# Seeking Feedback from an Expert on current Home Theater Setup



## ccwright3 (Mar 21, 2018)

:sn: Hello all. Thought this forum would be good place to seek opinions from DIY experts...
Below is list of my Home Theater components. Am wondering which component I should upgrade next???

The obvious answer may be to upgrade to a 4K display, but does anyone here have a different opinion? Would upgrading receiver or other component yield a big impact?? Thanks in advance for your help and for sharing your wisdom!

Chris

- Display Sharp AQUOS 80" Quattron LED SMART 3D HDTV 
- Receiver Denon AVR-E300
- Speakers (5.1)	Polk Audio 3.25" Center Channels and Surrounds - Yamaha YST-SW325 Subwoofer
- Blu-Ray DVD	PlayStation 4
- Media Player	Roku 3
- DVR	DirecTV HD-DVR
- Gaming/Media Server	PC (Windows 7, 3.41GHz AMD II X4 Processor, 24GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 2GB GTX 750 Graphiocs card)
- Remote	Harmony Ultimate with IR Hub Repeater for equipment closet
- Bass Shakers	Polk PSW200 Power Subwoofer (split from Receiver) to Aura AST-2B-04 50W Bass Shakers 
- Power Conditioner	APC H10 Power Conditioner
- Room	Approx 11 x 17, carpeted, acoustic fabric on all walls, 9 acoustic panels on walls/ceiling, 2 bass traps in corners, seating for 5


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

Welcome to HTS Chris.

Without knowing if there's something in particular you're dissatisfied with in your HT it's a bit difficult to make suggestions, but one area that wouldn't cut it for me personally are those speakers and subwoofer. In both cases the drivers are simply too small to provide much presence and output. Getting something with more capability would make for quite a difference. With an understanding of things like budget, aesthetic preferences and size restrictions we can provide some worthwhile options for you to consider if you choose to go that route.


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## ccwright3 (Mar 21, 2018)

theJman said:


> Welcome to HTS Chris.
> 
> Without knowing if there's something in particular you're dissatisfied with in your HT it's a bit difficult to make suggestions, but one area that wouldn't cut it for me personally are those speakers and subwoofer. In both cases the drivers are simply too small to provide much presence and output. Getting something with more capability would make for quite a difference. With an understanding of things like budget, aesthetic preferences and size restrictions we can provide some worthwhile options for you to consider if you choose to go that route.


Thanks so much for the welcome and the response above. I am not dissatisfied but am wondering what I might be missing out on.

Good comment about the speakers. My original rationale was that the small room (11x17) did not need larger speakers but maybe larger speakers would result in BETTER sound, not just louder sound? If so, I would be open to upgrading? My center and surround speakers are all black and wall mounted. Yamaha subwoofer is sitting in corner. I can do mid to high on budget. Any suggestions?


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

Agree with JMan, 3.5” woofers are pretty small, even with a room your size. I’d get something with at least 5-1/4” woofers. Oh, with very few exceptions, I’d never go with a sub that was less than 10”

Regards, 
Wayne


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## ccwright3 (Mar 21, 2018)

Wayne A. Pflughaupt said:


> Agree with JMan, 3.5” woofers are pretty small, even with a room your size. I’d get something with at least 5-1/4” woofers. Oh, with very few exceptions, I’d never go with a sub that was less than 10”
> 
> Regards,
> Wayne


Thanks for the good advice. I am looking at upgrading the front speakers to Polk 5.25" TSi100 bookshelf speakers and 5.25" CS-10 center channel, with an upgraded Polk 12" subwoofer as well (keeping the Polk 3.25" rear surrounds in place). Hoping that would result in a significant bump in sound quality and depth versus current setup.


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

Polk subs are generally regarded on most forums as bottom-of-the-barrel. What’s the model number of the one you’re considering, or even better, what's your budget? Maybe we can make a better recommendation.

Regards, 
Wayne


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

ccwright3 said:


> Thanks for the good advice. I am looking at upgrading the front speakers to Polk 5.25" TSi100 bookshelf speakers and 5.25" CS-10 center channel, with an upgraded Polk 12" subwoofer as well (keeping the Polk 3.25" rear surrounds in place). Hoping that would result in a significant bump in sound quality and depth versus current setup.


Is there a particular reason you're going all Polk again? There are other/better options available, especially subwoofers, so there may be additional options if you're looking to upgrade.


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## ccwright3 (Mar 21, 2018)

Thanks to Wayne and Jim for the insights on Polk subwoofer -- the model was Polk PSW505 12". My target criteria was looking for 12" subwoofer for $200 or less. I realize that there are nicer ones out there but at significant premium (and given my room size I thought it would be diminishing returns to go beyond 12" and $200 cap). Thoughts?


