounds be about even with the listening position. If off to the sides, they generally show a dipole speaker for diffused sound. They also show ceiling configurations. Personally, I don't like the sound of a ceiling speaker, but I've seen them in a lot of high end theater rooms, so at least some folks like them.

The idea is that a surround should provide a diffused sound as 90% of the time it is providing a fullness and ambience, as opposed to direct sound, like a bus or dialog. If you go with a 7.1 system, then the rears provide the direct sounds. Problem is that very few discs have a 7.1 soundtrack, so everything gets directed to the surrounds anyway.

I have and like the dipoles better than the direct radiators I had previously.

 

[gadgtfreek]

gotcha.

 

[gadgtfreek]

So you mean like these?

Polk Audio - RM 2008 Series Loudspeakers - Big Speaker Sound... Without the Big Speaker

RS-42 --- Surround,Klipsch Reference Series

 

[jayn_j]

Yeah, that's the idea. I had a height issue in that a door had to open below the surrounds, so I got the Klipsch S3 as it was 7" high instead of the 10.5 of the RS42.

S-3 --- Surround,Klipsch Synergy Series

The Polks would pprobably be a better match for your mains.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Nice. $450 at amazon

Its a tough decision, for sure.

Spend a grand on fronts and a center, and wait a couple of years, or spend a few hundred on some rears.

 

[HD MM]

Here's Dolby's 5.1 speaker placement recomendation.......

 

[navychop]

The idea is that a surround should provide a diffused sound as 90% of the time it is providing a fullness and ambience, as opposed to direct sound, like a bus or dialog. If you go with a 7.1 system, then the rears provide the direct sounds. Problem is that very few discs have a 7.1 soundtrack, so everything gets directed to the surrounds anyway.

Some receivers can make 7.1 out of 5.1 sometimes.

Certainly, 5.1 is a major, major improvement over stereo.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Here's Dolby's 5.1 speaker placement recomendation.......

Thats about what I'm able to do.

 

[QCK]

FYI, the coupon code AFLAUD25 is back at 6ave dot com. You can get Denon receivers at the same very low price that they were before Christmas.:up

 

[gadgtfreek]

I have been checking for others over the past few weeks, never noticed it not working for the 1909.

 

[jayn_j]

Well, it happened, much as I warn most people who are shopping for new receivers.

The kids mugged me yesterday. They wanted a new game, so we went to BB. Unfortunately, the Wii was finally in stock. Arguing the presence of an XBOX-360 was a lost cause and we dragged it home.

We decided to hook it to the main TV, so there wouldn't be fights between the Wii and the XBOX.

I went to hook it up, and found that I had run out of inputs on my Onkyo 605. I was forced to disconnect the laserdisc in order to hook up the Wii. Here is my current configuration.

BluRay player via HDMI1 assigned to DVD
HD-DVD player via HDMI assigned to VCR
Motorola cable HDDVR via component assigned to TV/Sat
Wii via component assigned to game

I do have a fifth input available, but it is the front aux input jacks. It will be ugly, but I can make that happen for the laserdisc player. However that Denon 3808 is starting to look attractive.

YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY INPUTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Paul Wozniak]

I've got a few I'm not using. come'on by and pick up as many as you need.