Hi all
newbie here - appreciate a lot of the information on this forum. Was wondering if I could pick some of your big brains.

I have 2 polk m20 (got it a year ago - was on sale) and mixed with other no name speakers for a really budget HT. Now im thinking about upgrading. I was thinking T45 as mains.
1) should i splurge and instead go Image T5/6??
2) what would be a great centre to go with it
3) need a sub
4) can i save the polk ie maybe use as rear until i save enough money?

If that can be done (ie reuse the polk), Id favour splurging on the fronts/sub - and bring up the rear later. Definitely wont have enough for everything.
thanks guys!

room is about 3600 cubic feet
3 walls + one 1/2 wall

Hi all
newbie here - appreciate a lot of the information on this forum. Was wondering if I could pick some of your big brains.

I have 2 polk m20 (got it a year ago - was on sale) and mixed with other no name speakers for a really budget HT. Now im thinking about upgrading. I was thinking T45 as mains.
1) should i splurge and instead go Image T5/6??
2) what would be a great centre to go with it
3) need a sub
4) can i save the polk ie maybe use as rear until i save enough money?
If that can be done (ie reuse the polk), Id favour splurging on the fronts/sub - and bring up the rear later. Definitely wont have enough for everything.
thanks guys!

1) The PSB T6's are great fronts and I would suggest them to anyone... When I recently purchased my MA RS6's it was a back and forth battle between the T6's and RS6's. I ended up with the RS6's because I got a deal I couldn't pass up!

2) As a rule you should ALWAYS timber match your front sound stage. So if the Image T6's are your choice stick with the Image line and go with the C4 or C5. From there you can chose whats best for you budget wise and spec wise.

3) A sub is always cool to have but not MAJOR factor. I'd concentrate on getting great fronts (T6's) and center (C5) and then save up for a good sub.

4) Yes. You can use the M20's as surrounds... you can always cheat a little with the back speakers. These don't need to be timber matched like the front sound stage does... For example, my system uses Monitor Audio for the front sound stage and Axiom QS8's for the side and back surrounds and the system sounds incredible.

Hope this helps.

J.

If you do it right, you won't really have to do it again.

Get the best speakers that you can and purchase the matching center channel. I would dump the money into good fronts and a center and move the old speakers to surround duty. This is pretty much what I did and I haven't really found the justification to upgrade my fronts after moving to towers.

If you're heavily into HT, yes, get the sub, but I would save up for it later. Put your money into a few high quality pieces and you'll:
a) be less likely to want to upgrade
b) will be more likely to discover how expensive churning equipment CAN be ;)

anybody wants to say anything now to hold me back, say it now please.. :p

So you'd consider even getting GT1 and GC1. and then worry about the surrounds, sub and amp later on? Now thats a thought!

I havent heard the G-Design series but if they sound anything like the T6's I doubt you wouldn't like them... and again, test out both series if you can.

What do you plan on getting for the amp ?

i have a pioneer 1019 - I will probably have to upgrade at some point to see the real value of a GT/GC or a T5/6. At this point my receiver is the limiting factor. But given your comments, I was thinking invest all upfront. and gradually add/upgrade the sub, amp and surrounds - in that order?

Put money into the front three and add the rest as you can afford them. As long as your receiver can power the speakers without clipping you'll be alright for the time being.

I almost wouldn't bother with upgrading the surrounds if what you have right now works OK. I'd take the $2-300 you'd spend on replacing the surrounds and either pocket it or plow it into the other parts of the system.

I didn't follow my own advice when I bought the parts of my system... I went a bit nuts on electronics, thinking I'd re-up my speakers, but I got off the upgrade bandwagon before it emptied my wallet. Were "I to do it all over again", I'd probably put more money into the speakers.

Take your time and listen to what's out there -- the choosing and sampling should be fun. Don't overlook used equipment if it's available.

Sorry to jump in on your thread but this looked like the right place to ask. Found an excellent price on a set of the new Image series but just trying to decide what setup to go with. For about the same price I could go with the T5 main, C5 center, and S5 surround (my original preference) or alternatively the T6 main, C5 center, and B5 for surround. This is for a 5.1 setup with an SVS PB10 sub in a 13x15 basement rec room used mostly for TV/movies. My debate is mostly on which surround to go with, I currently have a compact monitor for surround (on stands to either side of the couch directly against the back wall) but have always wanted to go with a bipolar surround; just not sure if it is worth it vs going with the bigger main. Any thoughts/input would be appreciated.

Hey Vise,

I would invest on the bigger fronts. And the T6's sound great so thats where i'd go.