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

Your initial post suggests the possibility of upgrading the display to a 4K model. That would be a pricey acquisition, assuming you want to stay in the same 80" range. If you're considering an investment of that size for the TV, why spend so little on a subwoofer? It would be more advantageous to have mid-grade components for every part of the experience - both audio and video - then to have high end for video and low end for audio. It seems a balance might better suit your needs.


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## ccwright3 (Mar 21, 2018)

theJman said:


> Your initial post suggests the possibility of upgrading the display to a 4K model. That would be a pricey acquisition, assuming you want to stay in the same 80" range. If you're considering an investment of that size for the TV, why spend so little on a subwoofer? It would be more advantageous to have mid-grade components for every part of the experience - both audio and video - then to have high end for video and low end for audio. It seems a balance might better suit your needs.


Thanks for the insight Jim. I originally posted here because I previously assumed the next upgrade would eventually be to 4K TV but as you noted that would be super-expensive for a comparable solution and would still be several years down the road. So I reached out here to check if anyone noted other components in my setup that could benefit from an immediate upgrade (and would be a lot less expensive to do so). The insights from you (and Wayne) about the speakers seemed spot on. That is still an investment of around $500 (for front right/left, center and subwoofer, keeping my existing rear surrounds). In the case of the subwoofer, I bumped budget up to $200 for 12" model but have made note about the comments here that the Polk PSW505 may not be ideal choice. Is there a better sub-woofer in this price range? OR is the quality of sound really that much better that would warrant bumping up the subwoofer to next level (ie, something like a Klipsch R-12SW for $325 or other options up another level in the $600 range)??

Chris


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

ccwright3 said:


> Thanks for the insight Jim. I originally posted here because I previously assumed the next upgrade would eventually be to 4K TV but as you noted that would be super-expensive for a comparable solution and would still be several years down the road. So I reached out here to check if anyone noted other components in my setup that could benefit from an immediate upgrade (and would be a lot less expensive to do so). The insights from you (and Wayne) about the speakers seemed spot on. That is still an investment of around $500 (for front right/left, center and subwoofer, keeping my existing rear surrounds). In the case of the subwoofer, I bumped budget up to $200 for 12" model but have made note about the comments here that the Polk PSW505 may not be ideal choice. Is there a better sub-woofer in this price range? OR is the quality of sound really that much better that would warrant bumping up the subwoofer to next level (ie, something like a Klipsch R-12SW for $325 or other options up another level in the $600 range)??
> 
> Chris


Subwoofers in the $200-$300 range will be more similar than dissimilar, so for the most part it's a pick-em. Moving up $400 is where you start to get into some of the better options, like the RSL Speedwoofer 10S and Emotiva BasX S12. Things escalate quickly from there. Speakers and subwoofer(s) should be of similar quality though, so if you upgrade one consider the other as well.


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

Here are a couple of budget subs JMan has reviewed that appear to offer a lot of bang for the buck.

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/speaker-subwoofer-reviews/172570-bic-pl-200-ii-review.html
http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...6-dayton-audio-sub-1200-subwoofer-review.html

Beyond that, I’d suggest that you can get the most bang for the buck from Craigslist. I was able to pick one of these subs for a mere $125. 

https://designeraudiovideo.com/prod...MIt8_SxKaF2gIVECOBCh3CMghbEAQYASABEgKiOvD_BwE

Regards, 
Wayne


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

Wayne A. Pflughaupt said:


> Here are a couple of budget subs JMan has reviewed that appear to offer a lot of bang for the buck.
> 
> http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/speaker-subwoofer-reviews/172570-bic-pl-200-ii-review.html
> http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...6-dayton-audio-sub-1200-subwoofer-review.html
> ...


You got a DSP-3100 for $125? Killer deal that was.


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## ccwright3 (Mar 21, 2018)

Wayne A. Pflughaupt said:


> Here are a couple of budget subs JMan has reviewed that appear to offer a lot of bang for the buck.
> 
> http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/speaker-subwoofer-reviews/172570-bic-pl-200-ii-review.html
> http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...6-dayton-audio-sub-1200-subwoofer-review.html
> ...


Thanks Wayne (and JMan)! Looking at the various options and doing some additional research on customer reviews/satisfaction, the one that bubbles up from above options is the Bic PL-200 II 12" Subwoofer. Looks like a good performance for a reasonable price... Thanks again!


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## fschris (Oct 31, 2009)

Check out the Emotiva speaker line up. It will blow away your Polk stuff and it is a very good $ to performance. Sky is the limit on low end so stick with something that is 12-15". 

FsChris


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## fschris (Oct 31, 2009)

Where are you located i Have some DIYSG1099's ... 

Chris


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