OK, so after a few purchases, I have my 7.1 setup complete (or until I upgrade the speakers and start the mad process all over again!)
Let's start with the first purchase:
Polk RM6750
This complete 5.1 speaker setup was my first real jump into the Home Theater foray and I have to tell you - the Polks were worth every penny. I was supremely impressed with the larger than life sound that came from this little guys. Don't let the size fool you - these are perfect for discreet home theater speaker setup. I had these in a room that measured about 15 x 18ft and it overpowered the room with vibrant, clear and clean sound. The subwoofer was also spot on - and even though I've upgrade my front L/R and center speakers, I still use the subwoofer - it's that good! I highly recommend this set for the serious low-to mid-range home theater setup. Polks really sound great compared to other speakers that I have demo'ed.
Then I added: 2 x
Polk Monitor 50 floorstanding speaker:
Why lie? I'm a bargain hunter - so while I was perfectly happy with my Polk RM6750 speaker system, the satellite speakers for front and back seem to be lacking in the right strength to create a powerful sound field. I wanted to stay with Polk, so i starting investigating. Found me a set of Monitor 50's and scooped them up for song and never looked back.
These speakers are not a full-range speaker, so you'll want them to handle the Mid's and High's only - bass will be very weak, if existent at all. No worries if you have a separate bass driver - but other than that, these speakers absolutely scream and create a great sound for the price. I highly recommend them for Left, Right and if you want to match, go surrounds.
With the beefier left and right, the center of the RM6750 was outmatched....so I completed the front of the soundstage with the
Polk CS1 center channel speaker:
This piece replaced the RM6750 center channel that was underpowered and outmatched when I added my Monitor 50's to the left and right of the sound stage. I must say, that adding this larger center really made a different - audio popped, music rang and overall clarity was increased. The last piece of the puzzle will be the rear speakers and the subwoofer upgrade. I couldn't be happier with this center. It even handeld mid-bass and some lower frequency with competency!
Some might think that the RM6750 satellites would be collecting dust on a shelf somewhere, but they are not - they are pulling their weight (in excellent form, I might add) as the left right surrounds as well as the left right rear surrounds.
For those on a budget, you can't beat the bang for the buck on the older Polk components - I highly recommend them!
