You guys are great and I have learnt a lot over the past couple of weeks since I first stumbled upon this forum. I have had Bose lifestyle 12 for the last 4 years and though its time to get ride of bose and get some good speaker and receiver.
I just bought Onkyo TX-SR602 receiver and am leaning towards Axiom speakers and SVS sub. Below is the speaker combination that I am planning: Axiom M60ti Front L & R Axiom VP150 Center Axiom QS8 Surround L & R SVS 20-39PCi or SVS 16-46PCi subwoofers
I was also thinking about the following Polk speaker's combination: Polk RTi 10 Front L & R Polk CSi 5 center Polk FXi 5 Surround L & R Polk PSW 505 or 404 subwoofers
My family room is about 32 ft X 18 ft and I will set up the speaker or my surround sound for a 20ft X 18 ft area. I wanted to get some opinion before I finalized on the speakers: 1. Is the Axiom/SVS combo better or Polk combo better with the Onkyo receiver? 2. Between SVS 20-39PCi and SVS 16-46PCi subwoofers which one do you guys think would be better? Not sure if I should spend the extra $50 on 16-46PCi or just go with 20-39PCi and use the extra $50 for shipping or buy a good pair of sub woofer cables? 3. Are there any other better sounding speakers in this price range? 4. Anything else that I might be missing here? 5. I have not seen a lot of activity on TX-SR602 in this forum so are there other receivers in this price range that is better than Onkyo?
I will use the speakers for about 55% music and 45% movies.
I have heard a lot of good things about Axiom but not heard a lot about Polk RTi series speakers so though will check with the experts.
Buy the SVS sub only and listen to that and your world will be a happy place.
Seriously, the polks will be very good. The Axiom rears are a pain in the butt to mount because of the driver configuration. The problem is the polks (floorstanding) are power hungry and will take more than the receiver can deliver, thus resulting in a "bright" sound. The Onk is a good amp but I would go with bookshelfs up front and rear.
Now just to confuse, check out the Ascend Acoustics site for some nice speakers. Buy the way Dr. Hsu has recommended them in the past to match with his subs, which are designed like the SVS's.
PLEASE NOTE: SET UP YOUR SUB CORRECTLY! Buy the test disc and SPL meter from SVS! That sub will kill at 50 paces!
The 20-39 is lots, you will probaly be down to 17-18hz with in room gain. The filter on those will be around 15hz to protect the driver. And to get the "Jurrasic lunch" sound in your room you will be close enough with that sub.
Back to the question of mains. Listen to some bookshelf polks. RTi6? Take a listen before you buy! You might like the sound, you might not! The bookshelf will image better (on good stands!) than the floorstanders.
Save the fifty bucks and buy a good cable! And please not the monster stuff!
Just a possibility, see if you have some one in your area that has b&w and listen to there bookshelfs!
Hope that helps. If you have some other brands that you are thinking of they all do sound different!
I use Onkyo + Polk and love it. I'm not even using very expensive stuff: Onkyo TX-SR502 + Polk RT800. My entertainment room is smaller (15' square), but I've never had a problem w/ bass or clipping at any volumes I can tolerate. I don't even use a sub, because the RT800s have the downward-facing woofer that seems to do the job great. This is no high-end audiophile's setup, of course, but it's perfect for me.